Meteor (1915)
Meteor
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Meteor |
| Owner: | Reichsmarine |
| Route: | Atlantic Ocean |
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig, Germany |
| Laid down: | 26 February 1914 |
| In service: | 15 November 1924 |
| Homeport: |
 Wilhelmshaven, Germany |
| Fate: | to the Soviet Union 1945, scrapped 1968 or later |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Survey vessel |
| Displacement: | 1,504 tonnes |
| Length: | 71.10 m (233 ft 3 in) |
| Beam: | 10.20 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draught: | 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Speed: | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h) |
| Crew: | 138 |
Meteor was a German survey vessel, noted for her survey work in the Atlantic Ocean between 1925 and 1927. Handed over to the Soviet Union following World War II, the ship was renamed Ekvator. Her ultimate fate is not known.
Her keel was laid at the Kaiserliche Werft at Danzig in February 1914 and Meteor was launched in January 1915. Originally intended to become a gunboat for the Imperial German Navy's colonial service she was not finished during the First World War due to limited need for lightly armed vessels.
After the war the uncompleted hull was tugged to Wilhelmshaven for outfitting work at the Reichsmarinewerft. She was outfitted as a survey vessel and early sonar equipment was fitted. The ship had a steel hull and had by two propellers each driven by a triple-expansion steam engine. Additionally she had a brigantine rig to boost range.
Meteor was commissioned as a military ship with the Reichsmarine but spent most of her life in a scientific role.
Meteor entered service in November 1924 and made her maiden survey expedition between 20 January and 17 February 1925 with the main purpose to check the equipment. On 16 April 1925 Meteor started the German Atlantic expedition, also known as German Meteor expedition, and did not return to Germany until 2 June 1927. During this expedition the ship sailed more than 67,500 nautical miles (125,000 km; 77,700 mi) and took cross sections of the South Atlantic between Africa and South America mapping the entire ocean. In the course of this survey work Meteor found a bank (seamount) that rises to 560 metres (1,840 ft) below sea level from a depth of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). This bank was named "Meteor Bank" (48°16′S 08°16′E / 48.267°S 8.267°E).
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