Torpedo-boats of the German Navy (1871-1919)
| General characteristics (S7–S65) | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 98 t (96 long tons) |
| Speed: | 20.4 knots (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) |
| Armament: |
|
| General characteristics (S66–S87) | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 172–186 t (169–183 long tons) |
| Speed: | 22–25 knots (41–46 km/h; 25–29 mph) |
| Armament: |
|
| General characteristics (G88 & G89) | |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 177 t (174 long tons) |
| Speed: | 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) |
| Armament: |
|
Torpedo boats had been operated by the Imperial German Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) from the very beginning. The "Imperial Navy" existed between 1871 and 1919. In 1870 there had been 14 tugboats and harbour vessels and 7 rowing boats, which had been armed with spar torpedos to protect Elbe and Weser during the Franco-Prussian War.
6 boats built at AG Weser, Bremen; 10 boats built at AG Vulcan, Stettin; 6 boats built at Schichau, Elbing.
The later USS Somers was built as a private speculation by Schichau in 1897.
60 boats of S 7-class had been built at Schichau, Elbing, 22 boats of S 66-class had been built at Schichau and the boats G 88 and G 89 had been built at Germaniawerft in Kiel.
The first boats had been stricken in 1905. The remaining boats had been renamed in 1910 and 1914 as SM T 11 – SM T 65. S12, T 21, T 25, S 26, S 32, S 41, S 48, T 50 got lost by collisions or storm. The S 66-class boats had been renamed in 1914 as SM T 66 – SM T 89.
In World War I the remaining boats had been used as mine sweepers, school boats and tenders. T 43, T 46, T 47, T 51, T 52, T 54, T 57, T 58, T 64, T 65 and T 66, T 67, T 68, T 78 had been sunk by mines.
The A-class torpedo boats were a class of single-funnelled torpedo boat or light destroyer designed for operations off the coast of occupied Flanders in the First World War. Six groups of vessels were built under the class between 1914 and 1918, increasing in displacement from 109 tons to 335 tons.
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