S90-class torpedo boat


The S90 class of torpedo boats was a group of large torpedo boats built for the German [Imperial German Empire|German Navy|Imperial Navy] in the early 20th century. They were Hochsee-Torpedoboot built to varying designs by Schichau at Elbing and Germaniawerft at Kiel. German torpedo boats were designated by shipbuilder, with the first letter of their designation reflecting their builder.

Design

General characteristics and machinery

These 48 vessels were built to ten different designs over the period 1898 to 1907. Thus they varied in dimensions, and they gradually increased in size as more vessels were built. The boats were long at the waterline and long overall. They had beam (nautical) of and a draft of. The hull for each boat was divided into eleven watertight compartments, though after, a twelfth compartment was added. They had a crew of two officers and fifty-five enlisted men, though some of the boats had larger crews; had four more sailors, while G132 had twelve more men, and had a crew of three officers and 78 enlisted. When serving as half-flotilla flagships, the boats would have a flotilla leader's staff of four officers and eleven enlisted men in addition to the standard crew. The vessels carried a yawl and a dinghy apiece.
The S90-class boats were propelled by a pair of vertical, 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines that drove a pair of three-bladed screw propellers. Steam was provided by three coal-fired water-tube boilers. Two boats, and, were fitted with Parsons steam turbines instead of the older reciprocating engines; G137 also received an additional boiler. The reciprocating engine-powered boats were rated at from. Meanwhile, S125 and G137 were rated at and, and and, respectively. The boats had storage capacity for of coal. As a result, cruising radius varied significantly, from at. Each vessel was equipped with one or two 110-Volt generators for electrical power. Steering was controlled with a pair of rudders, one at the stern and the other in the bow.

Armament

Most of the ships of the class were armed with a main battery of three SK L/40 guns in single pivot mounts. They were supplied with a total of 252 shells that weighed. The guns had a muzzle velocity of and a maximum range of at their highest elevation of 20 degrees. G132,,, and were equipped with four SK L/55 guns in single gun mounts. These guns fired a similar 1.75 kg shell at a muzzle velocity of. The guns could elevate up to 20 degrees, at a maximum range of. was equipped with two of the 5.2 cm guns and one gun, while had three 5.2 cm guns and one 8.8 cm gun. The 8.8 cm gun fired a shell weighing at a muzzle velocity of. The gun could be elevated to 25 degrees, for a maximum range of. Many of the boats were rearmed throughout their time in service, trading their 5 cm or 5.2 cm guns for the more powerful 8.8 cm guns. All ships of the class carried three deck-mounted single torpedo tubes with five torpedoes.

Ships in class

BoatLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFate
26 July 189924 October 1899Scuttled 17 October 1914
25 September 189924 April 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
15 May 190027 June 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
24 March 190014 July 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
23 April 190027 July 1900Stricken 26 October 1920;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
20 February 190029 August 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
31 January 190027 September 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
16 December 189928 May 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
28 July 19004 November 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
4 September 190013 December 1900Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
13 November 190018 April 1901Sunk in collision in the Baltic with ferry Preussen on 15 October 1915
22 December 190030 May 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
18 April 190118 July 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
15 May 190117 September 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
22 June 19017 October 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
7 August 190117 November 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
7 September 19019 December 1901Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 26 May 1921 for scrap
17 October 190127 January 1902Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
7 September 190126 March 1902Stricken 22 March 1921;
broken up at Hamburg
9 November 190119 June 1902Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
9 September 190221 January 1903Stricken 22 March 1921;
broken up at Hamburg
2 April 190221 July 1902Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 13 June 1921 for scrap
19 June 19026 September 1902Stricken 22 March 1920;
sold 13 June 1921 for scrap
9 August 190216 October 1902Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 8 June 1921 for scrap
9 August 190225 October 1902Stricken 9 November 1920;
sold 7 July 1921 for scrap
10 September 190222 February 1903Sunk by gunfire from HMS Undaunted and four destroyers in the Battle off Texel on 17 October 1914
14 October 190228 March 1903Sunk by torpedo from HM submarine E.9 in North Sea on 6 October 1914
4 February 190321 May 1903Sunk by gunfire from HMS Undaunted and four destroyers in the Battle off Texel on 17 October 1914
21 March 19039 July 1903Sunk by gunfire from HMS Undaunted and four destroyers in the Battle off Texel on 17 October 1914
8 July 19036 September 1903Sunk by gunfire from HMS Undaunted and four destroyers in the Battle off Texel on 17 October 1914
10 February 19047 May 1904Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
3 March 190417 June 1904Stricken 22 March 1920;
sold 13 June 1921 for scrap
23 April 19045 August 1904Sunk by mine in the North Sea on 5 October 1918
25 June 190423 August 1904Sunk by mine in the North Sea on 1 May 1916
3 August 19048 October 1904Sunk in the Baltic by collision with Danish ss Anglodane on 30 November 1914
19 May 19044 April 1905Stricken 26 October 1920;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
26 November 190430 April 1905Stricken 22 March 1920;
sold 13 June 1921 for scrap
12 January 19057 June 1905Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
25 February 19058 July 1905Stricken 22 March 1920;
sold 13 June 1921 for scrap
4 March 190510 August 1905Wrecked in the North Sea on 5 November 1915
27 April 190517 September 1905Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
25 May 19056 October 1905Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
12 May 190622 August 1906Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
30 June 190610 December 1906Stricken 22 March 1921;
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap
23 July 19066 March 1907Stricken 9 November 1920;
sold 13 May 1921 for scrap
7 September 190624 January 1907Stricken 25 May 1921;
10 October 1921 for scrap
25 August 190616 March 1907Stricken 21 July 1921;
20 August 1921 for scrap
24 January 190724 July 1907Stricken 22 March 1921,
sold 28 May 1921 for scrap

Service history

Most of the ships served into World War I. S90 sank the on 17 October 1914, and was scuttled at Tsingtao later that day. Four of these boats took part in the Battle off Texel on the exact same day, in which a British light cruiser and four destroyers destroyed the Seventh Half-Flotilla consisting of S119, S115, S117 and S118.