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SMS Mainz

1909 WORLD WAR 1

History

SMS Mainz was part of the "Kolberg-class" of the German Imperial Navy before the First World War with four ships. These two-masted, three-hopper ships are classified by the service as "light cruisers" and include SMS Kolberg, SMS Mainz, SMS Coln, and SMS Augsburg. The group was formed between 1908 and 1910, and all three groups saw varying degrees of action during the First World War (1914-1918).

Two were lost, and the last class was eventually abandoned in 1927.

SMS Mainz was ordered in September 1907 as a "replacement hunting", built by the shipyard specialists of AG Vulcan (Stettin) and laid in September 1907. She was launched for a test drive on 23 January 1909 and officially commissioned by the Imperial German Navy on 1 October 1909.

At the time of construction, the warship displaces 4,300 tons under standard load and 4,815 tons under full load. Dimensions include a barrel length of 428 feet, a beam of 45.9 feet and a draft of 18.3 feet. Power comes from 15 x boiler units feeding 2 x 20,200hp AEG Curtiss steam turbines on 2 x shafts aft. This gives the vessel a maximum sea speed of 26 knots and a range of up to 3,630 nautical miles (cruising at 14 knots). There are 367 crew members on board.

Armor protection reaches 1.57 inches on the deck, 2 inches on the turret, and 3.9 inches on the conning tower.

Armament consists of 12 x 4.1" (10.5 cm / 105 mm) SK L/45 main guns, 4 x 2" (5.2 cm / 52 mm) SK L/55 secondary guns and 2 x 17. 7" (450 mm) torpedo tube. Up to 100 mines can be transported and deployed to protect critical waterways.

The moderately armoured and armed SMS Mainz remained an important part of the German surface fleet, especially in the face of the trans-channel threat posed by the mighty Royal Navy.

SMS Mainz was assigned to the highly regarded "High Seas Fleet" as early as October 1909, but was recalled to continue work in November 1908 as its field performance was classified as unsatisfactory satisfy. She rejoined the fleet in June 1910 and conducted general cruising and training exercises before the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

Since then, she has been assigned various patrol duties, detaining her near the island of Heligoland off the northwest coast of Germany. Here, Mainz SMS will find its destiny in the "Battle of Heligoland".

On August 28, 1914, she was drafted into the army to help the beleaguered German Navy against the larger and more powerful British Armada. SMS Mainz came under heavy artillery and torpedo fire, rendering her immobile. Before the German warship sank, her captain ordered the ship to be abandoned and British troops moved in to protect her 348 survivors.

A total of eight to nine German sailors were killed in action.

The battle was a British victory, with a total of 712 Germans killed, another 149 wounded, and hundreds captured. In addition, the Imperial German Navy lost three light cruisers, two torpedo boats, and one destroyer, while the British lost a total of 35 men, and one light cruiser and three destroyers were damaged.