SMS Thetis

Deck: 20-50 mm
Sills: 80 mm
Conning tower: 20-80 mm
Shields: 50 mm

The SMS Thetis was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class of the Imperial Navy. The cruiser was named after the sea nymph Thetis.

The first Thetis was a former British frigate, which had been acquired on January 12, 1855 by Prussia and then served in the Prussian Navy. On 28 November 1871, the first Thetis was deleted from the list of warships.

The Thetis was from 1922 to 1924 also in the Imperial Navy in the service.

Foreign Service from 1901 to 1906

The cruiser Thetis was as also arose under the Official Draft 1895-1896 Niobe, nymph Ariadne, Amazon and Medusa to the second group of light cruisers of the Gazelle class. They were compared with the type ship Gazelle increased to 8,000 PSI machinery.

After the commissioning, testing and the equipment for the overseas deployment of the light cruiser ran out on December 1, 1901 by Kiel to East Asia. The commander had received the highly confidential order from the Admiralty, north of Hodeida to start off on the journey that lie to the south of the Red Sea off the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula Farasan Islands, to determine whether there a coaling station could be created. Due to the positive report probably this was soon established, however, in 1902 to Russian suspicions towards wanting to take the archipelago for the German Reich in possession, abandoned. About Aden, Colombo and Madras moved the ship to Calcutta, where the officers of the cruiser was combined with that of the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Zenta and the Asia explorer Sven Hedin by the Governor General and Viceroy of India, George Curzon, Baron Curzon of Kedleston, received.

After arriving in Tsingtao, the Thetis knew the usual service station and traveled the Chinese and Japanese waters. From 28 April 1902, the ship sailed the Yangtze River with the Squadron Commander, Vice Admiral Richard von Geissler on board, about Nanking to Hankow to show the flag. On May 15, the Thetis was back in Qingdao.

During the Russo- Japanese War in 1904/ 05, the Thetis was used before the Korean coast to observe the parties and to evacuate German nationals from the endangered areas. From October to December 1904 she led then again by a Yangtsefahrt.

On the occasion of the excavated in July 1905 Maji Maji revolt of the cruiser was been detached together with the old cruiser eagles to East African station to Dar es Salaam. On August 28, 1905 left the Thetis Hong Kong and met on 26 September in Dar es Salaam, as the height of the crisis was already exceeded. Nevertheless, the ship remained until March 29, 1906 in these waters and then was ordered to the proposal of the commander returned to Germany. There, the Thetis was made on June 18, 1906 in Gdansk overhaul out of service and remained until the outbreak of World War I in reserve status.

Missions in World War I

August 4, 1914: entry date with the Coastal Protection Division of the Baltic Sea ( Rear Admiral Robert Mischke ); Acquisition of the security service in the Little Belt
Posted on 18 October 1914 in the eastern Baltic and placed under the leadership of Admiral Detachierten Ehler Behring
From 24 to 26 October 1914 foray to Gotska Sandon
Then Memel defense and attack Russian positions on the Courland coast, sometimes a landing party of 74 men in action
On November 6, 1914 relocation of Memel to Gdansk, where there was a brief skirmish with Russian destroyers, including the modern great destroyer Novik. As the commander, Commander Paul Sip, this is not reported that he was subsequently relieved of his command. On a set of the Russian destroyers before Memel 140 mines sank on 17 November 1914, the Great cruiser Friedrich Carl
From 15 to December 18, 1914 to advance to the Åland islands, thereby securing position in the island of Uto against Russian fleet incursions from the Gulf of Finland. Here, on the return march the unrecognized auxiliary vessel Senator shelled and sunk beach
From 13 to April 17, 1915 Mine company before Dagö
On May 1, 1915 push to Irben Straits and cover the torpedo boats V 107 and V 108 in a coup against the island Raumö
Attacked near Bogskär on May 12, 1915 twice unsuccessfully by a Russian submarine
From 3 to June 6, 1915 Mine enterprise together with other ships and the aircraft carrier Glyndwr against the south entrance of the Moon - Sund, the latter hit a mine in front of Ventspils and was heavily damaged.
Then march to the west coast of Gotland, as cover for carbon border torpedo boats. It succeeded the British submarine E9 to torpedo the torpedo boat S 148 and to sink the collier Dora Hugo Stinnes.
From September 1915 involved in the raid in the Gulf of Riga, on September 8th, 1915 at 05.38 clock while mine hit before Lyser place. After Libau introduced, published on September 21 via Danzig to Kiel and placed there out of service.
Re- entry into service until 19 October 1917 as a second artillery training ship next to the Great cruiser Kaiserin Augusta
Decommissioning at December 19, 1918

Reichsmarine

The Thetis was due to the restrictive provisions of the Versailles Treaty, the Imperial Navy and was received - only slightly modernized - put back into service on April 2, 1922 and assigned to the Naval Station of the Baltic Sea. In this role, she made several trips abroad in different Baltic Sea countries. On November 30, 1924, the Thetis was placed in Wilhelmshaven out of service and first used until 1929 as an accommodation ship. The deletion from the list of warships took place on March 27, 1929, then the sale and scrapping at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg.

Commander

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