SMS V4
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SMS ''V4''), group=lower-alpha was a
V1-class torpedo boat The German ''V1''-class torpedo boats was a class of 26 large torpedo boats in service with the Imperial German Navy, Reichsmarine, Kriegsmarine and Royal Hellenic Navy in the early 20th century. Design In 1911, the Imperial German Navy placed ...
of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was built by AG Vulcan, completing in 1912. She served in the First World War and was sunk at the
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
on 1 June 1916.


Construction and design

In 1911, the Imperial German Navy placed orders for a flotilla of 12 torpedo boats as part of its shipbuilding programme for that year, with one half flotilla of six ordered from AG Vulcan, and six from Germaniawerft. The 1911 torpedo boats were smaller than those ordered in recent years in order to be more manoeuvrable and so work better with the fleet, which resulted in the numbering series for torpedo boats being restarted. The reduction in size resulted in the ships' seaworthiness being adversely affected. ''V4'' was launched from Vulcan's
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
, Prussia (now
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
in Poland) shipyard on 23 December 1911 and commissioned on 15 June 1912. The ship was
long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...
and at the waterline, with a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draught of .
Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was normal and deep load. Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boilers fed steam to two direct-drive
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s rated at , giving a design speed of . of coal and of oil were carried, giving a range of at or at . Armament consisted of two SK L/30 naval guns in single mounts fore and aft, together with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with one reload torpedo carried. Up to 18
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
s could be carried. In 1916 the L/30 guns were replaced by more powerful SK L/45 guns. The ship had a crew of 74 officers and other ranks.


Service

In May 1914 ''V4'' was part of the 10th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. On 28 August 1914, a British force of destroyers and cruisers supported by battlecruisers made a sortie into the Heligoland Bight in order to ambush German torpedo boats on patrol, which caused the Battle of Heligoland Bight. The 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, including ''V4'', were sent out from Heligoland to investigate sightings of British submarines (which were deployed as bait to draw out German ships), and ran into several British destroyers. The Flotilla then turned away to try and escape the trap, but ''V4''s sister ship could not make full speed and was hit several times by British shells before the arrival of the German cruiser allowed the 5th Flotilla to escape. In total, however, three German light cruisers (, and ) and one torpedo boat of the German outer screen () had been sunk. ''V4'' was also present at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915. At the
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
on 31 May–1 June 1916, ''V4'' remained part of the 10th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, operating in support of the main German battle fleet. At about 03:15 hr CET (i.e. 02:15 hr GMT) the 5th Flotilla was accompanying the German Fleet on its journey back to base when a large underwater explosion, probably due to a floating mine, blew the bows off ''V4'', killing 18 and wounding four. After the survivors were rescued, sister ship scuttled ''V4'' with shellfire and a torpedo.


See also

*
German ocean-going torpedo boats of World War I The German large, or ocean-going, torpedo boats and destroyers of World War I were built by the Imperial German Navy between 1899 and 1918 as part of its quest for a “High Seas” or ocean-going fleet. At the start of the First World War Germany ...


Notes


Citations


References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:V4 Torpedo boats of the Imperial German Navy Ships built in Stettin 1911 ships World War I torpedo boats of Germany Maritime incidents in 1916 Ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland V1-class destroyers