SMS ''Amazone'' was a three-masted
sail
A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...
(
caravel
The caravel (Portuguese language, Portuguese: , ) is a small sailing ship developed by the Portuguese that may be rigged with just lateen sails, or with a combination of lateen and Square rig, square sails. It was known for its agility and s ...
) of the
Prussian Navy
The Prussian Navy (German language, German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German Language, German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867.
The Prussian N ...
('). Her
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
was laid down in
Grabow
Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...
near
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) 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 seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
in 1842 and she was
launched on 24 June 1843. ''Amazone'' sank in a storm on 14 November 1861 off the coast of the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
with 107 dead.
[Deutsche Militärgeschichte 1648-1939, Vol. VIII, p.45] She was reported to have collided with an
East Indiaman
East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
, which rescued the three survivors.
Among the dead were "almost all" of the naval cadets being trained to officer the fleet.
''Amazone'' was modelled on the , with a
ship displacement
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...
of 370 tonnes and a
length overall
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 is also ...
of . She had a complement of 145 men and was armed with twelve Swedish 18-pounders.
The ship served as a
training vessel
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...
for Prussian naval officers of the
Navigation School in
Danzig, therefore it came under the Ministry of Finance rather than the Ministry of War. Nevertheless, she flew the Prussian
war flag
A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...
.
References
External links
deutsche-schutzgebiete.de webpage about SMS Amazone(in German)
Shipwrecks in the North Sea
Ships built in Stettin
Maritime incidents in November 1861
1843 ships
Ships of the Prussian Navy
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