SMS Ariadne (1871)

SMS ''Ariadne'' was a steam corvette of the German ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy). She was the lead ship of the , which included two other ships, and . Ordered as part of a naval expansion program after the Austro-Prussian War, ''Ariadne'' was laid down in September 1868, launched in July 1871, and was commissioned in November 1872. ''Ariadne'' was a small vessel, armed with a battery of just eight guns.

''Ariadne'' went on four major overseas cruises during her career. The first, from late 1874 to late 1876, saw the ship visit Chinese waters where she protected German shipping from pirate attacks. During the second, from late 1877 to late 1879, ''Ariadne'' operated off South America and the central Pacific Ocean, where her captain negotiated a series of trade agreements with local chiefs. In 1880–1881, the ship went to South American waters to protect German interests during the War of the Pacific between Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, and in 1884–1885, she operated off West Africa, where she negotiated the acquisition of a protectorate in what is now Guinea.

After returning to Germany in 1885, ''Ariadne'' was reassigned as a training ship for apprentice seamen, a role she performed for the next five years. During this period, she went on training cruises to the Caribbean Sea, conducted training in the Baltic Sea, and participated in fleet exercises in German waters. She was decommissioned in September 1890, stricken from the naval register in April 1891, and sold to ship breakers in October.

Design

The three ''Ariadne''-class corvettes were ordered as part of the fleet plan of 1867, an expansion program aimed at strengthening the Prussian Navy in the wake of the Austro-Prussian War. The plan called for a total of twenty screw corvettes. The design for ''Ariadne'' was prepared in 1869.

''Ariadne'' was long overall, with a beam of and a draft of forward. She displaced at full load. The ship's crew consisted of 12 officers and 220 enlisted men. She was powered by a single marine steam engine that drove one 4-bladed screw propeller, with steam provided by four coal-fired fire-tube boilers, which gave her a top speed of at . She had a cruising radius of at a speed of . As built, ''Ariadne'' was equipped with a full ship rig, but this was later reduced to a barque rig.

''Ariadne'' was armed with a battery of six 22- caliber (cal.) breech-loading guns and two 23-cal. guns. In 1882, she had four Hotchkiss revolver cannon installed.

Service history

Construction and early career in home waters

''Ariadne'' was laid down in September 1868 at the ''Königliche Werft'' (Royal Shipyard) in Danzig. Work was delayed by the Franco-Prussian War and she was launched on 21 July 1871; during the launching ceremony, she was christened after the Greek goddess Ariadne by the shipyard director, ''Kapitän zur See'' (''KzS''—Captain at Sea) Franz Kinderling. She was commissioned into the fleet on 23 November 1872. She thereafter began sea trials, during which a number of defects were discovered that required repeated repairs. She was finally ready for service with the fleet by Spring of 1873.

On 15 April, ''Ariadne'' finally received her full crew to take her to Wilhelmshaven, where she joined the training squadron for training exercises. While in the outer Jade Bay, she and the other ships of the fleet were reviewed by a commission from the ''Reichstag'' on 23 May. She then visited Norway in company with the steam frigate . The training squadron was disbanded on 11 September, and on 13 October ''Ariadne'' was decommissioned at what was now the ''Kaiserliche Werft'' (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig to have her rigging reduced.

''Ariadne'' returned to service in 1874 and conducted trials to test her new rigging. On 6 June, she joined the training squadron, which at the time consisted of the ironclad warships and , the gunboat , and the aviso , commanded by ''Konteradmiral'' (''KAdm''—Rear Admiral) Ludwig von Henk. The ships conducted maneuvers, shooting drills, sail training, and landing exercises. Later in the year, ''Ariadne'' accompanied Crown Prince Friedrich to Britain, which included a stop in Cowes on the island of Portland. After the ship returned to Germany, she stopped in Danzig Bay to rejoin the training squadron. She then went to Danzig and later Wilhelmshaven to prepare for an overseas deployment.

First overseas deployment

On 5 October, ''Ariadne'' left Wilhelmshaven to begin her cruise to East Asia. She transited the Suez Canal and arrived in Singapore on 24 December. She remained there until 4 January 1875, when she left for Manila in the Philippines, before proceeding on to Hong Kong, where she replaced the corvette as the station ship in China. At the time, Chinese pirates were a major problem and the Qing government refused to address the problem. European shipping companies therefore demanded that the fleets of their national governments intervene to stop the attacks. That year, the German government ordered the frigate and the gunboat to join ''Ariadne''.

The three ships patrolled off the coast between Canton and Taku before arriving at Whampoa on 12 September, where ''Ariadne'' and ''Cyclop'' launched a retaliatory raid against a group of pirates that had attacked the German schooner ''Anna''. ''Ariadne'' conducted a hydrographic survey around Amoy in early 1876, and in April, the three ships in Chinese waters united in Hong Kong. They were joined by the frigate , whose captain, ''KzS'' Alexander von Monts, became the squadron commander. Later that year, on 1 July, ''Ariadne'' was replaced by her sister ship, , allowing ''Ariadne'' to begin the voyage back to Germany on 17 July. She passed through the Suez Canal and arrived in Wilhelmshaven on 20 October; she was decommissioned there ten days later.

Second overseas deployment

''Ariadne'' was given a thorough overhaul that lasted until late 1877; she was recommissioned on 15 October for another overseas cruise, this time to Central America and the central Pacific Ocean. She left Germany on 30 October, her departure having been delayed by heavy storms. Bad weather forced her to stop in Margate, Great Britain, to seek shelter. She was able to resume her voyage only on 16 December. ''Ariadne'' sailed to Funchal, Madeira and then proceeded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she arrived in January 1878. She then sailed to Punta Arenas, Chile, to replenish her coal, but on arrival her crew discovered that the local depot had no coal. The crew had to cut down trees to burn in the boilers instead.

''Ariadne'' visited several islands in the Gulf of Penas before continuing on to Valparaiso, where she rendezvoused with the corvette . The two ships sailed north to Panama, where they met ''Elisabeth''; the three ships formed a squadron under the command of ''Elisabeth''s captain, ''KzS'' Wilhelm von Wickede. They then sailed to Nicaragua, where the previous year a dispute with Germany had resulted in the German ambassador being attacked. ''Ariadne'' then sailed independently to Panama, where she received the order to leave South America and cross the Pacific. She sailed to the Galápagos Islands and then to the Marquesas Islands, where she visited the islands of Nuku Hiva and Fatu Hiva. ''Ariadne'' then sailed to Tahiti and visited the town of Papeete, where her commander, ''Korvettenkapitän'' (''KK''—Corvette Captain) Bartholomäus von Werner assured the local government that Germany had no intent of colonizing the islands.

''Ariadne'' arrived in Apia, Samoa on 23 June. Under pressure from the United States, two Samoan chiefs had unilaterally repudiated the trade agreement they had signed with Germany. ''Ariadne'' was tasked with punishing the chiefs, and she sent men ashore to capture the towns of Saluafata and Falealili on the north coast of the island of Upolu. ''Ariadne'' left Samoa on 16 March to go to Sydney, Australia, where Werner informed Berlin of his activities. The ship also picked up the German consul Weber and, departing Sydney on 20 October, began a tour of the Melanesian and Micronesian islands. The ship visited Nukuʻalofa in the Tonga Islands from 26 to 29 October and Levuka and Tariani in the Fiji Islands from 30 October to 2 November. On 13 November, while in the Ellice Islands, Werner concluded trade agreements with the islands of Funafuti and Vaitupu.

While visiting the Gilbert Islands, ''Ariadne'' had to conduct hydrographic surveys to correct the navigational charts of the area. In the Marshall Islands, Werner negotiated another trade and friendship agreement with the main island of Jaluit on 29 November. The treaty also allocated part of the port as a coaling station for German ships. On 11 December, ''Ariadne'' stopped in Mioko Island