SMS Leopard (1917)

SMS ''Leopard'' was a British cargo steamship that was built in 1912 as ''Yarrowdale'', captured in 1916 by the Imperial German Navy, converted into a commerce raider in Germany, and sunk with all hands by the Royal Navy in 1917.

''Yarrowdale''s British operator was Robert Mackill & Co of Glasgow, who gave this name to at least three different ships. This was the second of the three.

''Leopard'' was the last commerce raider that Germany sent out in the First World War. After the Royal Navy sank her, Germany relied entirely on U-boats to sink Allied merchant ships.

Building

William Dobson & Co built ''Yarrowdale'' at Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne as yard number 178. She was launched on 3 May 1912 and completed that June. Her registered length was , her beam was and her depth was . She had two decks. Her tonnages were , , and 9,800 tons displacement. ''Yarrowdale'' had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine that was rated at 429 NHP and gave her a speed of .

''Yarrowdale''

The Mackill Steamship Company owned ''Yarrowdale'' and Robert Mackill and Company managed her. She was registered in Glasgow. Her UK official number was 133049 and her code letters were HWBR.

On 11 December 1916 the German commerce raider captured ''Yarrowdale'' in the Atlantic Ocean. ''Möwe''s commander, KK Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, saw ''Yarrowdale''s potential for conversion into a commerce raider. He put a German prize crew and 400 interned Allied seafarers aboard her, and she evaded Allied Blockade to reach Germany.

''Leopard''

Kaiserliche Werft Kiel converted ''Yarrowdale'' into the commerce raider ''Leopard''. She was armed with five 15 cm SK L/40 naval guns, four 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns and two torpedo tubes, all concealed. She was disguised as ''Rena'', a cargo ship that had been built in England in 1911 for owners in neutral Norway, and whose size and appearance was similar to ''Yarrowdale''s. This was the second time that Germany had disguised a commerce raider as ''Rena''. The first was a year earlier, which HMS sank before she had a chance to attack any Allied shipping.

On 9 January ''Leopard'' was commissioned into the German Navy under the command of KK Hans von Laffert. Her complement was 319 officers and ratings. She passed through the Little Belt on 7 March 1917, and then through the Kattegat, Skagerrak and North Sea.

Loss

By 16 March ''Leopard'' was in the Norwegian Sea, where at 1145 hrs the armoured cruiser and armed boarding steamer sighted her. At 1400 hrs ''Achilles'' overtook ''Leopard'', ordered her to stop, and sent ''Dundee'' to inspect her. ''Dundee'' lowered a boat, in which she sent a boarding party of an officer and five ratings to inspect ''Leopard''.

''Leopard'' kept trying to turn broadside-on to ''Dundee'', ready to bring her concealed guns to bear. ''Dundee'' kept trying to keep astern of ''Leopard'' to prevent this. ''Dundee''s commander suspected that ''Leopard'' had twin screws, and was using them to turn the ship. However, this was not the case.

At 1540 or 1545 hrs ''Leopard'' opened her port gun ports, revealing her guns. ''Dundee'' immediately opened fire at a range of about . The British ship's two guns immediately hit ''Leopard''s gun deck and engine room, while her one 3-pounder gun aimed at her bridge. ''Achilles'' opened fire at a range of . ''Dundee'' fired 44 4-inch shells and 25 3-pounder shells before the German ship fired her first shot.

''Leopard'' then fired three salvoes at ''Dundee''. The first two fell short, and the third overshot. Thereafter, ''Leopard''s guns fired only singly. None of the shots hit ''Dundee'', except with fragments of shrapnel. ''Leopard'' also fired three torpedoes at ''Dundee'', but all missed.

At 1615 hrs ''Dundee'' ran out of ammunition. ''Achilles'' continued firing. ''Leopard'' was on fire throughout, but one of her guns kept firing. At 1633 or 1635 hrs ''Leopard'' listed to port and sank with all hands: 319 officers and men. The six ''Dundee''s boarding party were reported missing; presumed captured by ''Leopard'' and killed either in the British bombardment or when the German raider sank.

Aftermath

Soon after the action a bottle was found, containing a message purporting to be from a member of ''Leopard''s crew who had thrown it overboard during the engagement. It bore the time and place and read "In action with British cruiser. Fighting for the glory and honour of Germany. A last greeting to our relatives."

After ''Leopard'' was sunk, only days into her first patrol, Germany ceased trying to send surface raiders to attack Allied shipping. The German Navy had resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February, and after ''Möwe'' returned to port on 22 March, Germany relied on U-boats alone to sink Allied shipping.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopard (auxiliary cruiser)

1912 ships
Auxiliary cruisers of the Imperial German Navy
Maritime incidents in 1917
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built on the River Tyne
Shipwrecks of Norway
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Steamships of Germany
Warships lost with all hands
World War I commerce raiders
World War I shipwrecks