SMS Berlin: Difference between revisions

Among the handful of vessels permitted to [[Weimar Germany]] by the [[Treaty of Versailles]], {{lang|de|Berlin}} was initially used as a stationary [[training vessel]] before being modernized between 1921 and 1922. She thereafter served as a training ship for [[naval cadet]]s, and over the course of the mid-1920s, embarked a series of long-distance training cruises. The furthest of these, lasting from late 1927 to early 1929, saw the ship voyage as far as [[East Asia]]. She was [[ship commissioning|decommissioned]] in March 1929 and kept in reserve until 1935, when she was converted into a [[barracks ship]], a role she filled through [[World War II]]. After the war, she was loaded with [[chemical weapon]]s and scuttled in the [[Skagerrak]] in 19471946.

The ship was armed with ten [[10.5 cm SK L/40 naval gun|{{cvt|10.5|cm}} SK L/40 guns]] in single mounts. Two were placed sideprotected by sidea forwardcurved on thearmored [[forecastle]],deck six were located [[amidships]], three on either side, and two were placed side by side aft. The guns could engage targets out to {{convert(ship)|12200|m|yd|abbr=on}}. They were supplied with 1,500 rounds of ammunition, for 150 shells per gun. For defense against [[torpedo boatdeck]]s, she carried ten [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|{{cvt|3.7|cm}} Maxim gun]]s in individual mounts. Shethat was alsoup equipped with twoto {{convert|4580|cmmm|abbr=on|1}} [[torpedothick; tube]]sit withsloped fivedown [[torpedo]]es. They were submerged inat the hull on the [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]]. In 1915, {{lang|de|Berlin}} was modifiedsides to carryprovide 80a [[navalmeasure mine]]s.of Theprotection shipagainst wasenemy protected by an armored [[deck (ship)|deck]] that was up to {{convert|80|mm|abbr=on}} thickfire. The [[conning tower]] had {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} thick sides, and the guns were protected by {{cvt|50|mm|0}} thick [[gun shield]]s.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=102–103}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=55102}}

{{lang|de|Berlin}} was among the six light cruisers Germany was permitted to retain by the [[Treaty of Versailles]] that ended the war. She was initially used as a training [[hulk (ship)|hulk]] for [[fire room|boiler room]] crews; she was moved to Kiel on 16 December 1919 for this role, which she filled for the next year and a half. During this period, {{lang|de|[[Oberleutnant zur See]]}} (First Lieutenant) [[Clamor von Trotha]] served as the ship's commander from December 1920 to April 1921, when he was briefly replaced by ''KL'' [[Hans Walther]]. By mid-1921, the post-war German navy, the {{lang|de|[[Reichsmarine]]}} (Navy of the Realm) had decided to reactivate the vessel to serve as a [[training ship]] for [[naval cadet]]s and she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven, where she was decommissioned on 10 June and dry-docked for a thorough overhaul and modernization. The work included replacing her original ram bow with a more modern [[clipper]] bow. She was recommissioned on 2 July 1922, under the command of ''KzS''[[Kapitän zur See]] (KzS—Captain at Sea) [[Wilfried von Loewenfeld]], and was assigned to the Naval Training Inspectorate. Later that year, she embarked on a training cruise that included port calls in Scandinavian and Dutch cities. The following year saw a lengthy training cruise during which the ship visited Norway, Iceland, and the [[Faroe Islands]]. In October 1923, ''KzS'' [[Paul Wülfing von Ditten]] replaced Loewenfeld.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|pp=56, 59}}

After the fleet maneuvers that concluded with a [[naval review]] for President [[Paul von Hindenburg]] on 14 September, Hindenburg moved from the battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}} to {{lang|de|Berlin}}, which carried him to [[Königsberg]] in [[East Prussia]]. After {{lang|de|Berlin}}{{'}}s sister {{SMS|Hamburg||2}} was decommissioned earlier that year on 30 June, the decision was made to return {{lang|de|Berlin}} to the Naval Training Inspectorate. She was reassigned on 1 October, and she began her furthest training cruise on 1 December. This voyage, which lasted some fifteen months, took the ship as far as [[East Asia]].{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=59}} During the cruise, she stopped in [[Fremantle]], Australia.<ref>{{cite news |title=German Cruiser to Visit Fremantle |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16484652 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=7 August 1928 |access-date=27 October 2012}}</ref> {{lang|de|Berlin}} arrived back in [[Cuxhaven]] on 7 March 1929; from there, she was moved to Kiel, where she was decommissioned for the last time on 27 March. She remained in reserve until 1 October 1935, at which time the German navy, by then renamed the {{lang|de|[[Kriegsmarine]]}} (War Navy), struck the ship from the [[naval register]] and then employed the vessel as a [[barracks ship]] in Kiel.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|pp=56, 59–60}} There, she survived [[World War II]]; in the aftermath of the war, she was loaded with chemical weapons and on 28 May 1945, she sailed from Kiel with a number of smaller vessels. She was then scuttled in the [[Skaggerak]] to dispose of them, on 31 May 19471946.{{sfn|Gröner|p=104}}{{sfn|HildebrandDodson & Cant|p=195}}{{efn|The historians Adrian Dodson and Serena Cant express doubt that {{lang|de|Berlin}} was used to dispose of chemical weapons, Röhrpointing to the fact that the ship was scuttled with demolition charges, which was not done with vessels that did carry chemical weapons to avoid dispersing the toxic gas. They note that in official records, all vessels used to sink the weapons were cargo ships or unfinished warships that had significant internal storage. They state that while a number of sources repeat the claim that {{lang|de|Berlin}} (and other warships) were used for the chemical disposal effort, they seem to repeat the claim cited in Gröner.{{sfn|Dodson & SteinmetzCant|pp=56, 59–60196–197}}}}

| "SMS" stands for "{{lang|de|[[Seiner Majestät Schiff]]}}" ({{lang-langx|de|link=no|His Majesty's Ship}}).