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- SMS Möwe during the Great War -
Great War>Ships
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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
SMS Möwe
16th January 1916 Naval Action The Action of 16 January 1916 was a single ship action of World War I. It was fought between a German auxiliary cruiser and a British merchant ship off the Portuguese islands of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean.Background
The most successful of German commerce raiders during the war, SMS Möwe was commanded by Korventtenkapitän Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien and was assigned to duty in the Atlantic. Möwe was originally a freighter launched in 1914 until converted in 1915. She displaced 9,800 tons and was armed with four 150-milimeter guns, one 105-millimeter gun and two torpedo tubes. Her opponent was the one gun merchant ship, SS Clan Mactavish of Great Britain laden with fur, meat and cotton.
Action
Möwe was steaming approximately 120 miles south of Madeira on 16 January 1916, with the merchant steamer SS Appam, a vessel previously captured by the Germans. They had installed a prize crew and transferred several dozen prisoners of war. At sunset, lookouts aboard Möwe sighted smoke on the horizon, a sure indication of a ship. Immediately, Kapitän Dohna-Schlodien ordered Appam to remain behind while he went to investigate. Several minutes later, at about 2100, Möwe came within a distance to where her lookouts could make out that the smoke had originated from a large merchant ship, later identified as the 5,816 gross ton Clan Mactavish of the Clan Line company. By the time Möwe came within close range, it was dark, so the Germans approached cautiously. Using a signal lamp, Dohna-Schlodien requested the steamer's name but the British responded by asking that the Germans first identify themselves. Dohna-Schlodien signaled that his ship was the SS Author, sailing from Liverpool to Natal. Möwe reportedly looked very similar to Author, which was sunk by the Germans a few weeks earlier. Clan Mactavish then signaled her name and that they were returning to Britain from Australia. This was the end for the merchantman, now identified as enemy, Kapitän Dohna-Schlodien crossed the steamer's bow and ordered her to halt, a signal which certainly shocked the unsuspecting Britons. Instead of stopping, the British altered course and increased speed, hoping to outrun the raider. Warning shots were fired, but they were ignored so a chase began. The one gun of the British ship, mounted on her stern, was manned and opened fire on the chasing Germans, but the shots were not well directed. Some splashed into the water near the auxiliary cruiser, but ultimately none struck the German vessel and they therefore suffered no damage or casualties in the engagement. The German sailors responded to the British with counter battery fire from their 150-millimeter guns, and for several moments the two vessels fought. Clan Mactavish fired at the pursuing Mowe, and during this she sent distress calls out which were received by the armoured cruiser HMS Essex. However, the telegraphist aboard the cruiser failed to inform his superiors of the action so no help was sent. Eventually, after taking several hits topside, the one gun Clan Mactavish began to burn and her captain signaled Möwe that they were surrendering. Möwe then maneuvered in for boarding. All of the German rounds were hits with the exception of the warning shots. The steamer was quickly seized, prisoners removed and charges set for scuttling. Within moments of boarding, the explosives laid in Clan Mactavish were detonated and she sank to the bottom of the ocean. Eighteen British sailors were killed in battle or just after and five others were wounded. The commander of Clan Mactavish was a Royal Navy captain and her gun was manned by two navy sailors, all three were captured among dozens of civilians. At this point, the Germans now held a total of over 500 Allied prisoners of war on Möwe and SS Appam.
Aftermath
After destroying the steamer the Germans reunited with Appam and set a westward course, thus avoiding any possibility of encountering the British cruisers in the area. Two of the cruisers were just over 100 miles from the battle area that night and could have been moved to a position of intercepting the Germans had the telegraphist aboard Essex responded. Möwe went on to sink several more Allied ships before returning home. Upon arrival, Kapitän Dohna-Schlodien received an Iron Cross second class. During her second cruise, Möwe defeated another one gun steamer in an action in the mid-Atlantic in March 1917.
10th March 1917 Naval Action -10th March 1917 The Action of 10 March 1917 was fought between the German merchant raider SMS Möwe and the armed New Zealand Shipping Company cargo ship SS Otaki. Although Otaki was sunk, Möwe was also badly damaged.Background
SMS Möwe was already famous. Her commander, Korvettenkapitän Count Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, had taken Möwe around the world in 1915 and early 1916, sinking several vessels and fighting one engagement with the British. With a veteran crew and ship, Kapitän Dohna-Schlodien ran the British blockade of Germany in December 1916 and headed for the mid-Atlantic, taking several vessels along the way.
Action
On 10 March 1917, after months at sea and now returning to Germany, Möwe was in open ocean. At about 0200, she encountered the 4,491-ton Pacific Steam Navigation Company vessel SS Esmerelda, which was sailing west to Baltimore. Esmerelda was stopped, her crew was taken off and then she was scuttled with explosives. Just then, a second merchant ship, SS Otaki, appeared on the horizon. She was a 7,420-gross-ton refrigerated cargo ship of the New Zealand Shipping Company sailing from London to New York. Her defence was a single 4.7 inch gun mounted aft with a Royal Navy commander and gun crew of two. Otaki carried a wireless and could have alerted the British to Möwe's position. In heavy seas and squalls Dohna-Schlodien immediately gave chase, and when she drew near, Dohna-Schlodien signalled Otaki to stop. Her master, Archibald Bisset Smith, refused to surrender his ship. The Germans fired warning shots and were answered with heavy fire from Otaki's bow 155-millimeter gun. Shot after shot pounded Möwe at a range of 2,000 yds. The New Zealanders badly damaged the raider before the Germans were capable of firing a shot in return. When Möwe began counter firing, her 150-millimeter shells were accurately directed. Several shells struck Otaki and after a battle that lasted around 20 minutes, she capsized and sank. The British colours were never struck. Lieutenant Smith directed his crew to abandon ship, but he stayed behind. By the end of the action, the German auxiliary cruiser was on fire, so her crew had to extinguish the flames as a matter of priority. Five crewmen and Smith went down with Otaki. The survivors were quickly rescued by the Germans. One of the dead was a 15-year-old midshipman and a plaque in Scotland commemorates his falling in action. Well over 200 prisoners were taken from Esmerelda and Otaki. Möwe suffered heavily as well. Most of Otaki's rounds struck topside and five men were killed, with another ten wounded.
Aftermath
The damage caused by Otaki started fires in Möwe's coal bunkers, which burned for two days and nearly reached the ship's magazine. She had already suffered serious flooding after being holed by Otaki's shells. This had required counter-flooding to correct the list and more was let in to quench the fires. Due to the damage his ship sustained, Dohna-Schlodien was forced to consider returning to Germany. Within a month the raider was back in friendly waters after running the British blockade a fourth and final time. Once again Dohna-Schlodien was rewarded accordingly. The survivors of Otaki and the crew of Esmerelda were taken to Brandenburg, where they remained prisoners for the rest of war. Möwe spent the remainder of the war serving with the German fleet in the Baltic Sea as a minelayer. Archibald Smith's actions were not fully recognized until after the end of the war. For "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty", he was given a posthumous promotion to (temporary) Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve so that he could be awarded the Victoria Cross for which as a civilian he was otherwise ineligible.
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Those known to have served on
SMS Möwe
during the Great War 1914-1918.
