V1-class destroyer
Class of Imperial German Navy torpedo boats
title: "V1-class destroyer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["destroyer-classes", "v1-class-destroyers"] description: "Class of Imperial German Navy torpedo boats" topic_path: "general/destroyer-classes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V1-class_destroyer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Class of Imperial German Navy torpedo boats ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| section1 | {{Infobox ship/image |
| image | SMS V 5.jpg |
| image_caption | SMS V5 underway |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/class overview |
| name | V1 class |
| operators | * |
| *{{Navy | Greece |
| total_ships_planned | 26 |
| total_ships_completed | 26 |
| total_ships_lost | 8 |
| total_ships_retired | 18 |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| type | Destroyer |
| displacement | 570 tonnes |
| length | 70.2 m |
| beam | 7.6 m |
| draught | 3.1 m |
| speed | 32 kn |
| complement | 74 men and officers |
| armament | *2 × 8.8 cm/30 guns |
| *4 × {{convert | 50 |
| :: |
|section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=SMS V 5.jpg |image_caption=SMS V5 underway
|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview |name=V1 class |builders= |operators=*
|class_before= |class_after= |subclasses= |cost= |built_range= |in_service_range= |in_commission_range= |total_ships_building= |total_ships_planned=26 |total_ships_completed=26 |total_ships_canceled= |total_ships_active= |total_ships_laid_up= |total_ships_lost=8 |total_ships_retired=18 |total_ships_preserved=
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=Destroyer |displacement=570 tonnes |length=70.2 m |beam=7.6 m |height= |draught=3.1 m |power= |propulsion= |speed=32 kn |range= |endurance= |complement= 74 men and officers |sensors= |EW= |armament=*2 × 8.8 cm/30 guns
- 4 × 50 cm torpedo tubes |armour= |notes=
The German V1-class torpedo boats was a class of 26 large torpedo boats in service with the Imperial German Navy, Reichsmarine, Kriegsmarine and Royal Hellenic Navy in the early 20th century.
Design
In 1911, the Imperial German Navy placed orders for a flotilla of twelve torpedo boats as part of its shipbuilding programme for that year, with one half flotilla of six ordered from AG Vulcan, and six from Germaniawerft. The 1911 torpedo boats were smaller than those ordered in recent years in order to be more manoeuvrable and so work better with the fleet, which resulted in the numbering series for torpedo boats being restarted. The reduction in size resulted in the ships' seaworthiness being adversely affected, with the 1911 torpedo boats and the similar craft of the 1912 programme acquiring the disparaging nickname "Admiral Lans' cripples".
The six Vulcan-built ships, the V1 class, ship was 71.1 m long overall and 70.2 m at the waterline, with a beam of 7.6 m and a draught of 3.11 m. Displacement was 569 t normal and 697 t deep load. Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boilers fed steam to two direct-drive steam turbines rated at 17000 PS, giving a design speed of 32 kn. 107 t of coal and 78 t of oil were carried, giving a range of 1190 nmi at 17 kn or 490 nmi at 29 kn.
Armament consisted of two 8.8 cm/30 naval guns in single mounts fore and aft, together with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with one reload torpedo carried. Up to 18 mines could be carried. Crew was 74 officers and other ranks.
Ships
Imperial German Navy
::data[format=table]
| Vessel | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{SMS | V1 | 2}} | 11 Sep 1911 |
| {{SMS | V2 | 2}} | 14 Oct 1911 |
| {{SMS | V3 | 2}} | 15 Nov 1911 |
| {{SMS | V4 | 2}} | 23 Dec 1911 |
| V5 (i) | 22 May 1912 | - | Sold to Greece, Jul 1912 as {{ship |
| V6 (i) | 29 Feb 1912 | - | Sold to Greece, Jul 1912 as {{ship |
| {{SMS | G7 | 2}} | 7 Nov 1911 |
| {{SMS | G8 | 2}} | 21 Dec 1911 |
| {{SMS | G9 | 2}} | 31 Jan 1912 |
| {{SMS | G10 | 2}} | 15 Mar 1912 |
| {{SMS | G11 | 2}} | 23 Apr 1912 |
| {{SMS | G12 | 2}} | 15 Juli 1912 |
| :: |
1912 Program (VII Flotilla) On completion, these vessels formed the VII Torpedo Boat Flotilla of the High Seas Fleet. ::data[format=table]
| Vessel | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Dec 1911 | 2 Jul 1912 | sunk 08.56 hrs 6 Nov 1914 in following a torpedo explosion (9 killed). | |
| 2 Mar 1912 | 1 Nov 1912 | sunk by internal explosion, 19 Feb 1915 in the Jade in (11 killed); raised, 1915 and scrapped, Wilhelmshaven. | |
| 23 Mar 1912 | 1 Nov 1912 | mined 21 Aug 1917 in the English Channel in ; removed from service as beyond repair, 20 Sep 1917 and scrapped, Ghent. | |
| 20 Apr 1912 | 1 Oct 1912 | mined and sunk 18.15 hrs, 20 Jan 1918 in (80 killed). | |
| 22 Jun 1912 | 7 Dec 1912 | mined and sunk 16 May 1917 in (25 killed). | |
| 10 Aug 1912 | 12 Jan 1913 | to Reichsmarine, 1919; collided with battleship {{SMS | |
| 17 Oct 1912 | 29 Mar 1913 | to Reichsmarine, 1919; stricken from Fleet list, 1929; sold 31 Mar 1931; scrapped, Kiel, 1935. | |
| 4 Dec 1912 | 1 Nov 1913 | sunk in action with , 04.00 hrs 5 Jun 1917 off Flanders Coast in (49 killed). | |
| 11 Jan 1913 | 20 Jun 1913 | rammed and sunk by 21 Apr 1915 in (36 killed). | |
| 15 Feb 1913 | 23 Jul 1913 | mined and sunk 21.35 hrs 26 Mar 1916 in (76 killed). | |
| 29 Mar 1913 | 1 Nov 1913 | to Reichsmarine, 1919; renumbered T 123 16 Mar 1932; renamed Komet, 23 Apr 1939; control vessel for radio-controlled target vessel {{SMS | |
| 28 Jun 1913 | 27 Aug 1913 | surrendered to the UK at Cherbourg, 28 Apr 1920; stranded on the south coast, 1920; later scrapped. | |
| :: |
1912 Supplementary order Replacements for the two vessels sold to Greece in 1912. ::data[format=table]
| Vessel | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{SMS | V5 | 2}} (ii) | 25 Apr 1913 |
| (ii) | 28 Feb 1913; | 17 May 1913 | to Reichsmarine, 1919; deleted from Fleet list, 27 Mar 1929; scrapped, Wilhelmshaven |
| :: |
History
The ships were ordered from Germany in 1912. The ships V1 through V4 served as V-class destroyers in the Imperial German Navy. The ships that served in the Greek Navy had been assigned German numbers V5 and V6, but were purchased before entering service in the German Navy, from the German shipyard Vulcan AG in Stettin, when the Balkan Wars were under-way (they were replaced in the German service with another V5 and V6). They were the first ships of the fleet that had steam turbines.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/German-V-class-destroyers-silhouette.gif" caption="Silhouette of the ''V1'' class"] ::
Later, during World War I, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente and, due to Greece's neutrality the two ex-German V-class ships were seized by the Allies in October 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the French Navy from 1917–18. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in the Aegean Sea.
The two ships were stricken in 1919 and scrapped in 1922.
Notes
Citations
References
References
- {{Harvnb. Gardiner. Gray. 1985
- {{Harvnb. Gardiner. Gray. 1985
- {{Harvnb. Gröner. 1983
- "Hellenic Navy website".
- [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/greek_navy.htm battleships and cruisers website]
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