SMS Elbing

The SMS "Elbing" was a German "Pillau" class light cruiser, named after the East Prussian city of Elbing. Intended for the Russian navy under the name "Admiral Newelski" (named after the discoverer of the insularity of Sakhalin), the ship was built at F. Schichau-Werft in Danzig in 1913-1914. Following the outbreak of World War I, the ship was confiscated and launched on 21 November 1914 as the SMS "Elbing".

Design

"Elbing" was originally intended to be fitted with Russian 13 cm guns, but was instead equipped with the new German 15 cm guns, she and her sister SMS "Pillau" being the first German light cruisers to be fitted with them. This delayed her deployment until September 1915.

ervice history

Under the command of Commander Madlung, the ship participated in the Battle of Jutland from May 31 to June 1 of 1916, where she was the first to open fire, registering a hit at extreme range on HMS "Galatea" (the shell did not explode). Together with the light cruisers "Hamburg", "Stuttgart" and "Rostock", she then engaged a flotilla of British destroyers, receiving a heavy hit with a loss of 4 dead and 12 wounded.

During the night of 31 May to 1 June, "Elbing" collided with the German battleship "Posen", quickly taking heavy water, listing rapidly and losing all propulsion. Efforts to contain the damage failed, and the ship was scuttled by her crew in the early morning hours.

External links

* [http://www.german-navy.de/hochseeflotte/ships/smallcruiser/elbing/tech.html Data page from www.german-navy.de]
* [http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/sms_elbing.htm S.M.S. "Elbing"] de icon
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/cruisers/sms-pillau.html "Pillau" Class Cruisers]