SMS Seeadler (auxiliary cruiser)

: "This page is about the commerce raider windjammer. For the WWI long range cruiser see SMS Seeadler".

SMS "Seeadler" (Ger.: sea eagle) was a three-master windjammer (1916 to 1917). She was one of the last sailing ships used in war when she served as an merchant raider with Imperial Germany.

Originally named "Pass of Balmaha", she was built by Robert Duncan Company, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888. She was a 1,571-ton steel-hulled sailing vessel 245 feet in length owned by the Harris-Irby Cotton Company, Boston. She was captured by a German submarine.

As of 1916 German warships were blockaded by the Allies in the North Sea, and any commerce raiders who succeeded in breaking out lacked foreign or colonial bases for re-supply of coal. This gave rise to the idea of equipping a sailing ship instead, since it would not require coaling.

The "Seeadler" was equipped with an auxiliary engine, hidden lounges, accommodation for additional crew and prisoner sailors, two hidden 105 mm cannons that could emerge from the deck "Jules Verne"-style, two hidden heavy machine guns, and rifles for boarding parties. These weapons were rarely fired, and many of the 15 ships encountered by the "Seeadler" were sunk with only one single accidental casualty on either side during the entire journey.

On 21 December 1916, she sailed under the command of Kapitänleutnant Felix von Luckner. The ship was disguised as a Norwegian wood carrier and succeeded in crossing the British blockading line despite being boarded for an inspection. The crew had been handpicked partly for their ability to speak Norwegian. During the next 225 days she captured 15 ships in the Atlantic and Pacific and led the British and US Navies on a merry chase.

Her journey ended wrecked on a reef at the island of Mopelia 450km from Tahiti in the Society Islands, part of French Polynesia. Luckner and some crew sailed for Fiji where they were captured and imprisoned. A French schooner, the "Lutece", of 126 tons was captured by the remaining crew on 5 September 1917. They sailed to Easter Island as "Fortuna", arriving on 4 October and running aground there, after which they were interned by the Chilean authorities.

Captured ships

Sixteen ships, totaling 30,099 tons, were captured by the "Seeadler" between 21 December 1916 and 8 September 1917. Unless otherwise noted, all vessels in the list were steamships .

*"Gladis Royle", 3,268 tons, captured and sunk January 9, 1917.
*"Lundy Island", 3,095 tons, captured and sunk on January 10, 1917.
*"Charles Gounod", 2,199 tons, French barque captured and sunk on January 21, 1917.
*"Perce", 364 tons, schooner captured and sunk on January 24, 1917.
*"Antonin", 3,071 tons, French barque captured and sunk on February 3, 1917.
*"Buenos Ayres", 1,811 tons, Italian sailing vessel captured and sunk on February 9, 1917.
*"Pinmore", 2,431 tons, schooner captured on February 19, 1917 and later sunk after being used to obtain supplies.
*"British Yeoman", 1,953 tons, sailing bark captured and sunk on February 26, 1917.
*"La Rochefoucauld", 2,200 tons, French barque captured and sunk on February 27, 1917.
*"Dupleix", 2,206 tons, French barque captured and sunk on March 5, 1917.
*"Horngarth", 3,609 tons, captured and sunk on March 11, 1917.
*"Cambronne", 1,833 tons, French barque captured and released March 21, arrived at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 30, 1917.
*"A. B. Johnson", 529 tons, United States schooner captured and sunk on June 14, 1917.
*"R. C. Slade", 673 tons, United States schooner captured and sunk on June 18, 1917.
*"Manila", 731 tons, United States schooner captured and sunk on July 8, 1917.
*"Lutece" - see above.

References

* [http://www.smsmoewe.com/ships/smsms78.htm Ships - "Pass of Balmaha" - "Seeadler"]