SMS Cap Trafalgar
SS Cap Trafalgar was a German ocean liner launched in 1913 for the Hamburg Süd line. In 1914, she was converted for use as an auxiliary cruiser during World War I. She was the first armed merchant cruiser sunk by a ship of the same class; she was destroyed by HMS Carmania,[2] also a converted ocean liner, in a furious action in the South Atlantic on 14 September 1914. It was the world's first battle between former ocean liners.[3] Early careerThe passenger liner SS Cap Trafalgar was built at the AG Vulcan Shipyard on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany for the Hamburg-South America Line for their service between Germany and the River Plate (Río de la Plata). She was named after the Spanish Cape Trafalgar, scene of the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. A three-funneled vessel of 613 ft (187 m) length and 72 ft (22 m) beam, she measured 18,710 GRT and could carry nearly 1,600 passengers (400 1st class, 276 2nd class, 913 3rd or steerage class. A triple-screw vessel, her outer propellers were powered by two triple-expansion steam engines with the centre one driven by an exhaust turbine.[4][5] When Cap Trafalgar began her maiden voyage on 10 April 1914 from Hamburg for South American ports in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, she was the largest vessel traveling on the South American service and among the most luxurious.[4][5] Her upper decks included a swimming pool and a cafe in a greenhouse while her 1st class halls and stairwells were full of beautiful gold filigree, and her staterooms were furnished in the highest fashion of the period. She was the epitome of pomp, elegance, and Germanic engineering but when war was declared, her career among the socialites and wealthy of the world ended.[6] Sinking
   When war began in Europe in August 1914, Cap Trafalgar was in Buenos Aires and was laid up pending orders and as already planned, the German Imperial Navy requisitioned her as an auxiliary cruiser. On 18 August she arrived in Montevideo for coal and then sailed to rendezvous at the remote Brazilian island of Trindade, 500 mi (800 km) east of Brazil, with the gunboat SMS Eber, which transferred naval officers, ammunition and weapons to the liner. At the same time, her third funnel, which was a dummy, was removed. She was armed with two 10.5 cm SK L/40 naval guns and six 37 mm QF guns, manned by experienced naval personnel, and given the mission to sink British merchant shipping.[5][7] She was given the codename Hilfskreuzer B (Auxiliary Cruiser B) and was commanded by Korvettenkapitän Wirth. After a fruitless initial cruise, Cap Trafalgar arrived on 13 September at a secret supply base at Trindade Island to take on fuel from a German colliers.[citation needed] The RMS Carmania was a British ocean liner built for the Cunard Line launched in 1905. Following the outbreak of World War I, Carmania was converted into an armed merchant cruiser with eight 4.7 in (120 mm) guns, and put under the command of Captain Noel Grant.[8] It was at this base on 14 September that the Carmania found the Cap Trafalgar, having been sent to flush out German colliers and small warships using the inhospitable island as a base against British merchant shipping. Carmania spotted smoke early in the morning and some hours later was able to surprise the German ship with two colliers in the island's only harbour. While disguised as the Carmania, Cap Trafalgar's only battle was against the real Carmania.[9] Some accounts incorrectly allege that the Carmania was itself disguised as the Cap Trafalgar.[a] Both captains realized that to win, their respective vessels required room to manoeuvre and so, the captains had separately steamed several miles from the island to gain that space. The Cap Trafalgar also sent out encoded messages in German, announcing the engagement, and the position as 35 degrees west, 26 degrees south, with a NNW heading. Then the ships turned towards each other and the Carmania began firing, but failed to score any hits, while the Cap Trafalgar landed the first shot. Carmania initially fared worse and in the ensuing two hours was hit 79 times, holed below the waterline and had the bridge destroyed by shellfire. However, as the range closed her own guns began to inflict damage, and fires raged on both ships, as sailors lined the rails firing machine guns at their opposite numbers as the ships came within a few hundred yards of each other. Neither ship had the fire control system or ammunition hoists of a warship, so ammunition had to be brought to the guns by hand while the guns fired directly, as they could.[11] Just as it seemed that the fires on Carmania were out of control, Cap Trafalgar veered off, lowering lifeboats as she heeled over to port. A shell below the waterline had opened several compartments, and the ship was rapidly sinking, although the colliers later rescued 279 sailors. Fifty-one were killed in the fighting or the sinking (other reports[which?] say sixteen or seventeen people died), including Captain Wirth. Carmania was also heavily damaged, listing severely and burning, with nine dead and many wounded. It was at this point that the German armed merchant cruiser SS Kronprinz Wilhelm arrived, however, With British warships nearby, its captain feared a trap, since many ships had heard the SOS calls of the Cap Trafalgar, which, though in German code, had been supplemented by messages from the Carmania with the British code. The Kronprinz Wilhelm sailed away without engaging.[citation needed] The Carmania was listing badly and fires burned, while the bridge communication and navigation equipment were largely destroyed. She limped south, hoping to meet a British cruiser in the area. When rescue arrived on the 15th, the ship and crew likely had only a day or two before sinking. The next day Carmania was escorted into Pernambuco by other Royal Navy vessels even as Cap Trafalgar survivors were rescued by the collier Eleonore Woermann and taken to Buenos Aires. Most were interned for the duration of the war on Argentina's Martín García Island.[4] It appears that the German base at Trindade ceased to be maintained after this battle.[12] See alsoNotes
Citations
References
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
