Large Torpedo Boat of the Imperial German Navy
History German Empire Ordered 1914 Peacetime order Builder Germaniawerft , Kiel , Germany Launched 23 December 1914 Commissioned 30 July 1915 Fate Interned at Scapa Flow 22 November 1918 Scuttled at Scapa Flow 21 June 1919 General characteristics Class and type V25-class torpedo boat Displacement 1,051 tonnes Length 79.5 m (260 ft 10 in) Beam 8.33 m (27 ft 4 in) Draft 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in) (fwd) 3.45 m (11 ft 4 in) (aft) Speed 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h) Range 1,100 nautical miles at 20 knots (2,040 km at 37 km/h) Complement 83 officers and sailors Armament
SMS G38 was a 1913 Type Large Torpedo Boat (Großes Torpedoboot ) of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine ) during World War I , and the 14th ship of her class.
Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel , Germany , she was launched in December 1914.
G38 was assigned to the First Torpedo Boat Flotilla of the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine . When she participated in the Battle of Jutland she was assigned to escort the battlecruiser SMS Lützow . In this action, Lützow was severely damaged such that she was unable to return to German waters. After assisting SMS G37 , G40 and V45 in the evacuation of survivors, G38 was ordered to scuttle Lützow by launching two torpedoes into her.
After the end of hostilities, G38 was interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918 and scuttled along with most of the fleet on 21 June 1919. She was salvaged for scrap by Ernest Cox in 1924.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1919
Shipwrecks 1 Jan: HMY Iolaire 21 Jan: UC-40 30 Jan: Nimrod 7 Feb: HMS Erin's Isle 8 Feb: U-16 10 Feb: UC-91 18 Feb: Mirabeau 20 Feb: UC-71 22 Feb: U-21 7 Mar: HNoMS Thor 6 Apr: SMS Vulkan 15 Apr: U-118 17 Apr: USS Freehold 26 April: Narval , Kit , Kashalot 27 Apr: USS Courtney , USS Otis W. Douglas 28 Apr: USS Gypsum Queen , USS James April (unknown date): Borets za Svobodu 4 May: HMS Cupar 5 May: SMS Leipzig 2 Jun: Rucumilla 9 Jun: HMS L55 16 Jun: HMS Kinross 18 Jun: Oleg 21 Jun: Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow – SMS Bayern , SMS Bremse , SMS Brummer , SMS Cöln , SMS Dresden , SMS Derfflinger , SMS Emden , SMS Friedrich der Grosse , SMS G38 , SMS G39 , SMS G40 , SMS Hindenburg , SMS Grosser Kurfürst , SMS Kaiser , SMS Kaiserin , SMS Karlsruhe , SMS König , SMS König Albert , SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm , SMS Markgraf , SMS Moltke , SMS Prinzregent Luitpold , SMS S32 , SMS S36 , SMS S50 , SMS Seydlitz , SMS V45 , SMS V46 , SMS Von der Tann , SMS G102 28 Jun: Duchess of Richmond Jun (unknown date): Erinpura 27 Jul: USS May 30 Jul: USS G-2 13 Aug: Basilicata 18 Aug: Dvina 1 Sep: HMS Vittoria 4 Sep: HMS Verulam 8 Sep: Valbanera 9 Sep: USS St. Sebastian , USS SP-471 10 Sep: USS Coco , USS Katherine K. , USS Patrol No. 1 , USS Sea Hawk 11 Sep: USS Helena I 16 Sep: HMS M25 , HMS M27 , West Arvada 29 Sep: ML-18 , ML-62 , ML-191 , Ossifrage 30 Sep: August Helmerich 3 Oct: Frank O'Connor 7 Oct: Sizergh Castle 9 Oct: Daram 17 Oct: SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I 18 Oct: HMS H41 21 Oct Gavriil 31 Oct: Fazilka 13 Nov: Council Bluffs 22 Nov: Myron 24 Nov: Poltava 12 Dec: USS Kerwood 18 Dec: Cufic Unknown date: UB-14 Other incidents