SMS Geier |
|
USS Schurz |
Type: |
Cruiser (4th class) (Kaiserliche Marine) Gunboat (US Navy) |
Class: |
Bussard |
Builder: |
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven, Germany |
Hull Number: |
N/A |
Ordered: |
N/A |
Commissioned: |
October 24, 1895 (Kaiserliche Marine) September 15, 1917 (US Navy) |
Keel Laid: |
1894 |
Decommissioned: |
N/A |
Launched: |
October 18, 1894 |
Stricken: |
August 26, 1918 (from US Navy) |
Fate: |
Sunk June 21, 1918 after being rammed in foggy conditions by SS Florida. Location: North Atlantic, 32 miles south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. (34.11.218N - 76.36.127W) 1 crewman killed (Seaman 2nd Class Manuel Gouveia, Jr.), 214 survivors picked up by SS Florida and SS Saramacca. |
Dimensions, Machinery and Performance |
Length: |
254' |
Engines: |
2 three cylinder triple expansion |
Beam: |
32' 1" |
Boilers: |
Coal fired unknown number and type |
Draft: |
14' 2" |
Shafts: |
2 |
Displacement: |
1,630 std |
SHP: |
2,800 |
Speed: |
15.5 knots |
||
Crew: |
161 (Kaiserliche Marine) 197 (US Navy) |
Range: |
2,850 NM @ 9 knots |
Armament As Built |
|||
Number Carried
|
Type
|
Arrangement |
Maximum Range / Ceiling |
8 |
4.1"/35 |
single mounts |
13,340 yards @ 30° |
5 |
37mm revolver canon |
single mounts |
N/A |
2 |
14" (350mm) torpedo tubes |
single launchers |
440 yards @ 29 knots 89 lb. TNT warhead |
Combat Victories |
|||||
Date
|
Name |
Type |
Tons |
Nationality |
Notes |
Sept. 4, 1914 |
Southport |
Cargo |
3,588 |
UK |
Captured |
Commanders |
||
From |
To
|
Name |
1903 |
1906 |
|
Sept. 15, 1917 |
Commander Arthur Crenshaw |
History |
|
1898: |
Stationed off Haiti during uprising. |
1898: |
Evacuated German citizens from Havana, Cuba during the Spanish-American War. |
1898-1900: |
Stationed off South American coast patrolling off German naval bases. |
1900-1905: |
Supporting German forces during the Boxer rebellion. |
1911: |
On station during the Turkish-Italian war to protect German interests. |
1913-1914: |
Stationed at Dar es Salaam. |
Aug. 1914: |
Ordered to join Adm.
Maximilian Graf von Spee's East Asia Squadron at
Tsingtao, China. |
Sept. 4, 1914: |
Captured British cargo ship SS Southport
at Kusaie in the Eastern Caroline Islands, disabled the engines and released the ship. The crew repaired the engines and sailed to Australia where her captain reported the presence of the Geier. Unable to reach China due to enemy ships Geier set sail for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. |
Oct. 17, 1914: |
Arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Shortly after her arrival two Japanese warships, Hizen and Asama, began patrolling outside the three mile limit awaiting Geier's departure. |
Nov. 8, 1914: |
Interned by the US Navy at Pearl Harbor. |
Apr. 6, 1917: |
Seized by the US Navy. |
May 22, 1917: |
President Woodrow Wilson signs Executive Order 2624 officially authorizing the US Navy to take possession of the Geier. German armament removed and refit with 4 x 5" guns. |
June 9, 1917: |
Renamed Schurz. |
Sept. 15, 1917: |
Commissioned as USS Schurz. |
Oct. 1917- June 1918: |
Patrol and escort duties on the US east coast, Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. |
June 21, 1918: |
Sunk in collision. |
Aug. 26, 1918: |
Stricken from the US Navy register. |
Class Overview |
Builder's Data |
|
Page published Dec. 18, 2006 |