Seeadler
Country | Germany |
Ship Class | 1923-class Motor Torpedo Boat |
Hull Number | SE |
Builder | Kriegsmarinewerft |
Yard Number | 103 |
Ordered | 6 Apr 1925 |
Laid Down | 5 Oct 1925 |
Launched | 15 Jul 1926 |
Commissioned | 15 Mar 1927 |
Sunk | 14 May 1942 |
Displacement | 938 tons standard; 1,310 tons full |
Length | 288 feet |
Beam | 27 feet |
Draft | 12 feet |
Machinery | Three water-tube boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts |
Bunkerage | 321t fuel oil |
Power Output | 23,000 shaft horsepower |
Speed | 33 knots |
Range | 1,800nm at 17 knots |
Crew | 120 |
Armament | 3x10.5cm SK L/45 guns, 2x3x533mm torpedo tubes, 2x2cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns, 30 mines |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseTorpedo boat Seeadler was commissioned into service in May 1928. In late 1936, she was assigned to the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla of the German Navy and made several trips to Spain during the Spanish Civil War. In 1937, she escorted heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer during the bombardment of AlmerÃa, Spain, and was targeted, though not hit, by shore-based batteries. In mid-1938, she was transferred to the newly formed 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. In Sep 1939, 4th Flotilla was disbanded, and she was transferred to 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, operating in the North Sea region. During the invasion of Norway, she accompanied the task force centered around light cruiser Karlsruhe which captured the fortress of Kristiansand, Norway on 9 Apr 1940. Karlsruhe, would be hit by British submarine Truant with a torpedo at 1858 hours on the same day just as the group set sail for Kiel, Germany; Seeadler carried a number of survivors of Karlsruhe. Between May and Aug 1940, she was refitted at Wesermünde, Germany. Transferred to France, she was assigned to 5th Flotilla which operated in the English Channel. In Nov 1940, she, along with the rest of 5th Flotilla, would be transferred to Saint-Nazaire, France, from which port she embarked on several minelaying missions. Between Mar and May 1941, she was refitted in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After serving as a convoy escort, she was again refitted at Rotterdam between Dec 1941 and Feb 1942. In Feb 1942, she escorted battleship Scharnhorst, battleship Gneisenau, and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen during the Operation Cerberus "Channel Dash". Between Mar and May 1942, she escorted merchant raiders Michel and Stier as they operated in the English Channel. While escorting Stier, on 13 May, Seeadler was hit by a torpedo from a British motor torpedo boat, capsized, and then broke in half. 85 of her crew members were killed in the sinking.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: Aug 2020
Motor Torpedo Boat Seeadler (SE) Interactive Map
Photographs
Seeadler Operational Timeline
5 Oct 1925 | The keel of Seeadler was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft yard in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. |
15 Jul 1926 | Seeadler was launched at the Reichsmarinewerft yard in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. |
15 Mar 1927 | Seeadler was commissioned into service. |
14 Dec 1939 | Seeadler began patrolling the Skagerrak strait between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. |
15 Dec 1939 | Seeadler completd her patrol of the Skagerrak strait between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. |
18 Feb 1940 | Seeadler escorted battleship Scharnhorst, battleship Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. |
19 Feb 1940 | Seeadler began patrolling the Skagerrak strait between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. |
20 Feb 1940 | Seeadler completd her patrol of the Skagerrak strait between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. |
8 Apr 1940 | Seeadler departed Wesermünde, Bremerhaven, Germany. |
9 Apr 1940 | Seeadler arrived off Kristiansand, Agder, Norway, assisted in the capture of the fortress in the morning, and departed for Kiel, Germany at 1800 hours. |
12 Apr 1940 | Seeadler arrived off the Danish coast and provided assistance for the damaged heavy cruiser Lützow. |
18 Apr 1940 | Seeadler laid anti-submarine mines in the Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden. |
30 Sep 1940 | Seeadler began laying mines in the English Channel. |
1 Oct 1940 | Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel. |
8 Oct 1940 | Seeadler patrolled off the Isle of Wight, southern England, United Kingdom. |
9 Oct 1940 | Seeadler completed her patrol off the Isle of Wight, southern England, United Kingdom. |
11 Oct 1940 | German torpedo boats Falke, Greif, Kondor, Seeadler, and Wolf sank British anti-submarine trawler HMT Warwick Deeping (no deaths), French submarine chasers Ch.6 (9 killed, 12 captured) and CH.7 (12 killed, 8 captured), and French armed trawler Listrac (12 killed, 25 wounded) in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight overnight. |
11 Oct 1940 | Seeadler patrolled in the English Channel. |
12 Oct 1940 | Seeadler completed her patrol in the English Channel. |
3 Dec 1940 | Seeadler began laying mines in the English Channel near Dover, England, United Kingdom. |
4 Dec 1940 | Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel near Dover, England, United Kingdom. |
21 Dec 1940 | Seeadler began laying mines in the English Channel. |
22 Dec 1940 | Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel. |
23 Jan 1941 | Seeadler began laying mines in the English Channel. |
24 Jan 1941 | Seeadler completed laying mines in the English Channel. |
12 Feb 1942 | Torpedo boats Jaguar and Seeadler made rendezvous with battleship Scharnhorst, battleship Gneisenau, and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen off Cap Gris-Nez, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. |
12 Mar 1942 | Torpedo boats Jaguar and Seeadler began escorting merchant raider Michel as the raider attacked British shipping in the English Channel. |
2 Apr 1942 | Seeadler completed her escort duties for merchant raider Michel. |
12 May 1942 | Seeadler began escorting merchant raider Stier as the raider attacked British shipping in the English Channel. |
14 May 1942 | Seeadler was hit by a torpedo from a British motor torpedo boat, capsized, and then broke in half. 85 of her crew members were killed in the sinking. |
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James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945