 SMS Thetis at Dar es Salaam, German East Africa
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| History | |
|---|---|
  German Empire | |
| Name | Thetis |
| Namesake | Thetis |
| Laid down | September 1899 |
| Launched | 3 July 1900 |
| Commissioned | 14 September 1901 |
| Stricken | 27 March 1929 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1930 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Gazelle-class light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 105.1 m (344.8 ft) loa |
| Beam | 12.2 m (40 ft) |
| Draft | 4.92 m (16.1 ft) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) |
| Range | 3,560 nmi (6,590 km; 4,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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| Armor |
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SMS Thetis was the fourth member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser and aviso designs, combining the best aspects of both types in what became the progenitor of all future light cruisers of the Imperial fleet. Built to be able to serve with the main German fleet and as a colonial cruiser, she was armed with a battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph).
In late 1901, she was assigned to the East Asia Squadron; she operated in East Asian waters for the next four years, during which time she evacuated German nationals from Chemulpo in the Korean Empire during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Thetis was ordered to reinforce German forces in German East Africa after the outbreak of the Maji Maji Rebellion in mid-1905. The revolt was quickly suppressed and Thetis was thereafter recalled to Germany for an overhaul, after which she was placed in reserve.
Thetis was recommissioned after the start of World War I, initially to patrol the Danish straits. She was soon transferred to the Detached Division for offensive operations against Russian forces, taking part in several patrols in the northern Baltic. During one of these operations in November 1914, she failed to report sighting Russian destroyers laying a minefield that sank a German armored cruiser two days later, leading to her commander being relieved of command. In 1915, she supported German Army operations in the area around the Gulf of Riga, ultimately being damaged by naval mines in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August. She was decommissioned for repairs and then served as a training ship for the rest of the war.
As one of the six cruisers permitted for the post-war Reichsmarine (Navy of the Realm), Thetis returned to active service between 1922 and 1924. This period passed uneventfully, though she served as the flagship of light forces in the Baltic and she made several visits to foreign ports in the region. Decommissioned in late 1924, she was used as a barracks ship until 1929, when she was struck from the naval register and broken up in 1930.