SMS Seeadler (1888)

Pass of Balmaha, later SMS Seeadler
History
United Kingdom
NamePass of Balmaha
NamesakePass of Balmaha
Owner
  • 1888–1908 David R Clark (Messrs Gibson & Clark), Glasgow
  • 1908–1909 The River Plate Shipping Company Ltd, Montreal
  • 1909-1914 Ship Pass of Balmaha Company Ltd, Montreal
Port of registryGlasgow
BuilderRobert Duncan and Company, Port Glasgow
Yard number237
Launched9 August 1888
In service5 September 1888
Out of service1914
IdentificationON 95087
FateWrecked on 2 August 1917 on a reef at the island of Mopelia
United States
NamePass of Balmaha
OwnerHarby Steamship Company, New York
Port of registryBoston, Massachusetts
Acquired1914
Out of service1915
German Empire
NameSMS Seeadler
Namesakesea eagle
Acquired1915
Commissioned1915
FateWrecked 2 August 1917
General characteristics
Displacement4500 tons (1,571 GRT)
Length83.5 m (273 ft 11 in)
Beam11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draught5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Installed power900 hp (670 kW)
Propulsion
Sail plan3 masts, full rig, 2,600 square metres (28,000 sq ft) sail area
Speed9 kn (16.7 km/h; 10.4 mph) when using engine
Complement64
Armament

SMS Seeadler (Ger: sea eagle) was a three-masted steel-hulled sailing ship. She was one of the last fighting sailing ships to be used in war when she served as a merchant raider with Imperial Germany in World War I. Built as the British-flagged Pass of Balmaha, she was captured by the German submarine SM U-36, and in 1916 converted to a commerce raider. As Seeadler she had a successful raiding career, capturing and sinking 15 ships in 225 days until she was wrecked, in 2 August 1917, in French Polynesia.