Nautilus-class minelayer

File:SMS Albatross.jpg bow and a superstructure deck from the conning tower to the main mast]]

The two ships of the Nautilus class varied slightly in their dimensions. Nautilus was {{convert|98.20|m|ftin|sp=us}} long overall and had a beam of {{convert|11.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and an average draft of {{convert|4.42|m|ftin|abbr=on}} forward. Albatross was slightly larger, with an overall length of {{convert|100.90|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, a beam of {{convert|11.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draft of {{convert|4.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. Nautilus displaced {{convert|1975|t|LT|sp=us}} normally and up to {{convert|2345|t|LT|sp=us|abbr=on}} at full load, while Albatross normally displaced {{convert|2208|t|LT|sp=us|abbr=on}} and {{convert|2506|t|LT|sp=us|abbr=on}} fully laden. In 1909–10, Nautilus was modernized at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel. Her stern overhang was extended by {{convert|2.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, bringing the ship's overall length to {{convert|100.90|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, and her superstructure deck was extended further aft.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

The ships' hulls were constructed from transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and were divided into nine watertight compartments, with a double bottom that extended for 60 percent of the length of the hull. Both vessels had two pole masts fitted with spotting tops. Nautilus and Albatross had different bows; Nautilus received a clipper bow, while Albatross had a ram bow like contemporary German light cruisers. Albatross also had a higher forecastle that extended to the base of the main mast, while Nautilus was completed with a superstructure deck that began just aft of the fore mast.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

Steering was controlled with a single rudder. The vessels handled well and had a tight turning radius, but they suffered from weather helm and tended to drift while underway. The ships' crew numbered ten officers and 191 enlisted men, and later increased to eleven officers and 197 enlisted men. The ships carried several smaller boats, including two picket boats, one launch, two yawls, and one dinghy. These were handled with a large derrick that was fitted to the main mast.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

Their Propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines each driving a single four-bladed screw propeller that was {{convert|3.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in diameter. Steam for the engines was supplied by four coal-fired marine-type boilers that were divided into four individual boiler rooms; the boilers were trunked into two closely spaced funnels in pairs. Electricity was provided by two turbo generators that provided {{convert|90|kW}} at 110 volts.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

The ships' engines were rated to produce a top speed of {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}} from {{convert|6600|ihp|lk=in}}, though both ships slightly exceeded those figures on speed trials, with Nautilus reaching {{convert|20.8|kn}} and Albatross at {{convert|20.2|kn|abbr=on}}. The ships were designed to carry {{convert|200|MT|sp=us|abbr=on}} of coal, though by using auxiliary storage spaces, Nautilus could store up to {{convert|490|MT|sp=us|abbr=on}} and Albatross could carry up to {{convert|526|MT|sp=us|abbr=on}}. This allowed the ships to cruise for {{convert|3530|to|3680|nmi|lk=in}} at a speed of {{convert|9|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

File:SMS Albatross in port.jpg

The primary armament for the Nautilus class was a battery of eight 8.8 cm SK L/35 naval gun in individual mounts.In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick loading, while the L/35 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/35 gun is 35 calibers, meaning that the gun is 35 times long as it is in diameter. Two were placed side by side on the forecastle, four were placed on the superstructure amidships, with two on each broadside, and the last two were mounted side by side at the stern. The guns were supplied with a total of 2,000 rounds of ammunition, and they had a maximum range of {{convert|9100|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. Nautilus initially carried 186 naval mines, though this was later increased to 205, while Albatross had a capacity of 288 mines. In 1918, Nautilus was rearmed with two {{convert|7.6|cm|abbr=on}} guns, four {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft guns, twenty-four machine guns, two flamethrowers, and four mine-launchers, in addition to her normal capacity of mines. Her new armament was intended to allow the ship to support amphibious operations.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S61670, Gestrandeter Minenkreuzer SMS Albatros.jpg]]

After entering service, Nautilus and Albatross alternated between service with the High Seas Fleet; Nautilus participated in the annual fleet maneuvers in 1907 and 1908, and was replaced by Albatross thereafter.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6|p=149}} Nautilus was modernized at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel in 1909–1910, and Albatross underwent a similar modernization there in 1910–1911.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}} While Albatross was out of service, Nautilus temporarily returned to the fleet. Once the former's refit was completed in 1911, the latter was transferred to mine warfare training in the North Sea before being decommissioned at the end of the year.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6|p=149}} Albatross remained in service through 1914, but apart from a collision with the steamer {{SS|Wartburg}}, the time passed uneventfully.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 1|p=211}}

After the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, both ships were mobilized to lay a series of minefields, initially to protect Germany's coastlines in the North and Baltic Seas.{{sfn|Goldrick|p=77}} In August, the two ships laid offensive minefields off the British coast,{{sfn|Goldrick|p=98}} and Nautilus made a similar attempt in October that was cancelled when radio intercepts indicated British naval forces were present.{{sfn|Woodward|p=29}} In June 1915, Albatross was transferred to the eastern Baltic, where she began to lay offensive minefields.{{sfn|Staff 2011|pp=106–107}} The last of these resulted in the Battle of Åland Islands on 2 July after a group of Russian armored cruisers intercepted Albatross and her escorts. The cruisers badly damaged Albatross, and to prevent her sinking, her captain beached the ship off the coast of neutral Sweden.{{sfn|Staff 2011|pp=108–11}}

Nautilus was transferred to the Baltic in 1916, and took part in Operation Albion in 1917, where she supported the conquest of the Gulf of Riga.{{sfn|Staff 2008|pp=141, 144–145}} In 1918, she was modified to support amphibious operations, with her 8.8 cm guns replaced by a host of smaller weapons. She was assigned to the Sonderverband (Special Unit) tasked with supporting the White Finns during the Finnish Civil War, though she did not see action. Instead, she spent the remainder of the war patrolling in the eastern Baltic.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6|p=150}} After the war ended in November 1918, Nautilus was demilitarized according to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and hulked; she was renamed Hulk I and later Hulk A, eventually being scrapped in 1928.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}} Albatross, meanwhile, had been refloated by a Swedish salvage company in July 1915 and interned for the rest of the war. She was returned in 1919, stricken from the naval register and scrapped that year.{{sfn|Gröner|p=169}}{{sfn|Staff 2011|p=126}}

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{reflist|20em}}

• {{cite book

| last = Gröner

| first = Erich

|author-link=Erich Gröner

| year = 1990

| title = German Warships: 1815–1945

| volume = I: Major Surface Vessels

| publisher = Naval Institute Press

| location = Annapolis

| isbn = 978-0-87021-790-6

| ref ={{sfnRef|Gröner}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Goldrick

|first=James

|title=Before Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters, August 1914–February 1915

|year=2015

|location=Annapolis

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|isbn=978-1-61251-881-7

|ref={{sfnref|Goldrick}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Hildebrand

| first1 = Hans H.

| last2 = Röhr

| first2 = Albert

| last3 = Steinmetz

| first3 = Hans-Otto

| year = 1993

| title = Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart

| trans-title=The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present

| volume = 1

| publisher = Mundus Verlag

| location = Ratingen

| isbn = 978-3-7822-0496-5

| language = de

| ref = {{sfnRef|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 1}}

|name-list-style=amp

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Hildebrand

| first1 = Hans H.

| last2 = Röhr

| first2 = Albert

| last3 = Steinmetz

| first3 = Hans-Otto

| year = 1993

| title = Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart

| trans-title=The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present

| volume = 6

| publisher = Mundus Verlag

| location = Ratingen

| isbn = 978-3-7822-0237-4

| language = de

| ref = {{SfnRef|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6}}

|name-list-style=amp

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Staff

|first=Gary

|title=Battle for the Baltic Islands

|year=2008

|location=Barnsley

|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime

|isbn=978-1-84415-787-7

|ref={{sfnref|Staff 2008}}

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Staff

|first=Gary

|title=Battle on the Seven Seas: German Cruiser Battles, 1914–1918

|year=2011

|location=Barnsley

|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime

|isbn=978-1-84884-182-6

|ref={{sfnref|Staff 2011}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Woodward

|first=David

|title=The Collapse of Power: Mutiny in the High Seas Fleet

|year=1973

|publisher=Arthur Barker

|isbn=978-0-213-16431-7

|location=London

|ref={{sfnref|Woodward}}

}}

{{Commons category|Nautilus class cruiser}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Campbell

| first1 = N. J. M.

| last2 = Sieche

| first2 = Erwin

| chapter = Germany

| pages = 134–189

| editor1-last = Gardiner

| editor1-first = Robert

| editor2-last = Gray

| editor2-first = Randal

| year = 1986

| title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921

| publisher = Conway Maritime Press

| location = London

| isbn = 978-0-85177-245-5

| name-list-style=amp

| ref ={{sfnRef|Campbell & Sieche}}

| url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_z3o0

}}

{{Nautilus class cruiser}}

{{WWI German ships}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nautilus class minelayer}}

Category:Cruiser classes

Category:Mine warfare vessel classes