SMS V4

In 1911, the Imperial German Navy placed orders for a flotilla of 12 torpedo boats as part of its shipbuilding programme for that year, with one half flotilla of six ordered from AG Vulcan, and six from Germaniawerft.{{#tag:ref|The Imperial German Navy's practice was to split a year's orders into half-flotillas of six torpedo boats from different builders, to differing detailed design.{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=164}}|group=lower-alpha}} The 1911 torpedo boats were smaller than those ordered in recent years in order to be more manoeuvrable and so work better with the fleet, which resulted in the numbering series for torpedo boats being restarted. The reduction in size resulted in the ships' seaworthiness being adversely affected.{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=167}}

File:SMS V 2.jpg

V4{{#tag:ref|The "V" in V4 denotes the shipyard at which she was built.|group=lower-alpha}} was launched from Vulcan's Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin in Poland) shipyard on 23 December 1911 and commissioned on 15 June 1912.{{Harvnb|Gröner|1983|p=51}}

The ship was {{convert|71.1|m|ftin}} long overall and {{convert|70.2|m|ftin}} at the waterline, with a beam of {{convert|7.6|m|ftin}} and a draught of {{convert|3.11|m|ftin}}. Displacement was {{convert|569|t|LT}} normal and {{convert|697|t|LT}} deep load. Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boilers fed steam to two direct-drive steam turbines rated at {{convert|17000|PS|shp kW}}, giving a design speed of {{convert|32|kn}}. {{convert|107|t|LT}} of coal and {{convert|78|t|LT}} of oil were carried, giving a range of {{convert|1190|nmi}} at {{convert|17|kn}} or {{convert|490|nmi}} at {{convert|29|kn}}.

Armament consisted of two 8.8 cm SK L/30 naval gun naval guns{{#tag:ref|In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, the L/30 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/30 gun is 30 caliber, meaning that the gun is 30 times as long as it is in diameter.|group=lower-alpha}} in single mounts fore and aft, together with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with one reload torpedo carried. Up to 18 mines could be carried. In 1916 the L/30 guns were replaced by more powerful 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval gun guns. The ship had a crew of 74 officers and other ranks.

In May 1914 V4 was part of the 10th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla.{{Harvnb|Rangeliste der Kaiserlisch-Deutschen Marine|1914|p=64}} On 28 August 1914, a British force of destroyers and cruisers supported by battlecruisers made a sortie into the Heligoland Bight in order to ambush German torpedo boats on patrol, which caused the Battle of Heligoland Bight. The 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, including V4, were sent out from Heligoland to investigate sightings of British submarines (which were deployed as bait to draw out German ships), and ran into several British destroyers. The Flotilla then turned away to try and escape the trap, but V4{{'}}s sister ship {{SMS|V1||2}} could not make full speed and was hit several times by British shells before the arrival of the German cruiser {{SMS|Stettin||2}} allowed the 5th Flotilla to escape.{{Harvnb|Massie|2007|pp=98–99, 102–104}}{{Harvnb|Naval Staff Monograph No. 11|1921|pp=122–123, 162}} In total, however, three German light cruisers ({{SMS|Ariadne||2}}, {{SMS|Cöln|1909|2}} and {{SMS|Mainz||2}}) and one torpedo boat of the German outer screen ({{SMS|V187||2}}) had been sunk.{{Harvnb|Massie|2007|pp=111–115}} V4 was also present at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915.{{Harvnb|Naval Staff Monograph No. 12|1921|p=224}}

At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916, V4 remained part of the 10th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, operating in support of the main German battle fleet.{{Harvnb|Campbell|1998|pp=13, 25}} At about 03:15 hr CET (i.e. 02:15 hr GMT) the 5th Flotilla was accompanying the German Fleet on its journey back to base when a large underwater explosion, probably due to a floating mine, blew the bows off V4, killing 18 and wounding four. After the survivors were rescued, sister ship {{SMS|V6|1913|2}} scuttled V4 with shellfire and a torpedo.{{Harvnb|Campbell|1998|pp=309, 339}}

• German ocean-going torpedo boats of World War I

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Campbell|first=John|title=Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting|year=1998|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-750-3}}
• {{cite book|editor-last1=Gardiner|editor-first1=Robert|editor-last2=Gray|editor-first2=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5}}
• {{cite book|last=Gröner|first=Erich|title=Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Band 2: Torpedoboote, Zerstörer, Schnelleboote, Minensuchboote, Minenräumboote|year=1983|publisher=Bernard & Graefe Verlag|location=Koblenz, Germany|isbn=3-7637-4801-6|language=German}}
• {{cite book |last=Massie|first=Robert K. |title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |year=2007 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-099-52378-9}}
• {{cite book|title=Monograph No. 11: Heligoland Bight—The Action of August 28, 1914|series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical)|volume=III|year=1921|publisher=The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division|pages=110–166|url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.III_opt.pdf#67|oclc=220734221|ref={{harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 11|1921}}}}
• {{cite book|title=Monograph No. 12: The Action of Dogger Bank—24th January 1915|series=Naval Staff Monographs (Historical)|volume=III|year=1921|publisher=The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division|pages=209–226|url=http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.III_opt.pdf#132|oclc=220734221|ref={{harvid|Naval Staff Monograph No. 12|1921}}}}
• {{cite book|title=Rangeliste der Kaiserlisch-Deutschen Marine für das Jahr 1914 |year=1914|publisher=Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn|language=German |location=Berlin |url=http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ihd/periodical/pageview/8162515|ref={{harvid|Rangeliste der Kaiserlisch-Deutschen Marine|1914}}}}

{{V1 class destroyer}}

{{June 1916 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:V4}}

Category:Torpedo boats of the Imperial German Navy

Category:Ships built in Stettin

Category:1911 ships

Category:World War I torpedo boats of Germany

Category:Maritime incidents in 1916

Category:Ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland

Category:V1-class destroyers