SMS Dresden (1907)

SMS Dresden was a German light cruiser built for the Kaiserliche Marine in 1906. She was the lead ship of her class and was armed with ten 10. 5 cm SK L40 guns and two torpedo tubes. Dresden was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 14 November 1908. She visited the U.S. in 1909 during the Hudson–Fulton Celebration, before returning to Germany to serve in the reconnaissance force. She saw action in the Battle of Coronel in November, where she engaged the British cruiser HMS Glasgow.

About SMS Dresden (1907) in brief

Summary SMS Dresden (1907)SMS Dresden was a German light cruiser built for the Kaiserliche Marine in 1906. She was the lead ship of her class and was armed with ten 10. 5 cm SK L40 guns and two torpedo tubes. Dresden spent much of her career overseas. She saw action in the Battle of Coronel in November, where she engaged the British cruiser HMS Glasgow. In December, she was the only German warship to escape destruction. She eluded her British pursuers for several more months, until she put into Robinson Crusoe Island in March 1915. Her engines were worn out and she had almost no coal left for her boilers, so the ship’s captain contacted the local Chilean authorities to have Dresden interned. The Germans scuttled Dresden and the majority of the crew escaped to be interned in Chile for the duration of the war. The wreck remains in the harbor; several artifacts, including her bell and compass, have been returned to Germany. The ship was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 14 November 1908. She visited the United States in 1909 during the Hudson–Fulton Celebration, before returning to Germany to serve in the reconnaissance force. Dresden was ordered under the contract name Ersatz Comet. Fitting out, Dresden was christened by the Oberbürgermeister of her namesake city, Otto Beutler, on 5 October 1907. On 28 November 1908, Dresden began her sea trials and sank with a collision with Swedish gale Cielas Ciela outside Kiel.

The purpose of Dresden’s voyage was to represent Germany at the Hudson-Fulton celebration. She had not completed the testing, as she had been ordered to represent the Germany at Hudson–fulton Celebration on 7 September. Although Dresden had not been completed, she had not required testing until September 7, when she was ordered over for the voyage to the Hudson Fulton Celebration. She arrived in New York City on 9 September 1909, and she was commissioned on 14 September 1909. After commissioning, she visited the U.S. in 1909. She then went to the Caribbean to protect German nationals during the Mexican Revolution. In mid-1914, she carried the former dictator Victoriano Huerta to Jamaica, where the British had granted him asylum. In July 1914 she was due to return to Germany in July 1914, but was prevented from doing so by the outbreak of World War I. She served in the Mediterranean Division for three years, then joined Maximilian von Spee’s East Asia Squadron in September 1914. In September 1915, she went to South America to fight in the Pacific Ocean. In March 1916, she arrived in the Falkland Islands to fight against British cruisers, including HMS Glasgow. In April 1917, she left the Falklands to join the East Asia squadron in the South Pacific. In May 1917, the ship was ordered back to Germany, but she was forced to return home due to a shortage of fuel.