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SMS Carola
File:SMS Carola and Olga NH 88777.tiff
Carola and her sister ship Olga in Hong Kong in the 1880s
Career (German Empire) War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918
Name: Carola
General characteristics
Class & type: Carola-class corvette
Displacement: 2,424 t (2,386 long tons; 2,672 short tons)
Length: 76.35 m (250 ft)
Beam: 12.5 m (41 ft 0 in)
Draft: 4.98 m (16.3 ft)
Installed power:
  • 8 fire-tube boilers
  • 2,367 metric horsepower (2,335 ihp)
Propulsion:
  • 2 screws
  • 2 marine steam engines
  • Speed: 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph)
    Range: 3,420 nautical miles (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
    Crew:
    • 10 officers
    • 246 enlisted men
    Armament:
  • 10 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns
  • 2 × 8.7 cm (3.4 in) guns
  • 6 × 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon
  • SMS Carola was the lead ship of the Carola class of steam corvettes built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1880s.

    Design[]

    The six ships of the Carola class were ordered in the late 1870s to supplement Germany's fleet of cruising warships, which at that time relied on several ships that were twenty years old. Carola and her sister ships were intended to patrol Germany's colonial empire and safeguard German economic interests around the world.[1]

    Carola was 76.35 meters (250 ft) long overall, with a beam of 12.5 m (41 ft 0 in) and a draft of 4.98 m (16.3 ft) forward. She displaced 2,424 metric tons (2,386 long tons) at full load. The ship's crew consisted of 10 officers and 246 enlisted men. She was powered by a single marine steam engine that drove one 2-bladed screw propeller and eight coal-fired fire-tube boilers, which gave her a top speed of 13.7 knots (25.4 km/h; 15.8 mph) at 2,367 metric horsepower (2,335 ihp). She had a cruising radius of 3,420 nautical miles (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). As built, Carola was equipped with a three-masted barque rig, but she was not actually fitted with sails.[2][3]

    Carola was armed with a battery of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) 22-caliber (cal.) breach-loading guns and two 8.7 cm (3.4 in) 24-cal. guns. She also carried six 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss revolver cannon. The 15 cm guns were later reduced to six and then four guns, and the 8.7 cm guns were replaced with a pair of 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 guns, eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns, and two 5 cm (2.0 in) SK L/40 guns.[2][3]

    Service history[]

    Kreuzerkorvette Carola 01

    A painting of Carola by Fritz Stoltenberg

    Notes[]

    1. Sondhaus, pp. 116–117, 136–137.
    2. 2.0 2.1 Gröner, p. 90.
    3. 3.0 3.1 Gardiner, p. 252.

    References[]

    • Gardiner, Robert, ed (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5. 
    • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6. OCLC 22101769. 
    • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe (Band 2). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 9783782202107. 
    • Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7. 


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