# SMS Marie

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**SMS *Marie*** was a member of the [*Carola*-class corvette](/source/Carola-class_corvette) of steam [corvettes](/source/Corvette) built for the German *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy) in the 1880s. Intended for service in the [German colonial empire](/source/German_colonial_empire), the ship was designed with a combination of steam and sail power for extended range, and was equipped with a [battery](/source/Artillery_battery) of ten 15-centimeter (5.9-inch) guns. *Marie* was [laid down](/source/Keel_laying) at the *[Reiherstieg AG](/source/Reiherstieg_Schiffswerfte_%26_Maschinenfabrik)* shipyard of [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg) in 1880, the first Imperial German warship built in the city. She was [launched](/source/Ceremonial_ship_launching) in August 1881. In May, 1883, she was completed and [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) into the fleet. The namesake was [Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt](/source/Princess_Marie_of_Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt), who married [Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin](/source/Frederick_Francis_II,_Grand_Duke_of_Mecklenburg-Schwerin) in 1868.

*Marie* was sent abroad immediately after entering service, initially to South America, where she picked up the German participants of the first [International Polar Year](/source/International_Polar_Year) at [South Georgia Island](/source/South_Georgia_Island). After observing the aftermath of the [War of the Pacific](/source/War_of_the_Pacific) in late 1883 and early 1884, she was transferred to [Deutsch-Neuguinea](/source/Deutsch-Neuguinea) in the western [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean); this deployment was cut short when she ran aground off [Neu-Mecklenburg](/source/New_Ireland_(island)) and was badly damaged, necessitating a return to Germany for extensive repairs.

The ship was reactivated for a second overseas tour in 1892. She was sent to Chile to protect German nationals in the aftermath of the [Chilean Civil War of 1891](/source/Chilean_Civil_War_of_1891), before joining two of her [sister ships](/source/Sister_ship) off Brazil in 1893 in response to the *[Revolta da Armada](/source/Revolta_da_Armada)* (Revolt of the Fleet) there. The three ships were then sent to [East Asia](/source/East_Asia) in 1894, where they formed the nucleus of the [East Asia Division](/source/East_Asia_Squadron), and were tasked with protecting German nationals in China during the [First Sino-Japanese War](/source/First_Sino-Japanese_War). *Marie* was recalled to Germany in mid-1895 and stopped in Morocco on the way back to enforce a settlement over the murder of two German citizens. After reaching Germany in September 1895, she was decommissioned. Later assigned to the reserve training unit, she was never activated for the role. Instead, she was eventually stricken from the [naval register](/source/Naval_register) in 1904 and sold for [scrap](/source/Scrap) three years later.

## Design

Main article: [*Carola*-class corvette](/source/Carola-class_corvette)

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. *Marie* and her [sister ships](/source/Sister_ship) were intended to patrol [Germany's colonial empire](/source/German_colonial_empire) and safeguard German economic interests around the world.[1]

*Marie* was 76.35 meters (250 ft) [long overall](/source/Length_overall), with a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 12.5 m (41 ft) and a [draft](/source/Draft_(hull)) of 4.98 m (16.3 ft) forward. She [displaced](/source/Displacement_(ship)) 2,424 tonnes (2,386 long tons) at [full load](/source/Full_load). The ship's crew consisted of 13 officers and 285 enlisted men. She was powered by a single [marine steam engine](/source/Marine_steam_engine) that drove one 2-bladed [screw propeller](/source/Screw_propeller), with steam provided by six coal-fired [fire-tube boilers](/source/Fire-tube_boiler), which gave her a top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) at 2,129 metric horsepower (2,100 hp). 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). *Marie* was equipped with a three-masted [barque](/source/Barque) rig to supplement her steam engines on extended overseas deployments.[2][3]

*Marie* was armed with a [battery](/source/Artillery_battery) of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) 22-[caliber](/source/Caliber_(artillery)) (cal.) [breech-loading](/source/Breech-loading_weapon) guns and two 8.7 cm (3.4 in) 24-cal. guns. She also carried six 37 mm (1.5 in) [Hotchkiss revolver cannon](/source/Hotchkiss_revolver_cannon). Later in her career, the 8.7 cm guns were replaced with a pair of [8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns](/source/8.8_cm_SK_L/30_naval_gun) and she received ten small-caliber [machine cannon](/source/Machine_cannon) of unrecorded type.[2][3]

## Service history

*Marie* was built by *[Reiherstieg AG](/source/Reiherstieg_Schiffswerfte_%26_Maschinenfabrik)* of [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg); her [keel](/source/Keel) was [laid down](/source/Keel_laying) in 1880 under the contract name "*[Ersatz](/source/Ersatz) Vineta*", a replacement for the old sail [frigate](/source/Frigate) [SMS *Vineta*](/source/SMS_Vineta_(1863)).[a] This was the first time that a Hamburg shipbuilder received a contract for a warship of the German *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy). The new corvette was launched on 20 August 1881, and Hamburg's mayor, [Gustav Heinrich Kirchenpauer](/source/Gustav_Heinrich_Kirchenpauer), gave the launching speech. At her launching, she was christened *Marie*, for [Princess Marie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt](/source/Princess_Marie_of_Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt). [Fitting-out](/source/Fitting-out) work then commenced, and on 12 September she was moved to [Wilhelmshaven](/source/Wilhelmshaven), where her guns were installed. *Marie* began [sea trials](/source/Sea_trials) in late October, though she was not formally [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning). The ship was commissioned on 1 May 1883 for a deployment to South American waters.[4]

### First overseas deployment

On 17 May, *Marie* left Wilhelmshaven, bound for South America, where she replaced the corvette [SMS *Moltke*](/source/SMS_Moltke_(1877)). In [Rio de Janeiro](/source/Rio_de_Janeiro), Brazil *Marie* met the gunboat [SMS *Albatross*](/source/SMS_Albatross_(1871)) on 9 July. *Marie* then continued on to [Punta Arenas](/source/Punta_Arenas), Chile, where she rendezvoused with *Moltke* on 2 August. She proceeded to [South Georgia Island](/source/South_Georgia_Island), but ran into heavy weather while en route. She lost two of her boats and was damaged in the storm, forcing her to put into [Port Stanley](/source/Port_Stanley) in the [Falkland Islands](/source/Falkland_Islands) for repairs. On 23 August, she was able to return to her voyage, and on 1 September, she reached [Moltke Harbor](/source/Moltke_Harbor) on the eastern side of the island. There, she picked up the German contingent from the first [International Polar Year](/source/International_Polar_Year), which had been brought to the island by *Moltke* the year before. The scientists boarded *Marie* with their equipment, and the ship steamed to [Montevideo](/source/Montevideo), Uruguay on 6 September. *Marie* arrived in the port on 25 September and transferred the scientists and equipment to the [HSDG](/source/HSDG) steamship [SS *Persepolis*](/source/SS_Persepolis), which took them back to Germany.[5] During the trip to South Georgia and back to Montevideo, *Marie* tested a register log apparatus.[6] Other similar studies followed.[7][8]

On 10 October, *Marie* left Montevideo and passed through the [Strait of Magellan](/source/Strait_of_Magellan) into the [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean). She reached [Valparaiso](/source/Valparaiso), Chile on 20 November to observe the aftermath of the [War of the Pacific](/source/War_of_the_Pacific) between Peru and Bolivia on one side and Chile on the other. Chile and Peru had signed the [Treaty of Ancón](/source/Treaty_of_Anc%C3%B3n) on 20 October, but *Marie* remained in the area until January 1884, when she began a tour of South American ports along the western coast of the continent, as far north as [Puerto San José](/source/Puerto_San_Jos%C3%A9), Guatemala. While in [Callao](/source/Callao), Peru, the ship received orders to steam to [Samoa](/source/Samoa) in the central Pacific on 17 September.[5]

She was to reinforce the German forces in the Pacific to defend the German acquisition of [Kaiser-Wilhelmsland](/source/Kaiser-Wilhelmsland) on the north eastern shore of [New Guinea](/source/New_Guinea) from British objections, which failed to materialize.[9] She reached [Apia](/source/Apia) on 30 October,[5] and while there, her presence helped to coerce the king of Samoa into allowing *[Handels-und Plantagen-Gesellschaft der Südsee-Inseln zu Hamburg](/source/Handels-und_Plantagen-Gesellschaft_der_S%C3%BCdsee-Inseln_zu_Hamburg)* to control the Samoan treasury and police.[10] She remained there until 14 November, when she departed for a cruise to [Melanesia](/source/Melanesia), part of [Deutsch-Neuguinea](/source/Deutsch-Neuguinea), Germany's colonial holding in the western Pacific. She rendezvoused with the corvette [SMS *Elisabeth*](/source/SMS_Elisabeth) and the gunboat [SMS *Hyäne*](/source/SMS_Hy%C3%A4ne_(1878)) in Melanesia. *Marie* anchored first at [Matupi Harbor](/source/Matupi_Harbor) in [Neu-Pommern](/source/Neu-Pommern), where she relieved *Elisabeth*, which then steamed to [East Asian](/source/East_Asia) waters.[5]

While *Marie* was cruising off [Neu-Mecklenburg](/source/New_Ireland_(island)) on 26 December, she struck a reef and ran aground. The crew had to remove a significant amount of weight from the ship before she came free three days later. Divers determined the ship had been badly damaged: her [rudder](/source/Rudder) was broken, her propeller and propeller shaft were inoperable and her aft compartments were leaking. She put into the harbor in the nearby island of [Nusa](/source/Nusa) for temporary repairs on 4 January 1885. While the work was being done, a group of 12 men were sent in one of *Marie*'s boats to relay news of the accident to [Mioko island](/source/Mioko_island), some 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) away. Two days later, they met *Hyäne* there, which proceeded to Nusa to assist with the repairs. The steamship [SS *Samoa*](/source/SS_Samoa) also joined them on 1 February and brought badly needed food. By 7 March, *Marie* was again seaworthy and she began the voyage to Australia in company with *Hyäne*, which had to take her under tow on the journey. The ships reached [Keppel Bay](/source/Keppel_Bay) on 16 April, where the corvette [SMS *Stosch*](/source/SMS_Stosch) was waiting to tow *Marie* to [Sydney](/source/Sydney) for further repairs, which lasted from 6 May to 29 September. After emerging from the dry dock, she slowly steamed back to Germany to avoid stressing the damaged hull, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 9 February 1886, where she was decommissioned for extensive repairs.[11]

### Second deployment abroad

After repairs were completed, *Marie* remained [laid up](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/laid_up) until late 1892, when she was recommissioned to relieve her sister ship [SMS *Sophie*](/source/SMS_Sophie) in the overseas cruiser squadron.[12] At the time, the navy had implemented a plan whereby Germany's colonies would be protected by gunboats, while larger warships would generally be kept in reserve, with a handful assigned to a flying squadron that could respond to crises quickly.[13] Before *Marie* joined the squadron, however, she was detached to the coast of South America in response to the [Chilean Civil War of 1891](/source/Chilean_Civil_War_of_1891). She left Wilhelmshaven on 17 December and arrived off Valparaiso on 26 March 1893, having stopped in [Buenos Aires](/source/Buenos_Aires), Argentina and Montevideo on the way; the war had recently ended, but the German high command determined that the presence of a warship was still necessary to protect German interests. By this time, the cruiser squadron had been dissolved, and *Marie* was now formally sailing independently.[12]

*Marie* visited ports along the western coast of South America, as she had in 1884, and she remained in the area until January 1894. The outbreak of the *[Revolta da Armada](/source/Revolta_da_Armada)* (Revolt of the Fleet) in Brazil prompted the navy to send *Marie* there to protect German interests, and she joined her sisters [SMS *Alexandrine*](/source/SMS_Alexandrine) and [SMS *Arcona*](/source/SMS_Arcona_(1885)) there. *Marie* stopped in [Puerto Montt](/source/Puerto_Montt), Chile, from 25 January to 8 February, before proceeding around [Cape Horn](/source/Cape_Horn) and north to Brazil. She met *Arcona* on 24 February, and the three corvettes remained off Brazil until April, when the ships were sent to East Asia in response to growing tensions between China and Japan over Korea. On 8 May, *Marie* left Rio de Janeiro, but she had to stop again in Port Montt in June due to engine troubles, which delayed her rejoining the other two corvettes in Callao on 12 July. The three ships remained there until 15 August, by which time the [First Sino-Japanese War](/source/First_Sino-Japanese_War) had broken out. The ships then crossed the Pacific and reached [Yokohama](/source/Yokohama), Japan, in late September. *Marie* proceeded independently to [Taku](/source/Taku_Forts) and then visited other ports in the [Yellow Sea](/source/Yellow_Sea).[12]

While the ships were in [Chefoo](/source/Chefoo) on 25 November, the [East Asia Division](/source/East_Asia_Squadron) was created, with *Arcona* as the [flagship](/source/Flagship). The new [protected cruiser](/source/Protected_cruiser) [SMS *Irene*](/source/SMS_Irene) arrived to strengthen the unit in mid-February 1895. In the meantime, Japanese forces had landed on the [Shantung Peninsula](/source/Shantung_Peninsula) in China, and warships from several European powers gathered to send landing parties ashore to protect their nationals in the area; *Marie* was part of this operation, though her men were back aboard by 12 February. *Irene*'s sister [SMS *Prinzess Wilhelm*](/source/SMS_Prinzess_Wilhelm) arrived in June, allowing *Marie* to be sent back to Germany. She stopped in [Singapore](/source/Singapore) in mid-June and crossed the [Indian Ocean](/source/Indian_Ocean), entered the [Red Sea](/source/Red_Sea), and then transited the [Suez Canal](/source/Suez_Canal). In [Port Said](/source/Port_Said) on 21 July, she was ordered to Morocco to help enforce a settlement with local authorities over the murder of a pair of German businessmen. She joined a flotilla consisting of the protected cruiser [SMS *Kaiserin Augusta*](/source/SMS_Kaiserin_Augusta), the [coastal defense ship](/source/Coastal_defense_ship) [SMS *Hagen*](/source/SMS_Hagen), and *Stosch* on 8 August in [Tangier](/source/Tangier). On 20 August, the Moroccan authorities agreed to a settlement, and the other three ships departed, leaving *Marie* behind to ensure the payment was made.[14]

With the issue settled by early September, *Marie* too departed, and she arrived in [Kiel](/source/Kiel) on 16 September. There, she was decommissioned before being assigned to the reserve training unit on 9 April 1897. She did not see service in the role, however, owing to the cost of reactivating her for her intended task as an artillery [training ship](/source/Training_ship). Instead, she was ultimately stricken from the [naval register](/source/Naval_register) on 29 October 1904, sold in 1909, and [broken up](/source/Ship_breaking) in [Stettin](/source/Stettin).[15]

## Notes

### Footnotes

1. German warships were ordered under provisional names. Additions to the fleet were given a single letter; ships intended to replace older or lost vessels were ordered as "*Ersatz* (name of the ship to be replaced)".[16]

### Citations

1. Sondhaus, pp. 116–117, 136–137.

1. Gröner, p. 90.

1. Lyon, p. 252.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 39–40.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 40.

1. ["Annallen Der Hydrographie Und Maritimen Meteorologie"](https://books.google.com/books?id=QxOL__Kp8F0C&pg=PA521). *United States Naval Institute Proceedings*. Vol. 10, no. 1–3. [United States Naval Institute](/source/United_States_Naval_Institute). 1884. p. 521.

1. ["Ans den Reieeberichten S. M. S. Marie. Ann. der Hydrogr"](https://books.google.com/books?id=mfE5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA476). *Catalogue of Scientific Papers*. Vol. 16, no. 11. [Royal Society of Great Britain](/source/Royal_Society_of_Great_Britain). 1883. pp. 476 (699–702)

1. ["Reise S. M. S. Marie. Aun. d. Hydr. XI, 699 bis 7Ü2f. Reise von Wilhelmshaven nach Madeira, Rio Janeiro, Montevideo, Fort Stanley, Moltke Hafen (Süd-Georgien), Montevideo, Punta Arenas. Die Mittheilungen betreffen die Beschaffenheit"](https://books.google.com/books?id=kcU-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA547). *Die Fortschritte der Physik im Jahre*. Vol. 39, no. 3. 1890. p. 547.

1. Sondhaus, p. 156.

1. Sondhaus, pp. 156–157.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 40–41.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 41.

1. Sondhaus, p. 155.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 41–42.

1. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 42.

1. Dodson, pp. 8–9.

## References

- Dodson, Aidan (2016). *The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871–1918*. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
- Gröner, Erich (1990). *German Warships: 1815–1945*. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). *Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart* [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 6. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0237-4.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). ["Germany"](https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2). *Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905*. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). *Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era*. Annapolis: [Naval Institute Press](/source/Naval_Institute_Press). ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.

## Further reading

- Dodson, Aidan & Nottelmann, Dirk (2021). *The Kaiser's Cruisers 1871–1918*. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-68247-745-8.
- Nottelmann, Dirk (2022). "From "Wooden Walls" to "New-Testament Ships": The Development of the German Armored Cruiser 1854–1918, Part II: "The Iron-Cruisers"". *Warship International*. **LIX** (3): 197–241. Wright, Christopher C. (ed.). [ISSN 0043-0374](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0043-0374)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [SMS Marie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Marie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Marie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.