SMS Dresden (1907)

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Career	Image:War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg
Image:SMS Dresden German Cruiser LOC 16727.jpg SMS Dresden
General characteristics
Displacement:	3,664t standard; 4,268t full load
Dimensions:	118m x 13.5m x 5.54m
Armament at construction	ten 4.1" (10 x 1) eight 2" (8 x 1) two 17.7" torpedo tubes
Armor protection:	1.5" - .5" in deck 2" in gun shields
Aircraft:	None
Propulsion:	15,000shp, two shafts = 25 knots (Dresden)
Crew:	361

The SMS Dresden was a German Imperial Navy light cruiser of the Dresden class, commissioned in 1908.

She was the sister ship of the famous commerce raider SMS Emden. While the Emden still had traditional triple-expansion engines, the Dresden was the first German cruiser to be equipped with the new Parsons turbines.

Prior to World War I the Dresden had been stationed in the Caribbean for a year. During that time, she was instrumental in evacuating American nationals during the U.S. occupation of Veracruz, 1914. She also played a role in the departure of exiled Mexican president Victoriano Huerta, transporting him from Mexico to Kingston, Jamaica.

At the outbreak of the war in 1914, the Dresden was preparing for the return journey to Germany. However, orders were changed to prepare for commerce raiding. The Dresden then headed for the South Atlantic and rendezvoused with the German East Asia Squadron under Vice Admiral Count Spee at Easter Island. In company with Count Spee's other ships - the armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau and the light cruisers SMS Leipzig and SMS Nürnberg - the Dresden participated in the Battle of Coronel. Together with SMS Leipzig she damaged and forced the escape of the British light cruiser HMS Glasgow.

Image:SMS Dresden German Cruiser LOC 04281.jpg

SMS Dresden

Approximately one month later, SMS Dresden was the only German cruiser to escape destruction at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, her turbine engines proving faster than her expansion-engined squadron mates. The ship then headed south back around Cape Horn to the maze of channels and bays in southern Chile. Until March 1915 she evaded Royal Navy searches while paralyzing British trade routes in the area.

On 8 March 1915, the Dresden put into Cumberland Bay on the Chilean island of Más a Tierra (today known as Robinson Crusoe Island) which was neutral territory. Due to lack of supplies and parts for the worn-out engines, the ship ceased to be operational. Six days later, on 14 March, British warships found the elusive German cruiser. After a few shots were fired, the Dresden ran up a white flag and sent Lieutenant Wilhelm Canaris, who would become a famous Kriegsmarine admiral during the Second World War, to negotiate with the British. However, this was merely a ruse to buy time so the Dresden's crew could abandon ship and scuttle her. At 11:15 am the Dresden slipped under the waves with her war ensign proudly flying. Her crew of about 300 men was interned in Chile for the duration of the war, with about a third electing to remain and resettle in Chile at war's end.

[edit] Epilogue

Today the wreck, which lies in about 60 metres (200 ft) of water, is gaining popularity with recreational Scuba divers, and is occasionally used by the Chilean Navy for diver training. On 24 February 2006, Chilean and German divers found and recovered the Dresden's bell.

CS Forester's novel Brown on Resolution, and two subsequent movies, were inspired by the Dresden's escape and subsequent destruction. Forester's novel has a German warship escape the Battle of the Falkland Islands and make its way to an isolated Pacific Island, to effect repairs.