SMS G134

SMS G134 was a S90-class torpedo boat of the Imperial German Navy. G134 was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard at Kiel as part of the 1905 construction programme, being launched on 23 July 1906 and entering service in March 1907.

The ship took part in the First World War, operating in the Baltic Sea in the first part of the war before transferring to training duties. She was renamed SMS T134 in 1916. T134 survived the war, and was sold for scrap in 1921.

Design
The S90-class consisted of 48 torpedo-boats, built between 1898 and 1907 by Schichau and Germaniawerft for the Imperial German Navy. They were larger than previous German torpedo-boats, allowing them to work effectively with the High Seas Fleet in the North Sea, while also being large enough to act as flotilla leader when necessary, thus eliminating the need for separate larger division boats. As part of the fiscal year 1905 construction programme for the Imperial German Navy, six large torpedo boats (Große Torpedoboote) (G132–G137) were ordered from Germaniawerft, with five being powered by conventional reciprocating steam engines and the last, SMS G137, powered by steam turbines.

G134 was 65.7 m long overall and 65.3 m at the waterline, with a beam of 7.0 m and a draught of 2.87 m. Displacement was 412 t design and 544 t deep load. Three coal-fired water-tube boilers fed steam at a pressure of 17.5 atm to two sets of three-cylinder triple expansion engines. The ship's machinery was rated at 7000 PS giving a design speed of 28 kn. 139 t of coal could be carried, giving a range of 1060 nmi at 17 kn or 2000 nmi at 12 kn. The ship had two funnels and the distinct layout of the S90-class, with a torpedo tube placed in a well deck between the raised forecastle and the ship's bridge.

G134's initial armament was four 5.2 cm SK L/55 guns and three 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. Experience from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 indicated the need for heavier gun armament, and G133 was later rearmed with one 8.8 cm SL L/35 gun and two 5.2 cm SK L/55 guns, with the torpedo armament remaining unchanged. The ship had a crew of two officers and 67 other ranks, although this increased to 84 when used as a flotilla leader.

Construction and service
G134 was laid down at Germaniawerft's Kiel shipyard as Yard number 116. The ship was launched on 23 July 1906 and was completed on 6 March 1907. Cost of the 1905 torpedo boats varied between 1.171 and 1.195 Million marks.

In 1907, G134 was a member of the 5th half-flotilla, part of the 1st School Flotilla. In 1908, the 5th half-flotilla, including G134, had transferred to the active 1st Manoeuvre Flotilla. In 1909, G134 had transferred to the 9th half-flotilla, but remained part of the Manoeuvre Flotilla. In 1911, G134 was part of the 5th half-flotilla of the 3rd Torpedo boat Flotilla, remaining part of that unit through 1912, and into 1913, although the flotilla was now a reserve formation.

First World War
While the German Navy mobilised on 1 August 1914, owing to the imminent outbreak of the First World War, G134 was not a member of a torpedo-boat flotilla in the immediate aftermath of the mobilization. In September 1914, in a re-organisation of the German Baltic Fleet, G134 was one of five torpedo boats transferred to the Baltic to replace the more modern SMS V186 and SMS V26, which transferred to the North Sea. G134 joined the 19th half-flotilla, tasked with patrol duties in the western Baltic. On 24 October, as part of a reorganisation of German patrol forces in the western Baltic, the 19th half-flotilla became part of the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, while G134 was transferred to the 20th half-flotilla, based at Danzig and operating in the eastern Baltic. From 15 to 18 December 1914, G134 accompanied the 20th half-flotilla in a sortie by the armoured cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert (1901) and the light cruisers SMS Amazone, SMS Augsburg, SMS Lübeck and SMS Thetis into the Sea of Åland. On 17 December, G134 and the torpedo boat T97 investigated the Bogskär Lighthouse, which had been attacked in September that year, landing men using the ships' cutters to confirm that the lighthouse had not been repaired and was still out of use.

On 22 January 1915, G134 was one of eight torpedo boats that accompanied the cruisers SMS Prinz Adalbert (1901) and SMS Augsburg in a sweep north of Gotland, with Libau being shelled on the return journey. On 25 January 1915, the light cruiser SMS Gazelle struck a mine near Cape Arkona. G134 and SMS G132 towed Gazelle to Swinemünde on 26 January. On 28 March 1915, the cruiser SMS Lübeck, together with G134 and SMS G135, attacked Libau, with the intention of sinking a reported submarine. When the submarine was not found, the city was bombarded, with G134 attacking petroleum sheds, some steamers and oil tanks. After G135 spotted and destroyed a mine, plans to enter the port were abandoned. In April 1915, the Germany reorganised its Baltic torpedo-boat forces again, with G134 transferring to the 7th torpedo-boat half-flotilla, with duties of patrolling the Øresund. On 16 November 1915, G134 attempted to stop the British steamer Thelma in Lundåkra Bay. Thelma was one of 92 British ships trapped in Swedish and Russian Baltic ports at the start of the war, and was attempting to run past the German patrols of the Øresund and return to Britain. Thelma turned away and fled towards Swedish territorial waters, and G134 was forced to break off her pursuit, when the Swedish torpedo boat HSWMS Pollux (1909) went to Thelma's assistance, with Pollux clearing for action and manning her guns. Sweden lodged a diplomatic protest about the incident, but this was rejected by Germany.

By May 1916, G134 had been transferred to training duties, being part of the School half-flotilla. On 27 September 1916, the ship was renamed T134, in order to free her number for new construction, in this case the torpedo boat SMS S134. T134 remained on training duties at the end of the war, a member of the 1st school half-flotilla. After the end of the war, T134 was initially retained by the Weimar Republic's navy, the Reichsmarine, but was struck from the Naval lists on 9 November 1920 and sold for scrap on 13 May 1921.