SMS V188

SMS V188 was a S-138-class large torpedo boat of the Imperial German Navy. It was built by the AG Vulcan shipyard at Stettin between 1910 and 1911 and launched on 8 February 1911.

V188 took part the First World War. She was present at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914 and was sunk by the British submarine HMS E16 on 26 July 1915.

Construction and design
The Imperial German Navy ordered 12 large torpedo boats (Große Torpedoboote) as part of the fiscal year 1910 shipbuilding programme, with one half-flotilla of six ships (V186–V191) ordered from AG Vulcan and the other six ships from Germaniawerft. The two groups of torpedo boats were of basically similar layout but differed slightly in detailed design, with a gradual evolution of design and increase in displacement with each year's orders.

V188 was 73.9 m long overall and 73.6 m between perpendiculars, with a beam of 7.9 m and a draught of 3.1 m. The ship displaced 666 t design and 775 t deep load.

Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boiler fed steam at a pressure of 18.5 atm to two sets of direct-drive steam turbines. The ship's machinery was rated at 18000 PS giving a design speed of 32 kn, with members of the class reaching a speed of 33.5 kn during sea trials. 136 tons of coal and 67 tons of oil fuel were carried, giving an endurance of 2360 nmi at 12 kn, 1250 nmi at 17 kn or 480 nmi at 30 kn.

The ship was armed with two 8.8 cm L/45 guns, one on the Forecastle and one aft. Four single 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes were fitted, with two on the ship's beam in the gap between the forecastle and the ship's bridge which were capable of firing straight ahead, one between the ship's two funnels, and one aft of the funnels. The ship had a crew of 84 officers and men.

V188 was laid down at AG Vulcan's Stettin shipyard as Yard number 306 and was launched on 8 February 1911 and completed on 20 May 1911.

First World War
On 28 August 1914, the British Harwich Force, supported by light cruisers and battlecruisers of the Grand Fleet, carried out  a raid towards Heligoland with the intention of destroying patrolling German torpedo boats. The German defensive patrols around Heligoland consisted of one flotilla (I Torpedo Flotilla) of 12 modern torpedo boats forming an outer patrol line about 25 nmi North and West of Heligoland, with an inner line of older torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division at about 12 nmi. Four German light cruisers and another flotilla of torpedo boats (V Torpedo Boat Flotilla) was in the vicinity of Heligoland. V188 , a member of the 1st Half Flotilla of I Torpedo Boat Flotilla, formed part of the outer screen of torpedo boats. At about 06:00 on 28 August, SMS G194, another member of the outer screen reported spotting the periscope of a submarine. As a result, the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was ordered out to hunt the hostile submarine. At 07:57 G194 was fired on by British warships, and was soon retreating towards Heligoland, pursued by four British destroyers. V Flotilla and the old torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division also came under British fire, and were only saved by the intervention of the German cruisers SMS Stettin and SMS Frauenlob (1902), with the torpedo boats SMS V1, SMS D8 and T33 damaged. On receiving a radio signal from G194 that she was being chased by superior forces, V188 set course at full speed towards Heligoland. She turned southwards to avoid British light cruisers, escaping to Heligoland and therefore avoided the fate of SMS V187, leader of I Flotilla, the next ship to the north in the patrol line, which was trapped by cruisers and destroyers of the Harwich Force and sunk. The intervention of the supporting British forces resulted in the sinking of the German cruisers SMS Mainz, SMS Cöln (1909) and SMS Ariadne (1900). The British light cruiser HMS Arethusa (1913) and destroyers HMS Laurel (1913), HMS Laertes (1913) and HMS Liberty (1913) were badly damaged but safely returned to base.

On the evening of 12 April 1915, the German airship L7 sighted a British light cruiser and five surfaced submarines in the Heligoland Bight. I Flotilla was ordered out to attack the submarines, but V188, SMS V189 and SMS G197 collided in thick fog, disabling the three ships and causing the sortie to be aborted. On 26 July 1915, the 2nd Half-flotilla of I Flotilla, including V188 was escorting minesweepers when the British submarine HMS E16 spotted the torpedo boats and torpedoed V188, blowing off the torpedo boat's stern and sinking her. Two of V188's crew were killed.