Ordered 1914 Peacetime order Beam 8.33 m Launched 16 January 1915 Weight 1,051 tons Draft 3.45 m | Commissioned 20 August 1915 Speed 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h) Length 80 m Displacement 1.051 million kg | |
Range 1,100 nautical miles at 20 knots (2,040 km at 37 km/h) Builder Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft | ||
SMS G39 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913-class torpedo boat of the German Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 15th ship of her class.
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Construction
Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, she was commissioned in August 1915. The "G" in G39 refers to the shipyard at which she was constructed.
Service
G39 was assigned to the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine when she participated in the Battle of Jutland. She served as the leader of the First Torpedo Boat Flotilla in this action under the command of Commander Conrad Albrecht. Admiral Hipper transferred from Lützow to G39 during the Battle of Jutland prior to his transfer to the Moltke.
After the end of hostilities, G39 was interned at Scapa Flow and scuttled. One of the crew members on her last voyage was Leopold Bürkner, who later became head of foreign affairs intelligence during the Third Reich. He was interned until 29 January 1920.
The boat was salvaged by Ernest Cox on 3 July 1925.