SMS G40

SMS G40 was a 1913 Type Large Torpedo Boat (Großes Torpedoboot) of the Imperial German Navy (Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I, and the 16th ship of her class.

History
German Empire
Ordered	1914 Peacetime order
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany
Launched	27 February 1915
Commissioned	16 September 1915
Fate	Interned at Scapa Flow 22 November 1918 Scuttled at Scapa Flow 21 June 1919
General characteristics
Displacement	1,051 tonnes
Length	79.5 meters
Beam	8.33 m
Draft	3.74 m (fwd); 3.45 meters (aft)
Speed	34.5 knots (63.9 km/h)
Range	1,100 nautical miles at 20 knots   (2,040 km at 37 km/h)
Complement	83 officers and sailors
Armament	3 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns 6 × 500 mm torpedo tubes 24 mines

Construction

Built by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, she was launched in February 1915.

Service

G40 was assigned to the First Torpedo Boat Flotilla of the High Seas Fleet of the German Imperial Navy. When she participated in the Battle of Jutland she was assigned to escort the battlecruiser SMS Lützow. In this action, Lützow was severely damaged such that she was unable to return to German waters. She assisted SMS G37, SMS G38 and SMS V45 in the evacuation of survivors. Naval gunfire from pursuing British vessels subsequently damaged G40's engines and she had to be towed back to German waters.

After the end of hostilities, G40 was interned at Scapa Flow and scuttled. She was salvaged for scrap by Ernest Cox in 1925.

References

• Technical specs of the Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class