SMS Th 2
The second boat ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Co. was a second class torpedo boat. Those were usually meant to be carried by larger ships and then deployed, but
Th 2 could also operate autonomously. She was launched on 23rd of May and comissioned on August 1st in 1884, originally named boat
Nr. IV (
Nr. I - III were two sets of spar torpedo boats of the 1870s).
Th 2 had a crew of six, was armed with two above-water 350mm bow torpedo tubes and one revolver cannon mounted aft. Of note was the funnel, which was mounted off-centerline on starboard.
After being used as a trial ship, she was converted into a regular steadmer an renamed
Seebär (sea dog) and operated out of Hamburg. Along with steamers
Lochiel and
Silvana she was one of the first to test the new Schlick gyro stabiliaztion system in 1907/1908. Her fate after that remains unknown.
That dark paint job really obsures some of the details, especially on such a small ship...
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