View source for SMS Geier

{{Use shortened footnotes|date=October 2022}}
{{Short description|Unprotected cruiser of the German Imperial Navy}}
{{Good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-C0105, SMS "Geier", Kleiner Kreuzer.jpg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=SMS {{lang|de|Geier}}, 1894
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[German Empire]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|German Empire|naval}}
|Ship name={{lang|de|Geier}}
|Ship namesake=[[Vulture]]
|Ship laid down=1893
|Ship launched=18 October 1894
|Ship commissioned=24 October 1895
|Ship fate=Captured by the [[US Navy]], 6 April 1917
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=[[United States]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|naval}}
|Ship name=''Schurz''
|Ship acquired=6 April 1917
|Ship commissioned=15 September 1917
|Ship fate=Sunk 21 June 1918 after collision
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Bussard|cruiser|0}} [[unprotected cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=
*[[normal displacement|Normal]]: {{cvt|1608|t|LT|lk=on}}
* [[Full load]]: {{cvt|1918|t|LT}}
|Ship length={{convert|83.9|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|10.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
*2 × [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s
*2 × [[screw propeller]]s
|Ship power=
*4 × [[fire-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|2800|PS|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|15.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|3610|nmi|km|-1|abbr=on}} at {{convert|9|kn|km/h}}
|Ship complement=*9 officers
* 152 enlisted men
|Ship armament=*8 × [[10.5 cm SK L/35|{{convert|10.5|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} SK L/35]] guns
* 5 × {{cvt|3.7|cm}} [[Hotchkiss revolver cannon]]
* 2 × {{cvt|45|cm|1}} [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''SMS {{lang|de|Geier}}''' ("His Majesty's Ship ''Vulture''"){{efn|name=SMS|}} was an [[unprotected cruiser]] of the {{sclass|Bussard|cruiser|4}} built for the German [[Imperial German Navy|Imperial Navy]] ({{lang|de|Kaiserliche Marine}}). She was laid down in 1893 at the [[Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven|Imperial Dockyard]] in [[Wilhelmshaven]], launched in October 1894, and commissioned into the fleet a year later in October 1895. Designed for service in Germany's overseas colonies, the ship required the comparatively heavy armament of eight [[10.5 cm SK L/35|{{convert|10.5|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} SK L/35]] guns and a long cruising radius. She had a top speed of {{convert|15.5|kn|abbr=on}}.

{{lang|de|Geier}} spent the majority of her career on foreign stations, including tours in the Americas, East Asia, and Africa. In 1897, she was deployed to the Caribbean, and during the [[Spanish–American War]] the following year, she ferried Europeans out of the war zone to Mexico by crossing the blockade lines around Cuban ports. After being transferred to the western coast of the Americas in 1899, {{lang|de|Geier}} was reassigned to China to help suppress the [[Boxer Uprising]] in 1900. She remained in East Asian waters through 1905 before being recalled to Germany for major repairs. In 1911, the ship was assigned to the colony in [[German East Africa]], though she served little time in the area, as the [[Italo-Turkish War]] of 1911–1912 and the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912–13 required German warships in the [[Mediterranean]] to safeguard German interests. {{lang|de|Geier}} returned to East Africa in early 1914, but in June that month, the new [[light cruiser]] {{SMS|Königsberg|1905|2}} arrived, and {{lang|de|Geier}} headed to China for second deployment there.

{{lang|de|Geier}} was still en route to the German base in [[Qingdao]] when war broke out in Europe in August 1914. Slipping out of still-neutral British [[Singapore]] days before Britain declared war on Germany, she crossed the central Pacific in an attempt to link up with [[Maximilian von Spee]]'s [[East Asia Squadron]]. While at sea, she captured one British [[Cargo ship|freighter]], but did not sink her. In need of engine repairs and coal, {{lang|de|Geier}} put into the neutral United States port at [[Honolulu, Hawaii]], in October 1914, where she was eventually interned. After the American entrance into the war in April 1917, the [[US Navy]] seized {{lang|de|Geier}}, commissioned her as '''USS ''Schurz''''', and placed her on convoy duty. She was ultimately sunk following a collision with a freighter off the coast of North Carolina, with one man killed and twelve injured. She rests at a depth of {{convert|115|ft}} and is a popular [[scuba diving]] site.

==Design==
{{main|Bussard-class cruiser}}
[[File:SMS Geier.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration of {{lang|de|Geier}}]]

Through the 1870s and early 1880s, [[German Empire|Germany]] built two types of cruising vessels: small, fast [[aviso]]s suitable for service as fleet scouts and larger, long-ranged [[screw corvette]]s capable of patrolling the [[German colonial empire]]. A pair of new cruisers was authorized under the 1886–1887 fiscal year, intended for the latter purpose. General [[Leo von Caprivi]], the [[German Imperial Admiralty|Chief of the Imperial Admiralty]], sought to modernize Germany's cruiser force. The first step in the program, the two {{sclass|Schwalbe|cruiser|0}} [[unprotected cruiser]]s, provided the basis for the larger {{sclass|Bussard|cruiser|4}}.{{sfn|Nottelmann|pp=102–103}}{{sfn|Sondhaus|pp=166–167}}

{{lang|de|Geier}} was {{convert|83.9|m|ftin|sp=us}} [[length overall|long overall]] and had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|10.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|4.74|m|ftin|abbr=on}} forward. She [[displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{cvt|1608|t|LT|lk=on}} [[normal displacement|normally]] and up to {{convert|1918|MT|abbr=on}} at [[full load]]. Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 3-cylinder [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s that drove a pair of [[screw propeller]]s. Steam was provided by four coal-fired cylindrical [[fire-tube boiler]]s that were ducted into a single [[funnel (ship)|funnel]]. These provided a top speed of {{convert|15.5|kn|lk=in}} from {{convert|2800|PS|ihp|lk=on}}, and a range of approximately {{convert|3610|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|9|kn|abbr=on}}. She had a crew of 9 officers and 152 enlisted men.{{sfn|Gröner|p=97}}

The ship was armed with a [[main battery]] of eight [[10.5 cm SK L/35|{{cvt|10.5|cm}} SK L/35]] quick-firing (QF) guns in single pedestal mounts, supplied with 800&nbsp;rounds of ammunition in total. They had a range of {{convert|10800|m|abbr=on}}. Two guns were placed side by side forward, two on each [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]], and two side by side aft. The gun armament was rounded out by five {{cvt|3.7|cm}} [[Hotchkiss revolver cannon]] for defense against [[torpedo boat]]s. She was also equipped with two {{cvt|45|cm|1}} [[torpedo tube]]s with five torpedoes, both of which were mounted on the deck.{{sfn|Gröner|p=97}}{{sfn|Lyon|p=253}}

==Service history==
[[File:SMS Geier off shore.png|thumb|Illustration of {{lang|de|Geier}} overseas]]
{{lang|de|Geier}} was ordered under the contract name "F" and was laid down at the [[Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven|Imperial Dockyard]] in [[Wilhelmshaven]] in 1893. She was launched on 18 October 1894, after which [[fitting-out]] work commenced. During her launching ceremony, {{lang|de|[[Vizeadmiral]]}} (Vice Admiral) [[Victor Valois]] christened the ship. She was commissioned into the German Navy on 24 October 1895 for sea trials. Her trials were completed on 21 January 1896, and she was decommissioned temporarily in [[Kiel]]. During construction, her design was slightly modified based on experience from her [[sister ship]]s that had already completed their [[sea trial]]s. {{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s displacement was increased slightly by around {{convert|50|MT|abbr=on}} compared to the other ships of the class and her stern was modified.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=97–98}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=198}}

===First deployment abroad===
{{lang|de|Geier}} was recommissioned on 1 December 1897 for her first deployment abroad, to the [[West Indies]]. Until then, Germany had relied on [[school ship]]s to protect German nationals in the region. Rising tensions in [[Haiti]] prompted the {{lang|de|[[Admiralstab]]}} (Admiralty Staff) to send {{lang|de|Geier}} to the Caribbean, replacing the old [[ironclad warship|ironclad]] {{SMS|Oldenburg|1884|2}} that had been scheduled to deploy there. The ironclad {{SMS|König Wilhelm||2}}, which had recently been rebuilt into an [[armored cruiser]], was sent to strengthen the German naval contingent. {{lang|de|Geier}} departed Kiel on 9 December and arrived in [[Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]] in the [[Danish West Indies]] on 3 January 1898, where she rendezvoused with the school ships {{SMS|Charlotte||2}} and {{SMS|Stein||2}}. {{lang|de|Charlotte}} and {{lang|de|Stein}} had already taken care of the situation in Haiti, so {{lang|de|Geier}} went to [[Santiago de Cuba]], where she stayed from 24 March to 6 April. She then received an order to visit Brazilian and Argentinian ports; stops included [[Pernambuco]] in Brazil (16–20 April) and [[Bahía Blanca]] in Argentina (23 April). While she was in the latter port, her tour of South America was cut short due to the outbreak of the [[Spanish–American War]].{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=198}}

[[File:SMS Geier.png|thumb|left|{{lang|de|Geier}} in Havana in 1898]]

On 6 May she arrived in [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Thomas]]. She thereafter made trips to Santiago de Cuba and [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]]. While in San Juan on 13–14 May, {{lang|de|Geier}} witnessed an American squadron under [[Rear Admiral]] [[William T. Sampson]] bombard the city. The US government permitted {{lang|de|Geier}} to cross the blockade line outside [[Havana]] to evacuate twenty civilians of various nationalities and take them to [[Veracruz]] in Mexico, arriving on the 29th. There, the governor of the city and the artillery officer from the training ship {{ship|Mexican corvette|Zaragoza||2}} visited {{lang|de|Geier}} for some practice torpedo launches. While {{lang|de|Geier}} was in Mexico, the German ambassador invited her commander and 27 men to visit [[Mexico City]], where they were received by President [[Porfirio Díaz]].{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=198}} {{lang|de|Geier}} thereafter returned to Cuba. On 16 June, the ship called on the port of [[Cienfuegos]] in Cuba. She passed through the American blockade of Santiago de Cuba twice, on 22–29 June and 1–4 August.{{sfn|Nunez|p=76}}

After the war ended, {{lang|de|Geier}} visited [[New Orleans]] on 14 October, departing eleven days later for the Caribbean. She then resumed her tour of South America that had been interrupted by the war. She typically stopped in ports where significant numbers of Germans had emigrated. While in [[Buenos Aires]], she received an order to proceed to the west coast of the continent. She transited the [[Straits of Magellan]] on 20–23 February 1899 and made stops in [[Valparaiso]], Chile, [[Callao]], Peru, and [[Panama]]. From 11 to 17 May, she stopped in [[Puerto San José]], Guatemala, where she met a British cruiser; the two ships were sent there to settle financial disputes with the Guatemalan government. {{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s tour continued, with stops in [[Corinto, Nicaragua|Corinto]], Nicaragua, [[Guayaquil]], Ecuador, and [[Puntarenas]], Costa Rica. While in Corinto, she received orders to proceed further north, to the western coast of the United States and Canada. She stopped in [[Acapulco]] before arriving in [[San Francisco]] on 14 August, where she underwent a boiler overhaul. On 18 September, she departed San Francisco bound for [[Vancouver]], stopping in [[Esquimalt]] en route. On 18 October, she left Vancouver and began her return voyage south. She visited Chilean harbors in January and February 1900, including [[Puerto Montt]] on 14 February, before turning back north, as she had been assigned to the newly created West American station.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=198}}

[[File:Contemporary map of Tsingtau and the Shandong Peninsula.png|thumb|German 1912 map of the [[Shandong Peninsula]] showing the [[Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory]]|alt=The Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory was located in the natural harbor at Qingdao on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula]]
While in Acapulco on 9 July, {{lang|de|Geier}} was ordered to cross the Pacific to join the forces of the [[Eight Nation Alliance]] fighting the [[Boxer Uprising]] in [[Qing China]]. She left port on 11 July for [[Yokohama]], Japan, by way of [[Honolulu]], Hawaii. She arrived in [[Chefoo]] on 29 August, where she joined the ships of the [[East Asia Squadron]]. {{lang|de|Geier}} first patrolled the [[Bohai Sea]] before docking in [[Qingdao]] at the German-held [[Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory]] in October. On 28 October, she steamed to [[Shanghai]], where she remained until February 1901. {{lang|de|Geier}} then steamed up the [[Yangtze]] to [[Chungking]], where she replaced her sister ship {{SMS|Bussard||2}}. On 5 April, {{lang|de|Geier}} returned to Qingdao; on the 29th, she was transferred to the coast of central China, where she replaced another sister, {{SMS|Seeadler||2}}. {{lang|de|Geier}} returned to Qingdao on 18 July, and began a tour of Korean and Japanese ports four days later with the [[flagship]] of the East Asia Squadron, {{SMS|Fürst Bismarck|1897|2}}. The next twelve months were filled with cruises in the region.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=199}}

On 15 October 1902, {{lang|de|Geier}} began a long cruise south to the [[Dutch East Indies]], which also included a stop in [[Singapore]]. The ship entered the dry dock in [[Nagasaki]], Japan, for a major overhaul on 2 March 1903, which lasted until 26 April. At this time, {{lang|de|Geier}} was formally assigned to the East Asia Squadron. The ship resumed its normal routine of cruises in East Asian waters with stops in various ports. In February 1904, the [[Russo-Japanese War]] broke out; from April to August, {{lang|de|Geier}} was in [[Chemulpo]], which had been captured by the Japanese. By 1905, the ship was suffering wear, having spent over seven years on foreign stations. The repair facilities in Qingdao were insufficient for the amount of work that needed to be done, and so {{lang|de|Geier}} was ordered to return to Germany. She left Qingdao on 14 January and arrived in Kiel on 16 March, where she was decommissioned for a significant period of repair work. Her three-masted [[schooner barque]] rig was reduced to a two-masted [[topsail schooner]] rig.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=199}}

===Second overseas deployment===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-B2651, Kaiser Wilhelm II. (m.) auf der SMS "Geier".jpg|left|thumb|Kaiser Wilhelm (center) aboard SMS {{lang|de|Geier}}]]

In early 1911, {{lang|de|Geier}} was recommissioned to replace the unprotected cruiser {{SMS|Sperber||2}} on the East African Station, based in [[German East Africa]]. On 2 May she left [[Danzig]], arriving in Kiel the following day. There, she was equipped for the deployment abroad. The ship left Kiel on 8 May and arrived in [[Dar es Salaam]] on 9 July, where she joined {{lang|de|Seeadler}}. She cruised the colony's coast, but at the end of September she was ordered to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], as the [[Italo-Turkish War]] had broken out on the 29th. At the time, the only German warship in the Mediterranean was the old [[gunboat]] {{SMS|Loreley|1885|2}}, the station ship in [[Constantinople]]; this was a result of the heightened tensions in Europe following the [[Agadir Crisis]] in July, as most German warships in European waters had been recalled to Germany.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|pp=199–200}}

{{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s departure for the Mediterranean was delayed by a coal fire in Dar es Salaam, which required her crew to put out. She left East Africa on 2 October and arrived in [[Piraeus]], Greece, on 16 October, where she remained until January 1912. She was then formally assigned to the [[Mediterranean Division]], along with the recently arrived [[battlecruiser]] {{SMS|Goeben||2}}. From mid-April to mid-July, she made trips to provide humanitarian assistance in [[Libya]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and the [[Red Sea]]. These were interrupted by the arrival of [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]]'s yacht {{lang|de|[[SMY Hohenzollern|Hohenzollern]]}}; the two ships cruised to the island of [[Corfu]] in early May. On 17 July, {{lang|de|Geier}} went to [[Trieste]] in [[Austria-Hungary]] for an overhaul that lasted until 30 September. She thereafter went on a cruise of the eastern Mediterranean and visited several ports.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}}

She was loading coal in [[Haifa]] on 31 January 1913 when a coal dust explosion killed two crew members. While cruising Turkish waters in August, she was ordered to replace the [[light cruiser]] {{SMS|Breslau||2}} in the international naval blockade of [[Montenegro]] during the [[Second Balkan War]]. She arrived off the mouth of the [[Bojana River]] in Montenegro on 11 August and patrolled it until 14 October, when she was released for a major overhaul in Triest. After repairs were completed on 4 January 1914, she was ordered to return to the East Africa Station. She arrived there on 22 February and conducted a survey of the harbor at [[Tanga, Tanzania|Tanga]]. On 6 May, the ship was formally reclassified as a gunboat. The light cruiser {{SMS|Königsberg|1905|2}} arrived on 5 June to replace {{lang|de|Geier}}, which was then reassigned to the South Seas Station, where she would in turn replace her sister {{SMS|Condor||2}}.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}}

===World War I===
[[File:Bochum DADG.jpg|thumb|{{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s collier {{SS|Bochum||2}}]]

{{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s captain learned of the rising tensions in Europe following the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] while en route to the Pacific. The ship coaled in Singapore on 25–29 July, departing the day after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. {{lang|de|Geier}} thereafter proceeded southeast through the [[Gaspar Strait]], rather than north to Qingdao, where he would be expected to go. While off [[Jakarta|Batavia]] on 1 August, {{lang|de|Geier}} received the order from [[Maximilian von Spee]], the commander of the East Asia Squadron, to join him at [[Yap]]. On 3. August, she received word of the German mobilization and the order to begin [[cruiser warfare]]. She coaled at [[Tanah Jampea|Jampea]] from the steamer {{SS|Elmshorn||2}} of the {{lang|de|Deutsch-Australische Dampfschiffs-Gesellschaft}} (DADG) on 6 August before steaming north through the [[Buton Strait]]. Off [[Celebes]] she rendezvoused with the DADG steamer {{SS|Bochum||2}}, which acted as her [[Collier (ship)|collier]].{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}}

{{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s crew made temporary repairs to the ship's engines and boilers before proceeding north to the [[Palau]] Islands. {{lang|de|Bochum}} took {{lang|de|Geier}} under tow to conserve coal.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}} On 20 August, she managed to contact the cruiser {{SMS|Emden|1908|2}}, which was detached from the East Asia Squadron and operating as a commerce raider. {{lang|de|Emden}} instructed {{lang|de|Geier}} to rendezvous at the island of [[Anguar]], but she was unable to reach the island before {{lang|de|Emden}} departed. Nevertheless, the two ships met at sea the following day; one of {{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s cutters took her commander, Lieutenant Commander Curt Graßhoff, aboard {{lang|de|Emden}} to meet with her captain. {{lang|de|Emden}} then departed for the [[Molucca Strait]], while {{lang|de|Geier}} proceeded to Anguar.{{sfn|Lochner|pp=63, 65–66}} After arriving, {{lang|de|Geier}} coaled from the [[HAPAG]] steamer {{SS|Tsingtau||2}}. Graßhoff intended to rendezvous with the East Asia Squadron in the central Pacific, and proceeded through the [[Bismarck Archipelago]] before turning north to [[Kusaie]].{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}} There, on 4 September, {{lang|de|Geier}} captured the British [[Cargo ship|freighter]] ''Southport'' and disabled the ship's engines before departing. The freighter's crew repaired the damage, however, and ''Southport'' made for Australia where she reported the German gunboat's presence.{{sfn|Mooney|p=381}}

On 11 September, {{lang|de|Geier}} arrived in [[Majuro]], though the East Asia Squadron had already departed the island on 30 August. By this time, the ship's engines were in such bad shape that she would have been unable to reach Qingdao,{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=201}} though the point was moot, as Japanese forces had already besieged the port.{{sfn|Halpern|p=74}} In addition, opportunities for commerce raiding in the area were slim, and there were no suitably fast steamers available to arm as [[auxiliary cruiser]]s. Graßhoff therefore decided to follow the East Asia Squadron to South America, despite the slow speed of his ship, which was reduced to {{convert|8|kn}}. The [[Norddeutscher Lloyd]] (NDL) steamer {{SS|Locksun||2}} towed {{lang|de|Geier}} to the [[Marshall Islands]], where further repairs were made from 17 to 20 September. By this time, the ship's coal and water supplies were so low that the ship would not be able to continue past Hawaii. She arrived in Honolulu on 15 October, where the then-neutral Americans requested that {{lang|de|Geier}} be interned. Two Japanese ships—the battleship {{lang|ja|[[Russian battleship Retvizan|Hizen]]}} and the armored cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Asama||2}}—had been patrolling in the area. Upon learning of the arrival of {{lang|de|Geier}}, the two ships remained just outside the three mile limit to await {{lang|de|Geier}}{{'}}s departure. Graßhoff was able to delay the internment request until 7 November owing to damage to the ship and poor weather. The following day, the US Navy interned {{lang|de|Geier}}.{{sfn|Mooney|p=381}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=200}}{{efn|name=Hague|}}

===Service as USS ''Schurz''===
[[File:USS Schurz NH 94909.jpg|thumb|''Schurz'' in [[San Diego]]]]

The United States entered the war on the side of the Allies on 6 April 1917. The [[US Navy]] seized {{lang|de|Geier}} and refitted her for service in the Navy as a gunboat. The ship was renamed USS ''Schurz'' on 9 June, and commissioned on 15 September 1917, under the command of Commander [[Arthur Crenshaw]]. ''Schurz'' departed [[Pearl Harbor]] on 31 October and escorted [[Submarine Division 3]] to San Diego. Arriving on 12 November, she continued on with the submarines {{USS|K-3|SS-34|2}}, {{USS|K-4|SS-35|2}}, {{USS|K-7|SS-38|2}}, and {{USS|K-8|SS-39|2}}, in early December. At the end of the month, the convoy transited the Panama Canal and proceeded to Honduras. On 4 January 1918, ''Schurz'' was relieved of escort duty. She carried the American consul from [[Puerto Cortés|Puerto Cortes]] to Omao and back, after which she sailed for Key West. From Florida, she was transferred to New Orleans and then sailed for Charleston, South Carolina on 1 February where she entered dry dock for periodic maintenance.{{sfn|Mooney|p=381}}

Assigned to the American Patrol Detachment, ''Schurz'' departed Charleston toward the end of April and, for the next two months, conducted patrols and performed escort duty and towing missions along the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 19 June, she departed New York for Key West. At 04:44 on the 21st, southwest of Cape Lookout lightship, she was rammed by the merchant ship ''Florida''. The ship hit ''Schurz'' on the starboard side, crumpling that wing of the bridge, penetrating the well and berth deck about 12 feet, and cutting through bunker no. 3 to the forward fire room. One of ''Schurz''{{'}}s crewmen was killed instantly; twelve others were injured. ''Schurz'' was abandoned and sank three hours later. The ship was struck from the Navy list on 26 August 1918.{{sfn|Mooney|p=381}}

==Wreck==
The wreckage rests at a depth of {{convert|115|ft}} with the top of the wreck situated at {{convert|95|ft}}. In 2000, the ship was the subject of a Phase II archaeological investigation headed by [[East Carolina University]].<ref name=ECU2000>{{cite journal |author=Casserly, Tane |title=Laser Digital Modeling and the Archaeological Investigation of USS Schurz |journal=Stem to Stern |volume=16 |year=2001 |page=15 |url=http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/maritime/upload/s2s01.pdf |access-date=2013-12-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614174222/http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/maritime/upload/s2s01.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-14 }}</ref> The wreck is protected by [[Sovereign immunity in the United States|sovereign immunity]] and it is therefore illegal to recover artifacts from the site without permission.<ref name=BarnetteSovereign>{{cite web |author=Barnette, Michael C |author-link=Michael C. Barnette |year=2004 |title=Lost At Sea: A Treatise on the Management and Ownership of Shipwrecks and Shipwreck Artifacts |publisher=[[Association of Underwater Explorers]] |url=http://uwex.us/lostatsea.htm |access-date=2013-12-11 |archive-date=2011-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228030800/http://uwex.us/lostatsea.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2013, ''Scuba Diving'' magazine named USS ''Schurz'' as one of the top ten [[wreck dive]]s in North Carolina.<ref name=Gerken>{{cite journal |author=Gerken, Michael |date=Apr 18, 2013 |title=Top 10 Wreck Dives of North Carolina |journal=Scuba Diving |url=http://www.scubadiving.com/photos/top-10-wreck-dives-north-carolina |access-date=2013-12-11}}</ref>

==Notes==

===Footnotes===
{{notes
| notes =

{{efn
| name = SMS
| "SMS" stands for "{{lang|de|[[Seiner Majestät Schiff]]}}" ({{langx|de|link=no|His Majesty's Ship}}).
}}

{{efn
|name = Hague
|According to the terms of Treaty XIII of the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907|1907 Hague Convention]], warships would normally be interned after spending 24 hours in a neutral port. They could remain in the port longer than 24 hours "on account of damage or stress of weather". See: [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hague13.asp Hague XIII], Articles 12 and 14.
}}

}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==References==

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  | first = Erich
  |author-link=Erich Gröner
  | year = 1990
  | title = German Warships: 1815–1945
  | volume = I: Major Surface Vessels
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | location = Annapolis
  | isbn = 978-0-87021-790-6
  | ref ={{sfnRef|Gröner}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Halpern
  |first=Paul G.
  |title=A Naval History of World War I
  |year=1995
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  |publisher=Naval Institute Press
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  }}
* {{cite book
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  | publisher=Mundus Verlag
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  |name-list-style=amp
  | language = de
  }}
* {{cite book
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  |title=The Last Gentleman-Of-War: The Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden
  |year=2002
  |location=Annapolis
  |publisher=Naval Institute Press
  |isbn=1557505381
  |ref={{sfnref|Lochner}}
  }}
* {{cite book 
  |last=Lyon
  |first=Hugh
  |chapter=Germany
  |editor1-last=Gardiner
  |editor1-first=Robert
  |editor2-last=Chesneau
  |editor2-first=Roger
  |editor3-last=Kolesnik
  |editor3-first=Eugene M.
  |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905
  |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2
  |url-access=limited
  |year=1979
  |location=Greenwich
  |publisher=Conway Maritime Press
  |isbn=978-0-85177-133-5
  |ref={{sfnRef|Lyon}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |editor-last=Mooney
  |editor-first=James L.
  |title=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Historical Sketches—Letters R through S
  |volume=VI
  |publisher=Department of the Navy
  |location=Washington, DC
  |oclc=769806180
  |year=1976
  |ref={{sfnref|Mooney}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Nottelmann
  |first=Dirk
  |editor-last=Jordan
  |editor-first=John
  |publisher=Osprey
  |location=Oxford
  |year=2020
  |title=Warship 2020
  |isbn=978-1-4728-4071-4
  |chapter=The Development of the Small Cruiser in the Imperial German Navy
  |pages=102–118
  |ref={{sfnref|Nottelmann}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last=Nunez
  |first=Severo Gómez
  |title=The Spanish–American War: Blockades and Coast Defense
  |url=https://archive.org/details/notesonspanisham01unit
  |year=1899
  |publisher=Washington, Govt. Print. Off
  |location=Washington, DC
  |ref={{sfnref|Nunez}}
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Sondhaus
  | first = Lawrence
  | year = 1997
  | title = Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | location = Annapolis
  | isbn = 978-1-55750-745-7
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Sondhaus}}
  }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Dodson
  | first1 = Aidan
  | author-link1 = Aidan Dodson
  | last2 = Nottelmann
  | first2 = Dirk
  | year = 2021
  | title = The Kaiser's Cruisers 1871–1918
  | publisher = Naval Institute Press
  | location = Annapolis
  | isbn = 978-1-68247-745-8
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Dodson & Nottelmann}}
  }}

==External links==
* [http://dreadnoughtproject.org/plans/SM_Geier_1894 DreadnoughtProject.org] four high resolution dockyard drawings.
* {{cite web|title=Schurz|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/schurz.html|publisher=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]]|access-date=20 March 2015}}

{{Bussard class cruisers}}
{{June 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{Coord|34|11.218|N|76|36.127|W |type:landmark_region:US_dim:100000 |display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geier}}
[[Category:Ships built in Wilhelmshaven]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of Germany]]
[[Category:Bussard-class cruisers]]
[[Category:World War I patrol vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:1894 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]