Haze Gray Mystery Picture #125 Answer


 [MYSTERY IMAGE]

Can You Identify This Ship?

This is the US gunboat USS Schurz, formerly the German cruiser Geier.

The unprotected cruiser Geier was launched in 1894 and served on foreign station, protecting German colonies overseas. On the outbreak of WWI she was in the Pacific, and immediately began attempts to elude Allied warships in the area. On 17 October 1914 she put into the neutral port of Honolulu to coal and make repairs, but soon after her arrival two Japanese warships arrived offshore, preventing her departure. Geier was interned by the US on 8 November. When the US entered WWI in 1917, Geier was seized and taken into the US Navy, commissioning as USS Schurz on 15 September 1917. Schurz was rammed by the merchant steamer Florida on 21 June 1918, causing massive damage. The gunboat was abandoned and sank several hours later.

Correct answers were received from: Christopher Olson, Jørn Kiel Nielsen, Ricardo Graça Matias, Art Niemoller, Yves Grangeon, Edgar Dutkowski, Olav A. Røssaak, Thomas Ruta, Paul Silverstone, Russ Frevele, Greg Carriedo, Brooks A Rowlett, Ersal S. Kronflogger, Rich Austin, Tom Hardesty, Lita Miclat.


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