Trivia!

Karl von Muller of Emden? In the Indian ocean?

 

Karl von Muller inflicted 5 civilian casualties and countless military casualties. This captain inflicted only 1 casualty and sank or captured 15 ships (all commerce ships).

 

I think it was Karlsruhe in the Carribbean, but would have to google anymore then that

 

Hmmm I'd be wrong, Karlsruhe bagged 16 ships according to Wikipedia

 

I was just reading about this ship last week. SMS Seeadler under the command of Felix von Luckner. The Seeadler was unique among WW1 commerce raiders in that it was a sailing ship. By that point in the war, Germany had realized its steamship raider fleet was too vulnerable because of the dependence on coal and lack of friendly ports to refuel. The Germans captured a sailing ship named Pass of Balmaha and equipped it with a couple of cannons plus two small engines (for emergency use) and let it loose for merchant raiding. I think it operated through the Atlantic and into the Pacific where it was wrecked on a coral reef. Seeadler herself captured or sank 15 ships and the crew later captured another ship as they tried to return home.

I believe the one casualty inflicted by Seeadler was an accident, but I don't recall how it happened.

 

Ding Ding we have a winner. She was the last tall ship used in war. She was a windjammer to be exact. The casualty was due to shrapnel from a steam pipe or the like if I recall right. Her sinking is shrouded in mystery and lies and still is a topic of historians.
To bad she was laid before 1900 would be fun to do a version of her as a convoy ship perhaps =D

Some interesting wiki reading for y'all..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Seeadler_(auxiliary_cruiser)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_von_Luckner

 

Thanks, Very interesing reading.

 

I knew about the ship but had to look up the name of the captain. His story is quite amazing! Not only did the crew capture a ship after Seeadler was wrecked, but the captain and a few men were caught as POWs, escaped by staging a fake Christmas play, and captured yet another ship! I can see why he was such a celebrity during and after the war. I think there's a book about him--I'll have to see if I can find a copy sometime.

 

OK, here's the next question:

I was a member of a royal family and a strong advocate for my country's navy. I played an important role in urging my country to build its first (and last) class of dreadnoughts. I was the patron of one of these ships and it became known as my personal dreadnought. This ship carried me on a visit to a troubled part of my country where my death changed history. The ship I had fought to build not only delivered me to my death but also brought my coffin back home. The cursed dreadnought was later given to a short-lived nation but was destroyed only 12 hours after its new captain took command, killing him and many crew. Who am I and what is the name of this ship?

 

Gee, that sounds like one of the Viribus Unitis class dreadnoughts. Don't know the name of the royalty immediately, though. Mind if I use google?

 

Well I can't very well prevent web sleuthing! I thought the royalty whose "death changed history" was the more obvious part of the clue, but I did try to keep it vague to make the question more challenging. You are on the right track though.

 

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian empire is the unfortunate one you are looking for I think. His assassination by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian member of the Black Hand, led to the First World War.
You gotter Kotori.
J

 

Kotori and pamnjay have both identified elements of the correct answer, all that's needed is someone to put all the pieces together!

 

The ship is the Viribus Unitisherself and Archduke Franz Ferdinand is the dude. Kotori still started the answer wheel.
J

 

Correct! I pieced this question together from about three different sources since none seem to tell the entire tragic story.

Franz Ferdinand had been heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire until he was forced to renounce his right of succession so he could marry a Czech duchess named Sophie. Several years earlier, Ferdinand had made a world tour aboard an Austrian cruiser and gained an appreciation for the importance of naval power. He used this experience to argue for the creation of the Tegetthoff class of dreadnoughts. Despite opposition from members of the Austro-Hungarian government, Ferdinand and the Navy's leadership were successful in getting four of the ships built. The first completed was Viribus Unitis, and Ferdinand was named patron of his "personal dreadnought." He was also appointed Inspector General of the empire's armed forces and granted the honorary rank of admiral.

In this role, Ferdinand and Sophie boarded Viribus Unitis on a trip to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina to witness army training maneuvers. Bosnia was a deeply troubled part of the empire where various ethnic groups were clamoring for independence. As Ferdinand and Sophie rode in an open car, the couple survived an initial assassination attempt when a hand grenade was thrown toward their vehicle. The attempt failed after the driver alertly sped up and escaped. Unfortunately, the driver soon made a wrong turn bringing the car past another ethic Serbian assassin named Gavrilo Princip. As the car stopped to get back on the correct street, Princip approached the car, pulled a gun, and fired several shots into the royal couple. Both perished within an hour, and their caskets were returned home aboard Viribus Unitis.

Emperor Franz Joseph used the event to demand concessions from the nation of Serbia, who he believed had orchestrated the assassination. Serbia refused one term of the ultimatum, and tensions grew until World War I erupted across Europe two months later.

Viribus Unitis saw little action and spent most of the war in port. By late 1918, the war was clearly about to be lost and the empire was disintegrating. Hoping to avoid losing its ships to the Allies, Austria gave the entire fleet and its bases to the fledgling independent State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. On 31 October 1918, a Croatian naval officer named Janko Vukovich de Podkapelski assumed command of the fleet and made Viribus Unitis his flagship. Croatian sailors manned the ship and the Croat flag was hoisted. Despite having informed the allied governments of the fleet's neutral status, an elite group of Italians launched a daring mission to penetrate the port's defenses that very night. Two Italians approached Viribus Unitis in a "manned torpedo" and attached a mine to the hull. Though caught while trying to escape, the Italians refused to tell where the mine was located, and it detonated at 6:44 AM. Viribus Unitis sank in just 15 minutes taking the lives of 300 crew. Janko Vukovich de Podkapelski was reportedly last seen saluting from the stern as the ship capsized and sank.

Franz Ferdinand had also used his Inspector General position to push through design of an "improved Tegetthoff class" that would have corrected some of the earlier ship's deficiencies. Unfortunately, his death and the outbreak of war insured these ships were never laid down.

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Kotori, you're up!

 

Sorry about taking so long. Here's the question:

I sank the Merrimack
I fought for the Spanish during the Spanish-American War
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After being captured by America, I spent several years serving alongside one of the three great historical ships of the world
In 1912 I underwent drydock refit, after which I gained renown as the fastest ship in the fleet. Further visits in 1916, 1927, 1939, and 1951 helped me hold my title
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What ship am I?

 

It took some Google-fu for me to find it so keeping mum.. Tough one Kotori =D

 

Oh that's a tough one. Beyond my general knowledge, will have to google it so will also be quiet.

 

Yup, I found this question while looking up something completely different. If nobody has it by the end of Thursday, then feel free to google/wikipedia the answer on Friday.

 

Fair enough. That was a trickier question then I expected.