Ex-USS Schurz
Gunboat · United States · Lost 1918 · The Outer Banks
A captured German Imperial Navy cruiser turned U.S. gunboat, lost in a wartime blackout collision off Cape Lookout in 1918.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1894 as the German cruiser SMS Geier, the ship was interned at Honolulu in 1914 and seized by the United States upon entering World War I. Recommissioned as USS Schurz in 1917 for convoy patrol duty, she was struck and sunk by the collier SS Florida on June 21, 1918, off Cape Lookout, with one fatality. The composite steel-and-wood hull is now a well-documented, richly detailed dive site.
Vessel
- 1894
- Kaiserliche Werft
- Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Composite
- 255 ft
- 32 ft
- 1630
- Triple expansion steam, twin screw, with sail power
- Imperial German Navy (as Geier, 1894-1917); U.S. Navy (as Schurz, 1917-1918)
Loss
- June 21, 1918
- Collision
- Off Cape Lookout, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- 217
- 1
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 95-110
- Contiguous, upright with slight list to port; boilers, engine, deck guns, anchor, and steering quadrant visible.
- Upright
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 34.19° N 76.60° W
- Approximate position
- Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (88/100)
NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Build, service history, loss details, significance, wreck condition.
