This is a typing short cut for linking to Imperial German Navy or Austro-Hungarian Navy ship articles named in the format "SMS Germania (1899)". Since Ship names are italicized in article text, linking to them in the usual manner means typing everything twice, such as [[SMS Germania (1899)|SMS ''Germania'' (1899)]]. This template halves that to {{SMS|Germania|1899}}.

  • {{SMS|Ship Name}}
  • {{SMS|Ship Name|ID}}, where ID can be the hull number, launch year, or pennant number, as specified in the article title.
Template usage Equivalent wikicode Final result
{{SMS|Novara|1912}} [[SMS Novara (1912)|SMS ''Novara'' (1912)]] SMS Novara (1912)
{{SMS|Sankt Georg}} [[SMS Sankt Georg|SMS ''Sankt Georg'']] SMS Sankt Georg

Last example could be used to link to a ship index (disambiguation) page

Optional display control parameter

កែប្រែ

There is an optional third parameter that controls which pieces of text are displayed in the article. It's value is treated as a binary number and will display the corresponding "bits". So setting the 4's bit will display SMS, setting the 2's bit will display the ship name, and setting the 1's bit will display the ID. If binary math isn't your thing, refer to these examples:

Value Parameter(s)
displayed
Example Equivalent wikicode Final result
None all {{SMS|Novara|1912}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |SMS ''Novara'' (1912)]] SMS Novara (1912)
1 3rd {{SMS|Novara|1912|1}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |1912]] 1912
2 2nd {{SMS|Novara|1912|2}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |''Novara'']] Novara
3 2nd, 3rd {{SMS|Novara|1912|3}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |''Novara'' (1912)]] Novara (1912)
4 invalid result {{SMS|Novara|1912|4}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |Invalid Optional Parameter]] Invalid Optional Parameter
5 1st, 3rd {{SMS|Novara|1912|5}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |SMS (1912)]] SMS (1912)
6 1st, 2nd {{SMS|Novara|1912|6}} [[SMS Novara (1912) |SMS ''Novara'']] SMS Novara
2nd
(no 3rd)
{{SMS|Sankt Georg|3=2}}
Alternate usage: {{SMS|Sankt Georg||2}}
[[SMS Sankt Georg |''Sankt Georg'']] Sankt Georg

N.B.: Be careful with the third parameter if not using the second parameter. In the Sankt Georg example above, the "|3=2" means set the third parameter to a value of two, while the alternate syntax shows using a pair of pipes, "||2", to position the value two in the third parameter position.

Using an optional display control parameter value of 6 yields the same results as using {{warship}} to create the same link and text, but saving, coincidentally, 6 characters while editing.

 {{SMS|Novara|1912|6}} yields the same results as {{warship|SMS|Novara|1912}}

Optional submarine prefix parameter

កែប្រែ

Submarines or U-boats in the German Imperial Navy and the Austro-Hungarian Navy were prefixed with SM rather than SMS. Using an optional sub parameter allows the proper link generation for U-boat articles. The sub parameter also works in conjunction with the optional display parameters listed above.

Template usage Equivalent wikicode Final result
{{SMS|U-90|sub=y}} [[SM U-90|SM ''U-90'']] SM U-90
{{SMS|U-4|Austria-Hungary|sub=y}} [[SM U-4 (Austria-Hungary)|SM ''U-4'' (Austria-Hungary)]] SM U-4 (Austria-Hungary)
{{SMS|U-4|Austria-Hungary|6|sub=y}} [[SM U-4 (Austria-Hungary)|SM ''U-4'']] SM U-4

WP:SHIPS shortcut templates:

Ship class article shortcuts
  • For articles about ship classes named for a member of the class:
    {{sclass}}—article titles that are not hyphenated
    {{sclass-}}—article titles that are hyphenated
  • For articles about ship classes named for a common theme:
    {{sclass2}}—article titles that are not hyphenated
    {{sclass2-}}—article titles that are hyphenated
Ship prefix shortcuts
  • Generic ship prefixes
  • Commonwealth ship prefixes
  • United States ship prefixes
  • Other navies' prefixes
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) templates
Measurement shortcut templates