SMS was one of four armored frigates of the German (Imperial Navy). Her sister ships were , , and . was built in the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin from 1876 to 1881. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in August 1881. She was armed with a main battery of six guns in two open barbettes.
After her commissioning, served with the fleet on numerous training exercises and cruises. She participated in several cruises escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on state visits to Great Britain and to various cities in the Baltic Sea in the late 1880s and early 1890s. During 1898–1899, the ship was modernized at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel; she served for another seven years with the fleet before being withdrawn from active service in 1906. She was subsequently used in a variety of secondary roles, until she was sold in 1920 and broken up for scrap.
Design
The class was the first group of capital ships built under the tenure of General Albrecht von Stosch, the first Chief of the Imperial Admiralty. Stosch favored a coastal defense strategy for the German fleet, and the s were intended to operate from fortified ports, from which they could sortie to attack blockading fleets. They proved to be controversial in service, as critics pointed out their poor seakeeping, tendency to roll in heavy seas, and low speed compared to earlier armored frigates. Along with her three sisters, was the first large, armored warship built for the German navy that relied entirely on engines for propulsion.
The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward. was powered by two 3-cylinder single-expansion steam engines, which were supplied with steam by eight coal-fired Dürr boilers. The boilers were vented into four funnels in an unusual square arrangement. The ship's top speed was , at . Her standard complement consisted of 32 officers and 285 enlisted men, though while serving as a squadron flagship this was augmented by another 7 officers and 34 men.
She was armed with a main battery of six guns, two of which were single-mounted in an open barbette forward of the conning tower and the remaining four mounted amidships, also on single mounts in an open barbette. As built, the ship was also equipped with six L/24 guns and eight Hotchkiss revolver cannons for defense against torpedo boats.
s armor was made of wrought iron, and was concentrated in an armored citadel amidships. The armor ranged from on the armored citadel, and between on the deck. The barbette armor was 254 mm of wrought iron backed by 250 mm of teak.
Modifications Between 1896 and 1898, was extensively modernized to prolong her useful service life. The ship's old wrought iron and teak armor was replaced with new Krupp nickel-steel armor. The four funnels were trunked into a single large funnel and new engines were also installed, which increased the ship's speed to . The ship's 8.7 cm guns were replaced with quick-firing SK L/30 guns and four autocannons. Work was completed in 1898.
Service history
Construction was ordered by the Imperial Navy under the contract name "D," which denoted that the vessel was a new addition to the fleet. She was built at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin; her keel was laid down in November 1876 under yard number 78. The ship was launched on 9 November 1878 and most work was completed by April 1881; at that time, she was transferred to the (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel for final fitting out. But low water levels in the Oder river made the voyage from Stettin to the Baltic Sea difficult, and on 24 April she ran aground in the river and was stranded for two days. The ship was eventually refloated and was not damaged in the accident. She was temporarily commissioned into the German fleet on 9 May 1881. At the time, representatives from Qing China were in Germany to observe the beginning of construction of their new ironclad , and during a visit to Kiel, they came aboard to inspect the ship.
On 16 May, was decommissioned to undergo fitting out, which included the installation of her main battery. Work was completed in a few weeks, and in June, the ship began sea trials without being recommissioned. These tests were carried out under the supervision of the shipyard director, (KzS—Captain at Sea) Max von der Goltz. After completing her trials, the ship was placed in reserve until April 1884. The official reason was to await the completion of her sister ships, but the naval historian Lawrence Sondhaus states that the delay in active use in part had to do with the poor performance of her sister in the fleet maneuvers of 1880. Among the problems associated with the -class ships was a tendency to roll dangerously due to their flat bottoms, which greatly reduced the accuracy of their guns. The ships were also poorly armored, compared to their contemporaries. In addition, they were slow and suffered from poor maneuverability.
1884–1896 was recommissioned on 22 April 1884, for her first major period of active service. At that time, KzS Hans von Koester served as her first commander. She and her three sisters served as I Division in the 1884 fleet maneuvers, under the command of (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Alexander von Monts. On 3 September, the ship came to the assistance of the damaged screw corvette , which had been seriously damaged in a collision with the steamer took under tow and took her back to port for repairs. Following the end of the annual fleet maneuvers in September, was reduced to the reserve for the winter on 30 September and Koester left the ship. The ship was again placed in reserve in 1885, and on 15 November she was allocated to the Reserve Division, but returned to fleet service in 1886 alongside , , and the new ironclad . KzS Friedrich von Hollmann commanded the ship during the year's training activities. During the annual fleet maneuvers, s engines proved troublesome.
Following the 1886 maneuvers, and her three sisters were removed from active duty to serve as the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. In June 1887, Germany dedicated the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal; was among the ships present during the celebrations. She remained in the Reserve Division in 1888, and in May replaced as the active vessel in the unit. When the ship returned to active service on 28 May, her next captain, KzS Franz von Kyckbusch, came aboard. She also served as the guard ship for Kiel that summer, until 21 September, when she was again deactivated and Kyckbusch left the vessel. On 1 October, the German reserve fleet was reorganized, and was assigned to II Reserve Division.
The ship returned to active service with the fleet on 2 May 1890, under the command of KzS Alfred von Tirpitz, when she joined I Division during the annual maneuvers. The eight ships of I and II Divisions simulated a Russian fleet blockading Kiel, which was defended by torpedo boat flotillas. On 30 September, Tirpitz departed the ship. was in reserve during the 1891 maneuvers, but returned to I Division in 1892. She was recommissioned on 8 August that year under the command of KzS Alfred Herz in preparation for the autumn maneuvers to replace , which had to be withdrawn from the maneuvers due to engine problems. During the latter part of the maneuvers, accidentally collided with the old armored frigate off Stolpmünde. 's steering gear was disabled in the collision and the central battery ironclad had to take her under tow back to Kiel for repairs. In November, (KK—Corvette Captain) Max von Fischel took command of the ship.
remained in I Division through 1894, and these years passed uneventfully for the ship beyond the normal routine of peacetime training activities. KzS Curt von Maltzan replaced Fischel in October 1893. By the winter of 1894–1895, the last of the four s had been commissioned; these ships were assigned to I Division, which displaced and her three sisters to II Division. The eight ships conducted training cruises over the winter and spring before conducting the annual autumn fleet exercises. On 21 June 1895, the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was opened for traffic, eight years after work had begun. and her three sisters, along with dozens of other warships, attended the ceremonies. The major naval powers sent fleets to join the fleet review. The autumn 1895 maneuvers simulated a high-seas battle between I and II Divisions in the North Sea, followed by combined maneuvers with the rest of the fleet in the Baltic. Maltzahn left in September, and the following month KzS Karl Ascher replaced him. On 24 October, the ship ran aground in the Great Belt, but she was able to be pulled free without damage.
From 9 December 1895 to 10 March 1896, temporarily served as the flagship of I Squadron for now- (VAdm—Vice Admiral) Koester, while his normal flagship was in drydock for periodic maintenance. The ship took part in the 1896 and 1897 maneuvers, though was her only sister to join the exercises. and were out of service for extensive modernization. By that time, the fleet had been reorganized and the ships were part of I Squadron. had two more brief stints as temporary fleet flagship in 1897, the first from 4 October to 2 November, and the second from 17 to 26 December. During these periods, VAdm August von Thomsen commanded the squadron. At the same time, from 30 November to 16 December, also served as the flagship for II Division under KAdm Felix von Bendemann. On 6 December, the ship suffered an accident that caused her to be decommissioned for repairs on 15 January 1898, somewhat earlier than had been planned.
Reconstruction and later career
After being decommissioned in early 1898, was taken into drydock at the in Kiel for an extensive reconstruction that significantly altered her appearance. The work lasted more than a year and a half, and she was finally recommissioned on 8 October 1899 under the command of KzS Hugo Westphal. She conducted sea trials until 29 October, when she was returned to II Division of I Squadron. On 14 December, she became the flagship of the divisional commander, KAdm Wilhelm Büchsel, who was also the deputy squadron commander. She held the role until 24 January 1900. In July, the four -class battleships were sent to China as the Detached Division in response to the Boxer Uprising; as a result, and the rest of II Division were transferred to I Division, though the new battleship became the squadron flagship. From 15 to 21 September, during the autumn maneuvers, briefly resumed her role as divisional flagship. On 1 October, the Reserve Division of the North Sea was established, and the ships of I Division were assigned to it. At that time, KzS Eduard Holzhauer relieved Westphal as the ship's captain. and were kept in commission as active ships during this period.