SMS was one of four armored frigates of the German (Imperial Navy). Her sister ships were , , and . was built in the (Imperial Dockyard) in Kiel from 1876 to 1883. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in September 1883. 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 in the 1880s and 1890s, during which she frequently simulated hostile naval forces. She participated in several cruises escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on state visits to Great Britain and to various countries in the Baltic Sea in the late 1880s and early 1890s. During 1896–1897, the ship was extensively rebuilt at the dockyard in Kiel. She was removed from active duty in 1910 and thereafter served in a number of secondary roles, finally serving as a target hulk in the 1920s and 1930s. She was sold in April 1938 and broken up in 1939–1940 in Kiel.
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.
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 late 1895 and late 1897, 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 ducted 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 autocannon.
Service history Construction – 1887
was ordered by the Imperial Navy under the contract name "C," which denoted that the vessel was a new addition to the fleet. She was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel; her keel was laid down in August 1876 under yard number 4. The ship was launched on 28 July 1880, and Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm gave a speech at the ceremony. She was commissioned to begin sea trials on 24 September 1883, which were completed on 22 October. Along with her three sisters, was the first large, armored warship built for the German navy that relied entirely on engines for propulsion. Following her commissioning, joined the fleet too late to participate in the fleet maneuvers that year. After entering service, served as the flagship for (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Alexander von Monts; she was assigned to I Division alongside her three sisters. The unit, which also included the aviso , formed the homogenous core of the German fleet for many years. In April 1884, (KzS—Captain at Sea) Victor Valois took command of the ship.
General Leo von Caprivi, who had recently replaced Stosch as the Chief of the Admiralty, was concerned about the prospect of a two-front war against France and Russia, and particularly of the risk of an amphibious attack on Germany's coast. The 1884 training year included a joint coastal defense training operation off Gdingen with the 1st Life Hussars Regiment on 7 July. The fleet then shifted to exercises off Germany's North Sea coast. The annual fleet maneuvers held in September were cancelled on the 3rd of the month after the screw corvette collided with the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer and was seriously damaged. After Baden and the rest of her division returned to the Baltic Sea, they staged a mock attack on Kiel in mid-September, another coastal defense exercise. was then decommissioned for the winter on 30 September.
The ship was placed in reserve in 1885, but returned to active duty the following year for training exercises with the fleet in September. That year, was involved with the first testing of anti-torpedo nets aboard ships. On returning to service on 23 May 1886, came under the command of KzS Max Plüddemann. The ironclad squadron was reconstituted on 30 July for training exercises; the unit was redesignated from the Training Squadron to the Maneuver Squadron. remained the flagship, though now of (VAdm—Vice Admiral) Wilhelm von Wickede. The German fleet conducted exercises in the western Baltic, including experiments with an early electrical communication system. They then conducted a training cruise to Skagen Odde, followed by a simulated attack on Wilhelmshaven and then blockade training in Danzig Bay. Caprivi and Prince Wilhelm observed the conclusion of the fleet maneuvers on 22 September; the next day, the Maneuver Squadron was disbanded for the winter and was again reduced to reserve status. On 6 June 1887, Germany dedicated the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal; was among the ships present during the celebrations. remained in reserve for the remainder of the year.
1888–1889
returned to active duty in early 1888, joining the Ironclad Squadron as its flagship on 23 May; the unit also included her sister ship , the ironclad , and the aviso , and it was soon joined by the ironclad . By that time, Kaiser Wilhelm I had died and his son, Friedrich Wilhelm, briefly succeeded Wilhelm before he, too, died and was succeeded by his son, Wilhelm II in the Year of the Three Emperors. KAdm Eduard Knorr hoisted his flag aboard that year. On 19 June, the ship's crew assisted the steamer , which had caught fire in Kiel. The year's training maneuvers were shortened considerably in July, when and much of the fleet embarked on a cruise in the Baltic that Wilhelm II attended. The voyage included stops in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and Copenhagen over the course of the seventeen-day cruise. While on the trip, Wilhelm met with Alexander III of Russia, Oscar II of Sweden, and Christian IX of Denmark, in the respective cities. ran aground in the harbors of both Stockholm and Copenhagen, but was not seriously damaged in either incident.
After returning to Danzig on 31 July, the ships of the fleet resumed their training exercises, which began with another mock attack on Kiel to test the coastal defense system. The Maneuver Fleet was organized on 31 August to begin the annual fleet maneuvers; it consisted of the Ironclad Squadron, the Training Ship Squadron, and two flotillas of torpedo boats. The ships once again made the voyage around Denmark from the Baltic to the North Sea for further coastal defense exercises in the Jade Bay, which were overseen by now-VAdm Monts. These exercises continued into mid-September; from the 11th to the 14th, Wilhelm II attended the maneuvers and took Monts' place as the commanding admiral. The Maneuver Fleet was disbanded on 14 September and four days later, the Ironclad Squadron was also disbanded for the winter. was once again decommissioned on 21 September and assigned to the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. On 1 October, the unit was renamed as the II Reserve Division.
On 1 May 1889, was recommissioned for the year's training cycle, once again serving as the squadron flagship of KAdm Philipp von Kall. and Oldenburg joined her in the unit, along with the aviso . The squadron joined the Maneuver Fleet on 1 July; 's squadron was organized as I Division, which was joined by II Division of four other ironclads, a torpedo boat flotilla, and a division of armored gunboats. The year's training exercises were interrupted by the visit to Great Britain in August 1889, where Wilhelm II took part in the Cowes Regatta. The ships departed Germany on 31 July, escorting the Kaiser's yacht . and the rest of the fleet joined the Royal Navy in a fleet review for Queen Victoria during the visit, which concluded on 10 August. After returning to Germany, the fleet conducted its annual maneuvers, which were again overseen by Monts. He made his flagship during the latter stage of the exercises, from 24 to 27 August. The Maneuver Fleet was disbanded again on 31 July and was stationed as a guard ship in Kiel. In October, the ship was present to receive a British ironclad squadron visiting Kiel and later the Alexander III of Russia. During this period, was also used to train engine room personnel.
1890–1892
was recommissioned in 1890 to return to her role as flagship of the Maneuver Squadron, which was reestablished on 2 May. The unit also included , , , and , and it was commanded by VAdm Karl August Deinhard. The year's training exercises passed uneventfully, though they marked the first time that the expanding German fleet could field two full torpedo-boat divisions at once. That year, and the rest of the fleet again escorted Wilhelm II on state visits to Copenhagen and Christiania, Norway. On 10 August, the fleet assembled off the island of Helgoland to mark the annexation of the island under the terms of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty with Britain. On 29 August, an Austro-Hungarian squadron visited Germany and hosted Wilhelm II during a fleet review held to mark the visit. During the fleet maneuvers of 1890, and the rest of the capital ships of I and II Divisions simulated a Russian attack on Kiel. The exercises were held in conjunction with IX Corps of the German Army, several divisions of which acted as a simulated amphibious invasion. These exercises were carried out at Düppel and Alsen. Following the conclusion of the exercises on 12 September, the Maneuver Fleet was once again disbanded, and returned to duty as a guard ship in Kiel. She was replaced by in January 1891 to permit to undergo an overhaul.
was recommissioned on 1 May 1891 and returned to I Division of the Maneuver Fleet, which was again commanded by Deinhard. At the same time, KzS Richard Geissler took command of the ship. The unit was also joined by the new coastal defense ship , which relieved . On 26 June, assisted the ironclad , which had run aground on an unmarked shoal. During the 1891 maneuvers, I Division generally "fought" on the German side, against either Franco-Russian or Danish-Russian alliances. On 25 August, the naval high command issued an order that the Maneuver Squadron would remain operational through the winter of 1891–1892, though the ships were initially given other duties; temporarily left the unit to resume guard ship duties in Kiel. During a training cruise in the Baltic in January 1892 after the squadron reformed, ran lightly aground off Langeland but was quickly refloated and was not damaged in the accident. At around that time, KK—Corvette Captain) Richard Hornung replaced Geissler as the ship's captain. The maneuvers of the early 1890s were generally disappointments, as the "hostile" forces were judged to be the victors in the majority of the scenarios.