SMS Deutschland (1874)
 Deutschland in 1902
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | SMS Deutschland |
| Namesake | Deutschland (Germany) |
| Builder | Samuda Brothers, Great Britain |
| Laid down | 1872 |
| Launched | 12 September 1874 |
| Commissioned | 20 July 1875 |
| Renamed | Jupiter, 22 November 1904 |
| Reclassified | Hulk |
| Fate | Scrapped at Hamburg, 1909 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Kaiser-class ironclad |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 89.34 m (293 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 19.1 m (62 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 7.39 m (24 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.6 knots (27.0 km/h; 16.8 mph) |
| Range | 3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
SMS Deutschland
Deutschland served with the fleet from her commissioning until 1896, though she was frequently placed in reserve throughout her career. The ship was a regular participant in the annual fleet training maneuvers conducted with the exception of the mid-1880s, when she was temporarily replaced by newer vessels. She participated in several cruises in the Baltic and Mediterranean, often escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on official state visits. Deutschland was rebuilt in the early 1890s as an armored cruiser, though she was too slow to perform satisfactorily in this role. Nevertheless, she spent three years in the East Asia Squadron before returning to Germany in 1900. She was used in secondary roles after 1904, until 1908 when she was sold and broken up for scrap.
Design
The two Kaiser-class ironclads were authorized under the naval program of 1867, which had been approved by the
Deutschland was 89.34 meters (293.1 ft)
She was armed with a
Deutschland's armor consisted of wrought iron; her armor belt was 127 to 254 mm (5 to 10 in) thick, above which a strake of armor that was 203 mm (8 in) thick protected the main battery guns. Her main armor deck was 38 to 51 mm (1.5 to 2.0 in) thick.[4]
Service history
Deutschland was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the Samuda Brothers shipyard in London, UK; her keel was laid in 1872.[4] Deutschland and her sister Kaiser were ordered shortly after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, under the assumption that the French would quickly attempt a war of revenge.[5] The ship was launched on 12 September 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet on 20 July 1875.[6] She was the last German capital ship built by a foreign shipbuilder.[7]
Following her commissioning in July 1875, a German crew sailed Deutschland to Germany. She arrived too late, however, to participate in the annual summer training maneuvers. The ship was ready for the 1876 maneuvers; the squadron consisted of Deutschland, her sister
For the 1877 maneuvers, the new turret ironclad Preussen replaced Kronprinz. The squadron was again sent to the Mediterranean, in response to unrest in the Ottoman Empire related to the Russo-Turkish War; the violence threatened German citizens living there. The squadron, again under the command of Batsch, steamed to the ports of Haifa and Jaffa in July 1877, but found no significant tensions ashore. Batsch then departed and cruised the Mediterranean for the remainder of the summer, returning to Germany in October.[8] The newly commissioned Friedrich der Grosse and Grosser Kurfürst, sister ships of Preussen, replaced Deutschland and Kaiser in the 1878 maneuvers, during which Grosser Kurfürst was accidentally rammed and sank with great loss of life.[9] Deutschland and her sister Kaiser remained in reserve for the next six years. They were reactivated in the spring of 1883 for the summer maneuvers under the command of Wilhelm von Wickede. Due to their long period out of service, their engines proved troublesome during the training cruise.[10] Indeed, the maneuvers were temporarily put on hold when the steam plants in Deutschland, Kaiser, and Kronprinz broke down.[11] Regardless, the 1883 cruise was the first year the German navy completely abandoned the use of sails on its large ironclads. Deutschland went into reserve during the 1884 maneuvers, which were conducted by a homogeneous squadron composed of the four Sachsen-class ironclads.[10]
The ship did not see active duty again until the summer of 1889, when Deutschland joined the fleet that steamed to Great Britain to celebrate the coronation of Kaiser
During the winter of 1892–1893, Deutschland participated in a training squadron alongside the old ironclad
Following Diederichs's
Deutschland remained on the East Asia station until early 1900, when she traveled via the Mediterranean and
Footnotes
Notes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship".
Citations
- ^ Dodson, pp. 14, 23.
- ^ a b Lyon, p. 245.
- ^ a b Gröner, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 6.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 109.
- ^ a b c Gröner, p. 7.
- ^ Sondhaus 2001, p. 120.
- ^ a b Sondhaus 1997, p. 122.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 124.
- ^ a b Sondhaus 1997, p. 161.
- ^ Gottschall, p. 98.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 179.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 192.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 195.
- ^ Sondhaus 1997, p. 196.
- ^ a b Sondhaus 1997, p. 190.
- ^ Gottschall, p. 165.
- ^ Gottschall, pp. 178–179.
- ^ Gottschall, p. 218.
- ^ Gottschall, p. 222.
References
- ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
- Gottschall, Terrell D. (2003). By Order of the Kaiser. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-309-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.