SMS Preussen (1873)

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For the battleship of the same name, see SMS Preussen (1903).
Preussen in 1887
History
NameSMS Preussen
NamesakePrussia
Builder
Stettin
Laid down1871
Launched22 November 1873
Commissioned4 July 1876
Decommissioned1906
FateScrapped 1919
General characteristics
Class and type
ironclad
Displacement
  • Design: 6,821 t (6,713 long tons)
  • Full load
    : 7,718 t (7,596 long tons)
Length96.59 m (316 ft 11 in)
Beam16.30 m (53 ft 6 in)
Draft7.11 m (23 ft 4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 1 ×
    Single-expansion steam engine
  • 1 ×
    screw propeller
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range1,690 nmi (3,130 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Complement
  • 46 officers
  • 454 enlisted men
Armament
Armor
  • Upper belt: 203 mm (8 in)
  • Lower belt: 102 to 229 mm (4 to 9 in)
  • Turrets: 203 to 254 mm (8 to 10 in)

SMS Preussen 

Stettin in 1871–1876; she was commissioned into the fleet in July 1876. She was the first large warship of the German navy built by a private shipyard; all previous vessels had been ordered abroad or built by Royal or Imperial dockyards. Her main battery of four 26 cm (10.2 in) guns was mounted in a pair of twin gun turrets
amidships.

Preussen served with the fleet from her commissioning until 1891, though she was frequently placed in reserve throughout her career. She cruised the

shipbreakers
in 1919.

Design

Main article: Preussen-class ironclad
Profile drawing of SMS Preussen

The three Preussen-class ironclads were authorized under the naval program of 1867, which had been approved by the

casemate ships, the vessels were re-designed as turret ships; they were the first uniform class of ironclads built by for the German fleet.[1]

The ship was 96.59 meters (316.9 ft)

metric horsepower (5,396 ihp). She was also equipped with a full ship rig. Her standard complement consisted of 46 officers and 454 enlisted men.[3]

She was armed with a

bow and one in the stern.[4] After being rebuilt in 1888–1890, her armament was increased by six and later ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/30 quick-firing guns, a pair of machine guns, and five 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes, all submerged in the ship's hull.[3]

Preussen's armor was made of wrought iron and backed with teak. The armored belt was arrayed in two strakes. The upper strake was 203 mm (8 in) thick; the lower strake ranged in thickness from 102 to 229 mm (4 to 9 in). Both were backed with 234 to 260 mm (9.2 to 10.2 in) of teak. The gun turrets were protected by 203 to 254 mm (8 to 10 in) armor on the sides, backed by 260 mm of teak.[2]

Service history

Illustration of the fleet conducting maneuvers, including Preussen and several other ironclads and other vessels

Construction – 1878

Preussen was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the

Swinemünde on 23 November 1875. The ship was commissioned into the German fleet on 4 July 1876 and then moved to Kiel, where her guns were installed at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard).[4][7] Although she was the third and final ship in her class to be laid down, she was the first to be launched and commissioned. This was because her two sisters, Friedrich der Grosse and Grosser Kurfürst, were built by newly established Imperial dockyards, while Preussen was built by an experienced commercial ship builder.[8]

After work on the ship was completed in late 1876, the ship began

French Tunisia, by herself. She was badly damaged by severe weather on the way back to Germany, and after arriving 21 October, was dry-docked for repairs. She remained in commission, but had her crew reduced while the work was being carried out.[9]

Diagram of the maneuvers of the German flotilla

In April 1878, Preussen participated in the fleet maneuvers, again under Batsch's command. By this time, she was joined by her two sister ships, Friedrich der Grosse and Grosser Kurfürst. The Ironclad Squadron was then to take a training cruise to the Mediterranean. After departing Germany on 29 May, the squadron proceeded through the English Channel, where the armored frigate König Wilhelm accidentally rammed Grosser Kurfürst; the latter quickly sank with the loss of 276 men. Preussen did not immediately begin rescue operations, and instead steered a wide circle before anchoring some 800 m (2,600 ft) away; she only picked up two men who had first been rescued by a British fishing trawler. Preussen then escorted the damaged König Wilhelm to Portsmouth, where the Royal Navy made available a dry dock for emergency repairs.[9][12]

Albrecht von Stosch, the chief of the Kaiserliche Marine, ordered Batsch and his staff to return to Germany immediately aboard Preussen, escorted by Falke. The ships got underway on 3 Juneand arrived in Wilhelmshaven two days later; from there, they proceeded to Kiel, where they arrived on 10 June. Preussen's commander came under criticism for his failure to assist in the rescue operations directly, but he defended himself by arguing that he had followed the relevant regulations and that he could not have brought his vessel closer owing to the number of smaller fishing vessels in the area. Stosch accepted the explanation, but an inquiry led by KAdm Reinhold von Werner came to the opposite conclusion, which became part of a major controversy in the German naval command and eventually resulted in Werner's forced retirement.[9][13]

The Mediterranean cruise was immediately cancelled, and within a week, the annual summer maneuvers for 1878 were also canceled. Preussen took on a contingent of

Prince Heinrich of Prussia aboard. On 9 November, Preussen was decommissioned for the winter.[9][14]

1879–1888

On 5 May 1879, the armored squadron was reactivated, composed of Preussen, her sister Friedrich der Grosse, and the old armored frigates Kronprinz and Friedrich Carl. The annual summer training cruise was primarily conducted just in the Baltic Sea, apart from a short voyage in June to the coast of Norway. During the cruise, the ships stopped in Russia, where they were met by

Danzig Bay. Preussen was also used to tow a new floating dry dock from Swinemünde to Kiel. The four ships returned to Kiel in September, where they were demobilized for the winter. On 24 March 1880, Preussen was reduced to the reserve fleet temporarily, before being reactivated on 3 May for service with the Ironclad Squadron. Wilhelm von Wickede, a former Austrian naval officer, replaced Batsch as the squadron commander. Again, the squadron remained in the Baltic for the summer cruise, with the exception of a short visit to Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven in August. During squadron exercises in July, Preussen was visited by Stosch, Crown Prince Friedrich, and his son, Prince Wilhelm.[9][14][15]

The summer cruise in 1881 followed the same pattern as the year previous.

Wilhelm I and Alexander III. Preussen saw active service in 1882 from 2 May to 25 September. The summer cruise included the same four ironclads from the previous year, and was again commanded by Wickede, who had by then been promoted to Konteradmiral. Preussen was kept in reserve during the annual summer maneuvers starting in 1883, as new ships, including the four Sachsen-class ironclads entered service.[9][17][18] From 1883 to 1884, the ship underwent a modernization that included new boilers and a reconstructed poop deck. Her sailing rig was also reduced at that time. Further modernization work was carried out beginning in 1885, including the addition of two 37 mm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns and five submerged torpedo tubes were added in the hull. The work was completed on 4 November 1888, though she was not immediately recommissioned. She was instead assigned to the newly formed Reserve Division of the North Sea.[19][20]

1889–1919

Preussen sometime after 1890

The ship was recommissioned on 1 May 1889 to take part in the annual summer training program with the fleet. These included exercises that began on 1 July. In August, Preussen participated in Kaiser Wilhelm II's first visit to Great Britain. The ship was assigned to II Division, along with her sister Friedrich der Grosse and the central battery ironclads Kaiser and Deutschland, under command of KAdm Friedrich von Hollmann. The fleet then conducted maneuvers in the North Sea before returning to Germany. Preussen and the rest of II Division became the Training Squadron for the fleet in 1889–1890, the first year the Kaiserliche Marine maintained a year-round ironclad force. The squadron escorted Wilhelm II's imperial yacht to the Mediterranean; the voyage began on 30 August and included state visits to Italy and the Ottoman Empire. The squadron remained in the Mediterranean through the spring of 1890, when it returned to Germany. The ships arrived back in Germany on 22 April.[21][22]

Preussen returned to the Training Squadron, which was reorganized on 11 May. In June, she escorted the Kaiser on a state visit to

Wilhelm Schröder. The voyage began on 12 November and concluded on 18 April 1891. After returning to Germany, Preussen underwent an extensive overhaul. The ship was recommissioned in mid-May 1891 for a final round of fleet maneuvers with II Division. Following the end of the training year, she was decommissioned for the last time on 9 October.[22][23] She was reduced to a harbor guard ship at the end of 1891.[4]

From 9 January to 11 July 1893, the ship was assigned to the Reserve Division of the North Sea.

Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden, while her bow ornament is located in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.[4]

Footnotes

Notes

  1. Seiner Majestät Schiff
    ", or "His Majesty's Ship".
  2. ^ "L/22" denotes the length of the gun in terms of caliber. A 22 caliber gun is 22 times as long as it is wide in diameter, so a 26 cm L/22 gun is 572 cm (225 in) long.

Citations

  1. ^ Dodson, pp. 14, 20.
  2. ^ a b c Gröner, p. 5.
  3. ^ a b Gröner, pp. 5–6.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gröner, p. 6.
  5. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 244.
  6. ^ Sondhaus, p. 109.
  7. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 244–245.
  8. ^ a b Lyon, p. 244.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 245.
  10. ^ Sondhaus, p. 122.
  11. ^ Dodson, p. 25.
  12. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 124–126.
  13. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 129–130, 140.
  14. ^ a b Sondhaus, p. 140.
  15. ^ Dodson, p. 26–27.
  16. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 140–141.
  17. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 141–142, 161–163.
  18. ^ Dodson, p. 27.
  19. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 245–246.
  20. ^ Dodson, p. 32.
  21. ^ Sondhaus, p. 179.
  22. ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 246.
  23. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 192, 194.

References

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