The class of ironclad warships was a pair of vessels built for the German (Imperial Navy) in the early 1870s. The lead ship, , was laid down in 1871 and launched in 1874. was laid down in 1872 and launched in 1874; both ships were built by the Samuda Brothers shipyard in London. They were the last German capital ships built by a foreign shipyard. Built as armored frigates, the ships were armed with a main battery of eight guns in a central armored battery and were capable of a top speed of .
Both ships served with the fleet following their commissioning in 1875, though they spent a significant part of their career in reserve, as Germany maintained only a small number of ships on active duty for training cruises in the period. The ships were substantially rebuilt in the 1890s into armored cruisers and stationed in Asia for three years. was the flagship of Otto von Diederichs's East Asia Squadron during the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory seizure in November 1897. Following their return to Germany in 1899–1900, the ships were used in several secondary roles, including as harbor and barracks ships. The ships were stricken from the naval register in 1906; was used as a target ship before being sold for scrap in 1908, though served on as a floating barracks until she was sold in 1920.
Design
In 1867, the new North German (Imperial Diet) approved a fleet plan that called for a fleet of sixteen ironclad warships (along with a number of other warships) by 1877. The ironclad fleet was intended to serve as a coastal defense force to prevent another blockade of German ports as had been conducted by the Danish Navy during the Second Schleswig War in 1864. By the end of the decade, nine ships had either been purchased abroad or laid down in German shipyards. Two more ships, which would become the class, were authorized and ordered from Britain. The design for these vessels was prepared in 1869 by Edward Reed, though work was delayed until 1871. General Albrecht von Stosch, who had by 1872 become the chief of the Imperial Admiralty, objected to the use of a British shipbuilder, preferring to use the contracts to encourage domestic shipbuilding. As a result, they proved to be the last German capital ships built abroad.
Reed designed the vessels as casemate ships, mounting a smaller battery of guns, albeit of a larger caliber, compared to traditional broadside ironclads. The casemate arrangement was more flexible than the broadside, as guns could be moved between different firing ports, and since the casemate was sponsoned out over the hull, the guns could be directed forward and aft. Upon completion in 1875, the two vessels were regarded by foreign navies as the most powerful vessels of the type, though they were by then obsolescent compared to the latest turret ships being built. They nevertheless led to the British Royal Navy to order two more ships of the same type: and , which carried even larger guns.
General characteristics
The -class ships were long at the waterline and long overall. They had a beam of and a draft of . At the designed displacement, the vessels displaced . When the vessels were fully loaded, they displaced . Their hulls were built with transverse bulkheads and double longitudinal iron frames; iron plating covered teak backing. The ships had nine watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 59 percent of the hull length.
The German navy regarded the ships as good sea boats, very sensitive to commands from the helm, and with a gentle motion. The ships had a moderate turning radius and were very stable. Their standard complement consisted of 32 officers and 568 enlisted men, and while serving as a squadron flagship, this could be augmented by an additional nine officers and 47 sailors. When serving as the second flagship, the crew was increased by six officers and 35 enlisted men. After their reconstruction in the 1890s, the ships' crews were significantly increased, to 36 officers and 620 enlisted men. The size of the command staffs grew as well, to 11 officers and 57 enlisted for the squadron flagship and nine officers and 48 men for the second flagship. The ships carried a number of smaller boats, including one picket boat, two launches, one pinnace, two cutters, two yawls, and two dinghies.