SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1875)
SMS Grosser Kurfürst underway on her maiden voyage
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| History | |
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| Name: | SMS Grosser Kurfürst |
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven |
| Laid down: | 1869 |
| Launched: | 17 September 1875 |
| Commissioned: | 6 May 1878 |
| Fate: | Accidentally rammed and sunk by SMS König Wilhelm 31 May 1878 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Preussen-class ironclad |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 96.59 m (316 ft 11 in) |
| Beam: | 16.30 m (53 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 7.11 m (23 ft 4 in) |
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| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Range: | 1,690 nmi (3,130 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) |
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SMS Grosser Kurfürst (or Großer ) was an ironclad turret ship of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven in 1870 and completed in 1878; her long construction time was in part due to a redesign that was completed after work on the ship had begun. Her main battery of four 26 cm (10 in) guns was initially to be placed in a central armored battery, but during the redesign this was altered to a pair of twin gun turrets amidships.
Grosser Kurfürst was sunk on her maiden voyage in an accidental collision with the ironclad SMS König Wilhelm. The two ships, along with SMS Preussen were steaming in the English Channel on 31 May 1878. The three ships encountered a group of fishing boats, and in turning to avoid them, Grosser Kurfürst inadvertently crossed too closely to König Wilhelm. The latter rammed Grosser Kurfürst, which sank in the span of about eight minutes, taking between 269 and 276 of her crew with her. Her loss spurred a series of investigations into the circumstances of the collision, which ultimately resulted in the acquittal of both Rear Admiral Carl Ferdinand Batsch, the squadron commander, and Count Alexander von Monts, the captain of Grosser Kurfürst. Political infighting over the affair led to the ousting of Rear Admiral Reinhold von Werner from the navy.
Grosser Kurfürst was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid in 1869 under construction number 2. The ship was launched on 17 September 1875 and commissioned into the German fleet on 6 May 1878.Grosser Kurfürst cost the German government 7,303,000 gold marks. As designed, Grosser Kurfürst was to have had her primary armament arranged in a central battery; after she was laid down, she was altered to mount her main guns in a pair of twin turrets. Although she was the first ship in her class of three vessels to be laid down, she was the last to be launched and commissioned. This was because she was redesigned after work had begun, and she was built by the newly established Imperial Dockyard. Her sister Preussen was built by an experienced commercial ship builder, and Friedrich der Grosse was laid down after the redesign was completed.
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Wikipedia