Sachsen-class ironclad
1902 lithograph of SMS Baden
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 Kaiserliche Marine
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| Preceded by: | Kaiser class |
| Succeeded by: | SMS Oldenburg |
| Built: | 1875–1883 |
| In service: | 1878–1938 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Retired: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7,635 t (7,514 long tons) |
| Length: | 98.20 m (322 ft 2 in) |
| Beam: | 18.40 m (60 ft 4 in) |
| Draft: | 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Range: | 1,940 nmi (3,590 km; 2,230 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The Sachsen class of armored frigates was a class of four ships built by the Imperial German Navy in the late 1870s to early 1880s. The ships—Sachsen, Bayern, Württemberg, and Baden—were designed to operate as part of an integrated coastal defense network. The ships were intended to sortie from fortified bases to break up an enemy blockade or landing attempt. Armed with six 26 cm (10 in) guns, they were also intended to fight hostile ironclads on relatively equal terms.
Following their commissionings in 1878–1883, the four ships served with the fleet on numerous training exercises and cruises in the 1880s and 1890s. They also participated in several cruises escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on state visits to Great Britain and to various cities in the Baltic Sea in the late 1880s and early 1890s. In the late 1890s, the four ships were extensively rebuilt; their secondary batteries were modernized and they received upgraded propulsion systems. They were removed from active duty between 1902 and 1910 and relegated to secondary duties. Sachsen and Bayern became target ships while Württemberg became a torpedo training ship. The three ships were broken up for scrap in 1919–1920. Baden was used as a boom defense hulk from 1910 to 1920, when she became a target ship. She survived until 1938, when she was sold for scrapping.
Design work on the Sachsen class began in 1872 and lasted until 1874. The ships were intended to operate in the Baltic Sea as a primary component of an integrated coastal defense system proposed by General Albrecht von Stosch, the Chief of the Admiralty. Stosch designated the ships Ausfallkorvetten (sortie corvettes), denoting their intended use. In the event of war with a superior naval power and the imposition of a naval blockade, the Sachsen-class ships would sortie from fortified bases to attack the blockaders. They also had the task of breaking up landing attempts. The German railway network linked the bases so ground forces could be transferred to the sites of enemy landings.
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Wikipedia