The Sachsen class ships were Germany's most powerful ironclads until 1889, mounting six 10" and six 3.4" guns in an uncomfortable mélange of French and Italian ideas. These were 13½-knot ships as built. Enlarge
In the 1870s and 1880s, the German Navy slumped into decline. Preoccupation with Prussia's matchless land armies and lack of interest in funding in the Reichstag had their effects. The navy was conceived as a seasonal coast-defense force, its main division based at Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea (founded 1854), its Baltic division at Kiel. Unlike the unrivaled Prussian Army, the navy disbanded every autumn and the ships were laid up until the following spring while sailors and officers pursued other activities. This seasonal schedule -- and the level of funding approved by a parsimonious parliament -- underlined the navy's second-rate status in the Prussian order. Although a 14-ship expansion program was voted in 1874, the funds were never appropriated.
At this time the North German Federation Navy (which became the Imperial German Navy after 1871) consisted of armored wooden corvettes, coastal sidweheelers, and obsolete armored frigates built in the 1860s and early 1870s. For example, the sister-ship of the ironclad raider Stonewall, built at Bordeaux for the Confederate States of America but undelivered at the end of the American Civil War, was sold to Prussia and commissioned as the Prinz Adalbert, after the navy-enthusiast brother of Kaiser Wilhelm I (right). Prussia's first ironclad proved a disappointment; nicknamed "The Lame One," she was made of unseasoned timber and soon succumbed to rot. But as in the rest of Europe, the ironclad bug had bitten and more ships of the type were soon ordered.
With the unqualified support of Prince Adalbert, for whom the ship had been named, the Prussian and later German navy was built up with advanced ironclads during the 1860s and into the early 1870s. Germany's most formidable ships included the armored frigate König Wilhelm of 1869, ordered from Thames Iron Works; the Friedrich der Grosse class of 1874 (three German-built ironclad wooden copies of HMS Monarch, masted turret ship of 1868); and the four-unit Sachsen class of 1878 (above), slow coast-defense ironclads that combined a central citadel with 10" barbette mountings in a bizarre and uneasy union. Prince Adalbert had resigned his navy post in 1871, and died of liver failure two years later, depriving the fledgeling service of its most influential advocate.
The loss of its patron at court was a body blow to the navy. The consequent diminution in the navy's stature was soon reflected in budget cuts, in decreased quality of construction, and in a slackening of the urge to excel; by the end of the 1870s the once-proud navy had coasted into a deep rut of neglect and decay. Ugly and ungainly as they were, the Sachsens marked the last gasp of German naval innovation for more than a decade; further new construction manifestly was done on the cheap. For example, examine the coast defense battleship SMS Oldenburg of 1884 (below), a diminutive version of an already outdated design: The central battery ship of the 1870s. All of Europe had moved to barbette ships by the time she was launched. Her development was stunted by on-again, off again funding and a protracted build time; her contribution "of no fighting value" (Jane's).
Stern quarter view of the Oldenburg; side view; paper model. This 5,700-ton 13-knotter could stand as a definition of the term "old tub," although she carried eight 24-cm (9.4") guns -- so slowly she could not operate effectively with the rest of the fleet. Her effectiveness was diminished by being a one-off design, but perhaps it is just as well the Kaiserliche Marine did not invest in multiples of such a compromised concept. Below right is the 1875 iron battery ship Kaiser, rebuilt in 1891-5 as an ungainly cruiser. She is seen here as she appeared at Manila Bay during the American takeover in 1898. The Germans made a loud squawk of protest at being shut out of the take in this episode, but were faced down by the superior American force massed for the final bombardment of the city of Manila. Berlin's emissaries compensated for their Philippine frustration by attacking China with insane ferocity two years later after the Boxers murdered Germany's minister to China, Count von Ketteler. It would not be exaggerating to say Ketteler's death was avenged more than ten thousandfold. This overkill was mandated by the new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, an international "drama queen" who walked a fine line between rational thought and hysterical self-aggrandizement, frequently veering into hysterical territory.
This was no unusual event in the Kaiserliche Marine. Brought into being by royal patronage, it had no natural constituency in Prussian military society when royal interest diminished. Since membership in the officer corps of the Army or the top civil service posts was reserved for the Junker landowning class, the Navy became an avenue of advancement for the middle class, and as such scorned by the aristocratic military caste. The Imperial Navy was commanded by Army generals. It essentially disbanded every winter, with ships tied up in port and crews dismissed.
In this bleak time for German naval prestige, Adm. Stosch and his protégé Capt. Alfred Tirpitz burned to rejuvenate the service. A man of considerable charm and guile, of impeccable bourgeois background, Tirpitz managed to communicate his zeal to a few influential men in the government. His most notable convert was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had early come to love ships and the sea. Visits to his grandmother, England's Queen Victoria, at her château on the Isle of Wight had kindled this affinity, and it was reinforced nearly every summer of his childhood. The future Kaiser delighted in visiting the British fleet at nearby Portsmouth, and was allowed to fire a gun once during target practice. A talented draftsman, the youthful leader was known to doodle warships on napkins and scrap paper during tedious affairs of state. Tirpitz used this affinity for things naval to gain the confidence of Wilhelm before his accession. Tirpitz was able to bolster his case with arguments from Alfred Thayer Mahan's book The Influence of Sea Power on History, topping the international best-seller lists in the 1890s; Wilhelm became an avid reader of Mahan's tract. After Wilhelm II's accession in 1889, the stage was set for a major naval expansion in Germany -- and a parallel, government-subsidized growth in the merchant marine.
Indeed, the wheels of ramped-up shipbuilding were already grinding into gear before Wilhelm II ascended the throne. Four 12,000-ton battleships -- the Brandenburg class -- had already been laid down, with completion contemplated for 1893; these ships were modeled on, and comparable to, French battleships of the early Eighties. More typical of the modest scope of the nascent navy was the improved type of coast defense vessel reproduced in the prolific Siegfried class. And starting in 1890, the year after Wilhelm's accession, the winter suspension of activities was scrapped. The Kaiserliche Marine became a year-round operation, though still very much dependent on the sovereign's personal interest. That his new reign should be marked by a renewal of shipbuilding was entirely appropriate. The Kaiser loved nothing more than the ceremony of launching a new battleship. He indeed maintained tight personal control over the navy, whereas he had little actual power over the Army. With his wider view of the European balance of power, Bismarck cautioned against arousing England by too pronounced a naval buildup; he saw Britain's detachment from Continental affairs as essential for maturation of German designs on the Eurasian landmass. The elder statesman's caution clashed with the Kaiser's youthful brío. Their disagreement over naval policy was one of the chief causes for their break, leading to Bismarck's somewhat unwilling retirement in 1890.
As for Tirpitz, building battleships was religion to him, an obsession that only grew the more he built. He did not truly get the bit in his teeth until after the passage of the 1898 Navy Law, however. Read on to evaluate the first project produced by this dedicated duo of battleship boosters.
One of the better designs of the early pre-dreadnought days was the eight-ship Siegfied class of coast-defense battleships, entering service between 1889 and 1895. These coast defense warships mounted three 24 cm (9.4") guns in an unusual arrangement of two single mounts forward and one aft. It is not known why a twin barbette was not selected instead of the forward mounting chosen; it is known that side-by-side 4" gun mounts fore and aft were used in German light cruisers through 1915. Evidently being able to aim the guns independently was a high priority. The Krupp high-velocity 9.4"/35 SK L/35 was a workhorse medium weapon of its day. Of hooped construction, it shot a 140-kg projectile and was capable of firing two rounds a minute. Its 40-calibre descendant, the SK L/40, was retained in three of the first four German pre-dreadnought classes and used for new Austro-Hungarian battleships down to 1911. The Siegfrieds used not turrets but barbette mounts with a curved 6" shield over the top.
The Siegfrieds' hulls featured an extreme tumble-home shape amidships, like the Brandenburg class battleships built around the same time. Unusual attention was paid to the stern torpedo tube, with 6" armor protection for the torpedo room -- a trait inherited by the later Brandenburg class. These light warships were relatively slow and economical to operate. Their beat was policing the harbors of the North Sea and Baltic, showing the flag, discouraging smuggling, and of course being present with flags flying and bands playing for ceremonial occasions. They all had picturesque Wagnerian names: Odin, Ægir, Hagen, Beowulf -- setting them apart from the long line of kingdoms, duchies, generals, and military victories used to name German battleships in the years to come.
All the Siegfrieds were rebuilt between 1899 and 1903, being lengthened by 15 ft (4.6 m) and having their superstructure dramatically reduced. At this time they were re-boilered and re-piped for two slim funnels. The original pole masts were modified: a searchlight platform was added on the fore, and a protected foretop stuffed with guns. The commencement of hostilities in 1914 found the Siegfrieds still steaming gamely. Many were operational as coastal defense vessels in the Great War. The Hagen rated a footnote in history for rescuing the survivors of the armored cruiser Yorck. The big warship blundered into a German minefield while returning from the Scarborough raid of December 15, 1914, and foundered in sight of land.
Specifications for the Siegfried class:
Dimensions: 291' x 62' x 21' Displacement: 3,700 tons. Armament: (3) 9.4"/35 cal., (10) 15½-pdr, and (6) 1-pdr guns; (4) MG; (4) 18" torpedo tubes - 3 submerged; stern tube above water. Armor: See NOTE. 9½"/6" belt, 8" barbettes, 5½" shields, 7" conning tower, 3¼" hoists and funnel bases, 6"/2" deck, 6" stern torpedo tube. Fuel capacity: 580 tons of coal and 100 tons bunker oil. Propulsion: (8) Schultz-Thornycroft boilers, (2) 5100-hp vertical triple expansion engines developing 10,000 SHP, twin screw. Maximum speed: 15 kts. Crew: 297.
Ships in class: Siegfried · Beowulf · Frithjof · Heimdall · Hildebrand · Hagen · Odin · Ægir
ARMOR NOTE: In Odin and Ægir only, nickel-steel armor; midships belt 8½" at max.; in all others, compound armor throughout.
Metric Specifications:
Dimensions: 88.7m x 28.9m x 6.4m Displacement: 3,700 tons. Armament: (3) 239 mm/35 cal., (10) 15½ pdr and (6) 1-pdr guns; (4) MG; (4) 45 cm torpedo tubes - 3 submerged, stern tube above water. Armor: See NOTE. 241/152.4 mm belt, 205 mm barbettes, 140 mm shields, 178 mm conning tower, 82.5 mm hoists and funnel bases, 152.4/51 mm deck, 152.4 mm stern tube. Fuel capacity: 580 tons of coal and 100 tons bunker oil. Propulsion: (8) Schultz-Thornycroft boilers, (2) inverted vertical triple expansion engines developing 7,457 kW, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 27.8 km/hr. Crew: 297.
The Aegir in a composited view with a suspiciously foreshortened TB. This is the post-1903 appearance with twin funnels and reduced deckhouse. Enlarge
A beautiful motorized model of the Beowulf, showing the ship in 1890s fit with original Halloween-like color scheme. Modeling the old Imperial Navy is a popular pastime in today's Germany.
Two photos of the Odin after her 1903 reconstruction, showing pot-bellied hull form, slim twin funnels, and secondary gun placement.
This stern quarter view of the Odin shows the oblique-cut aft end of the superstructure.
The Beowulf on patrol in the North Sea during WWI. Photo dates from 1915. This class of ships was retired from active duty the following year.
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