SMS Hansa (1872)
Encyclopedia
SMS Hansa was a German ironclad warship
built in 1868–1875. She was the first ironclad built in Germany; all previous German ironclads had been built in foreign shipyards. She was named after the Hanseatic League
, known in Germany simply as Hanse, Latinized Hansa. The ship was launched in October 1872 and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy
(Kaiserliche Marine) in May 1875. Designed for overseas service, Hansa was classed as an armored corvette and armed with eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in a central battery.
Hansa served abroad for the first nine years of her career in the German navy. In 1884, it was found that her iron hull was badly corroded, which rendered the ship unfit for further active service. She was therefore removed from active duty and used for a variety of secondary roles. From 1884 to 1888, she served as a guard ship in Kiel
, where she also trained engine and boiler room personnel. In 1888, she was stricken from the naval register and used as a barracks ship in Kiel. She was moved to Mönkeberg
in 1905, where she continued to train boiler room personnel, until 1906 when she was sold to ship-breakers and dismantled for scrap.
of 14.1 m (46.3 ft) and a draft
of 5.74 m (18.8 ft) forward and 6.8 m (22.3 ft) aft. The ship was designed to displace 3950 metric tons (3,887.6 LT) at a normal loading, and up to 4404 MT (4,334.4 LT) with a combat load. The ship's hull
was formed with transverse iron frames and mixed iron and timber construction. The underwater portion of the hull was plated with copper to reduce fouling
. It contained six watertight compartments.
The German navy found the ship to be very stiff in her sea-keeping qualities. Hansa was very maneuverable and was easily controlled while under sail; under steam the ship remained highly maneuverable but control suffered. The ship's crew numbered 28 officers and 371 enlisted men. She carried a number of smaller boats aboard, including two launches
, one pinnace
, two cutters, one yawl
, and one dinghy
. The ship also carried an unknown number of picket boats and barges. Anti-torpedo nets were briefly fitted to the ship from 1885 to 1888.
Hansa was powered by a single horizontal three-cylinder single-expansion steam engine
built by AG Vulcan in Stettin. The engine drove a single three-bladed screw that was 6 m (19.7 ft) in diameter. Steam, at a pressure of at 2 standard atmospheres (202,650 Pa), was supplied by four trunk boiler
s in a single boiler room. The boilers were ducted into a single large funnel that could be retracted when the ship was operated under sail. The powerplant was rated at 450 nominal horsepower with a top speed of 12 kn (6.5 m/s). On trials, her propulsion system managed 3275 ihp and 12.7 knots (6.9 m/s). The ship carried 310 MT (305.1 LT) of coal for the boilers, which enabled a maximum range of 1330 nautical miles (2,463.2 km) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (5.4 m/s). Hansa was fully rigged
, and had a sail area of 1760 m² (2,104.9 sq yd). Steering was controlled by a single rudder
.
casemate
, two on either side of the ship. The other four guns were mounted in casemates on the corners of the lower casemate, which gave the ship a degree of end-on fire capability. The lower guns could depress to −5° and elevate to 13°; at maximum elevation, the guns could reach targets out to 3200 m (10,498.7 ft). The upper guns had a wider range of elevation; they could depress to −8° and elevate to 14°. At maximum elevation, the guns had a range of 5700 m (18,700.8 ft).
Hansas armor consisted of teak
-backed wrought iron
, which was manufactured in Great Britain. Her armored belt was 152 mm (6 in) thick amidships, where it protected the ship's vitals. On the bow and stern, the belt was reduced to 114 mm (4.5 in) in thickness. The entire belt was backed with 306 mm (12 in) of timber. The casemates were armored with 114 mm thick sloping iron plates. The lower battery casemate had 114 mm thick transverse armored bulkheads on either end of the side armor.
in Danzig in 1868. She was the first ironclad warship
to be built in a German shipyard; her predecessors had all been built in French and British shipyards. The ship was launched on 26 October 1872 and moved to the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin for fitting out work. The work proceeded very slowly, and Hansa was not commissioned into the German fleet until 19 May 1875, two and a half years after her launch. By comparison, all of the earlier foreign-built ironclads were completed in less than a year.
Designed for overseas service protecting Germany's maritime trade, Hansa spent the first nine years of her career abroad. In 1884, it was found that her hull was badly corroded; this stemmed from the lengthy construction period, during which the iron had already begun to corrode. As a result of the poor shape of her hull, Hansa was removed from active service in 1884 and used as a guard ship in Kiel
. While in Kiel, she was also used as a training ship for engine-room personnel and stokers. She was formally stricken from the naval register on 6 August 1888. She was then used as a floating barracks in Kiel, until 1905. Hansa was then moved to Mönkeberg
, hulked
, and used to train stokers. The ship did not last long in this service, and was sold in March 1906 for 96,000 marks
. Hansa was broken up later that year in Swinemünde.
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
built in 1868–1875. She was the first ironclad built in Germany; all previous German ironclads had been built in foreign shipyards. She was named after the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
, known in Germany simply as Hanse, Latinized Hansa. The ship was launched in October 1872 and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
(Kaiserliche Marine) in May 1875. Designed for overseas service, Hansa was classed as an armored corvette and armed with eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in a central battery.
Hansa served abroad for the first nine years of her career in the German navy. In 1884, it was found that her iron hull was badly corroded, which rendered the ship unfit for further active service. She was therefore removed from active duty and used for a variety of secondary roles. From 1884 to 1888, she served as a guard ship in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, where she also trained engine and boiler room personnel. In 1888, she was stricken from the naval register and used as a barracks ship in Kiel. She was moved to Mönkeberg
Mönkeberg
Mönkeberg is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 5 km northeast of Kiel....
in 1905, where she continued to train boiler room personnel, until 1906 when she was sold to ship-breakers and dismantled for scrap.
General characteristics and machinery
Hansa was 71.73 metres (235.3 ft) long at the waterline and 73.5 m (241.1 ft) long overall. She had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 14.1 m (46.3 ft) and a draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 5.74 m (18.8 ft) forward and 6.8 m (22.3 ft) aft. The ship was designed to displace 3950 metric tons (3,887.6 LT) at a normal loading, and up to 4404 MT (4,334.4 LT) with a combat load. The ship's hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
was formed with transverse iron frames and mixed iron and timber construction. The underwater portion of the hull was plated with copper to reduce fouling
Biofouling
Biofouling or biological fouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or animals on wetted structures.-Impact:...
. It contained six watertight compartments.
The German navy found the ship to be very stiff in her sea-keeping qualities. Hansa was very maneuverable and was easily controlled while under sail; under steam the ship remained highly maneuverable but control suffered. The ship's crew numbered 28 officers and 371 enlisted men. She carried a number of smaller boats aboard, including two launches
Launch (boat)
A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
, one pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
, two cutters, one yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
, and one dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
. The ship also carried an unknown number of picket boats and barges. Anti-torpedo nets were briefly fitted to the ship from 1885 to 1888.
Hansa was powered by a single horizontal three-cylinder single-expansion steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
built by AG Vulcan in Stettin. The engine drove a single three-bladed screw that was 6 m (19.7 ft) in diameter. Steam, at a pressure of at 2 standard atmospheres (202,650 Pa), was supplied by four trunk boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s in a single boiler room. The boilers were ducted into a single large funnel that could be retracted when the ship was operated under sail. The powerplant was rated at 450 nominal horsepower with a top speed of 12 kn (6.5 m/s). On trials, her propulsion system managed 3275 ihp and 12.7 knots (6.9 m/s). The ship carried 310 MT (305.1 LT) of coal for the boilers, which enabled a maximum range of 1330 nautical miles (2,463.2 km) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (5.4 m/s). Hansa was fully rigged
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
, and had a sail area of 1760 m² (2,104.9 sq yd). Steering was controlled by a single rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
.
Armament and armor
Hansa was armed with eight 21 centimetres (8.3 in) L/19 hooped guns, each of which was provided with 110 rounds of ammunition. The guns were placed in a two-story arrangement amidships; four were mounted in a broadsideBroadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
, two on either side of the ship. The other four guns were mounted in casemates on the corners of the lower casemate, which gave the ship a degree of end-on fire capability. The lower guns could depress to −5° and elevate to 13°; at maximum elevation, the guns could reach targets out to 3200 m (10,498.7 ft). The upper guns had a wider range of elevation; they could depress to −8° and elevate to 14°. At maximum elevation, the guns had a range of 5700 m (18,700.8 ft).
Hansas armor consisted of teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
-backed wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
, which was manufactured in Great Britain. Her armored belt was 152 mm (6 in) thick amidships, where it protected the ship's vitals. On the bow and stern, the belt was reduced to 114 mm (4.5 in) in thickness. The entire belt was backed with 306 mm (12 in) of timber. The casemates were armored with 114 mm thick sloping iron plates. The lower battery casemate had 114 mm thick transverse armored bulkheads on either end of the side armor.
Service history
Hansa was laid down at the Royal DockyardKaiserliche Werft Danzig
Kaiserliche Werft Danzig was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1852, first as Königliche Werft Danzig but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven it was one of three shipyards which produced...
in Danzig in 1868. She was the first ironclad warship
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
to be built in a German shipyard; her predecessors had all been built in French and British shipyards. The ship was launched on 26 October 1872 and moved to the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin for fitting out work. The work proceeded very slowly, and Hansa was not commissioned into the German fleet until 19 May 1875, two and a half years after her launch. By comparison, all of the earlier foreign-built ironclads were completed in less than a year.
Designed for overseas service protecting Germany's maritime trade, Hansa spent the first nine years of her career abroad. In 1884, it was found that her hull was badly corroded; this stemmed from the lengthy construction period, during which the iron had already begun to corrode. As a result of the poor shape of her hull, Hansa was removed from active service in 1884 and used as a guard ship in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. While in Kiel, she was also used as a training ship for engine-room personnel and stokers. She was formally stricken from the naval register on 6 August 1888. She was then used as a floating barracks in Kiel, until 1905. Hansa was then moved to Mönkeberg
Mönkeberg
Mönkeberg is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 5 km northeast of Kiel....
, hulked
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
, and used to train stokers. The ship did not last long in this service, and was sold in March 1906 for 96,000 marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. Hansa was broken up later that year in Swinemünde.