SMS Hagen
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The SMS Hagen was the sixth ship of the Siegfried class , a class of eight coastal armored ships of the Imperial Navy . The ships were originally declared as armored ships IV. Class and were listed as coastal armored ships in the course of the reclassification of ship types in the Imperial Navy from 1899.
construction
In September 1891, construction of the ironclad S began at the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel . The ship was ready for launch on October 21, 1893. The upper yard director, Captain Otto Diedrichsen , christened the new case after the figure of the Nibelungen in the name of Hagen . It took another eleven months to complete the ship.
commitment
Peace time
The Hagen was first put into service on October 2, 1894. The following test drives were satisfactory. In particular, the problems with the boiler system that had occurred on the sister ships that had previously been built could be prevented due to the experience gained. From November 28, the coastal armored ship belonged to the newly formed reserve division of the Baltic Sea. From May 13th to June 2nd, 1895, the Hagen undertook a training trip . Together with the Reserve Division, the ship took part in the fleet inspection on June 21 to mark the inauguration of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal . The division was disbanded four days later.
The murder of two German merchants in Morocco at the beginning of 1895 led the Germans to demand compensation. The Moroccan government initially agreed to this after the cruiser Irene, which was leaving for East Asia, entered Moroccan waters. In the end, the payments were refused. The Hagen was then sent to Tangier on June 29th to fly the flag there and to emphasize the German demands. In addition, the Empress Augusta , the training ship Stosch and the cruiser corvette Marie, who was on her way home from East Asia, were ordered to Tangier. In addition, the I. Squadron extended its training trip to northern Spain. The four ships arrived off Tangier on July 10th. The association led by the commander of the Empress Augusta , Captain Oscar von Schuckmann , served the German ambassador as support and showed the hoped-for effect. Morocco gave in to the German demands and the four ships left Tangier on August 5th. The Hagen started her journey home on August 10th and reached Wilhelmshaven nine days later .
After her return, the Hagen was assigned to the reconnaissance unit of the autumn training fleet. From September 19, the ship resumed service as the parent ship of the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. In 1896 the Hagen was initially used as a watch ship in Kiel. From June 28th to July 9th, the ship briefly belonged to the 1st Squadron, during the autumn maneuvers again to the reconnaissance association. In 1897, the Hagen was used as the parent ship of the Reserve Division from August 3 to September 25 in the II Squadron, which was formed from six of the coastal armored ships for the autumn maneuvers. From August 10 to September 21, the ship also served Rear Admiral Volkmar von Arnim as a division flagship . During the autumn maneuvers in the following year, the Hagen drove in the newly formed II Squadron. On August 31, a boiler accident prematurely ended the coastal armored ship's participation in the maneuvers. The damaged ship had to be brought in by the Pfeil to Kiel, where the Hagen was decommissioned on September 29th.
Since the ships of the Siegfried class suffered particularly from a very short range, all eight units were converted between 1899 and 1904. The Hagen was the first of the ships in which this conversion was carried out from May 1899 at the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel. The ship received an 8.4 m long middle section, eight new steam boilers and a second chimney. In addition, some modernizations were made to the machinery, among other things, as well as a change to the armament. Parts of the armor, which until then consisted of composite steel on a teak layer , were replaced by more modern Krupp steel . As a result of the conversion, the range of the ship could be increased significantly, as well as increased engine power and top speed.
The Hagen was put back into service on October 2, 1900 and initially carried out test drives. Since these were positive, the seven other units in the class were also converted accordingly. On December 12, the ship reached Danzig - Neufahrwasser and returned to the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. In January 1901 the Hagen called the Isle of Wight . Together with the Baden and the Victoria Louise , the ship took part in the mourning fleet parade held there on January 31 to mark the death of Queen Victoria . The Hagen was back in Danzig on February 11th. In the summer and autumn, exercises of the reserve division took place, followed by the autumn maneuvers, during which the Hagen belonged to the newly formed II Squadron. After an overhaul by the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel, insubordination occurred on board the Hagen in October and November , which resulted in property damage. Such incidents were rare in the Imperial Navy until 1918.
The operation in the two following years was similar to that of 1901. In mid-1903 the Hagen suffered a machine breakdown and was to be repaired from July 8th to 30th at the Imperial Shipyard in Danzig. There the ship was decommissioned on September 17th after participating in the autumn maneuvers. Only for the autumn maneuvers in 1909, the Hagen was used for the last time in peacetime from July 22nd to September 15th.
First World War
After the outbreak of the First World War , the Hagen was reactivated on August 12, 1914 and with her sister ships in the VI. Squadron grouped under Rear Admiral Richard Eckermann . This was used for coastal protection and outpost service in the German Bight . The Hagen arrived in the North Sea on September 15. Nine days later the ship got stuck at Voslapp and had to be towed free by the Hildebrand . From September 29th to December 13th, the Hagen provided the outpost service on the Jade and Weser estuaries . On November 4, the ship was instrumental in the rescue of 381 crew members of the great cruiser Yorck . The Yorck had hit a German mine barrier in the fog on the Outer Jade and sank as a result of a current offset.
From December 12 to June 14, 1915, the Hagen was used on the Ems estuary . Another mission on Jade and Weser followed until August 30th. On this day, the Hagen was withdrawn from active use. The VI. Squadron was disbanded the following day. The ships of the Siegfried class were now completely out of date and had only a low combat value. In addition, the Imperial Navy suffered from a lack of personnel. The Hagen therefore began the march to Danzig on September 1, where it was decommissioned nine days later.
Whereabouts
From June 1916 the Hagen served as a barge for the submarine flotilla of the Baltic Sea in Libau . On August 19, the ship was towed first to Gdansk and on September 22nd to Warnemünde . There the Hagen served until the end of the war as an auxiliary ship for warships operating in the outpost service in the Baltic Sea. On June 17, 1919, it was deleted from the list of warships. The Hagen was sold to the Netherlands and broken up there.
In accordance with the 20-year lifespan of ships of the line stipulated in the Second Fleet Act , which in this context also included armored ships, the Kaiserin large-line ship was launched as a replacement for the Hagen in 1911 .
Commanders
| October 2, 1894 to September 1895 | Corvette Captain Carl Rosendahl |
| September 1895 to May 1896 | Corvette Captain of Arend |
| May to September 1896 | Corvette Captain Adolf Goetz |
| October 1, 1896 to July 22, 1898 | Corvette Captain Guido von Usedom |
| July to August 1898 | Captain August Goette (deputy) |
| August to September 1898 | Corvette Captain Paul Walther |
| October 2, 1900 to May 1901 | Corvette Captain Carl Paschen |
| May to June 1901 | Corvette Captain Gerhard Gerdes |
| June to September 1901 | Corvette Captain / Frigate Captain Carl Paschen |
| September 1901 to September 1902 | Corvette Captain / Frigate Captain Karl Dick |
| September 1902 to July 8, 1903 | Corvette Captain / Frigate Captain Hartwig von Dassel |
| July 30 to September 17, 1903 | Frigate Captain Eugen Weber |
| July 22 to September 15, 1909 | Frigate Captain Arnold Marks |
| August 12 to November 1914 | Frigate captain / sea captain Leberecht von Klitzing |
| November 1914 to September 10, 1915 | Frigate Captain Kurtz |
literature
- Gröner, Erich / Dieter Jung / Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945 . tape 1 : Armored ships, ships of the line, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, gunboats . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4800-8 , p. 34-36 .
- Hildebrand, Hans H. / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships . Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present . tape 4 : Ship biographies from Greif to Kaiser . Mundus Verlag, Ratingen, S. 52-54 .
Web links
- dreadnoughtproject.org - Detailed building plans of the Hagen from 1900
- deutsche-schutzgebiete.de - pictures of the Hagen