The SMS Sachsen was one of 4 armored ships that was first built in Germany and should replace the hitherto predominantly used wooden warships.
Launching and design:
Already since 1861 there were plans for the construction of new battleships. Since the German shipyards did not yet have the necessary capacities and possibilities at that time, the first battleship deployed in Germany, SMS Arminius, was still ordered in England.
SMS Sachsen
The 4 newly planned armored ships were mainly planned for the protection of the Baltic Sea. The construction was completed by the A.G. Vulcan shipyard in Szczecin and carried out the imperial shipyard in Kiel. The first two ships, battleship A in Kiel and battleship B in Szczecin, were laid at the same time keel, but since the construction of the Saxons, however, was finished earlier, the ship's class was named after this ship.
SMS Sachsen
Detail of armor of the ironclad of the SMS Sachsen
In the first phase, the ships were still equipped with two recumbent single expansion machines with eight suitcase boilers in two separate engine rooms, so that a total of 4 chimneys were needed. However, since the ships at sea had serious deficiencies in the control, they were rebuilt several times after a short service, so later the ships were equipped only with a chimney. The ships of the Saxon class were also the first in the imperial navy, which were equipped without auxiliary sails.
SMS Sachsen
The armor was made of wrought iron and was around the citadel 203-254mm thick, with 51-64mm thick armor plates, however, the deck were armored.
At the beginning, the ships were equipped with six 26cm 22 gauge ring cannon. There were 4 cannons in the middle of the ship and two at the bow. After reconstruction work in 1886, 5 torpedo tubes (2 × 45 cm in the sides, 2 × 35 cm in the bow and 1 × 35 cm in the stern) were added.
SMS Sachsen
The launching of the Sachsen took place on July 21, 1877. 1884 all 4 armored ships of the Saxon class were ready for use.
The end of SMS Sachsen:
The armored ships of the Sachsen class did not take part in any battles during their service. Despite several conversion measures, the ships were already outdated in 1900 and were inferior to the newer warships.
On 4 September 1901, the SMS Sachsen collided with the Aviso Wacht before complaints. In 1902 she was placed in readiness and in 1906 in the second readiness. From 1910 to 1918, the ship served as the destination for the fleet off the coast of Schwansen. The SMS Sachsen was sold in 1919 and scrapped in Wilhelmshaven.
Ship data:
| Ship type | Armored corvette |
| Country | Germany |
| Launching | July 21, 1877 |
| Whereabouts | 19 February 1910 retired
May 5, 1919 sold and scrapped |
| Plating | 203-254mm at the citadel
51-64mm on the deck |
| Drive | 8 suitcase boilers in 2 + 2 boiler rooms 2 horizontal 3-cylinder steam engines with 5,000 hp 2 four-wing screws |
| Length | 98,2 meters |
| Width | 18,3 meters |
| Draft | 6,53 meters |
| Displacement | max. 7.935 metric tons |
| Speed | 13.5 knots |
| Arming | 6 x 26cm ring cannon caliber 22
from 1886: 5 torpedo tubes |
| Crew | 317 to 436 men |
The sister ship SMS Baden
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