SMS Hildebrand

SMS Hildebrand early in her career
History
German Empire
NameHildebrand
NamesakeHildebrand
BuilderKaiserliche Werft in Kiel
Laid down9 December 1890
Launched6 August 1892
Commissioned28 October 1893
Stricken17 June 1919
FateSunk off Dutch coast, 1919, scrapped 1933
General characteristics as built
Class and typeSiegfried-class coast defense ship
Displacement
Length79 m (259.2 ft)
Beam14.8 m (48.6 ft)
Draft5.74 m (18.8 ft)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed14.8 knots (27.4 km/h; 17.0 mph)
Range4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 20 officers
  • 256 enlisted men
Armament
Armor

SMS Hildebrand was the fifth vessel of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships (Küstenpanzerschiffe) built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Siegfried, Beowulf, Frithjof, Heimdall, and Hagen. Hildebrand was built by the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) at Kiel between 1890 and 1893, and was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1900–1902. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Hildebrand was demobilized in 1915 and used as a barracks ship thereafter. She ran aground while en route to the Netherlands for scrapping in 1919, and was eventually broken up in situ in 1933.