SMS Kronprinz (1867)

Illustration of Kronprinz in 1868
Class overview
Operators
Preceded byFriedrich Carl
Succeeded byKönig Wilhelm
History
Prussia, later German Empire
NameKronprinz
BuilderSamuda Brothers, London
Laid downFebruary 1866
Launched6 May 1867
Commissioned19 September 1867
FateScrapped in 1921
General characteristics
TypeArmored frigate
Displacement
Length89.44 m (293 ft 5 in)
Beam15.20 m (49 ft 10 in)
Draft7.85 m (25 ft 9 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Range3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 33 officers
  • 508 enlisted
Armament
ArmorBelt: 76 to 124 mm (3.0 to 4.9 in)

SMS Kronprinz[a] was a unique German ironclad warship built for the Prussian Navy in 1866–1867. Kronprinz was laid down in 1866 at the Samuda Brothers shipyard at Cubitt Town in London. She was launched in May 1867 and commissioned into the Prussian Navy that September. The ship was the fourth ironclad ordered by the Prussian Navy, after Arminius, Prinz Adalbert, and Friedrich Carl, though she entered service before Friedrich Carl. Kronprinz was built as an armored frigate, armed with a main battery of sixteen 21 cm (8.3 in) guns; several smaller guns were added later in her career.

Kronprinz saw limited duty during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. Engine troubles aboard the ship, along with the two other armored frigates in her squadron, prevented operations against the French blockade. Only two sorties in which Kronprinz participated were conducted, both of which did not result in combat. The ship served in the subsequent Imperial Navy until she was converted into a training ship for boiler room personnel in 1901. The ship was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1921.
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