SMS Sachsen

	Painting by Willy Stöwer (1900)
History
German Empire
Name	SMS Sachsen
Builder	A.G. Vulcan in Stettin
Laid down	April 1875
Launched	21 July 1877
Commissioned	20 October 1878
Decommissioned	1902
Stricken	19 February 1910
Fate	Sold for scrap, 5 May 1919
General characteristics
Class and type	Sachsen-class ironclad
Displacement	7,677 t (7,556 long tons; 8,462 short tons)
Length	98.2 m (322 ft 2 in)
Beam	18.4 m (60 ft 4 in)
Draft	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Installed power	8 × Dürr boilers; 4,917 ihp (3,667 kW);
Propulsion	2 × single-expansion steam engines; 2 × screw propellers;
Speed	13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph)
Complement	32 officers; 285 enlisted men;
Armament	6 × 26 cm (10.2 in) L/22 guns; 6 × 8.7 cm (3.4 in) guns; 8 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns;
Armor	Belt: 203–254 mm (8–10 in); Deck: 50–75 mm (2–3 in);

SMS Sachsen ^[a] was the lead ship of her class of four ironclads of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). Her sisterships were Bayern, Württemberg, and Baden. Sachsen was built in the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin. She was laid down in April 1875, launched on 21 July 1877, and commissioned on 21 October 1878. The ship was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in individual open mounts.

Sachsen was built when the German navy was primarily concerned with coastal defense against either French or Russian fleets. The ship participated in routine fleet maneuvers for the duration of her active career. On her last such fleet exercise, in 1901, she accidentally rammed and sank the aviso Wacht. The following year, Sachsen was placed in reserve, and in 1911, she was used as a target hulk for the fleet. The ship was eventually broken up for scrap in 1919, following the German defeat in World War I.
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[a]