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SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1875)

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For other ships with the same name, see SMS Grosser Kurfürst.

SMS Grosser Kurfurst under sail.png
SMS Grosser Kurfürst underway on her maiden voyage
History
German Imperial Navy Ensign
NameSMS Grosser Kurfürst
BuilderKaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Laid down1869
Launched17 September 1875
Commissioned6 May 1878
FateAccidentally rammed and sunk by SMS König Wilhelm 31 May 1878
General characteristics
Class and type Preussen-class ironclad
Displacement
  • Design: 6,821 t (6,713 long tons)
  • Full load: 7,718 t (7,596 long tons)
Length96.59 m (316 ft 11 in)
Beam16.30 m (53 ft 6 in)
Draft7.11 m (23 ft 4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 1 × single-expansion steam engine and sail
  • 1 × screw propeller
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Range1,690 nmi (3,130 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Complement
  • 46 officers
  • 454 enlisted men
Armament
  • 4 × 26 cm (10 in) L/22 guns
  • 2 × 17 cm (6.7 in) L/25 guns
Armor
  • Upper belt: 203 mm (8 in)
  • Lower belt: 102 to 229 mm (4 to 9 in)
  • Turrets: 203 to 254 mm (8 to 10 in)

SMS Grosser Kurfürst [a] (or Großer [b]) was an ironclad turret ship built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven in 1870 and completed in 1878; her long construction time was in part due to a redesign that was completed after work on the ship had begun. Her main battery of four 26 cm (10 in) guns was initially to be placed in a central armored battery, but during the redesign this was altered to a pair of twin gun turrets amidships.

Grosser Kurfürst was sunk on her maiden voyage when accidentally rammed by the ironclad SMS König Wilhelm. The two ships, along with SMS Preussen, were steaming in the English Channel on 31 May 1878. The three ships encountered a group of fishing boats under sail; in turning to avoid them, Grosser Kurfürst inadvertently crossed König Wilhelm's path and was rammed, sinking within about eight minutes. Between 269 and 284 of her crew drowned. Her loss spurred a series of investigations into the circumstances of the collision, which ultimately resulted in the acquittal of both Rear Admiral  [de], the squadron commander, and Count Alexander von Monts, the captain of Grosser Kurfürst. Political infighting over the affair led to the ousting of Rear Admiral Reinhold von Werner from the navy.

Design[]

Main article: Preussen-class ironclad
Line-drawing of a Preussen-class ironclad

The three Preussen-class ironclads were authorized under the naval program of 1867, which had been approved by the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) to strengthen the North German Federal Navy in the wake of the Second Schleswig War, when the weak Prussian Navy had been unable to break the blockade imposed by the Danish Navy. Initially ordered as casemate ships, the vessels were re-designed as turret ships; they were the first uniform class of ironclads built for the German fleet.[1]

Grosser Kurfürst was 96.59 meters (316.9 ft) long overall and had a beam of 16.30 m (53.5 ft) and a draft of 7.12 m (23.4 ft) forward.[2] The ship was powered by one 3-cylinder single-expansion steam engine, which drove a single screw propeller. Steam was supplied by six coal-fired transverse trunk boilers, which were vented into a single funnel. The ship's top speed was 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), at 5,468 metric horsepower (5,393 ihp). She was also equipped with a full ship rig of sails. Her standard complement was 46 officers and 454 enlisted men.[3]

She was armed with a main battery of four 26 cm (10 in) L/22 guns mounted in a pair of turrets placed on the centerline amidships.[c] As built, the ship was also equipped with two 17 cm (6.7 in) L/25 guns as chase guns, one in the bow and one in the stern.[4] Grosser Kurfürst's armor was made of wrought iron backed with teak. The armored belt was arrayed in two strakes. The upper strake was 203 mm (8 in) thick; the lower strake ranged in thickness from 102 to 229 mm (4 to 9 in). Both were backed with 234 to 260 mm (9.2 to 10.2 in) of teak. The gun turrets were protected by 203 to 254 mm (8 to 10 in) armor on the sides, backed by 260 mm of teak.[2]

Service history[]

Grosser Kurfürst was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in 1869 under construction number 2.[2] The ship was launched on 17 September 1875 and was commissioned into the German fleet on 6 May 1878.[4] Grosser Kurfürst cost the German government 7,303,000 gold marks.[2] As originally designed, Grosser Kurfürst was to have had her primary armament arranged in a central battery; after she was laid down, she was altered to mount her main guns in a pair of twin turrets. Although she was the first ship in her class of three vessels to be laid down, she was the last to be launched and commissioned, because she was redesigned after work had begun, and she was built by the newly established Imperial Dockyard. Her sister Preussen was built by an experienced commercial shipbuilder, and Friedrich der Grosse was laid down after the redesign was completed.[5]

Collision and loss[]

SMS Grosser Kurfürst sinking on her maiden voyage

In April 1878, the armored squadron was reactivated for the annual summer training cycle, under the command of Konteradmiral . Grosser Kurfürst joined the unit, which included her sisters Preussen and Friedrich der Grosse and the large ironclad König Wilhelm, after her commissioning on 6 May. A grounding by Friedrich der Grosse caused serious damage to her hull and prevented her from taking part in the upcoming training cruise. The three ships left Wilhelmshaven on the 29th.[6] König Wilhelm and Preussen steamed in a line, with Grosser Kurfürst off to starboard. On the morning of the 31st, the three ships encountered a pair of sailing vessels off Folkestone. Grosser Kurfürst turned to port to avoid the boats while König Wilhelm sought to pass the two boats, but there was not enough distance between her and Grosser Kurfürst. She therefore turned hard to port to avoid Grosser Kurfürst, but not quickly enough, and König Wilhelm found herself pointed directly at Grosser Kurfürst;[7] her ram bow tore a large hole in Grosser Kurfürst's side.[8]

Grosser Kurfürst's watertight bulkheads were not adequately sealed, and she sank within about eight minutes.[7] Figures for the number of fatalities vary. Erich Gröner reports that out of a crew of 500 men, 269 died in the accident,[4] Lawrence Sondhaus states that 276 men were killed,[6] and Aidan Dodson reports 284 fatalities.[9] Many of the bodies were ultimately buried in Cheriton Road Cemetery, Folkestone, where there is a substantial memorial. Arthur Sullivan, on his way to Paris, witnessed the incident, writing, "I saw it all – saw the unfortunate vessel slowly go over and disappear under the water in clear, bright sunshine, and the water like a calm lake. It was too horrible – and then we saw all the boats moving about picking up the survivors, some so exhausted they had to be lifted on to the ships."[10] Among those rescued was the ship's captain, Count Alexander von Monts.[11]

König Wilhelm was badly damaged in the collision, with severe flooding forward. König Wilhelm's captain initially intended to beach the ship to prevent it from sinking, but determined that the ship's pumps could hold the flooding to an acceptable level. The ship made for Portsmouth, where temporary repairs could be effected to allow the ship to return to Germany.[7] In the aftermath of the collision, the German navy held a court martial for Batsch, the squadron commander, and Captains Monts and Kuehne, the commanders of the two ships, along with Lieutenant Clausa, the first officer aboard Grosser Kurfürst, to investigate the sinking.[12]

Inquiry[]

Diagram of the maneuvers of the German flotilla

In the ensuing inquiry, chaired by Konteradmiral Reinhold von Werner, Monts testified that he had not been given sufficient time to familiarize himself with the ship and its crew, who were themselves unfamiliar with the vessel. Monts argued that the mobilization process for the newly commissioned ship should have lasted four to six weeks, rather than the three he had been given. The day before the squadron left Wilhelmshaven, Batsch complained to General Albrecht von Stosch, the chief of the Kaiserliche Marine, that a significant number of dockyard workers were still finishing work on Grosser Kurfürst. Werner and the board determined that Batsch was at fault and exonerated Monts.[13]

Stosch was infuriated that the proceedings had been allowed to become a forum for criticism of his policies, for which he blamed Werner. He appealed to Kaiser Wilhelm I, stating that the inquiry had unfairly blamed Batsch, and requested a new court martial for the involved officers. Simultaneously, Stosch began a campaign to force Werner out of the navy. This was in part to ensure that Batsch, his protégé, would be next in line after Stosch retired.[14] Despite his popularity, particularly with Kaiser Wilhelm I and his son, Werner was unable to resist Stosch's efforts to force his ouster. On 15 October 1878, he requested retirement.[15]

The second court martial again found Batsch guilty and Monts innocent of negligence. A third investigation, held in January 1879, reversed the decision of the previous verdicts and sentenced Monts to a prison term of one month and two days, though the Kaiser refused to implement the punishment. This necessitated another trial, which returned to the initial verdict and sentenced Batsch to six months in prison. The Kaiser commuted Batsch's sentence after he had served two months' time. Disappointed that his protégé had taken the blame for the sinking, Stosch requested another court martial for Monts, who was found not guilty. The Kaiser officially approved the verdict, which put an end to the series of trials over the sinking of Grosser Kurfürst.[16]

Illustration of the memorial in Folkestone

Another consequence of the sinking was to instill an aversion to naval expenditures in the German Reichstag that persisted for many years. Among the effects of this reluctance to spend on the navy was the refusal to authorize funding for new capital ships for most of the 1880s. In addition, the design for the ironclad Oldenburg, which was to have been a member of the Sachsen class, had to be reduced significantly as a result of the shortage of funds.[17][18]

The lives lost in the sinking of the Grosser Kurfürst are commemorated by a large stone obelisk erected at Cheriton Road Cemetery, in Folkestone.[19][20] The Germans repeatedly considered projects to salvage the wreck until 1903.[9] In 2020, it was announced by Historic England that the memorial would be listed as a Grade II listed building, and the wreck itself would be scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, allowing recreational diving under license but prohibiting salvage or removal of artifacts.[21]

Footnotes[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship".
  2. ^ This is the German "sharp S"; see ß.
  3. ^ "L/22" denotes the length of the gun in terms of caliber. A 22 caliber gun is 22 times as long as it is wide in diameter, so a 26 cm L/22 gun is 572 cm (225 in) long.

Citations[]

  1. ^ Dodson, pp. 14, 20.
  2. ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 5.
  3. ^ Gröner, pp. 5–6.
  4. ^ a b c Gröner, p. 6.
  5. ^ Lyon, p. 244.
  6. ^ a b Sondhaus Weltpolitik, p. 124.
  7. ^ a b c Irving, p. 135.
  8. ^ Sondhaus Naval Warfare, p. 109.
  9. ^ a b Dodson, p. 26.
  10. ^ Sullivan, in a letter to his mother dated 2 June 1878, quoted in Jacobs, pp. 119–120.
  11. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, p. 126.
  12. ^ The New York Times & 1879-01-09.
  13. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, pp. 127–128.
  14. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, pp. 128–129.
  15. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, pp. 129–130.
  16. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, pp. 131–132.
  17. ^ Dodson, p. 30.
  18. ^ Sondhaus Weltpolitik, p. 135.
  19. ^ Imperial War Museum
  20. ^ Photos of memorial
  21. ^ Brown, Mark (5 June 2020). "German warship wreck off Kent coast given heritage protection". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2020.

References[]

  • Dodson, Aidan (2016). The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871–1918. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
  • Irving, Joseph (1879). The Annals of Our Time. London: Macmillan and Co.
  • Jacobs, Arthur (1986). Arthur Sullivan – A Victorian Musician. Oxford University Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN 978-0-19-282033-4.
  • Lyon, David (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 240–265. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.
  • "Current Foreign Topics. A Court-Martial Ordered in the Case of the Collision of German War Ships" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 January 1879. Retrieved 5 October 2012.

Coordinates: 51°0′36″N 1°9′39″E / 51.01000°N 1.16083°E / 51.01000; 1.16083

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