SMS Hildebrand

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 SMS Siegfried, SMS Beowulf, SMS Frithjof, SMS Heimdall, and SMS Hagen. Hildebrand was built by the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel shipyard between 1890 and 1893, and was armed with a main battery of three 24 cm 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 Holland for scrapping in 1919, and was eventually broken up in situ in 1933.

Design


Hildebrand was 79 m long overall and had a beam of 14.9 m and a maximum draft of 5.74 m. She displaced 3741 LT at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two vertical 3-cylinder triple expansion engines. Steam for the engines was provided by four coal-fired boilers. The ship's propulsion system provided a top speed of 14.8 kn and a range of approximately 1490 nmi at 10 kn. Hildebrand had a crew of 20 officers and 256 enlisted men.

The ship was armed with three 24 cm K L/35 guns mounted in three single gun turrets. Two were placed side by side forward, and the third was located aft of the main superstructure. They were supplied with a total of 204 rounds of ammunition. The ship was also equipped with eight 8.8 cm SK L/30 guns in single mounts. Hildebrand also carried four 35 cm torpedo tubes, all in swivel mounts on the deck. One was at the bow, another at the stern, and two amidships. The ship was protected by an armored belt that was 240 mm amidships, and an armored deck that was 30 mm thick. The conning tower had 80 mm thick sides.

Service history
Hildebrand was laid down in 1890 at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel. She was launched on 6 August 1892, and completed on 28 October 1893. Hildebrand participated in the fleet maneuvers in 1894, alongside two of her sister ships in the IV Division of the fleet. The Division was based in Danzig with some torpedo boats and operated as the German fleet in mock engagements with the I Division, which simulated the Russian Baltic Fleet. In 1897, Hildebrand again participated in the annual summer maneuvers in the III Division, along with SMS Siegfried and SMS Beowulf. Her other three sisters were assigned to the IV Division. Hildebrand, Siegfried, SMS Heimdall, and SMS Ägir simulated the hostile fleet during the 1900 summer exercises.

Hildebrand served on active duty with the fleet until 1901, when she was taken into drydock at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Danzig for an extensive reconstruction. The ship was lengthened to 86.13 m, which increased displacement to 4236 MT. Her old boilers were replaced with eight new Marine type boilers, and a second funnel was added. Her secondary battery was increased to ten 8.8 cm guns, and the 35 cm torpedo tubes were replaced with three 45 cm tubes. Work was completed by 1902.

Hildebrand returned to the fleet after her modernization was completed, assigned to the II Squadron, alongside Heimdall, SMS Hagen, and Beowulf. She remained in the fleet where she remained until the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, when she was mobilized into the VI Battle Squadron for coastal defense, along with her sister ships. On 31 August 1915, the VI Battle Squadron was demobilized, and Hildebrand's crew was transferred to other warships. She was then used as a barracks ship in Windau. On 17 June 1919, she was stricken from the naval register. She was sold Holland for scrapping, but ran aground while en route to the breakers. In 1933, her wreck was blown up and subsequently broken up in situ.