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SMS Hertha (1864)

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History
Prussia
NameSMS Hertha
BuilderKönigliche Werft, Danzig
General characteristics
Class and typeArcona-class frigate
Displacement2,504 t (2,464 long tons)
Length73.32 m (240 ft 7 in)
Beam12.9 m (42 ft 4 in)
Draft5.52 m (18 ft 1 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Range1,350 nmi (2,500 km; 1,550 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement
  • 35 officers
  • 345 enlisted men
Armament28 × 68-pounder guns

SMS Hertha was a member of the Arcona class of steam frigates built for the Prussian Navy in the 1860s. The class comprised five ships, and were the first major steam-powered warships ordered for the Prussian Navy.

Design

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Hertha was 73.32 meters (240 ft 7 in) long overall and had a beam of 12.9 m (42 ft 4 in) and a draft of 5.52 m (18 ft 1 in) forward. She displaced 2,113 metric tons (2,080 long tons) as designed and 2,504 t (2,464 long tons) at full load. The ship had short forecastle and sterncastle decks straight stem. Her superstructure consisted primarily of a small deckhouse aft. She had a crew of 35 officers and 345 enlisted men.[1]

Her propulsion system consisted of a single horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by four coal-burning fire-tube boilers. Exhaust was vented through a single funnel located amidships. Hertha was rated to steam at a top speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph), but she significantly exceeded this speed, reaching 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) from 1,510 metric horsepower (1,490 ihp). The ship had a cruising radius of about 1,350 nautical miles (2,500 km; 1,550 mi) at a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). To supplement the steam engine on long voyages abroad, she carried a full-ship rig with a total surface area of 2,200 m2 (24,000 sq ft).[1]

Hertha was armed with a battery of twenty-eight 68-pounder guns. By 1869, she had been rearmed with a battery of seventeen 15 cm (5.9 in) K L/22 guns and two 12.5 cm (4.9 in) K L/23 guns.[1]

Service history

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Hertha was laid down at the Königliche Werft (Royal Dockyard) in Danzig in 1860. She was launched on 1 October 1864. After completing fitting out work, she was commissioned into active service on 1 November 1865.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Gröner, p. 42.
  2. ^ Gröner, pp. 42–43.

References

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  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 4. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8364-9743-5.
  • Lyon, Hugh (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. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
  • Nottelmann, Dirk (2022). Wright, Christopher C. (ed.). "From "Wooden Walls" to "New-Testament Ships": The Development of the German Armored Cruiser 1854–1918, Part I: "Humble Beginnings"". Warship International. LIX (2): 102–129. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.