SMS Odin

In the late 1880s, the German Kaiserliche Marine grappled with the problem of what type of capital ship to build in the face of limited naval budgets (owing to parliamentary objections to naval spending and the cost of dredging the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal). General Leo von Caprivi, the new Chef der Admiralität (Chief of the Admiralty), was able to secure approval from the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) for ten small coastal defense ships, the first six of which became the Siegfried class, which carried three main battery guns in individual barbette mounts. Proposals for the last four included redesigning the vessels to add another main battery gun in two-gun turrets came to nothing owing to the cost of other naval programs—most notably the Brandenburg-class battleships. The two Odin-class ships were ultimately built to a modified version of the Siegfried design that incorporated improvements to the armor layout and other minor changes.[1]

Odin was 79 meters (259 ft) long overall and had a beam of 15.20 m (49.9 ft) and a maximum draft of 5.61 m (18.4 ft). She displaced 3,754 long tons (3,814 t) 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 14.4 knots (26.7 km/h; 16.6 mph). She carried 370 t (360 long tons; 410 short tons) of coal, which gave her a range of approximately 1,490 nautical miles (2,760 km; 1,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Odin had a crew of 20 officers and 256 enlisted men.[2]

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 ten 8.8 cm SK L/30 guns in single mounts. Odin also carried three 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, two in swivel mounts on the deck amidships and one in the bow, submerged below the waterline. The ship was protected by an armored belt that was 240 mm (9.4 in) thick amidships, and an armored deck that was 70 mm (2.8 in) thick. The conning tower had 120 mm (4.7 in) thick sides.[3]

Odin in 1899 before her reconstruction

Odin was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Danzig in 1893, launched on 3 November 1894, and completed on 7 July 1896, after which sea trials commenced.[4] She was commissioned into the German fleet on 22 September 1896. She served in the fleet for her entire peacetime career.[5] Odin participated in the 1900 summer fleet exercises, where she served in the squadron that simulated the German navy, alongside the recently-commissioned battleship Kaiser Friedrich III and the coastal defense ship Frithjof.[6]

In 1901, Odin was taken in hand at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig for an extensive reconstruction. Her old boilers were replaced with eight new Marine type boilers and her length was increased to 86.15 m (282.6 ft). This increased her displacement to 4,376 t (4,307 long tons; 4,824 short tons) at full load. The lengthened hull, which improved her hydrodynamic shape, and the improved boilers increased her speed by a full knot, to 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph). Her coal storage was increased to 580 t (570 long tons; 640 short tons), which allowed her to steam for an additional 800 nmi (1,500 km; 920 mi). The modernization work was completed by 1903, at which point she returned to active service.[2]

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Odin was assigned to VI Battle Squadron, along with her sister Ägir and the six Siegfried-class coastal defense ships. The squadron was disbanded on 31 August 1915 to free up the ships' crews for more important tasks.[7] Odin was thereafter used as a tender in Wilhelmshaven through to the end of the war. She was stricken from the naval register on 6 December 1919 and sold. In 1922, she was rebuilt as a merchant ship at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Rüstringen. She was operated by A. Bernstein Co., out of Hamburg. She continued in this role until 1935, when she was broken up for scrap.[5]

Notes

• Dodson, Aidan (2016). The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871–1918. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-8317-0302-8.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
• "Notes on Naval Progress". General Information Series. Government Printing Office. XX. 1900.

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• Nottleman, Dirk (2012). "From Ironclads to Dreadnoughts: The Development of the German Navy 1864–1918- Part III: The von Caprivi Era". Warship International. LXIX (4): 317–355. ISSN 0043-0374.