SMS Württemberg ( 1878 ) SMS " Württemberg " was one of four armored frigates of the German Imperial Navy . Her sister ships were , , and . " Württemberg " was built in the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin from 1876 to 1881 . The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in August 1881 . She was armed with a main battery of six guns in two open barbette s . After her commissioning , " Württemberg " served with the fleet on numerous training exercises and cruises . She participated in several cruises escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on state visits to Great Britain and to various cities in the Baltic Sea in the late 1880s and early 1890s . During 1898 – 1899 , the ship was modernized at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel ; she served for another seven years with the fleet before being withdrawn from active service in 1906 . She was subsequently used in a variety of secondary roles , until she was sold in 1920 and broken up for scrap . Construction . " Württemberg " was ordered by the Imperial Navy under the contract name " D , " which denoted that the vessel was a new addition to the fleet . She was built at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin ; her keel was laid in 1876 under construction number 78 . The ship was launched on 9 November 1878 and commissioned into the German fleet on 9 May 1881 . Along with her three sisters , " Württemberg " was the first large , armored warship built for the German navy that relied entirely on engines for propulsion . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward . " Württemberg " was powered by two 3 - cylinder triple expansion engines , which were supplied with steam by eight coal - fired Dürr boilers . The ship ' s top speed was , at Her standard complement consisted of 32 officers and 285 enlisted men , though while serving as a squadron flagship this was augmented by another 7 officers and 34 men . She was armed with six guns , two of which were single - mounted in an open barbette forward of the conning tower and the remaining four mounted amidships , also on single mounts in an open barbette . As built , the ship was also equipped with six L / 24 guns and eight Hotchkiss revolver cannons . " Württemberg " s armor was made of wrought iron , and was concentrated in an armored citadel amidships . The armor ranged from on the armored citadel , and between on the deck . The barbette armor was 254 mm of wrought iron backed by 250 mm of teak . Service history . After her commissioning in May 1881 , " Württemberg " was placed in reserve . She was not activated for service with the fleet until 1884 ; this in part had to do with the poor performance of her sister in the fleet maneuvers of 1880 . Among the problems associated with the " Sachsen " - class ships was a tendency to roll dangerously due to their flat bottoms , which greatly reduced the accuracy of their guns . The ships were also poorly armored , compared to their contemporaries . In addition , they were slow and suffered from poor maneuverability . Nevertheless , " Württemberg " and her three sisters served as the I Division in the 1884 fleet maneuvers , under the command of Rear Admiral Alexander von Monts . The ship was again placed in reserve in 1885 , but returned to fleet service in 1886 alongside , , and the new ironclad . During the annual fleet maneuvers , " Württemberg " s engines proved troublesome . Following the 1886 maneuvers , " Württemberg " and her three sisters were removed from active duty to serve as the Baltic reserve division . In June 1887 , Germany dedicated the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal ; " Württemberg " was among the ships present during the celebrations . The ship returned to active service with the fleet in 1890 when she joined the I Division during the annual maneuvers . " Württemberg " was commanded by Captain Alfred von Tirpitz during the exercises . The eight ships of the I and II Divisions simulated a Russian fleet blockading Kiel , which was defended by torpedo boat flotillas . " Württemberg " was in reserve during the 1891 maneuvers , but returned to the I Division in 1892 , 1893 , and 1894 . By the winter of 1894 – 1895 , the last of the four s had been commissioned ; these ships were assigned to the I Division , which displaced " Württemberg " and her three sisters to the II Division . The eight ships conducted training cruises over the winter and spring before conducting the annual autumn fleet exercises . On 21 June 1895 , the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was opened for traffic , eight years after work had begun . " Württemberg " and her three sisters , along with dozens of other warships , attended the ceremonies . The major naval powers sent fleets to join the fleet review . The Autumn 1895 maneuvers simulated a high - seas battle between the I and II Divisions in the North Sea , followed by combined maneuvers with the rest of the fleet in the Baltic . " Württemberg " again served during the 1896 and 1897 maneuvers , though " Sachsen " was her only sister to join the exercises . " Baden " and " Bayern " were out of service for extensive modernization . After the conclusion of the 1897 maneuvers , " Württemberg " was taken into drydock at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel for reconstruction . The ship ' s old wrought iron and teak armor was replaced with new Krupp nickel - steel armor . The four funnels were trunked into a single large funnel and new engines were also installed , which increased the ship ' s speed to . The ship ' s 8 . 7 cm guns were replaced with quick - firing SK L / 30 guns and four autocannons . Work was completed in 1898 . " Württemberg " remained with the fleet until 1906 ; her replacement in the fleet organization plan , the new dreadnought battleship , was ordered that year . " Württemberg " was then used as a torpedo training and test ship until February 1919 , when she was reduced to an escort for F - type minesweeper s . The ship was stricken from the naval register on 20 October 1920 and sold to Hattinger Co . " Württemberg " was ultimately broken up for scrap in Wilhelmshaven .