SMS Ägir

Lithograph of Ägir in 1899
History
German Empire
NameSMS Ägir
NamesakeÆgir
BuilderKaiserliche Werft, Kiel
Laid down28 November 1892
Launched3 April 1895
Commissioned15 October 1896
Decommissioned14 January 1916
Stricken17 June 1919
FateBeached at Gotland, 8 December 1929
General characteristics
Class & typeOdin-class coastal defense ship
Displacement
Length79 m (259 ft 2 in)
Beam15.20 m (49 ft 10 in)
Draft5.61 m (18 ft 5 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range2,200 nmi (4,100 km; 2,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 20 officers
  • 256 men
Armament
Armor

SMS Ägir was the second and final member of the Odin class of coastal defense ships (Küstenpanzerschiffe) built for the Imperial German Navy. She had one sister ship, Odin. Ägir was named for the norse god, and was built by the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Danzig between 1893 and 1896. She was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 19011903. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Ägir was demobilized in 1915 and used as a tender thereafter. After the war, she was rebuilt as a merchant ship and served in this capacity until December 1929, when she was wrecked on the island of Gotland.