Construction
Friedrich der Grosse was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel; her keel was laid in 1871 under construction number 1. The ship was launched on 20 September 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet on 22 November 1877. Although laid down a year before her sister Preussen, Friedrich der Grosse was not completed until a year after; this was because she was built at a newly established and inexperienced Imperial Dockyard, while Preussen was built by AG Vulcan, an experienced private shipbuilder. The ship cost the German government 7,303,000 gold marks.
The ship was 96.59 meters (316.9 ft) long overall and had a beam of 16.3 m (53 ft) and a draft of 7.12 m (23.4 ft) forward. Friedrich der Grosse was powered by one 3-cylinder single expansion steam engine, which was supplied with steam by six coal-fired transverse trunk boilers. The ship's top speed was 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), at 4,998 indicated horsepower (3,727 kW). She was also equipped with a full ship rig. Her standard complement consisted of 46 officers and 454 enlisted men.
She was armed with four 26 cm (10.2 in) L/22 guns mounted in a pair of gun turrets placed amidships. As built, the ship was also equipped with two 17 cm (6.7 in) L/25 chase guns. After being rebuilt in 1888–1890, her armament was increased by six and later ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/30 quick-firing guns, a pair of machine guns, and five 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes, all placed in the ship's hull below the waterline. Preussen's armor was made of wrought iron and backed with teak. The armored belt was arrayed in two strakes. The upper strake was 203 mm (8.0 in) thick; the lower strake ranged in thickness from 102 to 229 mm (4.0 to 9.0 in). Both were backed with 234 to 260 mm (9.2 to 10.2 in) of teak. The gun turrets were protected by 203 to 254 mm (8.0 to 10.0 in) armor on the sides, backed by 260 mm of teak.
Read more about this topic: SMS Friedrich Der Grosse (1874)
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