| Career (German Empire) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft Kiel |
| Laid down: | 1892 |
| Launched: | 3 April 1895 |
| Commissioned: | 15 October 1896 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 January 1916 |
| Fate: | Beached at Gotland 8 December 1929 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 3,740 to 4,250 tons |
| Length: | 79 m to 86 m |
| Beam: | 14.9 m |
| Draft: | 5.5 m to 6.5 m |
| Propulsion: | 5,332 shp |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,400 st.mi. (5,500 km) |
| Complement: | Up to 307 |
| Armament: | 3 × 24 cm guns 8–10 × 8.8 cm guns 3–4 × 45 cm tubes |
SMS Ägir was an Odin class Küstenpanzerschiff which served in the German Imperial Navy prior to and during World War I.
Ägir was the second and final ship of her class as well as the last of eight such armored coastal defence ships built for the Imperial German Navy which at the time was primarily concerned about protecting Germany against invasion, rather than about a significant presence on the high seas. Ägir carried three 24 cm guns. The ship was laid down in 1892 by Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel (Germany), launched on 3 April 1895 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 15 October 1896. A major overhaul and modernization of its machinery was completed during 1902 to 1904.
Major pre-war operations conducted by Ägir included a cruise to the United Kingdom and Portugal in 1899 and one to Sweden and Norway in 1905. The ship was decommissioned in 1909, but reactivated upon the outbreak of World War I, serving as a coastal defense ship. In 1916, the main armament was removed and the ship was converted into a barracks ship. Like the other ships of her type and class, Ägir survived the war intact. Unlike some of her classmates, she avoided the scrapyard after the war and was converted into a transport. The ship ended its career running aground in 1929 at Gotland island in the Baltic Sea.
Ägir was named after a Norse mythological figure, Ægir, a giant and ruler of the sea.
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