SMS Hagen was the final vessel of the six-ship Siegfried class of coastal defense ships (Küstenpanzerschiffe) constructed for the German Imperial Navy in the early 1890s. Built at the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel between 1891 and 1893, she measured approximately 79 meters (259 feet) in overall length, with a beam of 14.90 meters (48.9 feet) and a maximum draft of 5.74 meters (18.8 feet). Her displacement was about 3,500 tons normally, increasing to around 3,741 tons at full load. The hull featured a long forecastle deck extending most of the vessel’s length, a pronounced ram bow, and a crew of 20 officers and 256 enlisted men. Propulsion was provided by two vertical 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines powered by four coal-fired fire-tube boilers, vented through a single funnel. This setup yielded a top speed of 14.8 knots (27.4 km/h), with a range of roughly 1,490 nautical miles at 10 knots. Her armament consisted of three 24 cm (9.4 in) K L/35 guns in individual turrets—two forward and one aft—complemented by eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns for defense against torpedo boats, and four 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tubes. Hagen’s armor featured a 240 mm (9.4 in) Krupp steel armored belt at the central citadel, an 80 mm (3.1 in) thick conning tower, and a 30 mm (1.2 in) armored deck. The sides were equipped with anti-torpedo nets, later removed in 1897. She underwent an extensive reconstruction from 1899 to 1900, which included lengthening the hull to 86.13 meters (282.6 feet), installing more efficient water-tube Thornycroft boilers, increasing her speed to 15.3 knots, and upgrading her armament to ten 8.8 cm guns and three 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. Commissioned on 2 October 1894, Hagen initially served with the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea and participated in various fleet exercises and diplomatic missions, including a notable representation at Queen Victoria's funeral in 1901. During her service, she experienced a boiler explosion in 1898 and was reconstructed in 1899-1900 to enhance her capabilities. She served intermittently with the fleet and reserve units until World War I, where she was mobilized for coastal defense, serving in the VI Battle Squadron. During WWI, Hagen primarily conducted patrols and escort duties along the German coast, including assisting in the evacuation of crew from the sinking armored cruiser Yorck in November 1914. She was demobilized in 1915, transitioned to a barracks ship, and served in the Baltic and Warnemünde until the end of the war. Struck from the naval register in June 1919, she was sold for scrap and dismantled, ending her maritime career.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.