High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! SMS Hansa was a German ironclad warship built in 1868–1875. She was the first ironclad built in Germany; all previous German ironclads had been built in foreign shipyards. She was named after the Hanseatic League, known in Germany simply as Hanse, Latinized Hansa. The ship was launched in October 1872 and commissioned into the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in May 1875. Designed for overseas service, Hansa was classed as an armored corvette and armed with eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in a central battery.