Smectic‐A elastomers combine the positional long‐range order of mesogenic molecules in one dimension with the rubber elasticity of a polymer network. Upon mechanical deformation, completely different responses of the phase structure have been reported. We present a highly distorted system which shows a breakdown of smectic layering but no reorientation under deformation along the layer normal, while the phase structure stays unaffected under uniaxial stress in the perpendicular direction. The thermoelastic properties, macroscopic dimensions and stress–strain behaviour are investigated parallel and perpendicular to the layer normal. SAXS measurements supply evidence for a breakdown of the macroscopically ordered layer structure indicated by the small angle intensities and correlation length, whereas the orientational order is preserved. We propose defects in the smectic layer structure to be the origin of the different responses of different smectic elastomers.
