Brandenburg class battleship
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 SMS Wörth |
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| Career (German Empire) |  |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Brandenburg class |
| Displacement: | 10,500 tons (10,668 tonnes) |
| Length: | 379.58 ft (115.70 m) |
| Beam: | 64 ft (20 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts triple expansion 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW) |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement: | 568 |
| Armament: | 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | Belt 12–16 inches turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm) |
The four Brandenburg class pre-dreadnought battleships were Germany's first ocean-going battleships and the first to be fitted with wireless communications. Their names were Brandenburg, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, Weißenburg, and Wörth. All were laid down in 1890 and completed by 1893, except for Weißenburg, which was completed in 1894. The lead ship, Brandenburg, was built at the cost of 9.3 million Marks and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm cost 11.23 million Marks.[1] The British Royal Navy derisively referred to the ships as the "whalers" [2]
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[edit] Design
[edit] Dimensions and machinery
The ships of the Brandenburg class displaced 10,500 tons, was 115.7 m long, 19.5 m wide, and had a draught of 7.9 m.[2] She was powered by 12 boilers, which drove a 2-shaft triple expansion engine that produced 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW) and a top speed of 17 knots (31 km/h).[2] The crew numbered 568.
[edit] Armament
The vessels were unusual for their time in possessing a broadside of six heavy guns, rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships. They also possessed a lighter than usual secondary battery which has caused some naval historians to view them as an early expression of the Dreadnought concept. However, despite their unique mix of weaponry, the ships were designed to fight at short ranges and the secondary battery was considered part of the offensive armament, making the Brandenburgs a variation on the Pre-dreadnought theme rather than being a form of "proto-dreadnought".
While a novel concept, the midships turret caused prohibitive blast damage when fired to the surrounding superstructure, which led to the idea being abandoned. [2]
The Brandenburg class's secondary armament initially consisted of seven 10.5 cm guns in casemates and another eight 8.8 cm guns, also casemated. Between 1902 and 1904, the ships of the Brandenburg class were modernized, during which another 10.5 cm gun was added.[2] This was considered weak by the standards of the period. The ships were also armed with six 45 cm torpedo tubes, although one of these was removed during the modernization. [2]
[edit] Armor
Weißenburg and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm were armored with Krupp nickel steel armor, but due to delivery problems, the Brandenburg and Wörth were armored with a composite armor. The Krupp armor effectively provided twice the amount of protection afforded by the composite armor.
The ships of the class had an armored belt twelve to sixteen inches (406 mm) thick, at its strongest point. The turrets were protected by 9 inches (230 mm) of armor plate, and the deck was covered by 3 inches (76 mm) of armor.
[edit] Service history
Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg were sold to the Ottoman Empire in 1910 and renamed Haireddin Barbarossa and Torgut Reis respectively . Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was sunk by the British submarine E 11 on 8 August 1915, while Weißenburg survived the war and was eventually scrapped in 1938. The two others remained in German naval service, initially used for coast defense, until being relegated to the auxiliary role of barracks ship by 1915. Wörth was scrapped in 1919 and Brandenburg in 1920.
[edit] References
- ^ Weir, Gary E. (1992), Building the Kaiser's Navy, United States Naval Institute, ISBN 1557509298
- ^ a b c d e f Hore, Peter (2006), The Ironclads, Southwater, ISBN 1844762998
[edit] External links
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