Bayern class battleship

The Bayern class of battleships were the last and best German Kaiserliche Marine battleships of World War I.

Design

The class had a displacement of 32,000 tons and mounted eight convert|38|cm|in|abbr=on guns in four twin turrets. The secondary guns were placed in casemates just below the deckline. They were comparable to British battleships developed at the same time also using 15-inch guns. However the guns for the Bayern class used a lighter shell which gave higher velocity but poorer accuracy at long range. Also they were slower because Germany had no secure wartime supply of oil and therefore continued using coal.

hips

The class was planned to include four ships:
* SMS "Bayern" - Built by Howaldtswerke, Kiel, launched 18 February 1915, completed 30 June 1916.
* SMS "Baden" - Built by Schichau, Danzig, launched 30 October 1915, completed February 1917.
* SMS "Sachsen" - Built by AG Vulcan, Hamburg, launched 20 June 1917, not completed.
* SMS "Württemberg" - Built by Germaniawerft, Kiel, launched 21 September 1917, not completed.

All were laid down by 1913, the "Baden" in late 1912. The last two were launched but never completed before the end of the First World War and were scrapped at their dockyards in 1920/21.

The "Bayern" and "Baden" were launched in 1915, missing the Battle of Jutland and seeing little action during the war. "Bayern" was damaged by a mine in the Gulf of Riga on 12 October 1917 during Operation Albion while bombarding Russian shore batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula. She was heavily flooded and brought into Kiel with great difficulty after 19 days. After the armistice the "Bayern" and "Baden" were taken to Scapa Flow and scuttled with the rest of the German fleet on 21 June 1919. Only the "Baden" was saved from sinking and it was carefully examined by the British. She was sunk as a target by the British in August 1921.

*The basic design of the "Bayern" class was carried over into the "Bismarck" class twenty years later.
*The "Bayern" class strongly resembled the "Revenge" class.

References

* [http://www.german-navy.de/hochseeflotte/ships/battleships/bayern/tech.html German-navy.de SMS Bayern]

See also

* List of German Imperial Navy ships
* List of naval ships of Germany

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/battleships/bayern/sms_bayern.htm Maritimequest SMS Bayern Photo Gallery]