Wittelsbach class battleship

The "Wittelsbach" class battleships were a class of pre-World War I German battleship of the Kaiserliche Marine. They were the first battleships produced under the Navy Law of 1898, with the patronage of Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz.

There were five ships of the "Wittelsbach" class; the lead ship, "Wettin", "Zähringen", "Schwaben", and "Mecklenburg". The class was laid down between 1899 and 1900, and finished by 1904.

The ships of the "Wittelsbach" class were similar in appearance to their predecessors of the "Kaiser Friedrich III" class, however, they had a flush main deck, as opposed to the lower quarter deck of the "Kaiser Friedrich" class, and had a more extensive armor belt.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

The ships of the "Wittlesbach" class were 410 ft 9 in (125 m) at the waterline and 416 ft (127 m) overall. The ships had a beam of 74 ft 9 in (22.8 m) and a draught of 26 ft (8 m), and displaced 12,798 tons fully loaded. The ships were powered by 3 shaft triple expansion engines that produced 15,000 ihp and a top speed of convert|17|kn|km/h.

Armament

The ships' armament differed slightly from the preceding "Kaiser Friedrich III" class, in the elimination of the twelve 1 pounder guns in favor of three more 5.9 inch (150mm) guns, as well as the removal of one torpedo tube.

The main battery consisted of four convert|9.2|in|mm|sing=on guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. The secondary battery was comprised of 18 5.9 inch (150mm) guns and 12 3.4 inch (88mm) guns, all singly mounted in turrets or casemates along the length of the ship. The ships also carried five 17.7 inch (450mm) torpedo tubes.

ervice history

During World War I, the ships served in the IV Battle Squadron, assigned to the Baltic Sea. By 1917, all of the ships were relegated to auxiliary duties. The "Wittelsbach" was decommissioned after having run aground in 1915, "Wettin" became a barracks ship in Kiel, "Zahringen" was used for torpedo training, "Schwaben" became a depot ship for minesweepers, and "Mecklenburg" became a prison ship.

All ships of the "Wittelsbach" class, with the exception of "Zahringen", were sold for scrap between 1920 and 1921. "Zahringen" continued in German Navy service as a target ship until 1944, when she was sunk in Gotenhafen by an air raid. She was refloated and scuttled in the harbor entrance as a block ship, ultimately being raised and scrapped in 1950.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/pre-dreadnought/sms-wittelsbach.html World War 1 Naval Combat]