Braunschweig class battleship

The "Braunschweig" class battleships were pre-dreadnought battleships of the Kaiserliche Marine. The class comprised five ships, the "Braunschweig", the "Elsaß", the "Hessen", the "Preußen", and the "Lothringen". One of them, the "Hessen", was at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

Construction

Work began on the lead ship of the class in October, 1901, in Kiel, Germany, followed by the "Elsaß" in Danzig, in the same year. In April 1902, "Hessen" was laid down in Kiel and "Preußen" was laid down in Stettin. Later that year, in December, "Lothringen" was also laid down in Danzig.

"Braunschweig" was completed in October 1904, followed by "Elsaß" a month later. "Hessen" was completed in September 1905, and construction on "Preußen" was finished by December of that year. "Lothringen" was finished by May, 1906.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

The "Braunschweig" class ships were 413ft 3in at the waterline, and convert|419|ft|m|abbr=on overall. The ships had a beam of convert|73|ft|m|abbr=on, and a draft of convert|26|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on The ships displaced 14,167 tons.

The ships of the "Braunschweig" class were propelled by three shaft triple expansion engines that were rate at convert|17000|ihp|abbr=on. The ships' top speed was rated at convert|18|kn|km/h. During trials, however, the engines produced between convert|16400|ihp|abbr=on and convert|16800|ihp|abbr=on, and a top speed between 18.2 and convert|18.7|kn|km/h.

Armor

The ships had an armored belt that was nine inches (229 mm) thick at its strongest point, and tapered to convert|4|in|mm at the thinnest. The turrets had ten inches (254 mm) of armor plate. The decks were covered with three inches (76 mm) of armor.

Armament

The ships' main armament was increased from previous designs, but still weaker than contemporary foreign battleships. The main armament comprised four convert|28|cm|in|abbr=on guns, increased from four convert|24|cm|in|abbr=on guns from previous designs, compared with the convert|12|in|cm|abbr=on guns used on many foreign ships. The secondary battery consisted of fourteen convert|17|cm|in|abbr=on guns, four of which were mounted in single turrets amidships, with the remaining ten in casemates around the superstructure. The ships also had fourteen convert|8.8|cm|in|abbr=on guns in casemates along the length of the ship. They were also armed with six convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on torpedo tubes.

ervice history

World War I

At the start of the First World War, the members of the "Braunschweig" class were assigned to IV Battle Squadron, and tasked with coastal defense duties. In 1916, "Hessen" was assigned to II Battle Squadron, and participated in the Battle of Jutland.

By 1917, all of the ships of the class had been withdrawn from combat units, and relegated to auxiliary duties. "Braunschweig", "Elsaß", and "Lothringen" became training ships, and "Hessen" and "Preußen" were converted into depot ships for minesweepers.

Post World War I

In the years following World War I, "Braunschweig", "Elsaß", and "Hessen" were to be rebuilt as coastal defense ships, although this plan was abandoned. [Hore, Peter: The Ironclads", page 68. Anness Publishing Ltd, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6] In 1931, "Lothringen" and "Preußen" were scrapped, followed by "Braunschweig" in 1932. "Elsaß" was scrapped in 1936, while "Hessen" survived into the 1960s. "Hessen" was captured by the Soviet Navy in World War II, and used as a target ship until she was scrapped in the early 1960s.

References

External links

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