SMS Wörth

Seiner Majestät Schiff "Wörth" was one of four pre-dreadnought battleships of the "Brandenburg" class, built in the early 1890s. Obsolete by the start of World War I, SMS "Wörth", along with her sister ship "Brandenburg" served in a limited capacity in the Imperial German Navy, primarily as barracks ships. Following the end of the war, the "Wörth" was scrapped in the port of Danzig.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Wörth" displaced 10,500 tons, was 116 m long and 19.5 m wide, had a draught of 7.9 m and a top speed of convert|16.5|kn|km/h|1. She was powered by 2 shaft triple expansion engines that produced 10,000ihp and a top speed of convert|17|kn|km/h. The crew numbered 568.

Armament

"Wörth" and her sisterships 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 "Brandenburg"s a variation on the Pre-dreadnought theme rather than being a form of "proto-dreadnought".

"Wörth's" secondary armament consisted of eight 10.5 cm guns in casemates and another eight 8.8 cm guns, also casemated. The ships were also armed with three 45 cm torpedo tubes.

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 convert|9|in|mm of armor plate, and the deck was covered by convert|3|in|mm of armor.

ervice history

In 1900, the 2nd Division was sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion. "Wörth", along with her sister ship "Brandenburg" participated in the expedition, although did not engage in any fighting. The 2nd Division remained on station in China until August, 1901, at which point they were recalled to Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

At the onset of hostilities during World War I, "Wörth" was assigned to V Squadron. Her role was a coastal defense ship. Within a year, however, the ship was deactivated and assigned to barracks ship duties in Danzig, along with the "Brandenburg". In 1919, "Wörth" was stricken from the German Navy register and sold for scrap.

External links

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