SMS Brandenburg

Seiner Majestät Schiff "Brandenburg" was the lead ship of the "Brandenburg" class pre-dreadnought battleships built in the early 1890s, at the cost of 9.3 million Marks.Citation
last = Weir
first = Gary E.
title = Building the Kaiser's Navy
publisher = United States Naval Institute
year = 1992
isbn =1557509298.] "Brandenburg" was obsolete by the start of World War I, and only served in a limited capacity in the Imperial German Navy, initially as a coastal defense ship, but primarily as a barracks ship. Following the end of the war, the "Brandenburg" was scrapped in the port of Danzig in 1920.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Brandenburg" 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

"Brandenburg" and her sisters 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".

The "Brandenburg'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

During testing on 16 February 1894, a steam pipe exploded while the "Brandenburg" was in port. The accident killed 25 men of the crew and 18 dockyard workers.

In 1900, SMS "Brandenburg", part of the 2nd Division, was sent to China during the Boxer Rebellion, although did not participate in any fighting. The 2nd Division stayed on station in the Far East until August, 1901, at which point they were recalled to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. "Brandenburg" underwent a modernization from 1903 to 1904, and was again on the active roles by April, 1905.

At the outbreak of World War I, "Brandenburg" was serving in V Squadron, and was tasked with coastal defense. However, by December, 1915, the ship was deactivated and assigned to barracks ship duties. Her main armament was removed and transferred to the Ottoman Empire, which had just purchased two of "Brandenburg"'s sister ships, the "Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm" and the "Weißenburg". In May 1919, "Brandenburg" was stricken from the German Navy lists and sold for scrap.

References

External links

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