SMS Schwaben

SMS "Schwaben" was the fourth ship of the Wittelsbach-class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the German Imperial Navy. "Schwaben" was built at Wilhelmshaven Navy Dockyard. She was laid down in November, 1900, and completed in April, 1904, at the cost of 21,678,000 marks.

Technical Data

Dimensions and machinery

"Schwaben" was 127 m (416 ft) long overall, and 125 m (410 ft 9 in) at the waterline. The ship's beam was 22.8 m, and her draught was 8.0 m, and displaced 11.800 tons. Three triple-expansion engines gave her 13,900 shp and a top speed of convert|17|knot|km/h|0. Her range at convert|10|knot|km/h|-1 was convert|5000|nmi|km|-3. The crew numbered 683 officers and sailors.

Armament

The main armament consisted of four 24 cm (9.2 inch) guns in twin turrets, mounted fore and aft of the superstructure. Eighteen 15 cm guns, twelve 8.8 cm rapid fire guns as well as twelve 3.7 cm machine guns comprised the secondary battery, all of which were mounted in single mounts along the length of the ship. Most of the secondary weapons were mounted in turrets or casemates. "Schwaben" was also armed with six 45 cm torpedo tubes.

Armor

Her armor measured 22.5 cm at the strongest point of the belt (tapering off fore and aft, down to 10.1cm at the thinnest points), 5 cm on the main deck, and 25 cm for the command tower and the main gun turrets.

ervice history

During World War I, "Schwaben" served alongside her sisterships in the IV Battle Squadron, which was tasked with defending the Baltic Sea. In 1916, "Schwaben" became a depot ship for minesweepers. She was sold for scrap after the end of the war, in 1920.

External links

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