SMS Deutschland (1904)

SMS "Deutschland" was the lead ship of the five "Deutschland"-class pre-dreadnoughts of the German Imperial Navy. She was named in honor of Germany (spelled "Deutschland" in German).

Construction

Built by Germaniawerft at their shipyards in Kiel, the keel of the "Deutschland" was laid down on 7 November 1904 and she was launched on 29 September 1905. On completion she was commissioned on 1 October 1907 and cost Germany 24.3 million "Goldmarks". However, by the time of their commissioning the "Deutschland" and her sisterships had been rendered obsolete by the launching of the new "all-big-gun" British battleship HMS "Dreadnought" in 1906.

"Deutschland" and her sister ships "Pommern", "Schlesien", "Schleswig-Holstein", and "Hannover" represented Germany’s last pre-dreadnought battleships. They were similar in general type to the "Braunschweig"-class immediately preceding them, although the "Deutschlands" were more heavily armored. The practice of fitting a type of intermediate caliber artillery common in other powers' navies was not followed in the German Navy due to the difficulty in controlling the firing and in spotting the fall of shot from three different sizes of guns.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Deutschland" was convert|413|ft|m|abbr=on at the waterline, and convert|418.66|ft|m|abbr=on overall. She had a beam of convert|73|ft|m|abbr=on and a draft of convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on, and displaced 13,993 tons fully laden. "Deutschland" was powered by 3 shaft triple expansion engines, which produced 19,000 ihp, and a top speed of 18 knots.

Armament

"Deutschland's" main armament was comprised of four convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. Her secondary battery was composed of fourteen convert|6.7|in|cm|abbr=on guns and twenty-two convert|3.4|in|cm|abbr=on inch guns, all casemated along the length of the ship, concentrated particularly amidships. "Deutschland" also mounted six convert|17.7|in|cm|abbr=on inch torpedo tubes.

Armor

"Deutschland" had an armored belt that was convert|9|in|cm|abbr=on inches thick at its strongest points, those which covered the ship's vitals, and tapered to convert|4|in|cm|abbr=on inches thick in less critical areas, such as the bow and stern. The turrets had convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on inches of armor protection, a full inch thicker than the prededing "Braunschweig" class. The deck was covered by convert|3|in|cm|abbr=on inches of armor plate.

ervice history

Like her sisterships, "Deutschland" began World War I in the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In 1917, "Deutschland" was removed from frontline service and converted into a barracks ship. She was retained by Germany following the end of the First World War, and broken up for scrap in 1922.

External links

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