SMS Deutschland (1904).html |
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 SMS Deutscland i a lock in 1912 |
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| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Deutschland |
| Namesake: | Germany (Deutschland in German) |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Laid down: | 20 June 1903 |
| Launched: | 19 November 1904 |
| Commissioned: | 3 August 1906 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Deutschland class |
| Displacement: | 13,200t normal; 14,218t full load |
| Length: | 127.6 m (419 ft) |
| Beam: | 22.2 m (73 ft) |
| Draught: | 7.7 m (25 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 19,330 hp, three shafts = 19.1 knots (35 km/h) |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km); 10 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement: | 743 |
| Armament: | 4 × 28 cm (11 in) guns (2 × 2) 14 × 17 cm (6.7 in) guns (casemated) 22 ×8.8 cm (3.5 in) (casemated) 6 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | 230 mm in belt 280 mm in turrets 76 mm in deck |
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).
Contents |
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 413 ft (126 m) at the waterline, and 418.66 ft (127.61 m) overall. She had a beam of 73 ft (22 m) and a draft of 27 ft (8.2 m), 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 11 in (28 cm) guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. Her secondary battery was composed of fourteen 6.7 in (17 cm) guns and twenty-two 3.4 in (8.6 cm) inch guns, all casemated along the length of the ship, concentrated particularly amidships. Deutschland also mounted six 17.7 in (45 cm) inch torpedo tubes.
Armor
Deutschland had an armored belt that was 9 in (23 cm) inches thick at its strongest points, those which covered the ship's vitals, and tapered to 4 in (10 cm) inches thick in less critical areas, such as the bow and stern. The turrets had 11 in (28 cm) inches of armor protection, a full inch thicker than the prededing Braunschweig class. The deck was covered by 3 in (7.6 cm) inches of armor plate.
Service 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.
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