1. Design
     General characteristics and machinery    Armament   Armor 

2. Ships

3. Service history
    Peacetime careers  World War I  Postwar fates 

4. Footnotes
     Notes    Citations  

5. References

The Wittelsbach-class battleships were a group of five pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the early 1900s. They were the first battleships ordered under the Second Navy Law of 1898, part of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz's fleet expansion program. The class comprised {{SMS|Wittelsbach||2}}, the lead ship, {{SMS|Wettin||2}}, {{SMS|Zähringen||2}}, {{SMS|Schwaben||2}}, and {{SMS|Mecklenburg||2}}. All five ships were laid down between 1899 and 1900 and were finished by 1904. The ships of the Wittelsbach class were similar in appearance to their predecessors of the {{sclass-|Kaiser Friedrich III|battleship|4}}, however, they had a flush main deck, as opposed to the lower quarterdeck of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, and had a more extensive armor belt. Like the Kaiser Friedrich III class, the Wittelsbachs carried a battery of four {{convert|24|cm|abbr=on}} guns in two twin-gun turrets.

Wittelsbach, Wettin, Mecklenburg, and Zähringen served in I Squadron for the duration of their peacetime careers, where they were primarily occupied with training exercises and cruises abroad. Schwaben was instead used as a training ship in an effort to modernize the training unit of the German fleet. By 1910, with the arrival of the first dreadnought battleships, the Wittelsbach-class ships were removed from front-line service, thereafter being relegated to training duties or simply laid up in reserve. With the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, the ships returned to active service as IV Battle Squadron, seeing guard duty in the North Sea and limited operations in the Baltic Sea against Russian forces. These included supporting the attack on Libau in May 1915 and the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August that year.

By late 1915, the naval command had decided to decommission the five ships owing to a combination of crew shortages for more important vessels and the increased threat of British submarines operating in the Baltic. The ships were thereafter used as training vessels or, in the case of Mecklenburg, a prison ship. After the war, Wittelsbach and Schwaben were converted into depot ships for minesweepers in the postwar effort to clear up the minefields that had been laid in the North Sea. Those two ships, Mecklenburg, and Wettin were stricken from the naval register in the early 1920s and thereafter broken up, but Zähringen was converted into a radio-controlled target ship, a role she filled through World War II, when she was bombed and sunk by British bombers in 1944. The wreck was eventually broken up in 1949–1950.

Design

The ships of the Wittelsbach class were the first battleships built under the first Naval Law of 1898,{{sfn|Gardiner, Chesneau & Kolesnik|p=248}} and they were designed by Prof. Dr. Dietrich, then the chief constructor. The ships represented an incremental improvement over the preceding {{sclass-|Kaiser Friedrich III|battleship|4}}. Although Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Emil Felix von Bendemann had argued for an increase in the main battery from the {{convert|24|cm|adj=on|sp=us}} guns of the Kaiser Friedrich III class to more powerful {{convert|28|cm|abbr=on}} guns, the Wittelsbach-class ships were equipped with the same armament of 24 cm guns, but were given an additional torpedo tube.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|p=90}}{{sfn|Herwig|p=43}}

The design staff considered a variety of other alterations from the basic Kaiser Friedrich III design, including replacing four of the secondary battery casemate guns with a pair of turret-mounted {{convert|21|cm|abbr=on}} guns and reducing the scale of armor protection to increase the top speed by {{convert|.75|kn|lk=in}}. Though both of these proposals were rejected, the actual thickness of the armor plate was considerably reduced through the adoption of Krupp cemented armor, which had significantly greater protective value compared to early steel manufacturing processes. The weight savings, combined with a 5 percent increase in engine power, nevertheless permitted the top speed to be increased by {{convert|.5|kn}}.{{sfn|Dodson|p=57}}{{sfn|Gardiner, Chesneau & Kolesnik|pp=247–248}}

The Wittelsbach design nevertheless incorporated incremental improvements over the Kaiser Friedrich III class, including improved defensive capabilities, as they were protected by a more extensive armored belt. Additionally, they received more powerful engines and were slightly faster.{{sfn|Gardiner, Chesneau & Kolesnik|p=248}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|p=90}} They also differed from the preceding ships in their main deck, the entire length of which was flush; in the Kaiser Friedrich III-class ships, the quarterdeck was cut down.{{sfn|Gardiner & Gray|p=141}} The incremental nature of the changes resulted in two classes of battleships that were in most important respects identical, providing the German fleet with a tactically homogeneous group of ten battleships.{{sfn|Dodson|p=58}}

General characteristics and machinery

The ships of the Wittlesbach class were {{convert|125.2|m|ftin|sp=us}} long at the waterline and {{convert|126.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} overall. They had a beam of {{convert|22.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draft of {{convert|7.95|m|ftin|abbr=on}} forward. The Wittelsbachs were designed to displace {{convert|11774|t|LT|sp=us}} with a standard load, and displaced up to {{convert|12798|t|LT|sp=us}} at full combat weight. The Wittelsbach-class ships' hulls were built with transverse and longitudinal steel frames. Steel hull plates were riveted to the structure created by the frames. The hull was split into 14 watertight compartments and included a double bottom that ran for 70 percent of the length of the ship.{{sfn|Gröner|p=16}}

The ships were regarded in the German Navy as excellent sea boats with an easy roll; the ships rolled up to 30° with a period of 10 seconds. They maneuvered easily; at hard rudder the ships lost up to 60 percent speed and heeled over 9°. However, they suffered from severe vibration, particularly at the stern, at high speeds. They also had very wet bows, even in moderate seas. The ships had a crew of 33 officers and 650 enlisted men. However, when serving as a squadron flagship, the crew was augmented by an additional 13 officers and 66 enlisted men. While acting as a second command ship, 9 officers and 44 enlisted men were added to the standard crew. Wittelsbach and her sisters carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, two launches, one pinnace, two cutters, two yawls, and two dinghies.{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}}

The five ships of the Wittelsbach class each had three three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines. The outer engines drove a three-bladed screw that was {{convert|4.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in diameter; the central shaft drove a four-bladed screw that was slightly smaller, at {{convert|4.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in diameter. To produce steam to power the engines, each ship had six marine-type boilers, with the exception of Wettin and Mecklenburg, which had six Thornycroft boilers, along with six transverse cylindrical boilers. Steering was controlled by a single large rudder. Electrical power was supplied by four generators that each produced {{convert|230|kW}} at 74 volts, although in Wittelsbach the generators were rated at {{convert|248|kW}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}}

The propulsion system was rated at {{convert|14000|PS|ihp kW|lk=in|0}}, which produced a top speed of {{convert|18|kn}}. On trials, however, the five ships had significantly varied performances. Schwaben, the slowest ship, reached {{convert|13253|PS|ihp kW|abbr=on}} for a top speed of only {{convert|16.9|kn}}. Wettin, the fastest, managed {{convert|15530|PS|ihp kW|abbr=on|0}} and a top speed of {{convert|18.1|knots}}. They carried {{convert|650|t|LT|0|sp=us}} in their holds, but fuel capacity could be nearly tripled to {{convert|1800|t|LT|0|sp=us}} with the usage of additional spaces in the ships. This provided a maximum range of {{convert|5000|nmi|lk=in|0}} at a cruising speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=16}}

Armament

The ships' armament was nearly identical to the preceding Kaiser Friedrich III class. The primary armament consisted of a battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 guns in twin-gun turrets,{{efn|In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 caliber, meaning that the gun is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.{{sfn|Grießmer|p=177}}}} one fore and one aft of the central superstructure. The guns were mounted in Drh.L. C/98 turrets, which allowed elevation to 30° and depression to −5°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to {{convert|16900|m|yd|sp=us}}. The guns fired {{convert|140|kg|lb|adj=on}} shells at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|835|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}}. Each gun was supplied with 85 shells, for a total of 340. The turrets were hydraulically operated{{sfn|Friedman|p=141}}{{sfn|Gardiner & Gray|p=140}}

Secondary armament included eighteen 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns; four were mounted in single turrets amidships and the rest were mounted in MPL casemates.{{efn|MPL stands for Mittel-Pivot-Lafette (Central pivot mounting).{{sfn|Grießmer|p=177}}}} The casemates were located at the main deck level, which made them difficult to work in bad weather.{{sfn|Dodson|p=58}} These guns fired armor-piercing shells at a rate of 4–5 per minute. The ships carried 120 shells per gun, for a total of 2,160 rounds total. The guns could depress to −7 degrees and elevate to 20 degrees, for a maximum range of 13,700 m (14,990 yd). The shells weighed {{convert|51|kg|lb|adj=on}} and were fired at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|735|m/s|ft/s|sp=us}}. The guns were manually elevated and trained.{{sfn|Friedman|p=143}}{{sfn|Gardiner & Gray|p=140}}

The ships also carried twelve 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns,{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}} also mounted in casemates and pivot mounts. These guns were supplied with between 170 and 250 shells per gun. These guns fired {{convert|7.04|kg|lb|abbr=on}} at a muzzle velocity of 590 mps (1,936 fps). Their rate of fire was approximately 15 shells per minute; the guns could engage targets out to {{convert|6890|m|yd|abbr=on}}. The gun mounts were manually operated.{{sfn|Gardiner & Gray|p=140}}{{sfn|Friedman|p=146}} The ships' gun armament was rounded out by twelve machine cannons.{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}} The ships were also armed with six {{convert|45|cm|abbr=on|1}} torpedo tubes, all submerged in the hull; one was in the bow, another in the stern, and two on each broadside.{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}} These weapons were 5.1 m (201 in) long and carried an 87.5 kg (193 lb) TNT warhead. They could be set at two speeds for different ranges. At {{convert|26|kn}}, the torpedoes had a range of 800 m (870 yd). At an increased speed of {{convert|32|kn}}, the range was reduced to 500 m (550 yb).{{sfn|Friedman|p=336}}

Armor

The five Wittelsbach class battleships were armored with Krupp cemented steel. Their armored decks were {{convert|50|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick, with sloped sides that ranged in thickness from {{convert|75|to|120|mm|in|abbr=on}}. The sloped section of the deck connected it to the lower edge of the main armored belt, which was {{convert|225|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the central citadel where the ship's vitals were. This included ammunition magazines and the propulsion system. Connecting the sloped deck to the lower edge of the belt provided additional protection to the ships' interiors for shells that penetrated the belt. Forward and aft of the main battery turrets, the belt was reduced to {{convert|100|mm|in|abbr=on}}; the bow and stern were not protected with any armor. The entire length of belt was backed by 100 mm of teak planking.{{sfn|Gröner|p=16}}{{sfn|Dodson|p=57}}

Directly above the main belt, the 15 cm casemate guns were protected with a strake of {{convert|140|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick steel plating. The 15 cm guns in turrets were more exposed and therefore slightly better protected: their side armor was increased to {{convert|150|mm|in|abbr=on}}, with {{convert|70|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick gun shields. The 24 cm gun turrets had the heaviest armor aboard ship: {{convert|250|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick sides and 50 mm thick roofs. The forward conning tower also had 250 mm thick sides, though its roof was only {{convert|30|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick. The rear conning tower was much less protected. Its sides were only 140 mm thick; the roof was 30 mm thick.{{sfn|Gröner|p=16}}

The ships's armor layout compared favorably to many foreign contemporaries; they were protected similarly to the British {{sclass-|Formidable|battleship|5}} and {{sclass-|London|battleship|1}}s, and while their belts were thinner than the French {{sclass-|République|battleship|4}} or the Russian {{ship|Russian battleship|Tsesarevich||2}}, they did not suffer from the unarmored (and very vulnerable) hulls above the belt that characterized the French and Russian battleships.{{sfn|Dodson|pp=57–58}}

Ships

Service history

Peacetime careers

All of the ships of the Wittelsbach-class save Schwaben were assigned to I Squadron on entering service; Schwaben was instead assigned to the Training Squadron at the insistence of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the State Secretary of the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office). At the time, the Training Squadron relied on obsolescent ships, which hindered its ability to effectively train crews; the ship Schwaben replaced in the squadron was the ancient ironclad warship {{SMS|Friedrich Carl|1867|2}}, which had been launched in 1867. The other ships' peacetime careers generally consisted of routine fleet, squadron, and individual training throughout each year. Squadron and fleet training typically took place in April and May, a major fleet cruise generally followed in June and July, after which the fleet assembled for the annual autumn fleet maneuvers in late August and September. The major fleet cruises typically went to Norwegian waters in company with Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht, though in 1908 and 1909, the fleet embarked on long-distance cruises out into the Atlantic, making visits to Spain, the Canary Islands, and the Azores.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 5|pp=51–60}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|pp=89–91}}

The ships also frequently steamed to foreign ports on goodwill visits; for example, in July 1904, I Squadron toured Britain and the Netherlands, and in July 1905 the ships went to Denmark and Sweden. By 1910, the ships began to be withdrawn from front-line service, their place having been taken by the dreadnought battleships of the {{sclass-|Nassau|battleship|5}} and {{sclass-|Helgoland|battleship|4}}es. Zähringen was decommissioned in 1910 and placed in the Reserve Division, seeing little activity for the next four years; Mecklenburg joined her there the following year and was reactivated once, briefly, in 1912 for the annual autumn maneuvers. Wittelsbach joined Schwaben in the Training Squadron in 1911, and Wettin replaced Schwaben, which was by then the fleet's gunnery training ship, while the latter underwent an overhaul in 1912. Schwaben thereafter went into reserve.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|pp=80, 91–92, 126}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 6|p=60}}

World War I

Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, the five Wittelsbach-class ships were mobilized into IV Battle Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt.{{sfn|Scheer|p=15}} The squadron was based in Kiel,{{sfn|Halpern|p=192}} and they conducted several sorties into the Baltic Sea to patrol for Russian warships but they saw no action. These operations included a failed attempt to rescue the light cruiser {{SMS|Magdeburg||2}} that had run aground in Russian territory in late August, and screening the joint Army–Navy attack on Libau against a possible Russian counterattack in May 1915. After Libau was seized, IV Squadron relocated there as it provided an advance base closer to the front line.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|pp=92–93}} The ships were also used to guard the mouth of the Elbe in the North Sea in the first year of the war. The Wittelsbach class supported the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915, but did not take an active role in the attack before it broke down in the face of determined Russian resistance.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=196–197}}

Further operations took place in September and October, which included covering the laying of defensive minefields in the western Baltic. By this time, manpower shortages began to affect the German fleet; combined with the increased threat of British submarines operating in the Baltic, the lack of crews convinced the naval command of the need to remove the Wittelsbachs from service. The squadron returned to Kiel in November, where it was re-designated as the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. In January, it was dissolved altogether and the ships were reduced to training ships with the exception of Mecklenburg, which was used as a prison ship.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|p=94}}{{sfn|Herwig|p=168}}{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}}

Postwar fates

In 1919, Wittelsbach and Schwaben were converted into depot ships for F-type minesweepers,{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}} since Germany was required by the Treaty of Versailles to clear the extensive minefields that had been laid in the North Sea during the war.{{refn|Treaty of Versailles Section II: Naval Clauses, Articles 182 and 193.}} The entire class, with the exception of Zähringen, were struck from the navy list after the end of World War I. Mecklenburg was struck on 27 January 1920, Wettin followed on 11 March 1920, and Wittelsbach and Schwaben were struck on 8 March 1921. The four ships were broken up between 1921–1922.{{sfn|Gröner|p=17}} Zähringen was initially used as a storage hulk in the 1920s and was converted into a radio-controlled target ship in 1926–1927. The superstructure was cut down extensively, her hull was subdivided, filled with cork, and sealed to improve its resistance to flooding.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr & Steinmetz Vol. 8|pp=127–128}} Royal Air Force bombers sank the ship in Gotenhafen in 1944; the wreck was broken up in 1949–1950.{{sfn|Gardiner & Gray|p=141}}

Footnotes

Notes

Citations

References

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