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SMS ''Baden''
Career
Displacement:	32,200 tons full load
Length:	180.0 m (Total) 179.4 m (Waterline)
Beam:	30.0 m
Draft:	9.39 m
Propulsion:	geared turbines, 3 shafts, 14 boilers 55967 shp
Speed:	22.0 knots
Range:	5000 nm at 12 knots
Complement:	1187 to 1,271
Armament:	★ '8 × 38 cm (15") SK L/45 in '4 twin turrets' ★ '16 × 15 cm (5.9") SK L/45 in '12 single turrets ★ '2 × 8.8 cm (4 × 1) in '4 single' mounts ★ '5' × 'single' 60 cm torpedo tubes (below waterline)
Armour:	'Belt' ★ 350 mm–120 mm'Command Tower' ★ 400 mm'Deck' ★ 30 mm'Turrets' ★ 350 mm–100 mm turrets

The 'Bayern' class of battleships were the last and best German Kaiserliche Marine battleships of World War I.

Contents

Design

Ships

External link

References

See also

Design

The class had a displacement of 32,000 tons and mounted eight 15" guns in four twin turrets. The secondary guns were placed in casemates just below the deckline. They were comparable to British battleships developed at the same time also using 15" guns. However the guns for the Bayern class used a lighter shell which gave higher velocity but poorer accuracy at long range. Also they were slower because Germany had no secure wartime supply of oil and therefore continued using coal.

Ships

The class was planned to include four ships

★ SMS ''Baden'' - Built by Schichau, Danzig, launched 30 October 1915, completed February 1917

★ SMS ''Bayern''- Built by Howaldtswerke, Kiel, launched 18 February 1915, completed 30 June 1916

★ SMS ''Sachsen'' - Built by AG Vulcan, Hamburg, launched 20 June 1917, not completed

★ SMS ''Württemberg''- Built by Germaniawerft, Kiel, launched 21 September 1917, not completed
All were laid down by 1913, the ''Baden'' in late 1912. The last two were launched but never completed before the end of the First World War and were scrapped at their dockyards in 1920/21.
The ''Bayern'' and ''Baden'' were launched in 1915, missing the Battle of Jutland and seeing little action during the war. ''Bayern'' was damaged by a mine in the Gulf of Riga on 12 October 1917 during Operation Albion while bombarding Russian shore batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula. She was heavily flooded and brought into Kiel with great difficulty after 19 days. After the armistice the ''Bayern'' and ''Baden'' were taken to Scapa Flow and scuttled with the rest of the German fleet on 21 June 1919. Only the ''Baden'' was saved from sinking and it was carefully examined by the British. She was sunk as a target by the British in August 1921.

★ The basic design of the ''Bayern'' class was carried over into the ''Bismarck'' class twenty years later. The only similarity between the ''Bayern'' and ''Bismarck'' class is the arrangement of the main artillery in 4 turrets with 2 barrels.

★ The ''Bayern'' class strongly resembled the ''Revenge'' class.

External link

★ Maritimequest SMS Bayern Photo Gallery

References

★ German-navy.de SMS Bayern

See also

★ List of German Imperial Navy ships

★ List of naval ships of Germany