''Brandenburg'' class battleships

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Articles Brandenburg class battleship 1 SMS Brandenburg 7 SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 12 SMS Weissenburg 18 SMS Wörth 23 References Article Sources and Contributors 27 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 28 Article Licenses License 29 Brandenburg class battleship 1 Brandenburg class battleship

SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm Class overview

Operators: Kaiserliche Marine Ottoman Navy Succeeded by: Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleship Built: 1890—94 In commission: 1893—1938 Completed: 4 Lost: 1 Scrapped: 3 General characteristics Type: Battleship Displacement: 10013 t (9855 long tons; 11037 short tons) Length: 379.58 ft (115.70 m) Beam: 64 ft (20 m) Draught: 26 ft (7.9 m) Propulsion: 2 shafts triple expansion 10000 ihp (7500 kW) Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8300 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h) Complement: 568

Armament: 2 × 2 - 28 cm (11 in) K L/40 guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) BL / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) QF guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) QF guns 3 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt 12–16 inches turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm) Brandenburg class battleship 2

The four Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships were Germany's first ocean-going battleships. They were also the first German warship, of any type, to be fitted with wireless communications. The class comprised Brandenburg, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, Weißenburg, and Wörth. All were laid down in 1890 and completed by 1893, except for Weißenburg, which was completed in 1894. The lead ship, Brandenburg, was built at the cost of 9.3 million Marks and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm cost 11.23 million Marks.[1] The British Royal Navy derisively referred to the ships as the "whalers." [2] Brandenburg and her three sisters served in a wide range of roles. In 1900, the four ships were deployed to China during the Boxer Rebellion, after which they were substantially modernized. In 1910, two of the ships, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, were sold to the Ottoman Navy. Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was sunk in 1915 by a British submarine while Weißenburg survived the war, only to be broken up in 1938. Brandenburg and Wörth saw limited service during World War I as coastal defense ships before they were withdrawn for auxiliary duties. Both ships were sold for scrapping in May 1919.

Design The Brandenburg-class ships were the first ocean-going battleships built by the German Navy. They followed a number of coastal defense ships, including the Siegfried and Odin classes that were only intended for local defense of the German coastline.[2] Design work on the ships began in late 1888, under the leadership of Vice Admiral Alexander Graf von Monts, who also secured funding for the new ships from the Reichstag. Admiral von Monts was the first naval officer appointed by the recently crowned Kaiser Wilhelm II.[3] The Brandenburg-class ships were the foundation of what eventually became the High Seas Fleet. As they represented a shift in the strategic outlook of the German navy, the traditional method of ship construction, which relied heavily on foreign models, was abandoned. Some experimentation was implemented in the design process, particularly in the armor types that were installed on the ships. Brandenburg and Wörth were equipped with compound armor that consisted of several layers of different materials, while the latter two ships received Harvey nickel-steel alloy armor plating.[4]

General characteristics The ships of the Brandenburg-class were 113.9 m (374 ft) long at the waterline and 115.7 m (380 ft) long overall. They had a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft) which was increased to 19.74 m (64.8 ft) with the addition of torpedo nets, and had a draft of 7.6 m (25 ft) forward and 7.9 m (26 ft) aft. The Brandenburgs displaced 10013 t (9855 long tons; 11037 short tons) at their designed weight, and up to 10670 t (10500 long tons; 11760 short tons) at full combat load.[5] As was the standard for German warships of the period, the hulls of the Brandenburg-class ships were constructed from both transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which the steel side plates were riveted. The vessels had 13 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 48 percent of the length of the hull. The German navy regarded the ships as excellent sea-boats; the Brandenburgs had easy motion. They were also responsive to commands from the bridge and had a moderate turning circle. Speed loss at hard rudder was reduced to 30 percent, and the metacentric height was 1.05 m (3.4 ft). However, the ships were "wet" at high speeds and suffered from severe pitching [6].[5] The ships' crew numbered 38 officers and 530 enlisted men, though while serving as the squadron flagship the standard crew was augmented by an additional 9 officers and 54 men.[7] Brandenburg class battleship 3

Machinery The ships were equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines; each set drove a 3-bladed screw that was 5 m (16 ft) in diameter. Both sets had their own engine room. Twelve transverse cylindrical boilers, with three fireboxes each, supplied steam to the engines at up to 12 atmospheres of pressure. The boilers were also divided into two boiler rooms. The engines were rated at 10000 indicated horsepower (7500 kW), though in practice maximum power ranged from 9,686 ihp for Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm to 10,228 ihp in Wörth. The ships had a designed speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph); Brandenburg was the slowest, at 16.3 kn (30.2 km/h; 18.8 mph), while Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Wörth both achieved 16.9 kn (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph) on trials. The ships were designed to carry 650 t (640 long tons; 720 short tons) of coal for the boilers, though additional spaces in the hull allowed for up to 1050 t (1030 long tons; 1160 short tons). This enabled a maximum range of 4300 nautical miles (8000 km; 4900 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). Electrical power was provided by three generators. The equipment varied from ship to ship; power output ranged from 72.6 to 96.5 kilowatts at 67 volts. The ships each had a single rudder.[5]

Armament

The vessels were unusual for their time in possessing a broadside of six heavy guns in three twin gun turrets, rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships.[2] The forward and after turret carried 28 cm (11 inch) K L/40 guns,[8] while the center turret carried a shorter L/35 barrel.[5] The shorter barrels were required to allow the turret to train from side to side.[2] The L/40 guns were mounted in Drh.L. C/92 type turrets, which provided depression to −5 degrees and elevation to 25 degrees. Both types of guns could fire armor-piercing (AP) and high

explosive (HE) shells, at a rate of fire of about 2 per minute. These As depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902 shells weighed 240 kg (529 lb), and used the 73 kg (161 lb) RPC 12 propellant charge. Muzzle velocity for the L/40 gun was 820 meters per second (2,690 fps). At maximum elevation, these guns could hit targets out to 15,900 m (17,400 yards).[9] Because the barrels of the L/35 guns were shorter, they had a correspondingly lower muzzle velocity, which was approximately 685 mps (2,247 fps). As a result, the range of the guns was somewhat shorter, at about 14,400 m (15,800 yd).[10] At a range of 12,000 m (13,120 yd), the AP shell could penetrate up to 160 mm (6.3 in) of belt armor.[9] Ammunition magazines stored a total of 352 shells.[5] While a novel concept, the midships turret caused prohibitive blast damage to the surrounding superstructure when fired, which led to the idea being abandoned.[2]

The Brandenburg-class's secondary armament initially consisted of seven 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 quick-firing guns[5] in casemates arranged around the forward superstructure. During the modernization between 1902 and 1904, the Brandenburgs received an additional 10.5 cm gun.[2] These guns were supplied with a total of 600 rounds, although after the modernization, the 10.5 cm magazines were increased to provide storage for a total of 1,184 shells.[5] The ships also carried eight 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns,[5] also mounted in casemates. Four were placed in pairs in sponsons towards the bow, while the remaining four were emplaced around the rear superstructure.[2] These guns were supplied with a total of 2,000 shells, though as with the 10.5 cm guns, ammunition storage was increased during the modernization, to 2,384 rounds.[5] These guns fired 13.8 kg (30.4 lb) 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 10,500 m (11,480 yd). The gun mounts were manually operated.[11] The ships were also armed with six 45 cm torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts. Four tubes were mounted on the sides of the ship, another in the bow, and the last in the stern. The tubes were supplied with a total of 16 Brandenburg class battleship 4

torpedoes.[5] These weapons were 5.1 m (201 in) long and carried a 87.5 kg (193 lb) TNT warhead. They could be set at two speeds for different ranges. At 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph), the torpedoes had a range of 800 m (870 yd). At an increased speed of 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph), the range was reduced to 500 m (550 yb).[12] One of the tubes was removed during the modernization.[2]

Armor Weißenburg and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm were armored with nickel steel Krupp armour, but due to delivery problems, Brandenburg and Wörth were armored with a composite armor. The composite armor was constructed by layering steel-clad wrought iron plates and wood planks, which was backed by two more layers of sheet iron. Krupp's nickel steel armor was based on the Harvey process, which enriched the upper layers of the steel with carbon. This type of armor produced greater strength with thinner armor belts, which enabled ships equipped with it to carry more complete protection.[4] Some portions of Brandenburg did receive the new Krupp armor, including the barbettes that held the fore and center main battery turrets. All four ships retained teak backing to their armor belts.[5] The Brandenburgs had a 60 mm (2.4 in) thick armored deck. The forward conning tower had 300 mm (12 in) thick sides and a 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roof. Above the waterline, the armored belt was 400 mm (16 in) in the central portion of the ship and tapered slightly to 300 mm fore and aft. Including the teak backing, the total thickness of the belt in the strongest area was 600 mm (24 in). Below the waterline, the armored belt was significantly thinner; the thickest section of the belt was 200 mm (7.9 in) thick, and tapered down to 180 mm (7.1 in) on either end of the belt. The ships' cupolas had 50 mm (2.0 in) thick roofs and sides that consisted of three 40 mm (1.6 in) thick layers, for a total of 120 mm (4.7 in). The barbettes were 300 mm thick and backed with 210 mm (8.3 in) of wood.[5]

Construction

Ordered as battleship A,[5] [13] Brandenburg was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1890. She was launched on 21 September 1891. Fitting out work, which included the installation of the ship's armament, lasted until 19 November 1893 when she was commissioned into the German navy.[14] Wörth was ordered as battleship B,[5] and was laid down at Germaniawerft in Kiel also in 1890. Initial work on the ship proceeded the slowest of all four vessels of the class; she wasn't launched until 6 August 1892. However, fitting A member of the Brandenburg class out work proceeded quickly, and she was commissioned on 31 October 1893, the first ship of the class to enter active duty.[14] Weißenburg, ordered as battleship "C", was also laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in 1890 and launched on 14 December 1891. She was the last ship of the class to enter active service, when she was commissioned on 5 June 1894.[14] Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was the fourth and final ship of the class. She was ordered as battleship D,[5] and was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven in 1890. She was the first ship of the class to be launched, on 30 June 1891. She was commissioned into the fleet the same day as her sister Brandenburg.[14]

Shortly after the turn of the century, the ships were all taken into the drydocks at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven for a major reconstruction. Wörth was the first to do so, starting in 1901. Weißenburg followed in 1902, Brandenburg in 1903, and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm entered the shipyard in 1904.[5] During the modernization, a second conning tower was added in the aft superstructure, along with a gangway [15].[16] The ships had their boilers replaced with newer models, and also had the hamper amidships reduced.[2] The modifications resulted in a weight decrease of between 500 t (490 long tons; 550 short tons) and 700 t (690 long tons; 770 short tons) depending on the ship.[16] Brandenburg class battleship 5

Service history

The ships of the Brandenburg-class were assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron upon their commissioning,[17] along with the four older Sachsen class armored frigates, though by 1901–2, the Sachsens were replaced by the new Kaiser Friedrich III class battleships.[18] They saw their first major operation in 1900, when they were deployed to China during the Boxer Rebellion.[2] The expeditionary force consisted of the four Brandenburgs, six cruisers, 10 freighters, three torpedo boats, and six regiments of marines, under the command of Brandenburg Marshal Alfred von Waldersee.[19] Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan, which he saw as unnecessary and costly. The force arrived in China after the siege of Peking had already been lifted. As a result, the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow. In the end, the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks.[20]

After the Brandenburg-class ships emerged from their refit in 1905, they rejoined the active fleet. However, they were rapidly made obsolete by the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. As a result, their service careers were limited.[2] On 12 September 1910, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, the more advanced ships of the class, were sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis respectively.[16] At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Brandenburg and Wörth were assigned to coastal defense duties, though this lasted only until 1915, when they were withdrawn from active service. That year, both ships were transferred to the role of barracks ships; Brandenburg was stationed in Libau while Wörth was in Danzig.[2] It was intended to rebuild Brandenburg as a target ship, though this plan was eventually abandoned. Both Brandenburg and Wörth were struck from the naval register on 13 May 1919 and sold for scrapping.[17] The two ships were purchased by Norddeutsche Tiefbauges, a shipbreaking firm headquartered in Berlin; the firm had Brandenburg towed to Danzig where she and her sister ship were broken up for scrap.[16] On 8 August 1915, Barbaros Hayreddin was en route to support the Turkish defenses at the Dardanelles when she was sunk by the British submarine HMS E11,[21] with the loss of 253 men.[2] On 19 January 1918, the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau left the Dardanelles to attack British ships. At 11:30, Goeben ran aground and was subjected to air attacks, which impeded salvage attempts. On 25 January, Turgut Reis arrived on the scene and towed the battlecruiser back to port.[22] Turgut Reis survived the war and was used as a training ship in 1924. She was later used as a hulk in the Bosporus, and eventually scrapped in 1938.[16]

Notes Footnotes [1] Weir, p. 23 [2] Hore, p. 66 [3] Herwig, p. 24 [4] Herwig, p. 25 [5] Gröner, p. 13

[6] http:/ / en. wiktionary. org/ wiki/ pitching#Adjective [7] Gröner, pp. 13–14 [8] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "K" stands for Kanone (cannon), while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.

[9] DiGiulian, Tony (25 March 2009). "Germany 28 cm/40 (11") SK L/40" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WNGER_11-40_skc04. htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 2 September 2009. [10] Gardiner and Gray, p. 140

[11] DiGiulian, Tony (22 March 2007). "German 8.8 cm/30 (3.46") SK L/30 8.8 cm/30 (3.46") Ubts L/30" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/

Weapons/ WNGER_88mm-30_skc97. htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 2 September 2009. Brandenburg class battleship 6

[12] DiGiulian, Tony (21 April 2007). "German Torpedoes Pre-World War II" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WTGER_PreWWII. htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 2 September 2009. [13] German warships were ordered under provisional names; new additions to the fleet were given letter designations, while those that were intended to replace older vessels were given "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)". [14] Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247

[15] http:/ / en. wiktionary. org/ wiki/ gangway?rdfrom=Gangway [16] Gröner, p. 14 [17] Gardiner and Gray, p. 141 [18] Herwig, p. 45 [19] Herwig, p. 106 [20] Herwig, p. 103 [21] Halpern, p. 119 [22] Bennett, p. 47 Citations

References • Bennett, Geoffrey (2005). Naval Battles of the First World War. London: Pen & Sword Military Classics. ISBN 1-84415-300-2. • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866. • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. • Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524. • Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 9781573922869. • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6. • Weir, Gary E. (1992). Building the Kaiser's Navy: The Imperial Navy Office and German Industry in the Tirpitz Era, 1890-1919. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557509291. OCLC 22665422. SMS Brandenburg 7 SMS Brandenburg

SMS Brandenburg

Career (German Empire)

Name: Brandenburg Namesake: Province of Brandenburg Builder: AG Vulcan Stettin Laid down: May 1890 Launched: 21 September 1891 Commissioned: 19 November 1893 Fate: Scrapped in 1920 General characteristics

Class and type: Brandenburg-class battleship Displacement: 10670 t (10500 long tons) Length: 115.7 m (379 ft 7 in) Beam: 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) Draft: 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) Propulsion: 2 shafts triple expansion 10000 ihp (7457 kW) Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8300 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h) Complement: 568

Armament: 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt 12–16 inches (30.5–40.6 cm) turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm) SMS Brandenburg 8

SMS Brandenburg was the lead ship of the Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships, which included Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, Weißenburg, and Wörth built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the early 1890s. She was the first pre-dreadnought built for the German Navy; earlier, the Navy had only built coastal defense ships and armored frigates.[1] The ship was laid down at the AG Vulcan dockyard in 1890, launched on 21 September 1891, and commissioned into the German Navy on 19 November 1893. Brandenburg and her three sisters were unique for their time in that they carried six heavy guns instead of the standard four in other navies. She was named after the Province of Brandenburg. Brandenburg saw her first major deployment in 1900, when she and her three sister ships were deployed to China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion. Upon returning to Germany, Brandenburg and her sisters, with the exception of Wörth, took part in extensive fleet maneuvers in 1902. In the early 1900s, all four ships were heavily rebuilt. However, she was obsolete by the start of World War I, and only served in a limited capacity, initially as a coastal defense ship, but primarily as a barracks ship. Following the end of the war, Brandenburg was scrapped in Danzig in 1920.

Construction Brandenburg was ordered as battleship A, the first ship of her class.[2] She was laid down at Germaniawerft in Kiel in 1890. Her hull was completed by September 1891 and launched on 21 September. Fitting out work followed and was finished by later 1893; the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 19 November 1893, less than four weeks after her sister Wörth, the first vessel in the class to join the fleet.[3] The ship was 115.7 m (379 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) and a draft of 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in). Brandenburg displaced 10013 t (9855 long tons) as designed, and up to 10670 t (10501 long tons) at full combat load. She was equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines that produced 10000 indicated horsepower (7457 kW) and a top speed of 16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph) on trials. Steam was provided by twelve transverse cylindrical boilers. She had a maximum range of 4300 nautical miles (8000 km; 4900 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2] Brandenburg was armed with a main battery of six 28 cm (11 in) guns of two types. The forward and rear turret guns were 40 calibers long, while the amidships guns were only 35 calibers; this was necessary to allow them to train to either side of the ship. Her secondary armament initially consisted of seven 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, though an additional gun was added during the modernization in 1901. She also carried eight 8.8 cm (3.45 in) guns and six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes.[2]

Service history On 16 February 1894, several steam pipes exploded in the ship.[4] The door between the two engine rooms was open, which allowed the steam to enter both of them. Thirty-nine men were killed in the blast and nine were severely injured. Of these, six later died from their injuries.[5] In June 1895, the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was completed; to celebrate, dozens of warships from 14 different countries gathered in Kiel for a celebration hosted by Kaiser Wilhelm II, including Brandenburg and her three sisters.[6]

Boxer Rebellion During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Chinese nationalists laid siege to the foreign embassies in Peking and murdered Baron Clemens von Ketteler, the German minister.[7] The widespread violence against Westerners in China led to a creation of an alliance between Germany and seven other Great Powers: the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the United States, France, and Japan.[8] Those soldiers who were in China at the time were too few in number to defeat the Boxers;[9] in Peking there was a force of slightly more than 400 officers and infantry from the armies of the eight European powers.[10] At the time, the primary German military force in China was the East SMS Brandenburg 9

Asia Squadron, which consisted of the protected cruisers Kaiserin Augusta, Hansa, and Hertha, the small cruisers Irene and Gefion, and the gunboats Jaguar and Iltis.[11] There was also a German 500-man detachment in Taku; combined with the other nations' units the force numbered some 2,100 men.[12] These 2,100 men, led by the British Admiral Edward Seymour, attempted to reach Peking but due to heavy resistance were forced to stop in Tientsin.[13] As a result, the Kaiser determined an expeditionary force would be sent to China to reinforce the East Asia Squadron. Hela was part of the naval expedition, which included the four Brandenburg class pre-dreadnought battleships, sent to China to reinforce the German flotilla there.[14] Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan, which he saw as unnecessary and costly.[15] The force was sent in spite of von Tirpitz's objections; it arrived in China in September 1900. By that time, the siege of Peking had already been lifted.[16] As a result, the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow. In the end, the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks. The force returned to Germany the following year, in 1901.[15]

Fleet training, 1902 On 31 August 1902, the annual fleet maneuvers began. The first portion of the exercise positioned Germany in a naval war against a powerful enemy that had superior forces in the North and Baltic Seas. A German squadron, consisting of the coastal defense ships Hagen, Heimdall, and Hildebrand and a division of torpedo boats were trapped in the Kattegat by a superior enemy unit in the North Sea. The "German" squadron was tasked with returning to Kiel in the Baltic, where it would return to Wilhelmshaven via the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to rejoin the rest of the fleet. Brandenburg, along with Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg and the cruisers Nymphe, Amazone, and Hela, was positioned in one of the three main channels from the Kattegat to Kiel to act as an opposing force. Two other battle squadrons were positioned to block the advance of the isolated "German" squadron.[17] On the morning of 2 September, the operation commenced.[17] At 06:00 that morning, the commander of the "German" squadron decided to take his ships through the channel to which Brandenburg was assigned.[18] The "hostile" torpedo-boat screen sighted the German flotilla, but a dense fog precluded effective pursuit by the battleships. The fog was so thick that Brandenburg and her two sisters had to drop anchor to avoid any unnecessary risks.[19] Later that evening, the three "opponent" forces rendezvoused to pursue the "German" ships. Brandenburg underway However, the cruiser and the torpedo boat screen was detached to engage the "German" torpedo-boat screen. The lighter ships quickly "destroyed" several of the "German" torpedo boats. This prompted the "German" squadron to retreat northward with the cruisers in pursuit. The German squadron was chased back through the Kattegat before the exercise was called off. On the night of 3 September, the entire fleet anchored off Læsø island to give the crews a rest.[20]

The following day, 4 September, the exercise resumed. The German squadron was reinforced by several battleships and the armored cruiser Prinz Heinrich. The German flotilla was ordered to sail into the North Sea and attempt to reach the safety of the island fortress of Helgoland. A short engagement between the hostile screen and Prinz Heinrich ensued, during which Prinz Heinrich damaged the protected cruisers Freya and Victoria Louise. A torpedo boat attack on the German squadron followed in the early hours of 5 September.[20] The hostile force was unable to prevent the escape of the German squadron, however, which reached Helgoland by 12:00.[21] The fleet anchored off Helgoland on 8–11 September. During the day the ships conducted training with steam tactics. On 11 September the ships returned to Wilhelmshaven where on the following two days the ships replenished their coal supplies. On 14 September the final operation of the annual maneuvers began. The situation specified that the naval war had gone badly for Germany; only four battleships, including Brandenburg, Baden, Beowulf, and Württemberg, were still in service. This motley force was augmented by a pair of cruisers and a division of torpedo boats. The ships were to be stationed in the mouth of the Elbe river to protect the Kaiser Wilhelm SMS Brandenburg 10

Canal and access to Hamburg.[22] On 15 September, the "hostile" force blockaded the Elbe, along with other rivers and harbors on the North Sea. The hostile battleship squadron steamed to the mouth of the Elbe, where Hela, Freya, and the remaining torpedo boats were stationed as lookouts.[23] Nothing happened during the day of 16 September, but that night several German torpedo boats managed to destroy one of the blockading cruisers and badly damage another.[24] The weather began to storm so the operation was postponed until the following day. That morning, the hostile fleet forced its way into the Elbe, past the fortifications at the mouth of the river. The German flotilla made a desperate attack which resulted in the sinking of two of the hostile battleships. The hostile force, however, ultimately overwhelmed the outnumbered German ships and the exercise ended with their victory.[25]

Reconstruction and later service

In the early 1900s, the four Brandenburgs were taken into the drydocks at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven for major reconstruction. Wörth was the first vessel of the class to enter drydock in 1901; Brandenburg didn't follow until 1903.[2] During the modernization, a second conning tower was added in the aft superstructure, along with a gangway [15].[26] Brandenburg and the other ships had their boilers replaced with newer models, and also had the hamper amidships reduced.[1]

After emerging from the dry dock after modernization, Brandenburg As depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902 and the other battleships of her class were assigned to the II Battle Squadron of the fleet and replaced the old Siegfried-class coastal defense ships and the armored frigates Baden and Württemberg.[27] The Deutschland-class battleships, which began to enter service in 1906, replaced Brandenburg and her three sister-ships in the battle fleet. Brandenburg and Wörth were put into reserve, joining the Siegfried class ships.[28] Brandenburg's other sisters, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, were sold to the Ottoman Empire in 1910.[1]

World War I At the outbreak of World War I, Brandenburg was brought out from the "moth ball cemetery" and recommissioned into the fleet.[29] She served with her sister Wörth, but due to the age of the ships, this lasted only until 1915. They were then withdrawn from active service. That year, both ships were put into service as barracks ships; Wörth was stationed in Danzig while Brandenburg was placed in Libau.[1] Both Wörth and Brandenburg were struck from the naval register on 13 May 1919 and sold for scrapping.[30] The two ships were purchased by Norddeutsche Tiefbauges, a shipbreaking firm headquartered in Berlin. Wörth was then broken up for scrap in Danzig.[26]

Footnotes [1] Hore, p. 66 [2] Gröner, p. 13 [3] Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247 [4] Hayden & Vincent, p. 553 [5] Cassier's Magazine, p. 48 [6] Brassey (1896), pp. 132–133 [7] Bodin, pp. 5–6 [8] Bodin, p. 1 [9] Holborn, p. 311 [10] Bodin, p. 6 [11] Harrington, p. 29 [12] Bodin, p. 11 [13] Bodin, pp. 11–12 SMS Brandenburg 11

[14] Brassey (1896), p. 74 [15] Herwig, p. 103 [16] Sondhaus, p. 186 [17] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 91 [18] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 92 [19] R.U.S.I. Journal, pp. 92–93 [20] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 93 [21] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 94 [22] R.U.S.I. Journal, pp. 94–95 [23] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 95 [24] R.U.S.I. Journal, pp. 95–96 [25] R.U.S.I. Journal, p. 96 [26] Gröner, p. 14 [27] The United Service p. 356 [28] Brassey (1907), p. 42 [29] Stumpf, p. 71 [30] Gardiner & Gray, p. 141

References • Bodin, Lynn E. (1979). The Boxer Rebellion. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9780850453355. • Brassey, Thomas Allnutt (1896). Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Yearbook. New York: Praeger Publishers. • Brassey, Thomas Allnutt (1907). Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Yearbook. New York: Praeger Publishers. • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866. • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. • Harrington, Peter (2001). Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. London: Osprey. ISBN 9781841761817. • Haydn, Joseph; Vincent, Benjamin (1904). Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information Relating to All Ages and Nations. G. P. Putnam's sons. • Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 9781573922869. • Holborn, Hajo (1982). A History of Modern Germany: 1840-1945. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691007977. • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6. • Stumpf, Richard (1967). Horn, Daniel. ed. War, Mutiny and Revolution in the German Navy: The World War I Diary of Seaman Richard Stumpf. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. • Weir, Gary (1992). Building the Kaiser's Navy. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557509298. • "American Naval Engineers: Their Rank and Titles". Cassier's Magazine (New York: Cassier Magazine Company) 10 (1–6). 1896. • "Our Contemporaries". The United Service (New York: Lewis R. Hamersly & Co.) 132–139. 1904. • "German Naval Manoeuvres". R.U.S.I. Journal (London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies) 47: 90–97. 1903. SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 12 SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm

SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm

Career (German Empire)

Name: Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm Namesake: Friedrich Wilhelm Builder: Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven Laid down: May 1890 Launched: 30 June 1891 Commissioned: 29 April 1894 Fate: Sold to the Ottoman Empire

Career (Ottoman Empire)

Name: Barbaros Hayreddin Namesake: Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa Acquired: 12 September 1910

Fate: Sunk by the British submarine E11, 8 August 1915 General characteristics

Class and type: Brandenburg-class battleship Displacement: 10,500 tons (10,668 tonnes) Length: 379 ft (116 m) Beam: 64 ft (20 m) Draught: 26 ft (7.9 m) Propulsion: 2 shafts triple expansion 10000 ihp (7500 kW) Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8300 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) Complement: 568 SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 13

Armament: 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt 12–16 inches (305–406 mm) turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm)

SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm[1] was one of the first ocean-going battleships[2] of the German Imperial Navy. The ship was named for Friedrich Wilhelm, a 17th century Duke of Prussia and Margrave of Brandenburg.[3] She was the fourth pre-dreadnought of the Brandenburg class, along with her sister ships Brandenburg, Weißenburg, and Wörth. She was laid down in 1890 in the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, launched in 1891, and completed in 1893 at the cost of 11.23 million Marks. The Brandenburg class battleships were unique for their era in that they carried six large-caliber guns in three twin turrets, as opposed to four guns in two turrets, as was the standard in other navies. Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm saw limited active duty during her service career with the German fleet. She, along with her three sisters, saw one major overseas deployment, to China in 1900–01, during the Boxer Rebellion. The ship underwent a major modernization in 1904–1905. In 1910, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed Barbaros Hayreddin, where she saw heavy service during the Balkan Wars, taking part in two lost naval engagements with the Greek navy in December 1912 and January 1913[4] and providing artillery support to Ottoman ground forces in Thrace. On 8 August 1915, during World War I, the ship was torpedoed and sunk off the Dardanelles by the British submarine HMS E11 with heavy loss of life.

Construction

Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was the fourth and final ship of the class. She was ordered as battleship D,[5] and was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven in 1890. She was the first ship of the class to be launched, which she was on 30 June 1891. She was commissioned into the German fleet on 29 April 1894, the same day as her sister Brandenburg.[6] Construction of Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm cost the German navy 11.23 million marks.[7]

Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was 115.7 m (380 ft) long overall, had a Brandenburg class battleship. beam of 19.5 m (64 ft) which was increased to 19.74 m (64.8 ft) with the addition of torpedo nets, and had a draft of 7.6 m (25 ft) forward and 7.9 m (26 ft) aft. The ship displaced 10013 t (9855 long tons; 11037 short tons) at its designed weight, and up to 10670 t (10500 long tons; 11760 short tons) at full combat load. She was equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines that provided 10,228 indicated horsepower and a top speed of 16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph).[5]

The ship was unusual for its time in that it possessed a broadside of six heavy guns in three twin gun turrets, rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships.[8] The forward and after turret carried 28 cm (11 inch) K L/40 guns,[9] and the center turret was armed with shorter L/35 guns. Her secondary armament consisted of eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 quick-firing guns mounted in casemates and eight 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns, also casemate mounted. Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm's armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts.[5] SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 14

Service history Upon her commissioning, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm was assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron alongside her three sisters.[10] The I Division was accompanied by the four older Sachsen class armored frigates in the II Division, though by 1901–2, the Sachsens were replaced by the new Kaiser Friedrich III class battleships.[11] The ship was a training ground for later commanders in chief of the High Seas Fleet, including both Admirals Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper, who both served aboard the ship as navigation officers from Spring to Fall 1897 and October 1898 to September 1899, respectively.[12] [13]

Boxer Rebellion Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm saw her first major operation in 1900, when the I Division was deployed to China during the Boxer Rebellion.[8] Chinese nationalists laid siege to the foreign embassies in Peking and murdered the German minister. Those soldiers that were in China at the time could not defeat the Boxers.[14] The German East Asia Squadron consisted of the protected cruisers Kaiserin Augusta, Hansa, Hertha, the small cruisers Irene, Gefion, and the gunboats Jaguar and Iltis.[15] The expeditionary force consisted of the four Brandenburgs, six cruisers, 10 freighters, three torpedo boats, and six regiments of marines, under the command of Marshal Alfred von Waldersee.[16] Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan, which he saw as unnecessary and costly.[17] The force arrived in China in September 1900. By that time, the siege of Peking had already been lifted.[18] As a result, the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow. In the end, the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks.[17]

Reconstruction and service with the Ottoman Navy In 1904, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm entered the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven for a significant reconstruction.[5] After she emerged from her refit in 1905, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm rejoined the active fleet. However, she and her sisters were rapidly made obsolete by the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. As a result, their service careers were limited.[8] On 12 September 1910, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, the more advanced ships of the class, were sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis respectively (after the famous 16th-century Ottoman admirals, Hayreddin Barbarossa and Turgut Reis).[19] [20] [21] The Ottoman navy, however, had great difficulty equipping the two ships; the navy had to pull trained enlisted men from the rest of the fleet just to put together crews for them.[22] A year later, in September 1911, Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Barbaros Hayreddin, along with Turgut Reis and the ancient central battery ironclad Mesudiye—which had been built in the mid 1870s—had been on a summer training cruise since July, and so were prepared for the conflict. Despite this, the ships spent the war in harbor.[23]

Balkan wars The First Balkan War broke out in October 1912, when the Balkan League attacked the Ottoman Empire. The condition of Barbaros Hayreddin, as with most ships of the Ottoman fleet, had deteriorated significantly. During the war, Barbaros Hayreddin conducted gunnery training along with the other capital ships of the Ottoman navy, escorted troop convoys, and bombarded coastal installations.[20] On 17 November 1912, Barbaros Hayreddin and Mesudiye bombarded Bulgarian positions in support of the I Corps, with the aid of artillery observers ashore.[24] The battleships' gunnery was poor, though it provided a morale boost for the defending Ottoman army dug in at Çatalca.[25] SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 15

Late in 1912, the Ottoman fleet attempted to attack the Greek navy blockading the Dardanelles. Barbaros Hayreddin was the flagship of the fleet at the time. Two engagements took place, the Naval Battle of Elli on 16 December 1912, followed by the Naval Battle of Lemnos on 18 January 1913. The first action was supported by Ottoman coastal batteries; both Greek and Ottoman forces suffered minor damage during the engagement, but the Ottomans were unable to break through [4] the Greek fleet and retired back into the Dardanelles. The Ottoman Painting depicting the Greek fleet during the fleet sortied from the Dardanelles at 9:30; the smaller craft remained at Battle of Elli the mouth of the straits while the battleships sailed north, hugging the coast. The Greek flotilla, which included the armored cruiser Georgios Averof and three Hydra class ironclad warships, sailing from the island of Lemnos, altered course to the northeast, in order to block the advance of the Ottoman battleships. The Ottoman ships opened fire on the Greeks at 9:50, from a range of about 15000 yd (14000 m); the Greeks returned fire 10 minutes later, by which time the range had decreased significantly to 8500 yd (7800 m). At 10:04, the Ottoman ships completed a 16-point turn, which reversed their course, and headed for the safety of the straits.[26] Within an hour, the Ottoman ships had withdrawn into the Dardanelles. The battle was considered a Greek victory, because the Ottoman fleet remained blockaded.[4]

The Naval Battle of Lemnos resulted from an Ottoman plan to lure the faster Georgios Averof away from the Dardanelles. To do so, the protected cruiser Hamidiye evaded the Greek blockade and broke out into the Aegean sea. Despite the threat posed by the cruiser, the Greek commander refused to detach Georgios Averof. Presuming that the plan had worked, Barbaros Hayreddin, Turgut Reis, and other units of the Ottoman fleet departed the Dardanelles on the morning of 18 January, and sailed towards the island of Lemnos. Georgios Averof intercepted the flotilla approximately 12 miles from Lemnos, which prompted the retreat of the Ottoman ships. A long range artillery duel that lasted for two hours began at around 11:25; towards the end of the engagement, Georgios Averof closed to within 5000 yd (4600 m) and scored several hits on the fleeing Ottoman ships.[26] During the battle, both Barbaros Hayreddin and her sister had a barbette disabled by gunfire, and both caught fire as a result. Between Barbaros Hayreddin and her sister Turgut Reis, the ships fired some 800 rounds, mostly of their main battery 28 cm (11 in) ammunition but without success.[27] This was the last attempt of the Ottoman fleet to enter the Aegean during the war. On 8 February 1913, the Ottoman navy supported an amphibious assault at Şarköy. Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis, along with several cruisers provided artillery support, from about a kilometer off shore.[28] The ships supported the left flank of the Ottoman army once it was ashore. The Bulgarian army provided stiff resistance that ultimately forced the Ottoman army to withdraw, though the withdrawal was successful in large part due to the gunfire support from Barbaros Hayreddin and the rest of the fleet. During the battle, Barbaros Hayreddin fired 250 rounds from her 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and 180 shells from her 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns.[29] In March 1913, the ship returned to the Black Sea to resume support of the Çatalca garrison, which was under renewed attacks by the Bulgarian army. On 26 March, the 28 cm (11 in) and 10.5 cm (4.1 in) shells fired by Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis helped to turn back the advance of the 2nd Brigade of the Bulgarian 1st Infantry Division.[30] On 30 March, the left wing of the Ottoman line turned to pursue the retreating Bulgarians. Their advance was supported by both field artillery and the heavy guns of Barbaros Hayreddin; the assault gained the Ottomans about 1500 m (1600 yd) by nightfall. In response, the Bulgarians brought the 1st Brigade to the front, which beat the Ottoman advance back to its starting position.[31] SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 16

World War I In the summer of 1914, World War I broke out in Europe, though the Ottomans remained neutral until early November, when the actions of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben, which had been transferred to the Ottoman navy, resulted in declarations of war by Russia, France, and Great Britain.[32] Between 1914–15, some of the ship's guns were removed and employed as coastal guns to shore up the defenses protecting the Dardanelles.[27] On 8 August 1915, Barbaros Hayreddin was en route to support the Ottoman defenses at the Dardanelles when she was intercepted by the British submarine E 11[33] off Bolayır in the Sea of Marmara.[27] The submarine hit Barbaros Hayreddin with a single torpedo; the ship sank with the loss of 253 men.[8]

Notes [1] "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. [2] At the time she was laid down, the German navy referred to the ship as an "armored ship" (Panzerschiffe in German), instead of "battleship" (Schlachtschiff), see Gröner, p13. [3] Kurfürst is the title Freidrich Wilhelm held; it translates as "Elector", which denoted his position as an elector of the Holy Roman Emperor. [4] Hall, pp. 64–65 [5] Gröner, p. 13 [6] Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247 [7] Weir, p. 23 [8] Hore, p. 66 [9] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "K" stands for Kanone (cannon), while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter. [10] Gardiner and Gray, p. 141 [11] Herwig, p. 45 [12] Sweetman, p. 401 [13] Philbin, p. 94 [14] Holborn, p. 311 [15] Perry, p. 28 [16] Herwig, p. 106 [17] Herwig, p. 103 [18] Sondhaus, p. 186 [19] Gröner, p. 14 [20] Erickson, p. 131 [21] Sondhaus, p. 218 [22] Childs, p. 24 [23] Sondhaus p. 218 [24] Hall, p. 36 [25] Erickson, p. 133 [26] Fotakis, p. 50 [27] Gardiner and Gray, p. 390 [28] Erickson, p. 264 [29] Erickson, p. 270 [30] Erickson, p. 288 [31] Erickson, p. 289 [32] Staff, p. 19 [33] Halpern, p. 119 SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm 17

Footnotes

References • Childs, Timothy (1990). Italo-Turkish Diplomacy and the War Over Libya, 1911-1912. BRILL. ISBN 9789004090255. • Erickson, Edward J. (2003). Defeat in detail: the Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275978884. • Fotakis, Zisis (2005). Greek naval strategy and policy, 1910-1919. Routledge. ISBN 9780415350143. • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. • Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524. • Holborn, Hajo (1982). A History of Modern Germany: 1840-1945. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691007977. • Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913: prelude to the First World War. Routledge. ISBN 9780415229463. • Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 9781573922869. • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6. • Perry, Michael (2001). Peking 1900: the Boxer rebellion. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841761817. • Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral Hipper:The Inconvenient Hero. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9060322002. • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval warfare, 1815-1914. Routledge. ISBN 9780415214780. • Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3. • Sweetman, Jack (1997). The Great Admirals: Command at Sea, 1587-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870212291. • Weir, Gary E. (1992). Building the Kaiser's Navy: The Imperial Navy Office and German Industry in the Tirpitz Era, 1890-1919. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557509291. OCLC 22665422. SMS Weissenburg 18 SMS Weissenburg

As depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902

Career (German Empire)

Name: Weissenburg Namesake: Town of Weissenburg Builder: AG Vulcan Stettin Laid down: May 1890 Launched: 14 December 1891 Commissioned: 14 October 1894 Fate: Sold to the Ottoman Empire

Career (Ottoman Empire)

Name: Turgut Reis Namesake: Turgut Reis Acquired: 12 September 1910 Fate: Scrapped in 1938 General characteristics

Class and type: Brandenburg-class battleship Displacement: 10,500 tons Length: 379 ft (116 m) Beam: 64 ft (20 m) Draught: 26 ft (7.9 m) Propulsion: 2 shafts triple expansion 10000 ihp (7500 kW) Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8300 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h) Complement: 568 SMS Weissenburg 19

Armament: 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt 12–16 inches turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm)

SMS Weissenburg[1] was one of the first ocean-going battleships[2] of the German Imperial Navy. She was the third pre-dreadnought of the Brandenburg class, along with her sister ships Brandenburg, Wörth, and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm. She was laid down in 1890 in the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin, launched in 1891, and completed in 1894. The Brandenburg class battleships were unique for their era in that they carried six large-caliber guns in three twin turrets, as opposed to four guns in two turrets, as was the standard in other navies. The British Royal Navy derisively referred to the ships as "whalers".[3] Weissenburg saw limited active duty during her service career with the German fleet. She, along with her three sisters, saw one major overseas deployment, to China in 1900–01, during the Boxer Rebellion. The ship underwent a major modernization in 1902–1904. In 1910, Weissenburg was sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed Turgut Reis, after the famous 16th century Turkish admiral Turgut Reis. The ship saw heavy service during the Balkan Wars, primarily providing artillery support to Ottoman ground forces and taking part in two naval engagements with the Greek navy in December 1912 and January 1913. She was largely inactive during World War I, due in part to her slow speed. In 1924, Turgut Reis was used as a school ship, before eventually being scrapped in the mid 1950s.

Construction

Weissenburg was the third of four ships of the Brandenburg class. She was ordered as battleship C, and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1890 under construction number 199.[4] She was the third ship of the class to be launched, which she was on 30 June 1891. She was commissioned into the German fleet on 29 April 1894, the same day as her sister Brandenburg.[5]

Weissenburg was 115.7 m (380 ft) long overall, had a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft) which was increased to 19.74 m (64.8 ft) with the addition of Brandenburg class battleship. torpedo nets, and had a draft of 7.6 m (25 ft) forward and 7.9 m (26 ft) aft. The ship displaced 10013 t (9855 long tons; 11037 short tons) at its designed weight, and up to 10670 t (10500 long tons; 11760 short tons) at full combat load. She was equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines that provided 10,228 indicated horsepower and a top speed of 16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph).[4]

The ship was unusual for its time in that it possessed a broadside of six heavy guns in three twin gun turrets, rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships.[3] The forward and after turret carried 28 cm (11 inch) SK L/40 guns.[6] Her secondary armament consisted of eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 quick-firing guns mounted in casemates and eight 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns, also casemate mounted. Weissenburg's armament system was rounded out with six 45 cm torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts.[4] Although the main battery was heavier than other capital ships of the period, the secondary armament was considered weak in comparison to other battleships.[3] SMS Weissenburg 20

Service history Upon her commissioning, Weissenburg was assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron alongside her three sisters.[7] The I Division was accompanied by the four older Sachsen class armored frigates in the II Division, though by the time the four Brandenburgs returned from China by 1901–2, the Sachsens were replaced by the new Kaiser Friedrich III class battleships.[8]

Boxer Rebellion The first major operation in which Weissenburg took part occurred in 1900, when the I Division was deployed to China to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion.[3] The expeditionary force consisted of the four Brandenburgs, six cruisers, 10 supply ships, three torpedo boats, and six regiments of marines, under the command of Marshal Alfred von Waldersee.[9] Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan, which he saw as unnecessary and costly. Although the naval force arrived in China after the siege of Peking had already been lifted, the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow. In the end, the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks.[10]

Reconstruction and service with the Ottoman navy In 1902, following the return from China, Weissenburg entered the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven for a significant reconstruction.[4] After she emerged from her refit in 1904, the ship rejoined the active fleet. However, she and her sisters were rapidly made obsolete by the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. As a result, their service careers with the German navy were limited.[3] On 12 September 1910, Weissenburg and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, the more advanced ships of the class, were sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin respectively (after the famous 16th-century Ottoman admirals, Turgut Reis and Hayreddin Barbarossa).[11] [12] [13] A year later, in September 1911, when Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Turgut Reis, along with Barbaros Hayreddin and the obsolete central battery ironclad Mesudiye had been on a summer training cruise since July, and so were prepared for the conflict. Despite this, the ships spent the war in harbor.[14]

Balkan wars The Balkan League declared war on the Ottoman Empire in October 1912. In the First Balkan War Turgut Reis, as with most ships of the Ottoman fleet, were in a state of disrepair. During the war, Turgut Reis conducted gunnery training along with the other capital ships of the Ottoman navy, escorted troop convoys, and bombarded coastal installations.[12] On 17 November 1912, Turgut Reis supported the Ottoman III Corps by bombarding the attacking Bulgarian forces. The ship was aided by artillery observers ashore.[15] The battleship's gunnery was largely ineffective, though it provided a morale boost for the besieged Ottoman army dug in at Çatalca. By 17:00, the Bulgarian infantry had largely been forced back to their starting positions, in part due to the psychological effect of the battleships' bombardment.[16] Late in 1912, the Ottoman fleet attacked the Greek navy, in an attempt to disrupt the naval blockade surrounding the Dardanelles. Two engagements took place, the Naval Battle of Elli on 16 December 1912, followed by the Naval Battle of Lemnos on 18 January 1913. The first action was supported by Ottoman coastal batteries; both Greek and Ottoman forces suffered minor damage during the engagement, but the Ottomans were unable to break through the Greek fleet and retired back into the Dardanelles.[17] The Ottoman fleet, which included Turgut Reis, her sister Barbaros Hayreddin—the flagship of the fleet—two outdated ironclad battleships, nine destroyers and six torpedo boats, sortied from the Dardanelles at 9:30. The smaller ships remained at the mouth of the straits while the battleships sailed north, while remaining near to the coast. The Greek flotilla, which included the armored cruiser Georgios Averof and three Hydra class battleships, had been sailing from the island of Imbros to the patrol line outside the straits. When the Ottomans were sighted, the Greeks altered course to the northeast, in order to block the advance of their opponents. The Ottoman ships opened fire first, at 9:50, from a range of about 15,000 yards; the SMS Weissenburg 21

Greeks returned fire ten minutes later, by which time the range had decreased significantly to 8,500 yards. At 10:04, the Ottoman ships completed a 16-point turn, which reversed their course, and steamed for the safety of the straits in a disorganized withdrawal.[18] Within an hour, the routed Ottoman ships had withdrawn into the Dardanelles.[17] The Naval Battle of Lemnos resulted from an Ottoman plan to lure the faster Georgios Averof away from the Dardanelles. The protected cruiser Hamidiye evaded the Greek blockade and broke out into the Aegean sea; the assumption was that the Greeks would dispatch Georgios Averof to hunt down Hamidiye. Despite the threat to Greek lines of communication posed by the cruiser, the Greek commander refused to detach Georgios Averof from its position. However, presuming that the plan had worked, Turgut Reis, Barbaros Hayreddin, and other units of the Ottoman fleet departed the Dardanelles on the morning of 18 January, and sailed towards the island of Lemnos. Georgios Averof appeared approximately 12 miles from Lemnos; when the powerful Greek ship was spotted, the Ottomans turned to retreat. Georgios Averof's superior speed allowed the ship to close the distance between her and the fleeing Ottoman ships. A long range artillery duel that lasted for two hours began at around 11:25; towards the end of the engagement, Georgios Averof closed to within 5,000 yards and scored several hits on the fleeing Ottoman ships.[18] Between Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin, the ships fired some 800 rounds, mostly of their main battery 28 cm guns but without success. During the battle, barbettes on both Turgut Reis and her sister were disabled by gunfire, and both ships caught fire.[19] On 8 February 1913, the Ottoman navy supported an amphibious assault at Şarköy. Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin, along with two small cruisers provided artillery support to the right flank of the invading force once it went ashore. The ships were positioned about a kilometer off shore; Turgut Reis was the second ship in the line, behind her sister Barbaros Hayreddin.[20] The Bulgarian army resisted fiercely, which ultimately forced the Ottoman army to retreat, though the withdrawal was successful in large part due to the gunfire support from Turgut Reis and the rest of the fleet. During the battle, Turgut Reis fired 225 rounds from her 10.5 cm guns and 202 shells from her 8.8 cm guns.[21] In March 1913, the ship returned to the Black Sea to resume support of the Çatalca garrison, which was under renewed attacks by the Bulgarian army. On 26 March, the barrage of 28 and 10.5 cm shells fired by Turgut Reis and Barbaros Hayreddin assisted in the repelling of advance of the 2nd Brigade of the Bulgarian 1st Infantry Division.[22] On 30 March, the left wing of the Ottoman line turned to pursue the retreating Bulgarians. Their advance was supported by both field artillery and the heavy guns of Turgut Reis and the other warships positioned off the coast; the assault gained the Ottomans about 1,500 meters by nightfall. In response, the Bulgarians brought the 1st Brigade to the front, which beat the Ottoman advance back to its starting position.[23]

World War I In the summer of 1914, when World War I broke out in Europe, the Ottomans initially remained neutral. In early November, the actions of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben, which had been transferred to the Ottoman navy and renamed Yavuz Sultan Selim, resulted in declarations of war by Russia, France, and Great Britain.[24] Between 1914–15, some of Turgut Reis's guns were removed and employed as coastal guns to shore up the defenses protecting the Dardanelles.[19] On 19 January 1918, Yavuz and the light cruiser SMS Breslau, which had also been transferred to Ottoman service under the name Midilli, sailed from the Dardanelles to attack several British monitors stationed outside. The ships quickly sank HMS Raglan and HMS M28 before turning back to the safety of the Dardanelles. While en route, Midilli struck five mines and sank, while Yavuz three and began to list to port. The ship's captain gave an incorrect order to the helmsman, which caused the ship to run aground. Yavuz remained there for almost a week, until Turgut Reis arrived on the scene on 25 January; the old battleship took Yavuz under tow and managed to free her from the sandbank by that afternoon.[25] Turgut Reis was removed from active service after the end of World War I. By 1924, the ship was transferred to the role of a training ship.[11] At the time, she retained only two of her originally six 28 cm guns.[19] Turgut Reis was converted into a hulk and stationed in the Dardanelles until 1938.[11] She remained afloat until she was finally SMS Weissenburg 22

broken up for scrap, between 1956–57.[19]

Notes [1] "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. [2] At the time, the German navy referred to the ship as a "ship of the line" (Linienschiff in German), instead of "battleship" (Schlachtschiff). [3] Hore, p. 66 [4] Gröner, p. 13 [5] Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247 [6] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) 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 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter. [7] Gardiner and Gray, p. 141 [8] Herwig, p. 45 [9] Herwig, p. 106 [10] Herwig, p. 103 [11] Gröner, p. 14 [12] Erickson, p. 131 [13] Sondhaus, p. 218 [14] Sondhaus p. 218 [15] Hall, p. 36 [16] Erickson, p. 133 [17] Hall, pp. 64–65 [18] Fotakis, p. 50 [19] Gardiner and Gray, p. 390 [20] Erickson, p. 264 [21] Erickson, p. 270 [22] Erickson, p. 288 [23] Erickson, p. 289 [24] Staff, p. 19 [25] Bennett, p. 47

Footnotes

References • Bennett, Geoffrey (2005). Naval Battles of the First World War. London: Pen & Sword Military Classics. ISBN 1-84415-300-2. • Erickson, Edward J. (2003). Defeat in detail: the Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275978884. • Fotakis, Zisis (2005). Greek naval strategy and policy, 1910-1919. Routledge. ISBN 9780415350143. • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. • Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913: prelude to the First World War. Routledge. ISBN 9780415229463. • Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 9781573922869. • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6. • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval warfare, 1815-1914. Routledge. ISBN 9780415214780. SMS Wörth 23 SMS Wörth

SMS Wörth

Career (German Empire)

Name: Wörth Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel Laid down: May 1890 Launched: 6 August 1892 Commissioned: 31 October 1893 Fate: Scrapped in 1919 General characteristics

Class and type: Brandenburg-class battleship Displacement: 10670 t (10500 long tons) Length: 115.7 m (379 ft 7 in) Beam: 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) Draft: 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) Propulsion: 2 shafts triple expansion 10000 ihp (7457 kW) Speed: 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) Range: 4500 nautical miles (8300 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h) Complement: 568 Armament: 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 2 × 28 cm (11 in) / 35 caliber guns 8 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns 8 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 3 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes Armor: Belt 12–16 inches (30.5–40.6 cm) turrets 9 inches (230 mm) deck 3 inches (76 mm)

SMS Wörth was one of four German pre-dreadnought battleships of the Brandenburg class, built in the early 1890s. The ships were the first ocean-going battleships built by the Kaiserliche Marine (English: Imperial Navy). Wörth was SMS Wörth 24

laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel in May 1890. The ship was launched on 6 August 1892 and commissioned into the fleet on 31 October 1893. Wörth and her three sisters were unique for their time in that they carried six heavy guns instead of the standard four in other navies. She was named for the Battle of Wörth at the start of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Wörth took part in the German naval expedition to China in 1900 to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, though by the time the fleet reached China the siege of Peking had already been lifted. As a result, the ship saw little direct action in China. Obsolete by the start of World War I, Wörth, along with her sister ship Brandenburg, served in a limited capacity in the Imperial German Navy, primarily as barracks ships. Following the end of the war, the Wörth was scrapped in the port of Danzig.

Construction Wörth was ordered as battleship B,[1] and was laid down at Germaniawerft in Kiel in 1890. Initial work on the ship proceeded the slowest of all four vessels of the class; her hull was not launched until 6 August 1892, more than two-thirds of a year after the other three ships. However, fitting out work proceeded quickly, and she was commissioned on 31 October 1893, the first ship of the class to enter active duty.[2] The ship was 115.7 m (379 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) and a draft of 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in). Wörth displaced 10013 t (9855 long tons) as designed, and up to 10670 t (10500 long tons) at full combat load. She was equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines that produced 10000 indicated horsepower (7457 kW) and a top speed of 16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph) on trials. Steam was provided by twelve transverse cylindrical boilers. She had a maximum range of 4300 nautical miles (8000 km; 4900 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1] Wörth was armed with a main battery of six 28 cm (11 in) guns of two types. The forward and rear turret guns were 40 calibers long, while the amidships guns were only 35 calibers; this was necessary to allow them to train to either side of the ship. Her secondary armament initially consisted of seven 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, though an additional gun was added during the modernization in 1901. She also carried eight 8.8 cm (3.45 in) guns and six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes.[1]

Service history Wörth was assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron upon her commissioning, alongside her three sisters.[3] The squadron was completed with the four older Sachsen class armored frigates, though by 1901–2, the Sachsens were replaced by the new Kaiser Friedrich III class battleships.[4] After she joined the fleet, Wörth was commanded by Prince Heinrich. The senior watch officer aboard the ship in 1894 was Franz von Hipper, who went on to command the German battlecruiser squadron during World War I and later the entire High Seas Fleet.[5] [6] Wörth represented Germany during the Fleet Review for Queen Victoria in 1897.[7] On 25 November 1899, Wörth was conducting gunnery training in the Bay of Eckernförde when she struck a rock. The rock tore a 22 ft (6.7 m) wide hole in the hull which flooded three of her watertight compartments. The ship was sent to Wilhelmshaven for repair work.[8] Before repairs could be begun, about 500 t (490 long tons) of coal had to be unloaded to lighten the ship. Temporary steel plates were riveted to cover the hole on the starboard side, while the hull plates on the port side had to be re-riveted.[9] The work was completed in time for the ship to join the fleet for the annual training cruise to Norway one week later.[8] SMS Wörth 25

Boxer Rebellion

During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Chinese nationalists laid siege to the foreign embassies in Peking and murdered Baron Clemens von Ketteler, the German minister.[10] The widespread violence against Westerners in China led to a creation of an alliance between Germany and seven other Great Powers: the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Wörth in the Kiel Canal. Austria-Hungary, the United States, France, and Japan.[11] Those soldiers who were in China at the time were too few in number to defeat the Boxers;[12] in Peking there was a force of slightly more than 400 officers and infantry from the armies of the eight European powers.[13] At the time, the primary German military force in China was the East Asia Squadron, which consisted of the protected cruisers Kaiserin Augusta, Hansa, and Hertha, the small cruisers Irene and Gefion, and the gunboats Jaguar and Iltis.[14] There was also a German 500-man detachment in Taku; combined with the other nations' units the force numbered some 2,100 men.[15]

These 2,100 men, led by the British Admiral Edward Seymour, attempted to reach Peking but due to heavy resistance were forced to stop in Tientsin.[16] As a result, the Kaiser determined an expeditionary force would be sent to China to reinforce the East Asia Squadron. Hela was part of the naval expedition, which included the four Brandenburg class pre-dreadnought battleships, sent to China to reinforce the German flotilla there.[17] Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan, which he saw as unnecessary and costly.[18] The force was sent in spite of von Tirpitz's objections; it arrived in China in September 1900. By that time, the siege of Peking had already been lifted.[19] As a result, the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow. In the end, the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks.[18]

Reconstruction and later service

Following her return from China in 1901, Wörth was taken into the drydocks at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven for a major reconstruction. Her sisters followed suit: Weißenburg went in 1902, Brandenburg in 1903, and Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm entered the shipyard in 1904.[1] During the modernization, a second conning tower was added in the aft superstructure, along with a gangway [15].[20] Wörth and the other ships had their boilers replaced with newer models, and also had the hamper amidships reduced.[21]

After emerging from the dry dock after modernization, Wörth and the As depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902 other Brandenburg class battleships were assigned to the II Battle Squadron of the fleet and replaced the old Siegfried-class coastal defense ships and the armored frigates Baden and Württemberg.[22] The Deutschland-class battleships, which began to enter service in 1906, replaced Wörth and her three sister-ships in the battle fleet. Wörth and Brandenburg were put into reserve, joining the Siegfried class ships.[23] Wörth's other sisters, Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm and Weißenburg, were sold to the Ottoman Empire in 1910.[21]

World War I At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Wörth was assigned to coastal defense duties along with Brandenburg. Due to the age of the ships, this lasted only until 1915, when they were withdrawn from active service. That year, both ships were put into service as barracks ships; Wörth was stationed in Danzig while Brandenburg was placed in Libau.[21] Both Wörth and Brandenburg were struck from the naval register on 13 May 1919 and sold for scrapping.[3] The two ships were purchased by Norddeutsche Tiefbauges, a shipbreaking firm headquartered in SMS Wörth 26

Berlin. Wörth was then broken up for scrap in Danzig.[20]

Footnotes [1] Gröner, p. 13 [2] Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247 [3] Gardiner and Gray, p. 141 [4] Herwig, p. 45 [5] Philbin, p. 9 [6] Wilson & Callo p. 142 [7] McClure's Magazine, p. 267 [8] Notes, p. 105 [9] Notes, p. 106 [10] Bodin, pp. 5–6 [11] Bodin, p. 1 [12] Holborn, p. 311 [13] Bodin, p. 6 [14] Harrington, p. 29 [15] Bodin, p. 11 [16] Bodin, pp. 11–12 [17] Brassey, p. 74 [18] Herwig, p. 103 [19] Sondhaus, p. 186 [20] Gröner, p. 14 [21] Hore, p. 66 [22] The United Service p. 356 [23] Brassey (1907), p. 42

References • Bodin, Lynn E. (1979). The Boxer Rebellion. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9780850453355. • Brassey, Thomas Allnutt (1901). Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Yearbook. New York: Praeger Publishers. • Brassey, Thomas Allnutt (1907). Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Yearbook. New York: Praeger Publishers. • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866. • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. • Harrington, Peter (2001). Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. London: Osprey. ISBN 9781841761817. • Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 9781573922869. • Holborn, Hajo (1982). A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691007977. • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978–1-84476–299–6. • Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral Hipper:The Inconvenient Hero. Amsterdam: Grüner. ISBN 9060322002. • Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval warfare, 1815–1914. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415214780. • Wilson, Alastair; Callo, Joseph F. (2004). Who's Who in Naval History: From 1550 to the Present. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415308281. • US Office of Naval Intelligence (1900). Notes on the Year's Naval Progress. 19. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. • McClure's Magazine. 11. New York: S.S. McClure, Ltd.. 1898. • The United Service. 132–139. New York: Lewis R. Hamersly & Co.. 1904. Article Sources and Contributors 27 Article Sources and Contributors

Brandenburg class battleship Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=462390983 Contributors: Aldis90, Anthony Appleyard, Bellhalla, Bermanya, Colonies Chris, Cplakidas, Cremepuff222, FJS15, Fireaxe888, Firsfron, Getztashida, Headbomb, Jackyd101, Kralizec!, KrzysM99, Lightmouse, MBK004, Mikaduki, Parsecboy, R'n'B, R-41, Rcbutcher, Resolute, Rich Farmbrough, SpookyMulder, Spudinator, Sturmvogel 66, Tabletop, TomTheHand, Vgy7ujm, 11 anonymous edits

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SMS Wörth Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=462390898 Contributors: Aldis90, Bellhalla, Colonies Chris, Danbarnesdavies, Eurocopter, FJS15, Headbomb, Koavf, Lightmouse, MBK004, PMG, Parsecboy, Pen of bushido, Piledhigheranddeeper, R-41, Rich Farmbrough, Silesianus, Srich32977, Sturmvogel 66, TomTheHand, Winky Bill, 3 anonymous edits Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 28 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:SMS Kurfuerst Friedrich Wilhelm 1900-2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Kurfuerst_Friedrich_Wilhelm_1900-2.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: SMS_Kurfuerst_Friedrich_Wilhelm_1900.jpg: unknown derivative work: Parsecboy (talk) File:War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:War_Ensign_of_Germany_1903-1918.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was R-41 at en.wikipedia File:Ottoman Flag.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ottoman_Flag.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: The original is created by en:user:Kerem Ozcan, it was uploaded to commons by user:OttomanReference. File:Brandenburg Brassey's.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Brandenburg_Brassey's.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Brassey's File:Brandenburg class.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Brandenburg_class.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Parsecboy File:SMS Brandenburg.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Brandenburg.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Materialscientist, Parsecboy File:SMS Brandenburg (1891).jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Brandenburg_(1891).jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Kluibi at de.wikipedia Image:Ottoman Flag.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ottoman_Flag.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: The original is created by en:user:Kerem Ozcan, it was uploaded to commons by user:OttomanReference. File:Battle Elli.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Battle_Elli.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Barbe-Noire File:Linienschiff-Wörth.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Linienschiff-Wörth.jpg License: unknown Contributors: PMG, Parsecboy File:SMS Worth - Kiel canal.PNG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Worth_-_Kiel_canal.PNG License: Public Domain Contributors: Parsecboy License 29 License

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