Bayern Class Dreadnought Battleship

World War 1 Naval Combat

World War 1 Naval Combat

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SMS Bayern SMS Bayern.  Two near sisters, Sachsen and Wurttemberg, were laid down and launched but never completed.  They would have similar but slightly longer and with taller funnels and with some minor changes in armour layout.  Guns for these incomplete ships were used on the Western Front.

SMS Bayern
Built Howaldtswerke, Kiel, laid down January 1914, completed June 1916, cost 50,000,000 Marks.

SMS Baden
Built Schichau, Danzig, laid down December 1913, completed February 1917.

Size:
Length 589feett 10 inches overall, beam 98 feet 5 inches feet, draught 30 feet 9 inches (deep), displacement 28,074 tons normal 31,690 tons deep.

Propulsion:
3 shaft Parsons turbines, 48,000 shp = 21kts

Trials:
Bayern 55,967 shp = 22.0 knots
Baden 56,275 shp = 22.0 knots

Armour:
14-5in belt, 14in barbettes, 14in turrets, 2.5in decks

Armament:
8 x 15in SKL/45 (4 x 2), 16 x 5.9in (14 x 1), 8 x 3.45in (14 x 1), 5 x 23.6in TT

Comments:
The last German battleships to be completed before the end of World War 1 they were the first to be fitted with tripod masts on completion and more importantly introduced the 15 inch gun to the German navy.  In terms of protection and speed they were little different form the preceding König class. Crew was 42 officers and 1129 men.

World War 1 Service:
Bayern

Undergoing trials at the time of Jutland.
III Battle Squadron
October 1917 supported German amphibious operations near Moon Island.
12 October 1917 hit mine in Gulf of Riga.
Repairs until December 1917
Interned and Scuttled at Scapa Flow at the end of World War 1 

Baden
March 1917 becomes flagship of High Seas Fleet.
Interned and beached at Scapa Flow at the end of World War 1.
Sunk as target 1921.

SMS Bayern.  She was mined in 1917 and suffered extensive flooding.  Despite the generally excellent underwater protection of major German warships during this period they did have a week spot in that their torpedo flats were prone to flooding.  Following this the forward torpedo tubes were removed form this class. bayern.jpg (44970 bytes)

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