SMS Brandenburg was the lead ship of the Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1890s. 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-gun main battery typical of contemporary battleships. She was obsolete by the start of World War I and only served in a limited capacity, initially as a coastal defense ship. In December 1915, she was withdrawn from active service and converted into a barracks ship. After the war she was scrapped in Danzig, after the war, in 1920.
About SMS Brandenburg in brief
SMS Brandenburg was the lead ship of the Brandenburg-class pre-dreadnought battleships, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1890s. 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-gun main battery typical of contemporary battleships. She was obsolete by the start of World War I and only served in a limited capacity, initially as a coastal defense ship. In December 1915, she was withdrawn from active service and converted into a barracks ship. After the war she was scrapped in Danzig, after the war, in 1920. Her sister ships were Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm, Weissenburg, and Wörth. She and her three sisters were deployed to China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. In the early 1900s, all four ships were heavily rebuilt. Brandenburg’s armament consisted of eight 10. 5 cm SK L35 quick-firing guns mounted in casemates and eight 8.30 cm SK L30 quick- firing guns, all in above-water swivel mounts. Although the main battery was heavier than other capital ships of the period, the secondary armament was considered weak in comparison to other battleships and was protected by compound armor. Her main belt was 400 millimeters in the central section that protected the ammunition and machinery spaces. The deck was 60mm thick with the main section protected by 300mm thick barbettes with 300mm barbettes.
She displaced 10,013 t as designed and up to 10,670 t at full combat load. The forward and after turrets carried 28 cm K L40 guns, while the amidships turret mounted a pair of 28-cm guns with shorter L35 barrels. Her propulsion system was rated at 10,000 metric horsepower and a top speed of 16. 5 knots. She had a maximum range of 4,300 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots. Her crew numbered 38 officers and 530 enlisted men. She had six 45 cm torpedo tubes, all out with six 45 cm torpedo swivels, and was rounded out with eight 8 cm torpedo tubes. The vessel was laid down at AG Vulcan in Stettin in May 1890, launched on 21 September 1891, and completed by 1891. Her hull was completed by AG Vulcan on 1891 and she was commissioned into the German Navy on 19 November 1893. In August 1888, the Kaiser, who had a strong interest in naval matters, replaced Caprivi with Vizeadmiral Alexander von Monts and instructed him to include four battleships in the 1889–1890 naval budget. Though they were the first modern battleships built in Germany, presaging the Tirpitz-era High Seas Fleet, the authorization for the ships came as part of a construction program that reflected the strategic and tactical confusion of the 1880s caused by the Jeune École.
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This page is based on the article SMS Brandenburg published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
