Wörth was one of four Brandenburg-class battleships built in the early 1890s. The ships were the first ocean-going battleships of the Kaiserliche Marine. Wörth and her three sisters carried six heavy guns rather than four, as was standard for most other navies’ battleships. She served in the German fleet for the first decade of her career, participating in the normal peacetime routine of training cruises and exercises. She took part in the naval expedition to China in 1900 to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, but saw little direct action.
About SMS Wörth in brief
Wörth was one of four Brandenburg-class battleships built in the early 1890s. The ships were the first ocean-going battleships of the Kaiserliche Marine. Wörth and her three sisters carried six heavy guns rather than four, as was standard for most other navies’ battleships. She served in the German fleet for the first decade of her career, participating in the normal peacetime routine of training cruises and exercises. She took part in the naval expedition to China in 1900 to suppress the Boxer Rebellion, but saw little direct action. She was placed in reserve in 1906 as newer, more powerful vessels had supplanted the Brandenburg class as front-line battleship. Obsolete by the start of World War I, she served in a limited capacity in the Imperial German Navy as coastal defense ships. By 1916, she was reduced to a barracks ship, a role in which she served until the end of hostilities. Despite plans to convert her into a freighter after the war, Wörth was scrapped in Danzig in 1919. Her main battery was protected by compound armor with 300mm thick in the central section that protected the ammunition magazines. The ship’s barbettes were protected with 60mm thick armor. 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 secondary armament consisted of eight 5 cm SK L35 guns, eight 8 30cm quick-firing guns, and eight torpedo tubes above the swivel mounts. The deck was rounded out with six 45cm SK L30 guns, all above swivels, in all above-water swiveled mounts. Wölth was the first German battleship to be named for the Battle of Wörst fought during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. 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 displaced 10,013 t as designed, and up to 10,670 t at full combat load. Her propulsion system was rated at 10,000 metric horsepower and a top speed of 16. 5 knots. She was equipped with two sets of 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines that each drove a screw propeller. 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. In August 1888, the Kaiser, who had a strong interest in naval matters, ordered four battleships in the 1889–1890 naval budget. The German fleet had been largely oriented toward defense of the German coastline and Leo von Caprivi, chief of the Reichsmarineamt, had ordered a number of coastaldefense ships in the 1880ed.
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