Battleships: Bayern Class

[designeraccd]

Another shot of BAYERN at Scapa.......DFO

[HMS Bergamot]

Ah, I can answer that one.

Part of the cease fire agreement was that the HSF was to be interned. The only harbour large enough to take them was Scape Flow, so they had to go there.

So, they were interned, not surrendered, and still had German crews on board. The German ships were disarmed, so could not fight, and were allowed by their crews to deteriorate. The German rebellion was also alive and well amongst the crews, and the German commander got rid of the trouble makers by repatriation back to Germany. I particularly like the story of the sailors roller skating on the iron decks of the fleet flagship, thus keeping the C in C awake at night. It was part of the reason he transferred his flag to the light cruiser Emden.

As the treaty for ending the war drew closer it became apparent that the allies were preparing to seize the German ships. This the crews could not allow, so they were scuttled in order to deny them from the allies. Many were scuttled in such a way that they rolled over, in order to make their salvage more difficult. Ironically, it made their salvage easier.

[designeraccd]

You are so full of those lil nuggets of info...that make these OLD ships come alive!! Had not heard of the roller skating, altho if my wife wrecks another car....that is what she will get for "wheels". DFO

[ivorthediver]

Well there you go Dennis , yet more proof that you learn something new every day eh

[designeraccd]

Most always a good day when that happens!

Meanwhile, HSF was still intact when this was taken of their new pride n joy!! So let's see: 2 15" BBs for HSF vs. 10 for Grand Fleet....oopzeeee........... DFO

[designeraccd]

The 2 completed BAYERNs were powerful ships for their day:

"Bayern was 179.4 m (588 ft 7 in) long at the waterline, and an even 180 m (590 ft 7 in) long overall. She had a beam of 30 m (98 ft 5 in) and a draft of 9.3–9.4 m (30 ft 6 in–30 ft 10 in) Bayern displaced 28,530 metric tons (28,080 long tons) at a normal displacement; at full combat load, she displaced up to 32,200 t (31,700 long tons). Bayern was powered by three Parsons steam turbines rated at 34,521 shaft horsepower (25,742 kW) and three oil-fired and eleven coal-fired Schulz-Thornycroft boilers, and on trials achieved 55,202 shaft horsepower (41,164 kW); she had a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph). The ship could carry up to 3,400 t (3,300 long tons; 3,700 short tons) of coal and 620 t (610 long tons; 680 short tons) of fuel oil, which provided a maximum range of 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).

The ship was the first German warship armed with eight 38 cm (14.96 in) SK L/45 guns. The main battery guns were arranged in four twin gun turrets: two superfiring turrets each fore and aft. Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns and five 60 cm (23.6 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two on each beam. Upon commissioning, she carried a crew of 42 officers and 1,129 enlisted men. The ship had an armored belt that was 170–350 mm (6.7–13.8 in) thick and an armored deck that was 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) thick. Her forward conning tower had 400 mm (16 in) sides, and the main battery turrets had 350 mm thick sides and 200 mm (7.9 in) thick roofs."

With only two 15" BBs vs the 10 RN units.....bad odds. Their armor was NOT like the USN's "all or nothing" arrangement pioneered on the NEVADAs. Had they ever fought a gun duel the old armor disposition could have been proven quite inferior. DFO

[Brian James]

Lead Ship,Dreadnought Battleship SMS Bayern.

[designeraccd]

A very nice pic of her that I had not seen until yesterday, on the site Brian got it from. Wonder if there are more of this pair?? DFO

[Brian James]

Lead Ship,Dreadnought Battleship SMS Bayern,as built 1916 schematic.

[designeraccd]

BADEN, floating peacefully, and then her sister; glub GLUB................ DFO