SMS Deutschland Pre-Dreadnought Battleship (Last Pre-Dreadnoughts!)
Last German Pre-Dreadnoughts - 1906 Obsolete Immediately, But FAMOUS! - 5 ships: SMS DEUTSCHLAND, SMS Hannover, SMS POMMERN (SUNK JUTLAND!), SMS SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN (FIRST SHOTS WWII!), SMS SCHLESIEN (last survivor 1945!). LAST PRE-DREADNOUGHTS! 13,191 tons, 18 kts, 4× 28cm guns + 14× 17cm secondary. THICKEST PRE-DREADNOUGHT TURRET ARMOR (279mm/11"!). Triple expansion engines (19,000 HP - most powerful!). Completed AFTER HMS Dreadnought (1906) - immediately obsolete! ALL 5 FOUGHT JUTLAND (May 31-June 1, 1916). SMS POMMERN: ONLY German battleship sunk at Jutland (torpedo from HMS Onslaught, magazine explosion, 839 crew lost). SMS SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN: FIRED FIRST SHOTS OF WWII (4:45 AM, September 1, 1939, Westerplatte, Poland!). SMS SCHLESIEN: Last pre-dreadnought in service, survived 37 years (1908-1945!), evacuated thousands from East Prussia. Tragic (Pommern) and famous (Schleswig-Holstein) histories!
Specifications
- Displacement (std)
- 13191 t
- Displacement (full)
- 14218 t
- Length
- 418.6 ft
- Beam
- 72.8 ft
- Crew
- 743
- Ships built
- 5
- Commissioned
- 1906-1908
- Decommissioned
- 1919-1945 (Schlesien survived to 1945!)
Performance
- Top speed
- 19.1 kn
- Range
- 4500 nm at 10 knots
Armament
- Main guns
- "4× 28cm SK L/40 guns" (2× twin turrets)
- Secondary guns
- 14× 17cm SK L/40 guns
- Torpedoes
- 6× 45cm torpedo tubes
Armor & Systems
- Belt
- 229-100mm (9-4 inches)
- Deck
- 76mm (3 inches)
- Fire control
- Optical rangefinders
In-Game
- Tier
- T1
- Game power
- 12.68
- Research cost
- 279
- Credit cost
- 8,876
Notable
- LAST GERMAN PRE-DREADNOUGHTS! (obsolete immediately!)
- THICKEST PRE-DREADNOUGHT TURRET ARMOR! (279mm/11 inches!)
- SMS POMMERN: ONLY German battleship sunk at Jutland! (May 31, 1916!)
- SMS SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN: FIRED FIRST SHOTS OF WWII! (September 1, 1939!)
- SMS SCHLESIEN: Last pre-dreadnought in service (1945!)
- 13,191 tons standard displacement
- 18 knots maximum speed
- 5 ships built (Deutschland, Hannover, Pommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Schlesien)
- 4× 28cm main guns + 14× 17cm secondary
- Triple expansion engines (19,000 ihp - MOST POWERFUL pre-dreadnought engines!)
- 22× 8.8cm tertiary guns (increased from 18)
- Commissioned 1906-1908 (Deutschland first: October 3, 1906)
- Completed AFTER HMS Dreadnought launched (February 10, 1906)
- All 5 fought at Battle of Jutland (II Battle Squadron)
- Pommern: Torpedo hit from HMS Onslaught → magazine explosion → 839 crew lost (total loss)
- Schleswig-Holstein: Westerplatte bombardment started WWII (4:45 AM, September 1, 1939)
- Schleswig-Holstein: Survived 37 years (1908-1945), longest-serving German BB
- Schlesien: Training ship + evacuation operations 1944-1945 (saved thousands from East Prussia)
- Schlesien: Mined December 1944, beached, final action March 1945, scuttled May 1945
- Immediately obsolete (dreadnought revolution made all pre-dreadnoughts obsolete)