SMS Nassau Dreadnought Battleship (First German Dreadnought!)
FIRST GERMAN DREADNOUGHT - 1909 Hexagonal Revolution! - 4 ships: SMS NASSAU, SMS Westfalen, SMS Rheinland, SMS Posen. FIRST GERMAN DREADNOUGHT! (Response to HMS Dreadnought 1906 - began Anglo-German naval arms race!). 18,873 tons, 19.5 kts, 12× 28cm guns in UNIQUE HEXAGONAL LAYOUT (6× twin turrets: 2 forward, 2 aft, 2 port, 2 starboard!). ALL-BIG-GUN REVOLUTION! Hexagonal arrangement NOT by choice - triple expansion engines consumed internal magazine space, forcing wing turret placement! 8-gun broadside (same as Dreadnought but requiring 12 total guns - inefficient!). Krupp cemented armor (300mm belt, 400mm conning tower). ALL 4 FOUGHT JUTLAND (May 31-June 1, 1916), Nassau hit 11 times and rammed HMS Spitfire, all survived! Inefficiency forced Germany to develop superfiring designs. Scrapped 1920-1924. REVOLUTIONARY!
Specifications
- Displacement (std)
- 18873 t
- Displacement (full)
- 21000 t
- Length
- 479.3 ft
- Beam
- 88.3 ft
- Crew
- 963
- Ships built
- 4
- Commissioned
- 1909-1910
- Decommissioned
- 1919-1924
Performance
- Top speed
- 19 kn
- Range
- 8300 nm at 10 knots
Armament
- Main guns
- "12× 28cm SK L/45 guns" (6× twin turrets - HEXAGONAL ARRANGEMENT!)
- Secondary guns
- 12× 15cm SK L/45 guns
- Torpedoes
- 6× 45cm torpedo tubes
Armor & Systems
- Belt
- 300mm (11.8 inches) maximum
- Deck
- 55-80mm
- Fire control
- Optical rangefinders, centralized fire control
In-Game
- Tier
- T2
- Game power
- 17.84
- Research cost
- 1,570
- Credit cost
- 12,488
Notable
- **FIRST GERMAN DREADNOUGHT!** (October 1, 1909!)
- **UNIQUE HEXAGONAL TURRET LAYOUT!** (12× 28cm guns in 6× twin turrets!)
- NECESSITATED BY ENGINE CHOICE! (triple expansion engines consumed magazine space!)
- 18,873 tons standard displacement (massive leap from 13,191 tons!)
- 19.5 knots maximum speed (+1.5 kts over Deutschland!)
- 4 ships built (Nassau, Westfalen, Rheinland, Posen)
- 12× 28cm guns (vs 4× on Deutschland!) - ALL-BIG-GUN REVOLUTION!
- 8-gun broadside (same as HMS Dreadnought, but less efficient)
- Hexagonal layout: 2 forward + 2 aft + 2 port + 2 starboard
- Triple expansion engines (22,000 ihp) - NOT turbines yet!
- Krupp cemented armor (300mm belt, 280mm turrets, 400mm conning tower)
- Commissioned 1909-1910 (Nassau first: October 1, 1909)
- Laid down July 22, 1907, launched March 7, 1908
- All 4 fought at Battle of Jutland (I Battle Squadron)
- Nassau hit 11 times, all 4 survived battle
- Nassau rammed British destroyer HMS Spitfire (both survived!)
- Decommissioned 1919-1920 after Treaty of Versailles
- Nassau scrapped 1920, Westfalen 1924, Rheinland 1920, Posen 1922
- Inefficient layout (4 wing turrets wasted in broadside engagement)
- Forced Germany to develop superfiring designs (Helgoland class)
- Named after Nassau region (lead ship), German provinces
- Response to HMS Dreadnought sparked Anglo-German naval arms race!