German Dreadnoughts
Entries in bold indicate photos.
Nassau Class
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Nassau Posen Rheinland Westfalen |
Germanys first dreadnoughts mounted 2 more barrels than their British counterpart, but of a smaller size. The wing turrets proved difficult to adequatly protect, and the lack of experience in turbine manufacture in Germany led to them having triple expansion engines, though partial oil firing was added. |
Helgoland Class
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Helgoland Oldenburg Ostfriesland Thuringen |
The Helgolands kept to wing turrets and triple expansion machinery, but the increase in length allowed for increased speed with ittle increase in power. |
Kaiser Class
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Friedrich Der Grosse Kaiser Kaiserin Konig Albert Prinzregent Luitpold |
The Kaisers were the first German battleships to have steam turbines and superimposed turrets. Protection was also improved from the previous ships. It was originally planned that the Prinzregent Luitpold would be fitted with a diesel engine on the center shaft, but this was never implemented. |
Konig Class
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Grosser Kurfurst Konig Kronprinz / Kronprinz Wilhelm Markgraf |
The Konigs had improved protection due to the lack of wing turrets. As with the Prinzregent Luitpold, the cruising diesels intended for the Konigs were never fitted. At Jutland, several of the Konigs were badly damaged, but they were saved by their good armour and contruction. |
Bayern Class
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Baden Bayern Sachsen Wurttemberg |
The Bayerns were originally planned with 12 12" guns, but that would have required wing turrets, and along with the Queen Elizabeths being built with 15" guns, persueded the Germans to move up to 15" as well. |
Deutschland Class
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Admiral Graf Spee Admiral Scheer Deutschland / Lutzow |
The famous 'pocket battleships' were a product of the Treaty of Versailles and German ingenuity. Although excellent solutions to treaty limitations, they had little influence overseas, as no other navy had the same restrictions. |
Scharnhorst Class
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Gneisenau Scharnhorst |
The Scharnhorsts were begun under treaties limiting displacement to 10000 tons, but
the Anglo German Naval Agreement effectivly made these 36000 ton ships legal.
Scharnhorst can be distinguished by having the mainmast aft the catapult, whereas Gneisenaus was right behind the funnel. |
Bismarck Class
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Bismarck Tirpitz |
The greatest of the German battleships were designed with either diesel or turbo electric drive, but the units available were not considered powerful or reliable enough for such large ships. Although based loosely on the Scharnhorsts, the Bismarcks were better seaboats, and better protected. |
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