The Bayern class of battleships were the last and best German Kaiserliche Marine battleships of World War I. The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Italy Russia United States Serbia Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Nicholas II Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Conrad von Hötzendorf İsmail Enver Ferdinand I Casualties...

Design

The class had a displacement of 32,000 tons and mounted eight 15" guns in four twin turrets. The secondary guns were placed in casemates just below the deckline. They were comparable to British battleships developed at the same time also using 15" guns. However the guns for the Bayern class used a lighter shell which gave poorer accuracy at long range. Also they were slower because Germany had no secure wartime supply of oil and therefore continued using coal.

General Characteristics

Source Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1922

• Displacement: 28000 tons standard, 31,700 tons full load
• Length: 179.8 m (589 feet)
• Beam: 30 m (98 ft)
• Draught: 9.4 m (31 ft)
• Machinery: 3 shaft geared turbines, 14 boilers 48,000 hp
• Speed: 21 knots
• Range: 5000 nm at 13 knots
• Armament: 8 15 inch (38 cm) (4 × 2), 16 5.9 inch (150 mm), 8 × 88 mm AA guns, 5 × 60 cm torpedo tubes
• Armour: 14 to 4.7 inch (350 mm -120 mm) belt, 14 in to 4 inch (350 mm to 100 mm turrets)
• Crew: 1187 to 1271

Ships

The class was planned to include four ships

• SMS Baden - Built by Schichau, Danzig, launched 30 October 1915, completed February 1917
• SMS Bayern- Built by Howaldtswerke, Kiel, launched 18 February 1915, completed 30 June 1916
• SMS Sachsen - Built by AG Vulcan, Hamburg, launched 20 June 1917, not completed
• SMS Württemberg- Built by Germaniawerft, Kiel, launched 21 September 1917, not completed

All were laid down by 1913, the Baden in late 1912. The last two were launched but never completed before the end of the First World War and were scrapped at their dockyards in 1920/21. SMS Baden was a Bayern-class battleship launched in 1916. ... For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... SMS Bayern was a Bayern-class battleship of the Kaiserliche Marine launched in 1916. ... Howaldtswerke is a German shipyard founded 1838 in Kiel. ... Kiel ( ) is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... SMS Sachsen was a Bayern class battleship launched but never completed for service in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. Sachsen was laid down as the third member of the Bayern class and the 44th battleship of the Imperial Navy. ... Hamburgs motto: May the posterity endeavour with dignity to conserve the freedom, which the forefathers acquired. ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... SMS Württemberg (1918) was a Bayern class battleship launched for the German Imperial Navy during World War I but never completed. ... Kiel ( ) is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

The Bayern and Baden were launched in 1915 missing the Battle of Jutland and seeing little action during the war. Bayern was damaged by a mine in the Gulf of Riga on 12 October 1917 during Operation Albion while bombarding Russian shore batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula, she was heavily flooded and brought into Kiel with great difficulty after 19 days. After the armistice the Bayern and Baden were taken to Scapa Flow and scuttled with the rest of the German fleet on 21 June 1919. Only the Baden was saved from sinking and it was carefully examined by the British. She was sunk as a target by the British in August 1921 Combatants Royal Navy (Grand Fleet) Kaiserliche Marine (High Seas Fleet) Commanders Sir John Jellicoe, Sir David Beatty Reinhard Scheer, Franz von Hipper Strength 28 battleships, 9 battlecruisers, 8 heavy cruisers, 26 light cruisers, 78 destroyers 16 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 11 light cruisers, 61 torpedo-boats Casualties 6... The Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga (or Bay of Riga, Latvian Rīgas jūras līcis, Estonian Liivi Laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Operation Albion was the German military and naval operation in October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa (Ösel), Hiiumaa {Dagö} and Muhu (Moon). ... Scapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

• The basic design of the Bayern class was carried over into the Bismarck class twenty years later.
• The Bayern class strongly resembled the Revenge class.

The German Battleship Bismarck The Bismarck class battleships were a class of extremely powerful capital ships built by Germany. ... HMS Royal Sovereign The Revenge-class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916. ...

See also

• List of German Imperial Navy ships
• List of naval ships of Germany