SMS Thüringen

SMS "Thüringen" was a "Helgoland" class Dreadnought battleship of the Kaiserliche Marine.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Thüringen" was convert|167.2|m|ft|abbr=on long, had a beam of convert|28.5|m|ft|abbr=on, and a draught of convert|8.94|m|ft|abbr=on. The ship displaced 22,808 tonnes with a normal load, and 24,700 tonnes fully laden. The ship was propelled by 3 shaft, 3 cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, which produced 22,000 shp and a top speed of 20.8 knots. "Thüringen" had a range of 5,500 nautical miles at 10 knots. "Thüringen" and her sisters were distinguished from the preceding "Nassau" class battleships by having three funnels, compared to one on the earlier ships, and the lack of the large crane amidships.

Armament

"Thüringen" was armed with twelve convert|12|in|cm|abbr=on guns, mounted in double turrets in the same hexagonal configuration as the preceding "Nassau" class, with one turret fore, one aft, and four amidships, two on either side of the ship. The secondary battery comprised fourteen convert|5.9|in|cm|abbr=on guns and fourteen convert|3.4|in|cm|abbr=on guns singly mounted along the length of the ship. "Thüringen" was also armed with six convert|19.7|in|cm|abbr=on torpedo tubes.

Armor

"Thüringen" had an armored belt that was convert|12|in|cm|abbr=on thick in the strongest area, and tapered to convert|3|in|cm|abbr=on inches in less critical areas such as the bow and stern. The barbettes were protected by armor that was 12 inches thick at the strongest point, and only two inches in less exposed areas. The turrets themselves were also protected by 12 inches of armor plating. This was an improvement in protection compared to the previous "Nassau" class battleships, which had convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on of armor on both the barbettes and turrets. The deck was covered by armor convert|2.5|in|cm|abbr=on thick.

ervice history

At the start of World War I, "Thüringen" was assigned to the I Battle Squadron. Under the command of Captain H Küsel, "Thüringen" fought at the Battle of Jutland, alongside her sisterships. At around 02:00, "Thüringen" destroyed the armored cruiser HMS "Black Prince" in a massive explosion. During the battle, "Thüringen" fired 107 twelve inch rounds, while sustaining no damage.

After the end of World War I, all four "Helgoland" class battleships were surrendered as prizes of war to the Allies, with "Thüringen" going to France. "Thüringen" was transferred to Brest, France in early 1920, but off the coast of Cherbourg, the German crew attempted to scuttle the ship. The French managed to bring the heavily flooded ship into Cherbourg. In February 1921, "Thüringen" was towed to Brest, where she had her armament removed. Upon completion, she was towed again, to Gâvres, which was the location of a gunnery training base for the French Navy. The ship was later beached, and the hull broke in two. The wreck was sold for scrap in March 1923, and was partially broken up in situ, however, a section of the hull over 350 ft long still remains in water less than 30 ft deep.cite web | title=The Wreck of the SMS Thuringen|url=http://www.bobhenneman.info/Thuringenwreck.htm|accessdate=January 25| accessyear=2008] The hull itself has been almost completely destroyed due to wave action in the shallow water.

References

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/battleship/sms-helgoland.html Class information]
* [http://german-navy.tripod.com/sms_bb_helgoland-thur-photos.htm SMS Thüringen]
* [http://www.german-navy.de/hochseeflotte/ships/battleships/thuringen/index.html Thüringen]