German battleship Schlesien

SMS "Schlesien" was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Deutschland class, commissioned in 1908 into the German Imperial Navy. Her sisters were "Deutschland", "Hannover", "Pommern" and "Schleswig-Holstein".

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Schlesien" was convert|413|ft|m|abbr=on at the waterline, and convert|418.66|ft|m|abbr=on overall. She had a beam of convert|73|ft|m|abbr=on and a draft of convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on, and displaced 13,993 tons fully laden. "Schlesien" was powered by 3 shaft triple expansion engines, which produced 19,000 ihp, and a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h).

Armament

"Schlesien's" main armament consisted of four convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. Her secondary battery was composed of fourteen convert|6.7|in|cm|abbr=on guns and twenty-two convert|3.4|in|cm|abbr=on inch guns, all casemated along the length of the ship, concentrated particularly amidships. "Deutschland" also mounted six convert|17.7|in|cm|abbr=on inch torpedo tubes.

Armor

"Schlesien" had an armored belt that was convert|9|in|cm|abbr=on inches thick at its strongest points, those which covered the ship's vitals, and tapered to convert|4|in|cm|abbr=on inches thick in less critical areas, such as the bow and stern. The turrets had convert|11|in|cm|abbr=on inches of armor protection, a full inch thicker than the preceding "Braunschweig" class. The deck was covered by convert|3|in|cm|abbr=on inches of armor plate.

ervice history

The start of World War I saw "Schlesien" serving alongside her sisterships in the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. She participated in the Battle of Jutland alongside her class-mates, as well as the "Braunschweig" class battleship "Hessen".

Being thoroughly obsolete, she was one of three old ships of the line, along with "Schleswig-Holstein" and "Hessen", that Germany was permitted to retain after the end of World War I, under the terms of Versailles Treaty. She was used thereafter mainly as a training ship, but did see some action in World War II providing artillery support to German land forces in the Baltic. She took part in the attack against Poland on 1 September 1939, along with her sister "Schleswig-Holstein". She was mined and scuttled at the end of World War II, used as a target by the Soviets after the war, and finally broken up between 1949-56, although remnants of her were still visible until the 1980s.

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/battleships/schlesien/schlesien.htm Maritimequest Schlesien Photo Gallery]
* [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/schlesien.htm]