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fighting ships of the world

KAISERLICHE MARINE (GERMANY)

CAPITAL SHIPS

SACHSEN battleships

Sachsen

Name No Yard No Builder Laid down Launched Comp Fate
Sachsen   210 Vulcan, Hamburg 7.4.1914 21.11.1916 --- sold incomplete 11.1919
Württemberg   19 Germaniawerft, Kiel 4.1.1915 20.6.1917 --- sold incomplete 11.1919

 

Displacement normal, t

28800

Displacement full, t

32500

Length, m

182.4 oa 181.8 wl

Breadth, m

30.0

Draught, m

8.43 mean 9.40 deep load

No of shafts

3

Machinery

Sachsen: CODAS: 2 Parsons steam turbines, 9 Marine boilers, 1 MAN diesel

Württemberg: 3 AEG-Vulcan steam turbines, 12 Marine boilers

Power, h. p.

Sachsen: 42000 + 12000 = 54000

Württemberg: 48000

Max speed, kts

Sachsen: 22.2

Württemberg: 22

Fuel, t

Sachsen: coal 2700 + oil 1300

Württemberg: coal 3100 + oil 900

Endurance, nm(kts)

5000(12)

Armour, mm

belt: 350 - 120, bulkheads: 300 - 140, deck: 100 - 60, turrets: 350 - 100, barbettes: 330 - 25, casemates: 170, CT: 400 - 170

Armament

4 x 2 - 380/42 SK L/45 C/13, 16 x 1 - 149/42 SK L/45 C/09, 8 x 1 - 88/45 FlaK L/45 C/13, 5 - 600 TT (1 bow, 4 beam)

Complement

Sachsen: 1165

Württemberg: 1196

Project history: These ships were slightly lengthened Bayerns, Sachsen being built under the 1914-15 programme and Württemberg under War Estimates, and would have been similar in appearance except for higher funnels in Sachsen.
    The designed armament was unchanged except that the 38cm mountings were Drh LC/14 with 20° elevation, and TT would certainly have been reduced to 3. Armour was also as in Bayern with a few exceptions.
    In Sachsen the centre shaft was to be diesel-powered and the two outer steam with 3 oil- and 6 coal-fired boilers and 2 sets of turbines in 4 engine rooms, while in Württemberg there were 3 oil- and 9 coal-fired boilers with3 sets of turbines in 6 engine rooms. Range was to be 2000nm at 12kts on diesel alone.

Ship protection: The main 350mm belt ran from 1.8m above lwl to 0.4m below between end barbettes, tapering to 170mm at the lower edge 1.7m below lwl. Between main and upper decks it was 250mm. Forward the armour was 200-150mm ending 15m from the bows and aft 200-120mm. The barbettes were 350-250mm reduced to 170mm behind the battery armour, 200-75mm behind the 150mm side and 115-25mm behind the 350mm. The turrets had 350mm faces, 250mm sides, 290mm rears and 200-100mm roofs.  The armour deck was 30mm amidships, 60mm forward and 1120-60mm aft while between end barbettes the upper deck was 30mm outside the battery and 25mm as the battery floor and the forecastle deck 30mm over the latter (40mm near the centreline amidships). The torpedo bulkhead was 50mm, and was continued as a 30mm splinter bulkhead to the upper deck. Fwd CT had 400mm sides and 170mm roof, aft CT had 170mm sides and 80mm roof. Sachsen had a structure protecting the top of the diesel engine for about halfway between armour and main decks. This was 200-140mm with 80mm roof, and both ships are shown with all barbettes 40mm behind the 350mm belt, and with the armour deck 50mmm over some areas amidships.

© Ivan Gogin, 2014