HMS Colossus Battleship

The HMS Colossus battleship was a British dreadnought which was part of the Royal Navy Grand Fleet during World War I. She had been laid down in July 1909, at the shipyards of Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineerings, on the River Clyde. Having been launched in 1910, she was commissioned in 1911 after one-year period of sea trials. She was one of a class of two dreadnoughts; the other was HMS Hercules. They succeeded the Bellerophon class of three capital ships.

Along with her sister ship, HMS Colossus battleship had much thicker armor than other British dreadnoughts. It was improved up to 11-inch (279-mm) thick on the main belt and barbettes, thus returning to the HMS Dreadnought protection standard. This mighty vessel bristled with naval guns of different calibers; ten 305-mm (12-inch) mounted in five twin turrets; sixteen 102-mm (4-inch), and four 47-mm guns, plus three 457-mm (18-inch) torpedo tubes. Both ships were powered by four Parsons steam turbines arranged in two sets.

The HMS Colossus was part of the Grand Fleet, under Ad. John Jellicoe, when World War I broke out in August 1914. She took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. She was struck twice on the port side hull, but she was damaged only slightly. Then she would be assigned to patrolling the waters of the North Sea. After the war, she was deemed obsolete and used as target in 1923. She was scrapped in 1928.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Length: 166.4 m (546 ft)

Beam: 25.9 m (85 ft).

Draft: 8.7 m (28.5 ft)

Displacement: 19,680 tons (empty)

Propulsion: 4 Parsons steam engines, with 4 shafts, and 18 boilers, generating 25,000 SHP.

Maximum Speed: 21 knots

Range: 6,620 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Crew: 813 sailors and officers.

Below, HMS Colossus battleship in June 1914, two months before the war broke out.

The British dreadnought in July 1912.

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König Class Battleship

The König class battleship was a one of a series of four German dreadnoughts, which were laid down in 1911. They were well-protected by thick armor and they were armed with ten 305-mm (12 in.) and fourteen 150-mm (5.9 in.) naval guns. The class comprised the König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf, and Kronprinz. All four were commissioned beteen 1914 and 1915.

The König class battleship looked very similar to the Kaiser class. However, their main turrets layout was different as they had been rearranged, with all of them being mounted on the centerline. They had been laid down in 1911, and, at the time of the Battle of Jutland, they were the most advanced dreadnoughts in the High Seas Fleet. Their ten 305-mm guns were mounted in five twin-turrets along the centerline. Each of the 150-mm guns was mounted singly in casemates. Like the other German WW1 dreadnought battleship classes, they were propelled by modern Parsons steam engines.

During the Battle of Jutland, König was struck by one 380-mm (15-in) and nine 343-mm shells; Grosser Kurfürst by five 380-mm and three 343-mm shells; and Markgraff by three 380-mm shells, while Kronprinz was not hit at all, coming out unscathed. Despite being struck several time by big-caliber guns, none of them sank. Grosser Kurfürst got damaged but she managed to limp back home to the port of Kiel. Kronprinz and Grosser Kurfürst would be hit again after the battle, at the end of 1916, but by a British submarine torpedoes. However, they did not sink as they were only lightly damaged, being able to sail back home.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Length: 175.4 m (575.5 ft)

Beam: 29.5 m (96.8 ft)

Draft: 9.3 m (30.5 ft)

Displacement: 25.309 tons (empty); 29.200 tons (full load)

Propulsion: 3-shaft Parsons/Bergmann steam turbines, with 12 boilers, producing 31,000-HP.

Maximum Speed: 21 knots.

Range: 10,000 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Armor: 350-mm on the belt; 305/130mm on bulkheads.

Compliment: 1,315 sailors and officers.

Below, the König in 1915, the flagship of her class.

 

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Nassau Class Battleship

The Nassau class battleship was a powerful and well-armored dreadnought-type battleship, bristling with twelve 280-mm and twenty four 150-mm naval guns. It was one of four identical war vessels in service with the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) during World War I. They had all been completed and commissioned by 1910 and they comprised the Nassau, Posen, Rheinland, and Westfalen.

These new German warships were the answer to the British Royal Navy HMS Dreadnought, which had been launched in 1906. Thus, the German Nassau class battleship was the first German dreadnought to enter service with the Kaiserliche Marine in October 1909. With this new class, it was the first time the Germans fitted modern steam engines in their capital ships. Despite having survived World War I, they all were decommissioned in 1920, as it was part of the Treaty of Versailles sanctions against Germany. They had to reduce the tonnage of the navy.

All four Nassau class battleships took part in the Battle of Jutland on May 31-June 1, 1916, with Nassau receiving two hits that caused moderate damage. Later that year, Westfalen would be torpedoed by a British submarine on August 19, 1916, causing heavy damage. However, she would manage to return to the port of Kiel for repair. Rheinland, on the other hand, would run aground at the end of the war and had to be stripped of her guns and other loads to be able to sail back to Germany.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought

Length: 146.1 m (479.3 feet)

Beam: 26.9 m (88.4 feet)

Draft: 8.9 m (29.3 feet)

Displacement: 21,000 tons (full load)

Armor: between 300-mm and 80-mm-thick on the belt, and 280-mm and 90-mm of thickness on the bulkheads.

Propulsion: 3-shaft, vertical triple-expansion steam engines, with 3 cylinders each, delivering 22,000 HP; they were supplied by 12 boilers.

Speed: 19.5 knots.

Range: 9,400 nautical miles at 10 knots.

Crew: 1,139 sailors and officers

Below, the Naussau battleship, the first of her class, in 1912.

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Kaiser Class Battleship

The Kaiser class battleship was one of five German dreadnoughts, which were built at the beginning of the 20th century. Along with the Nassau and König class, they took part in the naval battles of World War I, especially in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. With the Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany after the war, all these heavy capital ships would be decommissioned and scrapped to reduce the total displacement of the German Navy.

The Kaiser class battleship had stronger armor protection than their British counterparts. And by the time World War I broke out, they had already been upgraded with powerful Parsons steam turbines and new boilers, which could generate up 55,000 HP. All these dreadnoughts were fitted with ten 305-mm (12-in) guns and fourteen 150-mm guns. The ten 305-mm naval cannons were mounted in five twin turrets, whose layout was similar to that of the British Colossus class.

The Kaiser class of dreadnoughts comprised Prinzregent Luitpold, Friedrich der Grosse, König Albert, Kaiserin, and, of course, the Kaiser. The last one was the first to be laid down, in 1910. By 1914, all of them had been completed and commissioned. That year, Friedrich der Grosse was elected to be refitted as the fleet flagship. she was equipped with a heavy foremast, which gave her a difference appearance from her sister ships. All these German capital ships were at the Battle of Jutland, in which the Kaiser was hit twice but survived.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought

Navy: Kaiserliche Marine

Length: 172.4 m (565.6 feet)

Beam: 29 m (95.2 feet)

Draft: 9.1 m (30 feet)

Displacement: 27,400 tons (full load)

Propulsion: 3-shaft Parson/Schichau steam turbines, and 16 boilers, producing an average of 31,000 HP. (55,000 HP in Kaiser).

Maximum Speed: 22 knots

Range: 9,500 nautical miles.

Crew: 1,250 sailors and officers.

Below, photo of Prinzregent Luitpold six months before WW1.

Below, the Kaiser, the first capital ship of her class, in the Kaiserliche Marine.

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Italian Battleship Dante Alighieri

The Italian battleship Dante Alighieri was the first Italian dreadnought war vessel of the Regia Marina. It was laid down at the shipyard of Costellammare di Stabia in 1909 and it was launched the following year, entering service in 1913. It was armed with twelve 305-mm (12-inch) naval guns, which were set up in four triple-gun turrets. It was also fitted with twenty 120-mm guns.

During World War I, the Italian battleship Dante Alighieri was the flagship of the First Battle Squadron which moored at Taranto. Along with the Conte di Cavour and Guilio Cesare, she was assigned to patrolling the waters of the Mediterranean between the Adriatic and Ionian Sea to intercept any warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Having survived the war, she would be decommissioned in 1928.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Length: 168.1 m

Beam:  26.6 m

Displacement: 21,900 tons (full load)

Draft:  8.8 m

Powerplant: 4 steam turbines, with 4 shafts; these were fed by 23 water-tube boilers. It had four smokestacks.

Maximum Speed: 22 knots

Range: 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km)

Compliment: 990 sailors and officers.

Below, battleship Dante Alighieri after WW1, in 1919.

The same capital ship in 1912, before it was commissioned.

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Italian Ironclad Principe di Carignano

The Italian ironclad Principe di Carignano was a pre-dreadnought armored warship in service with the Italian naval forces fighting for the unification of the country. It had been launched in 1864 and commissioned in 1865. It was the flagship of her class, which included Messina, and Conte Verde. It was decommissioned in 1875.

Principe di Carignano and Messina had first been designed as screw frigates by naval engineer Felici Mattei . However, while they were still in the shipyard, they decided to convert them into two ironclads, with their wooden sides being covered with 120-mm-thick iron plates. Meanwhile, the third warship, Conte Verde, was designed from the start as an ironclad frigate by engineer Giuseppe De Luca.

Like the other two warships of her class, the Italian ironclad Principe di Carignano was armed with ten 203-mm-caliber and twelve 164-mm-caliber naval guns. She took part in the Lissa naval campaign, bombarding Comisa, on July 18, 1866, and supporting the attack on Porto San Giorgio the following day. During the war of unification, she suffered slight damage, but she would later be repaired.

Specifications

Type: broadside ironclad

Displacement: 3,912 tons (full load)

Length: 73 m

Beam: 15.1 m

Draft: 7.2 m

Propulsion: 1 shaft, single expansion, 6-cylinder engine, plus boilers, producing 1,968 HP.

Maximum Speed: 10.2 knots

Armor: 120-mm iron plates

Armament: 203-mm and 164-mm guns

Compliment: 572 sailors and officers

Below, the Italian ironclad Principe di Carignano. Daguerrotype taken in 1871.

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U-Boat Type XXI

The U-boat Type XXI was a German submarine in service with the Kriegsmarine in 1945, at the end of World War II. It was an advanced electro-diesel U-boat, whose main characteristic was stealth; effectively, it was extremely silent, compared to Allied submarines of the time. The reason for this lay on its powerful and well-made electric motor: a Siemens-Schuckertwerke GU 365/30, which had an output of 1,840 Kw. But it ran smoothly and silently. Hence, the name "electroboat". It also had a new hull design.

Below, three Type XXIs; U-2502, U-2514, and U-2518. Photo taken after the war in 1946.

The first Type XXI was launched as U-2501 on May 12, 1944, under the command of Otto Hübschen. After a series of trials, which went on for almost a year, the first operational U-boat Type XXI was the U-2511, which entered service with the Kriegsmarine in early March 1945. By then Germany was losing the war as the Red Army was already at the gates of Berlin. Under the command of Korvkpt Adalbert Schnee, the U-2511 sailed from Kiel to Norway on March 18, 1945, two months before the end of the war.

The U-2511 suffered a series of light damage sustained during very deep diving tests. This kept it in the yard for reparation for a short time. Meanwhile, six other Type XXI U-boats were already in service. The U-2511 was back at sea when the order to stop hostilities came. However, this did not prevent Schnee from launching a mock attack against a heavily defended British cruiser. The German boat broke through the British escort screen and the commander continued until the target was in the sights, then Schnee aborted the attack and ordered the submarine into deeper depths, without being detected by the powerful British sonars. Thus, he proved that the new U-boat lived up to expectations.

Technical Characteristics

The pressure hull of the Type XXI U-boat consisted of 8 prefabricated sections, with three sections built exclusively by the assembly shipyards at Blohm & Voss, in Hamburg, and AG Weser, in Bremen. The other sections were made at secondary construction yards. It had a double hull; the outer hull and the pressure hull. Aside from its extremely efficient electric motor, the Type XXI was equipped with two MA, four-stroke, 6-cylinder, diesel engines, which provided power for surface cruising and snorkel operations.

This new German U-boat established a radical change in submarine warfare. It was no longer necessary to use the tale-tell periscope to detect and attack the enemy. Thus, optical means was ruled out. A high technological device for orientation and detection had been developed. It was called the "balcony hearing device". It picked up the propeller sounds of an enemy convoy or fleet at much greater distance than had previously been the case using the old optical observation of the periscope. The device sent out impulses which was reflected by the underwater surfaces of the enemy surface ships. The impulses bounced back to the submarine, indicating the direction and distance.

Specifications

Type: electro-diesel submarine

Length:  76.70 m (outer hull); 60.50 m (pressure hull)

Beam: 6.60 m (outer hull); 5.30 m (pressure hull)

Draft: 6.86 m

Displacement: 1,819 tons (submerged); 1,621 tons (surfaced)

Powerplant: two SSW electric motor-generators, GU-365/30, delivering 2,500 HP at 520 rpm, for submerged navigation. Two MAN 6-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engines, putting out 2,000 HP for surface cruising.

Maximum Speed: 17.2 knots (underwater); 15.6 knots (surface).

Range: 5,100 nautical miles at 15.6 knots; 11,150 nautical miles at 12 knots.

Maximum Depth: 300 meters

Armament: six 533-mm torpedo tubes, with 20 torpedoes.

Below, the aft portion of the German submarine showing the two propellers and the rudder, in the dry dock.

One of the 8 sections that made up the U-boat. This one held the two diesel engines. You can notice that one is already inside.

 

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