The Bayern class battleship was one of a series of two German dreadnoughts which saw combat action in World War I. Although a total of four battleships had originally been planned, only two entered service with the Kaiserliche Marine; the SMS Bayern and the SMS Baden, with the former being commissioned in July 1916, and the latter in March 1917. SMS Sachsen and Würtemberg were never completed.
The Bayern class battleship was the last battleship class to be built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy). They marked a shift in German naval thinking, with both firepower and armor being equal to those on the British Royal Navy capital ships. The major feature was the new eight 380-mm (15-inch) naval guns, which were set up in four twin turrets. These had a maximum elevation of 16 degrees, firing 750-kg shells to a distance of 20 km (22,200 yards).
The hull of the Bayern class battleship was slightly longer than that of the König class, and all four gun turrets were mounted on the ship centerline, with two located fore, on the bow portion deck, and two aft. Another innovation of these two new dreadnoughts was the use of a heavy tripod foremast, rather than a pole, to support the fire-control position.
SMS Bayern joined the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine just after the Battle of Jutland. During patrol missions in the Baltic Sea, she hit a mine and was damaged. However, she managed to sail back to home port for repairs. After the war, she was scuttled at Scapa Flow and recovered for scrapping in the 1930s. SMS Baden, on the other hand, joined the German fleet in March 1917 and served as the German Navy flagship until the end of the war. She was also scuttled at Scapa Flow.
Specifications
Type: Super dreadnought
Displacement: 28,074 tons (standard); 31,690 tons (full loaded)
Length: 179.8 m (589.8 feet)
Beam: 30 m (98.4 feet)
Draft: 9.4 m (30.8 feet)
Propulsion: 3 Parsons steam turbines, with 3 shafts, fed by 14 boilers, generating 48,000 HP.
Maximum Speed: 21 knots
Range: 5,000 nautical miles at 13 knots
Armament: eight 380-mm guns; sixteen 150-mm and eight 88-mm secondary guns.
Crew: 1,271 sailors and officers
Below, a clear aerial view of SMS Bayern in August 1916.
SMS Baden in the Summer of 1918.
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