SMS Zähringen
Lithograph of Zähringen in 1902
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History | |
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Germany | |
Name | Zähringen |
Namesake | House of Zähringen |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Laid down | 21 November 1899 |
Launched | 12 June 1901 |
Commissioned | 25 October 1902 |
Recommissioned | 8 August 1928 |
Reclassified | Converted to target ship, 1928 |
Stricken | 11 March 1920 |
Fate | Sunk as a blockship 26 March 1945. Broken up 1949-1950 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Wittelsbach-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
Displacement |
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Length | 126.8 m (416 ft 0 in) |
Beam | 22.8 m (74 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 7.95 m (26 ft 1 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Range | 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi); 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
SMS Zähringen (
Zähringen saw active duty in I Squadron of the German fleet for the majority of her career. During this period, she was occupied with extensive annual training and making good-will visits to foreign countries. The training exercises conducted during this period provided the framework for the High Seas Fleet's operations during World War I. She was decommissioned in September 1910, but returned to service briefly for training in 1912, where she accidentally rammed and sank a torpedo boat. After the start of World War I in August 1914, Zähringen was brought back to active duty in IV Battle Squadron. The ship saw limited duty in the Baltic Sea, including during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915, but saw no combat with Russian forces. By late 1915, crew shortages and the threat of British submarines forced the Kaiserliche Marine to withdraw older battleships like Zähringen.
Instead, Zähringen was relegated to a
Description
After the German
Zähringen was 126.8 m (416 ft 0 in)
Zähringen's armament consisted of a
Service history
Construction to 1904
Zähringen was ordered under the contract name "E", as a new unit for the fleet.
A major training cruise followed the next month; on 10 May the ships departed the
Zähringen and the rest of I Squadron participated in an exercise in the Skagerrak from 11 to 21 January 1904. Further squadron exercises followed from 8 to 17 March, and a major fleet exercise took place in the North Sea in May. In July, I Squadron and
1905–1914
Zähringen took part in a pair of training cruises with I Squadron during 9–19 January and 27 February – 16 March 1905. Individual and squadron training followed, with an emphasis on gunnery drills. On 12 July, the fleet began a major training exercise in the North Sea. The fleet then cruised through the
The fleet undertook a heavier training schedule in 1906 than in previous years. The ships were occupied with individual, division and squadron exercises throughout April. Starting on 13 May, major fleet exercises took place in the North Sea and lasted until 8 June with a cruise around the
The first quarter of 1907 followed the previous pattern and, on 16 February, the Active Battle Fleet was re-designated the
On 21 September 1910, Zähringen was decommissioned and her crew was transferred to the new
World War I
At the start of World War I, Zähringen was mobilized as part of IV Battle Squadron, along with her four sister ships and the battleships
Starting on 3 September, IV Squadron, assisted by the armored cruiser Blücher, conducted a sweep into the Baltic. The operation lasted until 9 September and failed to bring Russian naval units to battle.[23] Two days later the ships were transferred to the North Sea, though they stayed there only briefly, returning to the Baltic on 20 September. From 22 to 26 September, the squadron took part in a sweep into the eastern Baltic in an unsuccessful attempt to find and destroy Russian warships.[22] From 4 December 1914 to 2 April 1915, the ships of IV Squadron were tasked with coastal defense duties along Germany's North Sea coast against incursions from the British Royal Navy.[24]
The
From 27 May to 4 July, Zähringen was back in the North Sea, patrolling the mouths of the
The following month, the naval high command began an operation against the
The Germans launched their attack on 8 August, initiating the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. Minesweepers attempted to clear a path through the Irbe Strait, covered by Braunschweig and Elsass, while Zähringen and the rest of the squadron remained outside the strait. The Russian battleship Slava attacked the Germans in the strait, forcing them to withdraw.[24] During the action, the cruiser Thetis and the torpedo boat S144 were damaged by mines and the torpedo boats T52 and T58 were mined and sunk. Schmidt withdrew his ships to re-coal and Prince Heinrich debated making another attempt, as by that time it had become clear that the German Army's advance toward Riga had stalled. Nevertheless, Prince Heinrich decided to try to force the channel a second time, but now two dreadnought battleships from I Squadron would cover the minesweepers. Zähringen was instead left behind in Libau.[26]
On 9 September, Zähringen and her four sisters sortied in an attempt to locate Russian warships off Gotland, but returned to port two days later without having engaged any opponents.[26] Additionally, the threat from submarines in the Baltic convinced the German navy to withdraw the elderly Wittelsbach-class ships from active service.[27] Zähringen and most of the other IV Squadron ships left Libau on 10 November, bound for Kiel; upon arrival the following day, they were designated the Reserve Division of the Baltic. The ships were anchored in Schilksee in Kiel. On 31 January 1916, the division was dissolved, and the ships were dispersed for subsidiary duties.[26]
Zähringen was initially used as a training ship in Kiel. In 1917, the ship was used to train stokers but then became a target ship for torpedo boats and the old ironclad Württemberg, which had by that time become a torpedo training ship.[7][8] Later, the Kaiserliche Marine considered replacing the cruiser Kaiserin Augusta, then the gunnery training ship, with Zähringen, and work began to refit her for this duty on 22 July 1918. The repairs and modifications had not been completed by the end of the war. The ship was left in Germany, and on 13 December was placed out of service.[28]
Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine
According to Article 181 of the
The ship had its engine system overhauled; the three-shaft arrangement was replaced by a pair of 3-cylinder, vertical triple expansion engines. These were supplied with steam by two naval oil-fired, water-tube boilers. The system was designed to be operated remotely via wireless telegraph, with the receiver located deep inside the ship behind heavy armor protection so it would not be damaged by fire. The new propulsion system provided a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph). The superstructure was also cut down, removing all extraneous structures, and the hull was extensively modified. The
Zähringen participated in her first gunfire training session on 8 August 1928, in a ceremony held for President Paul von Hindenburg. During the exercise, the old battleship Elsass fired at Zähringen.[30] Over the course of the next sixteen years, she served as a target vessel for the Reichsmarine and then the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany, together with the old battleship Hessen.[34] This period revealed that the addition of cork, meant to help keep the ship afloat in the event of a major hull breach, was a poor choice, as it caught fire easily. The modification of the ship's propulsion system also proved to be a mistake, as the ship's speed was too low, and it hindered her maneuverability. These experiences affected the conversion of Hessen, and neither mistake was repeated when that vessel was converted in the mid-1930s.[35]
Zähringen continued on in service through
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
- ^ Sondhaus, pp. 180–189, 216–218, 221–225.
- ^ Herwig, p. 43.
- ^ Lyon, p. 248.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d e f Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 126.
- ^ a b c d e Gröner, p. 17.
- ^ Herwig, p. 45.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 33.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 48–51.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 52.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 134.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 58.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 59.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, p. 60.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 5, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Staff, p. 30.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 92.
- ^ Halpern, p. 185.
- ^ a b c d e f Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 93.
- ^ a b Halpern, p. 192.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 94.
- ^ Herwig, p. 168.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, pp. 126–127.
- ^ Treaty of Versailles, Article 181.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 127.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 128.
- ^ Gröner, p. 174.
- ^ Gröner, p. 176.
- ^ a b Ciupa, pp. 106–107.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, pp. 127–128.
References
- Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Ciupa, Heinz (1979). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1939–45 [The German Warships 1939–45] (in German). Baden Erich Pabel. OCLC 561148977.
- Grießmer, Axel (1999). Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine: 1906–1918; Konstruktionen zwischen Rüstungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz [The Battleships of the Imperial Navy: 1906–1918; Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5985-9.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
- Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 5. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0456-9.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 8. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.
- Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918. Vol. 1. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-467-1.
Further reading
- Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2001). Die Panzer- und Linienschiffe der Brandenburg-, Kaiser Friedrich III-, Wittlesbach-, Braunschweig- und Deutschland-Klasse [The Armored and Battleships of the Brandenburg, Kaiser Friedrich III, Wittelsbach, Braunschweig, and Deutschland Classes] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-6211-8.
- Scheer, Reinhard (1920). Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War. London: Cassell and Company. OCLC 2765294.