Liner SMS Lothringen

The Liner SMS Lothringen belonged to the Braunschweig class and was one of the first ships of the Imperial Navy, which was equipped with the new 28 cm SK L / 40 guns. Also the medium artillery was equipped for the first time with guns of the type 17 cm SK L / 40.

 

Launching and design:

The keel laying of Lothringen took place on December 1, 1902 as a unit line ship of the Braunschweig class. The 5 mounted ships should replace the older ships of the Wittelsbach class and were in contrast to those due to the new armament significantly heavier.

For the first time, the 28 cm SK L / 40 guns developed by Krupp were used in double towers on bow and stern on ships. The medium artillery got also for the first time guns of the type 17 cm SK L / 40. Thus, the ships of the Braunschweig class belonged to the most heavily armed of the imperial navy in the time.

The launching took place on May 27, 1904, the commissioning on May 18, 1906.

 

Outline of the SMS Lothringen

Outline of the SMS Lothringen

 

 

 

History of the SMS Lothringen:

After commissioning and test drives the SMS Lothringen was assigned to the II. Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and until July 1914, the main tasks in maneuvers, training and trips abroad were divided. Due to the age and the rapid technical progress, the ships of the Braunschweig class in 1914 were already considered obsolete. The Lothringen was originally to be put out of service on August 17, 1914, by the outbreak of the First World War, however, the ship remained in the Imperial Navy.

 

Liner SMS Lothringen

Liner SMS Lothringen

 

 

 

Use in the war:

With the outbreak of the First World War, SMS Lothringen was used for coastal protection in the North Sea. On March 18, 1916, the ship was decommissioned because it, like its sister ships, had an insufficient underwater protection and firepower.

The heavy artillery was then dismantled and found use as a gun mainly on the Western Front. From July 1916 to September 1917 it was used as a guard ship for the Baltic entrances, then the ship ran into Wilhelmshaven and was used only drill and training ship.

After the capitulation of the German Empire, the Lothringen was one of the few ships that Germany remained under the terms of the ceasefire and could be used as a foundation for the new imperial navy.

 

 

 

Whereabouts:

In early 1919, the naval command began to rebuild the SMS Lothringen as the mothership for shallow minesweepers to accommodate up to 14 of the boats can. Already on March 2, 1920, however, the ship was decommissioned and assigned to the reserve fleet.

On March 31, 1931 then took the final deletion from the list of warships and the subsequent scrapping.

 

 

 

Ship data:

Name:  

SMS Lothringen

Country:  

German Empire

Ship Type:  

Liner

Class:  

Braunschweig-Class

Boatyard:  

Schichauwerke, Gdansk

Building-costs:  

23.801.000 Mark

Launched:  

May 27th, 1904

Commissioning:  

May 18th, 1906

Whereabouts:  

On March 31st, 1931 deleted from the list of warships and scrapped

Length:  

127,7 meters

Width:  

22,2 meters

Draft:  

Max. 8,16 meters

Displacement:  

Max. 14.394 Tons

Crew:  

743 Men

 

Drive:

 

14 coal / oil fired steam boilers
3 standing 3-cylinder
Triple expansion steam engine

Power:  

16.000 PSi

Maximum speed:  

18,7 kn

Armament:  

4 × 28 cm Rapid Fire Gun L / 40
in 2 double towers

14 × 17 cm Rapid Fire Gun L / 40
in casemates

18 × 8,8 cm Rapid Fire Gun L / 35

6 × torpedo tube 45 cm

 

Armor:  

Belt: 225 mm
Towers: 250 mm
Citadel: 140 mm
Deck: 40 mm
Slope: 75 mm

 

 

 

 

 

You can find the right literature here:

 

German Battleships 1914–18 (1): Deutschland, Nassau and Helgoland classes (New Vanguard)

German Battleships 1914–18 (1): Deutschland, Nassau and Helgoland classes (New Vanguard) Paperback – February 23, 2010

Supported by official documents, personal accounts, official drawings and specially commissioned artwork, this volume is an enlightening history of the Deutschland to Osfriesland classes. Detailing the last of the pre-dreadnaught battleship classes, this book goes on to explain the revolutionary developments that took place within the German Imperial Navy as they readied themselves for war. This included creating vessels with vast increases in size and armament. This account of design and technology is supplemented by individual ship histories detailing combat experience complete with first-hand accounts. The specially commissioned artwork also brings this history to life with recreations of the battleship Pommern fighting at Jutland and ships of the Osfriesland class destroying HMS Black Prince in a dramatic night-time engagement.

Click here!

 

 

The Imperial German Navy of World War I, Vol. 1 Warships: A Comprehensive Photographic Study of the Kaiser’s Naval Forces

The Imperial German Navy of World War I, Vol. 1 Warships: A Comprehensive Photographic Study of the Kaiser’s Naval Forces Hardcover – December 28, 2016

The Imperial German Navy of WWI is a series of books (Warships, Campaigns, & Uniforms) that provide a broad view of the Kaiser's naval forces through the extensive use of photographs. Every effort has been made to cover all significant areas during the war period. In addition to the primary use of photographs, technical information is provided for each warship along with its corresponding service history; with a special emphasis being placed on those warships that participated in the Battle of Skagerrak (Jutland). Countless sources have been used to establish individual case studies for each warship; multiple photos of each warship are provided. The entire series itself is unprecedented in its coverage of the Kaiser's navy.

Click here!

 

 

German Battlecruisers of World War One: Their Design, Construction and Operations

German Battlecruisers of World War One: Their Design, Construction and Operations Hardcover – November 4, 2014

This is the most comprehensive, English-language study of the German Imperial Navy's battlecruisers that served in the First World War. Known as Panzerkreuzer, literally "armored cruiser," the eight ships of the class were to be involved in several early North Sea skirmishes before the great pitched battle of Jutland where they inflicted devastating damage on the Royal Navy's battlecruiser fleet. This book details their design and construction, and traces the full service history of each ship, recounting their actions, drawing largely from first-hand German sources and official documents, many previously unpublished in English.

Click here!

 

 

The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871-1918

The Kaiser's Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871-1918 Hardcover – March 15, 2016

The battleships of the Third Reich have been written about exhaustively, but there is little in English devoted to their Second Reich predecessors. This new book fills an important gap in the literature of the period by covering these German capital ships in detail and studying the full span of battleship development during this period. The book is arranged as a chronological narrative, with technical details, construction schedules, and ultimate fates tabulated throughout, thus avoiding the sometimes disjointed structure that can result from a class-by-class approach. Heavily illustrated with line drawings and photographs, many from German sources, the book offers readers a fresh visual look at these ships. A key objective of the book is to make available a full synthesis of the published fruits of archival research by German writers found in the pre-World War II books of Koop & Schmolke, Großmer's on the construction program of the dreadnaught era, Forstmeier & Breyer on World War I projects, and Schenk & Nottelmann's papers in Warship International. As well as providing data not available in English-language books, these sources correct significant errors in standard English sources.

Click here!

 

 

 

 

 

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