| content | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 SMS Elsaß |
|
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Elsaß |
| Namesake: | Alsace (spelled "Elsaß" in German) |
| Builder: | Schichau, Danzig |
| Laid down: | 1901 |
| Launched: | 26 May 1903 |
| Commissioned: | 29 November 1904 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1936 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Braunschweig class |
| Displacement: | 14,167 tons |
| Length: | 419 ft (128 m) |
| Beam: | 73 ft (22 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | 3 shafts triple expansion 17,000 ihp |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,200 nautical miles (10,000 km); 10 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement: | 743 |
| Armament: | 4 × 28 cm (11 in) / 40 caliber guns 14 × 17 cm (6.7 in) guns 14 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | Belt 9–4 inches turrets 10 inches deck 3 inches |
SMS Elsaß (SMS Elsass) was the second of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class in the German Imperial Navy laid down in 1901 and commissioned 1904. She was named after the city of Alsace, a current region of France that at the time belonged to Germany. Her sister ships were Braunschweig, Hessen, Preußen (Preussen), and Lothringen.
Contents |
Design
Dimensions and machinery
Elsaß was 413ft long at the waterline, and 419 ft overall. She had a beam of 73 ft and a draught of 26 ft 7 in. Elsaß displaced 14,167 tons, had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h) and a range of 5,200 nautical miles (9,600 km) at 10 knots (20 km/h).
Armament
Elsaß' main armament consisted of four 28 cm (11 in) guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the superstructure. The secondary armament was comprised of fourteen 17 cm (6.7 in) guns, fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns, and four machine guns. She was also armed with six 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes.
Armor
The ship had an armored belt that was 22.8 cm (9.0 in) thick at its strongest point, and tapered to 10.1 cm (4.0 in) at the thinnest. The turrets had 25.4 cm (10.0 in) of armor plate. The decks were covered with 7.62 cm (3.00 in) of armor.
Service history
Elsaß was launched on 26 May 1903, and commissioned into the German Navy on 29 November 1904. Elsaß began service during World War I as a coastal defence ship alongside her sisterships in the IV Battle Squadron. On 26 August 1914, Elsaß attempted to aid the grounded cruiser Magdeburg. In July 1916, she was removed from front-line service to be used as training ship until the end of the war.
She served in the Reichsmarine from 1924 to 1930. Elsaß was withdrawn from service on 25 February 1930 and struck from the Navy list on 31 March 1931. She was used as a hulk in Wilhelmshaven until she was scrapped in 1936.
External links
|
||||||||
