Bayern class battleship
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The Bayern class of battleships were the last and best German Kaiserliche Marine battleships of World War I.
The class had a displacement of 32,000 tons and mounted eight 15" guns in four turrets. The medium guns were placed in sponsons just below the deckline. They were comparable to British battleships developed at the same time also using 15" guns. However the guns for the Bayern class used a lighter shell which gave poorer accuracy at long range.
The class was planned to included four ships
- SMS Baden
- SMS Bayern.
- Wurttemberg
- Sachsen
All were laid down by 1913, the Baden in late 1912. The last two were launched but never completed before the end of the First World War and were scrapped at their dockyards in 1920/21. The Bayern and Baden were launched in 1916 missing the Battle of Jutland and seeing little action during the war. After the armistice the Bayern and Baden were taken to Scapa Flow and scuttled with the rest of the German fleet. Only the Baden was saved from sinking and it was carefully examined by the British.
- The basic design of the Bayern class was carried over into the Bismarck class twenty years later.
- The Bayern class strongly resembled the HMS Revenge (06)zh:巴伐利亚级战列舰