Brandenburg - class battleship The four " Brandenburg " - class pre - dreadnought battleships were Germany ' s first ocean - going battleships . They were also the first German warship , of any type , to be fitted with wireless communications . The class comprised , , , and . All were laid down in 1890 and completed by 1893 , except for " Weissenburg " , which was completed in 1894 . The lead ship , " Brandenburg " , was built at the cost of 9 . 3 million Marks and " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " cost 11 . 23 million Marks . The British Royal Navy derisively referred to the ships as the " whalers . " " Brandenburg " and her three sisters served in a wide range of roles . In 1900 , the four ships were deployed to China during the Boxer Rebellion , after which they were substantially modernized . In 1910 , two of the ships , " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " and " Weissenburg " , were sold to the Ottoman Navy . " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " was sunk in 1915 by a British submarine while " Weissenburg " survived the war , only to be broken up in 1938 . " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " saw limited service during World War I as coastal defense ships before they were withdrawn for auxiliary duties . Both ships were sold for scrapping in May 1919 . Design . The " Brandenburg " - class ships were the first ocean - going battleships built by the German Navy . They followed a number of coastal defense ships , including the and es that were only intended for local defense of the German coastline . Design work on the ships began in late 1888 , under the leadership of Vice Admiral Alexander Graf von Monts , who also secured funding for the new ships from the Reichstag . Admiral von Monts was the first naval officer appointed by the recently crowned Kaiser Wilhelm II . The " Brandenburg " - class ships were the foundation of what eventually became the High Seas Fleet . As they represented a shift in the strategic outlook of the German navy , the traditional method of ship construction , which relied heavily on foreign models , was abandoned . Some experimentation was implemented in the design process , particularly in the armor types that were installed on the ships . " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " were equipped with compound armor that consisted of several layers of different materials , while the latter two ships received Harvey nickel - steel alloy armor plating . The addition of a third main battery turret was also a significant innovation . While a novel concept , the midships turret caused prohibitive blast damage to the surrounding superstructure when fired , which led to the idea being abandoned . This arrangement has led some authors to characterize the ships as proto - dreadnought s . This is incorrect , as the guns were not the same caliber , and the ships were designed to fight at close range , unlike the later dreadnought battleships . General characteristics . The ships of the " Brandenburg " - class were long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of which was increased to with the addition of torpedo nets , and had a draft of forward and aft . The " Brandenburg " s displaced at their designed weight , and up to at full combat load . As was the standard for German warships of the period , the hulls of the " Brandenburg " - class ships were constructed from both transverse and longitudinal steel frames , over which the steel side plates were riveted . The vessels had 13 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 48 percent of the length of the hull . The German navy regarded the ships as excellent sea - boats ; the " Brandenburg " s had easy motion . They were also responsive to commands from the bridge and had a moderate turning circle . Speed loss at hard rudder was reduced to 30 percent , and the metacentric height was . However , the ships were " wet " at high speeds and suffered from severe pitching . The ships ' crew numbered 38 officers and 530 enlisted men , though while serving as the squadron flagship the standard crew was augmented by an additional 9 officers and 54 men . Machinery . The ships were equipped with two sets of 3 - cylinder triple - expansion engines ; each set drove a 3 - bladed screw that was in diameter . Both sets had their own engine room . Twelve transverse cylindrical boilers , with three fireboxes each , supplied steam to the engines at up to 12 atmospheres of pressure . The boilers were also divided into two boiler rooms . The engines were rated at , though in practice maximum power ranged from 9 , 686 ihp for " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " to 10 , 228 ihp in " Wörth " . The ships had a designed speed of ; " Brandenburg " was the slowest , at , while " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " and " Wörth " both achieved on trials . The ships were designed to carry of coal for the boilers , though additional spaces in the hull allowed for up to . This enabled a maximum range of at a cruising speed of . Electrical power was provided by three generators . The equipment varied from ship to ship ; power output ranged from 72 . 6 to 96 . 5 kilowatts at 67 volts . The ships each had a single rudder . Armament . The vessels were unusual for their time in possessing a broadside of six heavy guns in three twin gun turret s , rather than the four guns typical of contemporary battleships . The forward and after turret carried 28 cm ( 11 inch ) K L / 40 guns , while the center turret carried a shorter L / 35 barrel . The shorter barrels were required to allow the turret to train from side to side . The L / 40 guns were mounted in Drh . L . C / 92 type turrets , which provided depression to −5 degrees and elevation to 25 degrees . Both types of guns could fire armor - piercing ( AP ) and high explosive ( HE ) shells . These shells weighed 240 kg ( 529 lb ) , and used the 73 kg ( 161 lb ) RPC 12 propellant charge . Muzzle velocity for the L / 40 gun was 820 meters per second ( 2 , 690 fps ) . At maximum elevation , these guns could hit targets out to 15 , 900 m ( 17 , 400 yards ) . Because the barrels of the L / 35 guns were shorter , they had a correspondingly lower muzzle velocity , which was approximately 685 mps ( 2 , 247 fps ) . As a result , the range of the guns was somewhat shorter , at about 14 , 400 m ( 15 , 800 yd ) . At a range of 12 , 000 m ( 13 , 120 yd ) , the AP shell could penetrate up to 160 mm ( 6 . 3 in ) of belt armor . Ammunition magazines stored a total of 352 shells . The " Brandenburg " class ' s secondary armament initially consisted of seven 10 . 5 cm ( 4 . 1 in ) SK L / 35 quick - firing guns in casemates arranged around the forward superstructure . During the modernization between 1902 and 1904 , the " Brandenburg " s received an additional 10 . 5 cm gun . These guns were supplied with a total of 600 rounds , although after the modernization , the 10 . 5 cm magazines were increased to provide storage for a total of 1 , 184 shells . The ships also carried eight 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 45 in ) SK L / 30 quick - firing guns , also mounted in casemates . Four were placed in pairs in sponsons towards the bow , while the remaining four were emplaced around the rear superstructure . These guns were supplied with a total of 2 , 000 shells , though as with the 10 . 5 cm guns , ammunition storage was increased during the modernization , to 2 , 384 rounds . These guns fired 13 . 8 kg ( 30 . 4 lb ) at a muzzle velocity of 590 mps ( 1 , 936 fps ) . Their rate of fire was approximately 15 shells per minute ; the guns could engage targets out to 10 , 500 m ( 11 , 480 yd ) . The gun mounts were manually operated . The ships were also armed with six 45 cm torpedo tubes , all in above - water swivel mounts . Four tubes were mounted on the sides of the ship , another in the bow , and the last in the stern . The tubes were supplied with a total of 16 torpedoes . These weapons were 5 . 1 m ( 201 in ) long and carried a 87 . 5 kg ( 193 lb ) TNT warhead . They could be set at two speeds for different ranges . At , the torpedoes had a range of 800 m ( 870 yd ) . At an increased speed of , the range was reduced to 500 m ( 550 yb ) . One of the tubes was removed during the modernization . Armor . " Weissenburg " and " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " were armored with nickel steel Krupp armour , but due to delivery problems , " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " were armored with a composite armor . The composite armor was constructed by layering steel - clad wrought iron plates and wood planks , which was backed by two more layers of sheet iron . Krupp ' s nickel steel armor was based on the Harvey process , which enriched the upper layers of the steel with carbon . This type of armor produced greater strength with thinner armor belts , which enabled ships equipped with it to carry more complete protection . Some portions of " Brandenburg " did receive the new Krupp armor , including the barbette s that held the fore and center main battery turrets . All four ships retained teak backing to their armor belts . The " Brandenburg " s had a thick armored deck . The forward conning tower had thick sides and a thick roof . Above the waterline , the armored belt was in the central portion of the ship and tapered slightly to 300 mm fore and aft . Including the teak backing , the total thickness of the belt in the strongest area was . Below the waterline , the armored belt was significantly thinner ; the thickest section of the belt was thick , and tapered down to on either end of the belt . The ships ' cupolas had thick roofs and sides that consisted of three thick layers , for a total of . The barbettes were 300 mm thick and backed with of wood . Construction . Ordered as battleship " A " , " Brandenburg " was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1890 . She was launched on 21 September 1891 . Fitting out work , which included the installation of the ship ' s armament , lasted until 19 November 1893 when she was commissioned into the German navy . " Wörth " was ordered as battleship " B " , and was laid down at Germaniawerft in Kiel also in 1890 . Initial work on the ship proceeded the slowest of all four vessels of the class ; she was launched on 6 August 1892 . Fitting out work proceeded quickly , and she was commissioned on 31 October 1893 , the first ship of the class to enter active duty . " Weissenburg " , ordered as battleship " C " , was also laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in 1890 and launched on 14 December 1891 . She was the last ship of the class to enter active service , when she was commissioned on 5 June 1894 . " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " was the fourth and final ship of the class . She was ordered as battleship " D " , and was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven in 1890 . She was the first ship of the class to be launched , on 30 June 1891 . She was commissioned into the fleet the same day as her sister " Brandenburg " . Shortly after the turn of the century , the ships were all taken into the drydocks at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven for a major reconstruction . " Wörth " was the first to do so , starting in 1901 . " Weissenburg " followed in 1902 , " Brandenburg " in 1903 , and " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " entered the shipyard in 1904 . During the modernization , a second conning tower was added in the aft superstructure , along with a gangway . The ships had their boilers replaced with newer models , and also had the hamper amidships reduced . The modifications resulted in a weight decrease of between and depending on the ship . Service history . The ships of the " Brandenburg " - class were assigned to the I Division of the I Battle Squadron upon their commissioning , along with the four older armored frigates , though by 1901 – 2 , the " Sachsen " s were replaced by the new s . They saw their first major operation in 1900 , when they were deployed to China during the Boxer Rebellion . The expeditionary force consisted of the four " Brandenburg " s , six cruiser s , 10 freighters , three torpedo boat s , and six regiments of marines , under the command of Marshal Alfred von Waldersee . Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz opposed the plan , which he saw as unnecessary and costly . The force arrived in China after the siege of Peking had already been lifted . As a result , the task force suppressed local uprisings around Kiaochow . In the end , the operation cost the German government more than 100 million marks . After the " Brandenburg " - class ships emerged from their refit in 1905 , they rejoined the active fleet . However , they were rapidly made obsolete by the launch of in 1906 . As a result , their service careers were limited . On 12 September 1910 , " Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm " and " Weissenburg " , the more advanced ships of the class , were sold to the Ottoman Empire and renamed and respectively . At the outbreak of World War I in 1914 , " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " were assigned to coastal defense duties , though this lasted only until 1915 , when they were withdrawn from active service . That year , both ships were transferred to the role of barracks ships ; " Brandenburg " was stationed in Libau while " Wörth " was in Danzig . It was intended to rebuild " Brandenburg " as a target ship , though this plan was eventually abandoned . Both " Brandenburg " and " Wörth " were struck from the naval register on 13 May 1919 and sold for scrapping . The two ships were purchased by " Norddeutsche Tiefbauges " , a shipbreaking firm headquartered in Berlin ; the firm had " Brandenburg " towed to Danzig where she and her sister ship were broken up for scrap . On 8 August 1915 , " Barbaros Hayreddin " was en route to support the Turkish defenses at the Dardanelles when she was sunk by the British submarine , with the loss of 253 men . On 19 January 1918 , the battlecruiser and light cruiser left the Dardanelles to attack British ships . At 11 : 30 , " Goeben " ran aground and was subjected to air attacks , which impeded salvage attempts . On 25 January , " Turgut Reis " arrived on the scene and towed the battlecruiser back to port . " Turgut Reis " survived the war and was used as a training ship in 1924 . She was later used as a hulk in the Bosporus , and eventually scrapped in 1938 . Notes . Footnotes Citations References . Online sources