SMS Oldenburg (1884)
| 300px SMS Oldenburg | |
| Career (German Empire) | 44px |
|---|---|
| Name: | SMS Oldenburg |
| Namesake: | Oldenburg (German province) |
| Builder: | A.G. Vulcan in Stettin |
| Laid down: | 1883 |
| Launched: | 20 December 1884 |
| Commissioned: | 8 April 1886 |
| Decommissioned: | 1912 |
| Reclassified: | target ship |
| Fate: | scrapped 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Oldenburg class coast defense ship |
| Displacement: | 5652 t |
| Length: | 261.16 ft (79.60 m) |
| Beam: | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draught: | 20.67 ft (6.30 m) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shaft horizontal-compound engine 3942 ihp |
| Speed: | 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h) |
| Complement: | 389 |
| Armament: |
4 x 15 cm (5.9 in) (4 x 1) guns 2 x 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (2 x 1) guns 4 x 35 cm (14 in) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: |
Belt: 8–11.75 in (200–298 mm) Battery: 8 in (200 mm) Bulkheads: 6 in (150 mm) |
SMS Oldenburg was an armored coastal defense ship of the German Imperial Navy. She was originally intended to be a member of the Sachsen-class, but money proved short and she was built to a smaller, and cheaper, design. As one of the last central battery ships, she was obsolete by the time she was completed and was deemed to have little fighting value. She was relegated to harbor duty in 1900 and as target ship in 1912 and sold for breaking up in 1919.[1]
She carried eight 24 centimeter guns in an unusual configuration: six guns on the main deck, one on each broadside, four in embrasures at each corner of the central battery to give a measure of end-on fire, and two on the upper deck firing broadside. Later in her career the number of 8.8 cm guns was increased to eight. She was nicknamed the "Flatiron".[1] Her guns were used in 1918 to build four 24 cm SK L/30 "Theodor Otto" railway guns.
Notes
References
- Gibbons, Tony. The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships, Salamander Books, 1983
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, New York: Mayflower Books, 1979 ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
