SMS Victoria Louise
| Career (Germany) | Kaiser |
|---|---|
| Name: | Victoria Louise |
| Namesake: | Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia |
| Builder: | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Laid down: | April 1896 |
| Commissioned: | February 1899 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1923 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Victoria Louise class protected cruiser |
| Displacement: |
5,660t standard; 6,491t full load |
| Length: | 363.16 ft (110.69 m) |
| Beam: | 57.16 ft (17.42 m) |
| Draught: | 22.66 ft (6.91 m) |
| Propulsion: | 10,000 hp, three shafts |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36 km/h) |
| Complement: | 477 |
| Armament: |
Two 9.4 in (24 cm) (2 × 1) eight5.9 in (15 cm) (8 × 1) ten3.45 in (8.8 cm) (10 × 1) three17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | 4 in (10 cm) in deck |
Seiner Majestät Schiff Victoria Louise was the lead ship of her class of protected cruisers, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the 20th Century.
Victoria Louise was laid down in Bremen by the AG Weser shipyard in April 1896. She was completed in February 1899, at a cost of 10,714,000 Marks. She was designed primarily for an overseas cruiser role.
Contents
Design
Dimensions and machinery
Victoria Louise was 358 feet 3 inches (109.19 m) long at the waterline, and had an overall length of 363 feet 2 inches (110.69 m) She had a beam of 57 feet 2 inches (17.42 m) and a draught of 22 feet 9 inches (6.93 m) Victoria Louise displaced 5,660 tons on a standard load, and 6,491 tons fully loaded. The ship was powered by three shaft triple expansion engines, that produced 10,000 ihp (7,500 kW) and delivered a top speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h).
Between 1905 and 1911, the ships of the Victoria Louise class were modernized. The ships had their boilers replaced, and had their original three funnels reduced to two stacks.
Armor and armament
Victoria Louise was protected by 4-inch (100 mm) thick armor plate on the decks. The ship was armed with a wide mix of armaments. The main armament consisted of two 8.2-inch (208 mm) guns mounted in single turrets fore and aft. The secondary armament comprised eight 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns in casemates along the length of the ship, along with ten 3.4-inch (86 mm) guns, also casemated. The ships were also armed with three 17.7-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.
Service history
At the start of World War I, Victoria Louise served as a coastal defense ship, but by November 1914, she was consigned to a barracks ship role, along with her sister ships. In 1923, she was sold for scrap.
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