Bayern-class battleship
Bayern-class battleship.
The Bayern-class battleships were four super-dreadnoughts, laid down from 1913 to 1915 by the Imperial German Navy. Sachsen and Württemberg were never completed, after U-boats were found to be more valuable to the war effort. Bayern (pictured) and Baden, the last German battleships completed during World War I, were commissioned into the fleet too late to take part in the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916). Bayern was assigned to the naval force that drove the Imperial Russian Navy from the Gulf of Riga during Operation Albion in October 1917, though the ship was severely damaged by a mine and had to be withdrawn to Kiel for repairs. Baden replaced Friedrich der Grosse as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, but saw no combat. Bayern and Baden were interned in Scapa Flow, Scotland, following the Armistice in November 1918; in June 1919, Bayern was scuttled along with other fleet ships at the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.
The Bayern-class battleships were four super-dreadnoughts, laid down from 1913 to 1915 by the Imperial German Navy. Sachsen and Württemberg were never completed, after U-boats were found to be more valuable to the war effort. Bayern (pictured) and Baden, the last German battleships completed during World War I, were commissioned into the fleet too late to take part in the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916). Bayern was assigned to the naval force that drove the Imperial Russian Navy from the Gulf of Riga during Operation Albion in October 1917, though the ship was severely damaged by a mine and had to be withdrawn to Kiel for repairs. Baden replaced Friedrich der Grosse as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, but saw no combat. Bayern and Baden were interned in Scapa Flow, Scotland, following the Armistice in November 1918; in June 1919, Bayern was scuttled along with other fleet ships at the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.