Featured Article Summary #224

SMS Schwaben, also known as “His Majesty’s Ship Swabia,” was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Wittelsbach class. She was built in Wilhelmshaven, laid down in 1900, and completed in April 1904, along with her sister ships, which were the first major warships built under the 1898 Navy Law. Schwaben carried four 24 cm guns and could reach speeds of up to 18 knots. From 1904 to 1914, she mainly served as a gunnery training ship, though she often joined large fleet exercises. After World War I began in 1914, she served in a battle squadron, mainly on guard duties in the North Sea and in the Baltic against Russia, but left the Baltic in 1916 due to the danger from British submarines. In the later war years she trained engineers, and after the war she was used briefly as a depot ship before being removed from the navy list in 1921 and sold for scrap. After the Kaiserliche Marine ordered the first Brandenburg-class battleships in 1889, plans to build more were slowed by money limits, opposition in the Reichstag, and no clear fleet strategy. VAdm Friedrich von Hollmann fought for approval for the Kaiser Friedrich III-class ships until he was replaced by Alfred von Tirpitz in 1897, who quickly pushed through the Naval Law in early 1898 that also authorized Schwaben and other battleships; the Wittelsbach-class design was similar to the Kaiser Friedrichs but with better armor coverage. Schwaben was 126.8 m long and powered by three triple-expansion engines with steam from coal-fired boilers, giving her 14,000 PS and a top speed of 18 knots, with a cruising range of 5,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. Her main armament was four 24 cm guns in two turrets, supported by smaller quick-firing guns and six submerged 45 cm torpedo tubes, and she had armor ranging from 100 to 225 mm on the belt with 50 mm on the deck, plus 250 mm on the main turrets. Schwaben’s keel was laid on 15 September 1900 in Wilhelmshaven, and she was launched on 19 August 1901 and commissioned on 13 April 1904 as the last ship of her class to enter active service, costing 21,678,000 marks. After commissioning, a dispute over her role was settled in Tirpitz’s favor, and she joined the Training Squadron to serve as a torpedo and gunnery training ship. During sea trials she struck an uncharted shoal near Fehmarn, causing hull damage, and after repairs she completed trials by the end of 1904, then followed an annual routine of training and maintenance while operating mainly in the Baltic and supporting fleet exercises in the autumn. Between 1906 and 1907, Schwaben took part in gunnery and fleet training off Swinemünde and Helgoland, serving at different times as flagship for senior commanders during maneuvers in the North Sea. After completing yearly overhauls in November 1906 and later in Wilhelmshaven, she continued training and gunnery work, including replacing other ships during the autumn maneuvers. In 1908 and 1909 she mostly stayed in the Baltic for exercises, then became flagship of the Reserve Fleet under Admiral Zeye in 1909. In 1910 she supported the High Seas Fleet’s autumn maneuvers with III Battle Squadron, underwent repairs in Kiel, and by 1911 she was decommissioned as newer dreadnought battleships shifted the fleet’s structure. She briefly returned to service in May 1912 to move to Kiel, and then served again in the autumn maneuvers as flagship under KAdm Maximilian von Spee. After World War I began in August 1914, SMS Schwaben was mobilized with her squadron to defend the German North Sea and operate in the Baltic, including a sweep that failed to force Russian ships into battle. She later supported German actions near Libau in May 1915, but growing British submarine threats meant she and her sister ships were not used in the August 1915 assault in the Gulf of Riga due to a shortage of escort ships. By late 1915 she became a training ship for engineers, and after the Battle of Jutland she served as a temporary command ship and was partially disarmed in 1916.