:SMS Elsass

{{main|Braunschweig-class battleship}}

File:Braunschweig class linedrawing.png

With the passage of the Second Naval Law under the direction of {{lang|de|Vizeadmiral}} (VAdm—Vice Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz in 1900, funding was allocated for a new class of battleships, to succeed the {{sclass|Wittelsbach|battleship|0}} ships authorized under the 1898 Naval Law. By this time, Krupp, the supplier of naval artillery to the {{lang|de|Kaiserliche Marine}} (Imperial Navy) had developed quick-firing, {{convert|28|cm|adj=on|sp=us}} guns; the largest guns that had previously incorporated the technology were the {{convert|24|cm|abbr=on}} guns mounted on the {{lang|de|Wittelsbach}}s. The Design Department of the {{lang|de|Reichsmarineamt}} (Imperial Navy Office) adopted these guns for the new battleships, along with an increase from {{convert|15|cm|abbr=on}} to {{convert|17|cm|abbr=on}} for the secondary battery, owing to the increased threat from torpedo boats as torpedoes became more effective.{{sfn|Herwig|pp=43–44}}{{sfn|Staff|p=4}}

Though the {{lang|de|Braunschweig}} class marked a significant improvement over earlier German battleships, its design fell victim to the rapid pace of technological development in the early 1900s. The British battleship {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}}—armed with ten 12-inch (30.5 cm) guns—was commissioned in December 1906,{{sfn|Campbell & Sieche|pp=21–22}} just a year after {{lang|de|Elsass}} entered service.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}} Dreadnought{{'}}s revolutionary design rendered every capital ship of the German navy obsolete, including {{lang|de|Elsass}}.{{sfn|Herwig|p=57}}

{{lang|de|Elsass}} was {{convert|127.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} long overall and had a beam of {{convert|22.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draft of {{convert|8.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} forward. She displaced {{convert|13208|t|LT|abbr=on|lk=on}} as designed and {{convert|14394|t|LT|abbr=on}} at full load. Her crew consisted of 35 officers and 708 enlisted men. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by eight naval and six cylindrical boilers, and all of which burned coal. {{lang|de|Elsass}}{{'}}s powerplant was rated at {{convert|16000|ihp|lk=on}}, which generated a designed top speed of {{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}. She could steam {{convert|5200|nmi|lk=in}} at a cruising speed of {{convert|10|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=18}}

{{lang|de|Elsass}}{{'}}s armament consisted of a main battery of four 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40 guns in twin gun turrets,{{efn|In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" ({{lang|de|Schnelladekanone}}) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.{{sfn|Grießmer|p=177}}}} one fore and one aft of the central superstructure.{{sfn|Hore|p=68}} Her secondary armament was composed of fourteen 17 cm (6.7 inch) SK L/40 guns and eighteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/35 quick-firing guns. Her armament was further increased by six {{convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on|1}} torpedo tubes, all mounted submerged in the hull.{{sfn|Gröner|p=20}} One tube was in the bow, two were on each broadside, and the final tube was in the stern.{{sfn|Dodson|p=51}} {{lang|de|Elsass}} was protected with Krupp armor. Her armored belt was {{convert|110|to|225|mm|sp=us}} thick, with the heavier armor in the central citadel that protected her magazines and machinery spaces, and the thinner plating at either end of the hull. Her deck was {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} thick. The main battery turrets had 250 mm of armor plating.{{sfn|Gröner|p=19}}

File:SMS Elsass at launch.jpg before her launch]]

{{lang|de|Elsass}} was laid down on 26 May 1901 at the Schichau-Werke in Danzig under construction number 97. The second unit of her class, she was ordered under the contract name "J" as a new unit for the fleet. {{lang|de|Elsass}} was launched on 26 May 1903, and the launching ceremony was attended by Hermann zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the {{lang|de|Reichsstatthalter}} (Governor) of the ship's namesake province. The ship was transferred to Kiel on 26 October 1904 by a shipyard crew. She was commissioned into the fleet on 29 November 1904 and began sea trials thereafter. These were interrupted on 15 December, when the ship's rudder broke, forcing her to return for repairs that lasted until February 1905. {{lang|de|Elsass}} then returned to trials, which were completed by May. She thereafter joined II Squadron, replacing the old coastal defense ship {{SMS|Frithjof||2}}.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}}{{sfn|Gröner|pp=18, 20}} Her first commander was then-{{lang|de|Kapitän zur See}} (KzS—Captain at Sea) Hugo von Pohl, who remained in the position until September 1905.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}}

For the next several years, {{lang|de|Elsass}} and the rest of the fleet were occupied with the peacetime training regimen that consisted of squadron and fleet training in April and May and a major fleet cruise during the summer, followed by annual fall maneuvers with the whole fleet in August and September. The year would typically conclude with a winter training cruise.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2|p=113}} For {{lang|de|Elsass}}, her career began with squadron training in the North Sea and Baltic Sea in May 1905, followed by the summer cruise in July and August.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}} In August, before the annual fleet maneuvers, the British Channel Fleet visited the German fleet in Swinemünde.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2|p=113}} KzS Gustav Bachmann took command of the ship in September.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}} The year 1906 followed the same pattern, concluding with fleet exercises in the North Sea in December before returning to Kiel.{{sfn|Staff|p=7}} Further maneuvers in the North Sea occupied the fleet for much of the first half of 1907, followed by a summer cruise to Norway and the annual autumn maneuvers in August and September.{{sfn|Staff|p=8}} KzS Reinhard Scheer replaced Bachmann in October 1907.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}} The winter cruise that year went to the Baltic.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}}

File:Travemünde Damals – Hochseeflotte – SMS Elsaß.jpg (1908)]]

On 28 April 1908, a significant accident occurred aboard {{lang|de|Elsass}}, when a round of ammunition exploded. Three men were killed and another six were wounded.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}} In 1908 and 1909, the fleet, which had been renamed the High Seas Fleet, undertook major cruises into the Atlantic Ocean. During the first, which began on 13 July 1908, {{lang|de|Elsass}} stopped in Las Palmas from 23 July to 1 August before returning to Germany on 13 August for the autumn maneuvers. The 1909 cruise began on 7 July and lasted until 1 August, and included a visit to El Ferrol, Spain from 18 to 25 July.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}}{{sfn|Staff|p=8}} In September, KzS Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz replaced Scheer as the ship's commander.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}} The year 1910 followed the same pattern of individual, squadron, and fleet training as in previous years. For the summer cruises of 1910 and 1911, the German fleet went to Norwegian waters; both years also saw winter cruises in the western Baltic.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2|p=114}}{{sfn|Staff|p=8}} On 14 December 1910, while conducting individual training, {{lang|de|Elsass}} collided with the battleship {{SMS|Schwaben||2}}, though neither ship was seriously damaged.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}} KzS Carl Schaumann took command of the ship in September 1911, though he remained in command for just a month, being replaced by KzS Hugo Langemak in October.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}} {{lang|de|Elsass}} was transferred to I Squadron on 3 October, trading places with the battleship {{SMS|Schlesien||2}}.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}}

On 23 March 1912, during fleet training, {{lang|de|Elsass}} accidentally collided with a Swedish steamship—{{SS|Pollux|1883|2}}—in heavy fog in the western entrance to the Skagerrak. Pollux was badly damaged in the accident and sank, though {{lang|de|Elsass}} was able to take off her crew. In April, {{lang|de|Elsass}} served as a target ship during gunfire training with the armored cruiser {{SMS|Blücher||2}} in a demonstration held off the Faroe Islands. On the 29th of the month, the new dreadnought battleship {{SMS|Oldenburg||2}} replaced {{lang|de|Elsass}} in I Squadron, and the latter had her crew reduced. On 24 August, the ship received her full complement again, to allow {{lang|de|Elsass}} to take part in the annual maneuvers with the newly formed III Squadron.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=34}} She also came under the temporary command of KzS Leberecht Maass.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=33}} After the exercises, the squadron was dissolved, and on 29 September {{lang|de|Elsass}} again had her crew reduced. She returned to active duty on 1 December, when she was assigned to V Division of III Squadron, along with her sister ship {{SMS|Braunschweig||2}} and the new dreadnought {{SMS|Kaiser|1911|2}}. The ships began the year with individual training, followed by divisional exercises in the Baltic later in January 1913. In early March, fleet exercises were held in the North Sea. {{lang|de|Elsass}} was sent to Kiel on 17 March to begin preparations for her decommissioning, as her place in the division was taken by the new dreadnought {{SMS|Kaiserin||2}}. On 13 May, {{lang|de|Elsass}} was decommissioned and assigned to the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea. Effective 15 October, she was assigned to the {{lang|de|Marinestation der Ostsee}} (Naval Station of the Baltic Sea).{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|pp=34–35}}

File:North and Baltic Seas, 1911.png

On 28 July 1914, Germany's ally Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning World War I. Three days later, {{lang|de|Elsass}} was reactivated as the European powers moved toward war, and she was assigned to IV Battle Squadron.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=35}} The unit also included her sister ship {{lang|de|Braunschweig}} and the five {{lang|de|Wittelsbach}}-class battleships, and was commanded by {{lang|de|Vizeadmiral}} Ehrhard Schmidt.{{sfn|Scheer|p=15}} {{lang|de|Elsass}} began individual and then squadron training, which lasted until early September. The training exercises were interrupted on 26 August, when the squadron and the armored cruisers {{SMS|Roon||2}} and {{SMS|Prinz Adalbert|1901|2}} and the light cruiser {{SMS|Gazelle||2}} were sent to rescue the stranded light cruiser {{SMS|Magdeburg||2}}, which had run aground off the island of Odensholm in the eastern Baltic. By 28 August, however, the ship's crew had been forced to detonate explosives to destroy {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} before the relief force had arrived. As a result, {{lang|de|Braunschweig}} and the rest of the squadron returned to Bornholm that day.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=35}}

Starting on 2 September, IV Squadron, assisted by {{lang|de|Blücher}}, conducted a sweep into the Baltic. The operation lasted until 9 September and failed to bring Russian naval units to battle.{{sfn|Halpern|p=185}} From 11 to 20 September, {{lang|de|Elsass}} and the rest of the division was transferred to the mouth of the Elbe to provide local defense against possible British attacks.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=35}} Later that month, the IV Squadron ships were transferred back to the Baltic. The army had requested that the navy make a demonstration to keep Russian reserves along the Baltic coast, instead of allowing the Russians to re-deploy them to Galicia. The older battleships of the V Battle Squadron were sent to Danzig to embark ground forces, while {{lang|de|Braunschweig}} and IV Squadron steamed in advance. The operation was called off early, however, after British submarines were reportedly sighted in the Baltic. The two squadrons rendezvoused off Bornholm before proceeded on to Kiel, arriving on 26 September.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2|pp=114–115}}

{{lang|de|Elsass}} returned to the Elbe from 5 December to 1 March 1915, with scheduled periodic maintenance from 24 to 28 February. After guard ship duties in the Elbe ended, she was briefly transferred to the Schillig Roads, outside Wilhelmshaven, from 1 to 9 March. Beginning on 2 April, {{lang|de|Elsass}} began training exercises in the Baltic, followed by another shipyard period from 26 April to 16 May at the {{lang|de|Kaiserliche Werft}} (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel. She returned to provide coastal defense in the Elbe on 27 May.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=35}} On 4 July 1915, following the loss of the minelaying cruiser {{SMS|Albatross|1907|2}} in the Baltic, the IV Squadron ships were transferred to reinforce the German naval forces in the area. Additionally, the army requested naval support for the Army of the Niemen, which was operating in Courland.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|pp=35–36}}{{sfn|Halpern|p=195}} On 7–11 and 18–19 July, German cruisers, with the IV Squadron ships in support, conducted sweeps in the Baltic, though without engaging any Russian forces. During the latter operation, {{lang|de|Elsass}} collided with the torpedo boat {{SMS|G175||2}}, though she inflicted only minor damage.{{sfn|Halpern|p=196}}{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=36}}

In August 1915, the German fleet attempted to clear the Gulf of Riga of Russian naval forces to assist the German Army then advancing on the city. IV Squadron was joined by I Squadron, which consisted of the eight {{sclass|Nassau|battleship|5}} and {{sclass|Helgoland|battleship|2}}s, from the High Seas Fleet, as well as three battlecruisers and many smaller craft. The task force was commanded by {{lang|de|Vizeadmiral}} Franz von Hipper, though operational command remained with Schmidt.{{sfn|Halpern|p=196}} On the morning of 8 August, the German fleet made its initial push into the Gulf. {{lang|de|Elsass}} and {{lang|de|Braunschweig}} were assigned to attack the Russian pre-dreadnought {{ship|Russian battleship|Slava||2}} to prevent her from disrupting the German minesweepers. The German vessels engaged {{lang|ru|Slava}} and the gunboat {{ship|Russian gunboat|Khrabry||2}} at long range without result.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=36}} When it became clear that the minesweepers could not clear the minefield before nightfall, Schmidt called off the attempt.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=196–197}} A second attempt was made on 16 August. {{lang|de|Elsass}} remained outside the Gulf, while the dreadnoughts {{SMS|Nassau||2}} and {{SMS|Posen||2}} dealt with {{lang|ru|Slava}}.{{sfn|Halpern|p=197}} By 19 August, the Russian minefields had been cleared and the flotilla entered the Gulf. However, reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted the German fleet to call off the operation the following day.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=197–198}}

After the operation, {{lang|de|Elsass}} remained in Libau, and IV Squadron was disbanded on 18 December. While in Libau, {{lang|de|Elsass}} briefly served as the command ship for {{lang|de|Vizeadmiral}} Friedrich Schultz, the {{lang|de|Befehlshaber der Aufklärungsschiffe der Ostsee}} (Commander of Reconnaissance Forces in the Baltic), from January to March 1916. By that time, {{lang|de|Braunschweig}}, which had been modified in Kiel to serve as Schultz's command ship, arrived to relieve {{lang|de|Elsass}}. Crew shortages forced the navy to reduce both ships' crews, to the point that they were only capable of providing local defense of the harbor. On 10 July, {{lang|de|Elsass}} was transferred back to Kiel, where four days later her crew was transferred to her sister {{SMS|Lothringen||2}}. {{lang|de|Elsass}} was taken into the shipyard in Kiel for repairs before returning to service on 25 July as a stationary training ship assigned to I Marine Inspectorate. She remained in Kiel until her decommissioning on 20 June 1918. The ship underwent an overhaul and returned to training duty in October, though Germany surrendered the following month.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=36}}

File:SMS Elsass NH 43720.tiff

The Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war, specified that Germany was permitted to retain six battleships of the older "{{lang|de|Deutschland}} or {{lang|de|Lothringen}} class."{{refn|Treaty of Versailles Section II: Naval Clauses, Article 181.}} {{lang|de|Elsass}} was kept and used as a training ship in the German fleet, which was renamed the {{lang|de|Reichsmarine}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=20}} In 1923, the aging ship underwent a major overhaul. {{lang|de|Elsass}} was dry-docked in the {{lang|de|Reichsmarinewerft}} in Wilhelmshaven,{{sfn|Gröner|p=18}} where the conning tower was rebuilt. Work was completed the following year.{{sfn|Gröner|p=20}} She was recommissioned on 15 February 1924 with a partial crew. Assigned to the {{lang|de|Linienschiffsdivision}} (Battleship Division) of the {{lang|de|Seestreitkräfte der Nordsee}} (Naval Forces of the North Sea) and based in Wilhelmshaven, the ship received her full crew by 1 April. In July, she joined the rest of the fleet for a major training cruise in the Atlantic, which included a stop in Vigo, Spain, from 6 to 13 July. In 1925, {{lang|de|Elsass}} and the battleship {{SMS|Hannover||2}} visited Oslo, Norway, from 19 to 24 June, though {{lang|de|Elsass}} proceeded alone to Odda, where she stayed from 26 to 30 June.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=36}}

On 1 October, the ship was transferred to the {{lang|de|Seestreitkräfte der Ostsee}} (Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea), which was based in Kiel. The fleet went on another major cruise in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea in May and June 1926; during the trip {{lang|de|Elsass}} made calls in several Spanish ports, including Mahón, Barcelona, and Vigo. Another cruise followed the next year in April and May, with stops in Vilagarcía, Spain, São Vicente, Madeira, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Santa Cruz de La Palma in the Canary Islands, Horta and Ponta Delgada in the Azores, and Lisbon, Portugal. In 1928, {{lang|de|Elsass}} made visits to Ulvik and Bergen in Norway in July, and Skagen, Denmark, in September. The winter of 1928–1929 proved to be especially cold, and {{lang|de|Elsass}} and the battleship {{SMS|Schleswig-Holstein||2}} were pressed into service as icebreakers; the two ships helped to free 65 merchant ships from the heavy ice. In March 1929, {{lang|de|Elsass}} also performed icebreaking duties off Gedser, Denmark.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|pp=36–37}}

The fleet went on another Atlantic cruise in April 1929, and {{lang|de|Elsass}} made calls in Villagarcia and A Pobra do Caramiñal, Spain. That fall, the ship visited Karlskrona, Sweden.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3|p=37}} {{lang|de|Elsass}} was withdrawn from active service on 25 February 1930. She was stricken from the naval register on 31 March 1931 and served as a hulk in Wilhelmshaven until 31 October 1935, when the {{lang|de|Reichsmarine}} sold her to {{lang|de|Technischer Betrieb des Norddeutscher Lloyd}}. {{lang|de|Elsass}} was broken up for scrap the following year.{{sfn|Gröner|p=20}}

{{notes

| notes =

}}

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{{Braunschweig class battleship}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsass}}

Category:Braunschweig-class battleships

Category:World War I battleships of Germany

Category:1903 ships

Category:Ships built in Danzig

Category:Ships built by Schichau