SMS Mecklenburg

Lithograph of Mecklenburg from 1902
History
German Empire
Name:	Mecklenburg
Namesake:	House of Mecklenburg
Builder:	AG Vulcan Stettin
Laid down:	15 May 1900
Launched:	9 November 1901
Commissioned:	25 June 1903
Decommissioned:	24 January 1916
Struck:	25 January 1920
Fate:	Scrapped in 1921
General characteristics
Class and type:	Wittelsbach-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement:	12,798 t (12,596 long tons)
Length:	126.80 m (416 ft)
Beam:	22.80 m (74 ft 10 in)
Draft:	7.95 m (26 ft 1 in)
Installed power:	14,000 PS (13,808 ihp; 10,297 kW) 12 water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	3 shafts, triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range:	5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi); 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	30 officers 650 enlisted men
Armament:	4 × 24 cm (9.4 in) guns (40 cal.) 18 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 12 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 6 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 100 to 225 mm (3.9 to 8.9 in) Turrets: 250 mm (9.8 in) Deck: 50 mm (2.0 in)

SMS Mecklenburg ("His Majesty's Ship Mecklenburg") was the fifth ship of the Wittelsbach class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the German Imperial Navy. Laid down in May 1900 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin, she was finished in May 1903. Her sister ships were Wittelsbach, Zähringen, Wettin, and Schwaben; they were the first capital ships built under the Navy Law of 1898, championed by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. Mecklenburg was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

Mecklenburg spent the early period of her career in the I Squadron of the German fleet, participating in the peacetime routine of training cruises and exercises. After World War I began in August 1914, the ship was mobilized with her sisters as the IV Battle Squadron. She saw limited duty in the Baltic Sea against Russian naval forces, and as a guard ship in the North Sea. The German High Command withdrew the ship from active service in January 1916 due to a threat from submarines and naval mines, together with severe shortages in personnel. For the remainder of her career, Mecklenburg served as a prison ship and as a barracks ship based in Kiel. She was stricken from the navy list in January 1920 and sold for scrapping the following year.

Mecklenburg was 126.80 m (416 ft) long overall; she had a beam of 22.80 m (74 ft 10 in) and a draft of 7.95 m (26 ft 1 in) forward. At full load, she displaced up to 12,798 t (12,596 long tons). The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by six coal-fired Thornycroft boilers and six coal-fired cylindrical boilers. Mecklenburg's powerplant was rated at 14,000 metric horsepower (13,808 ihp; 10,297 kW), which gave her a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). She had a crew of 30 officers and 650 enlisted men.