Design
Wiesbaden was ordered under the contract name "Ersatz Gefion" and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1913 and launched on 20 January 1915, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 23 August 1915, after being rushed through trials. The ship was 145.3 meters (477 ft) long overall and had a beam of 13.9 m (46 ft) and a draft of 5.76 m (18.9 ft) forward. She displaced 6,601 t (6,497 long tons; 7,276 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two sets of Marine steam turbines driving two 3.5-meter (11 ft) propellers. They were designed to give 31,000 shaft horsepower (23,000 kW). These were powered by twelve coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers and two oil-fired double-ended boilers. These gave the ship a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). Wiesbaden carried 1,280 tonnes (1,260 long tons) of coal, and an additional 470 tonnes (460 long tons) of oil that gave her a range of 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Wiesbaden had a crew of 17 officers and 457 enlisted men.
The ship was armed with eight 15 cm SK L/45 guns in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, four were located amidships, two on either side, and two were placed in a superfiring pair aft. The guns could engage targets out to 17,600 m (57,700 ft). They were supplied with 1,024 rounds of ammunition, for 128 shells per gun. The ship's antiaircraft armament initially consisted of four 5.2 cm (2.0 in) L/44 guns, though these were replaced with a pair of 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns. She was also equipped with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes. Two were submerged in the hull on the broadside and two were mounted on the deck amidships. She could also carry 120 mines. The ship was protected by a waterline armored belt that was 60 mm (2.4 in) thick amidships. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides, and the deck was covered with up to 60 mm thick armor plate.
Read more about this topic: SMS Wiesbaden
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