User talk:Kevin Murray/mississippi

NOTE: MOVED COMPLETED SECTIONS TO MAIN ARTICLE - PLEASE CONFIRM HORE REFERENCE AT BIBLIO
 * Hore looks good. Parsecboy (talk) 11:18, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

Armament
The armament of the ''Mississippi' class was nearly identical to that of the preceding Connecticut class, although it was rearranged slightly and decreased in number. The primary armament consisted of four 12-inch 45 caliber guns, meaning that the gun is 45 times long as it is in diameter. quick-firing guns in two twin turrets, one forward and one to the rear of the main superstructure.

The turrets were the Drh.L. C/01 model, which allowed elevation to 30° and depression to −5°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 18830 m. The guns fired 240 kg shells in both high-explosive and armor-piercing (AP) types. Muzzle velocity for both types of shells was '''820 m/s (2,690 f/s). At a range of 12000 m, the AP shells could penetrate armor plating up to 160 mm''' thick

The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 8-inch guns mounted in turrets.

'''Five were emplaced in the top deck and two one deck higher in the superstructure on either side. The casemates allowed elevation to 22° and depression to −5°. At 22°, the guns could engage targets 14500 m. Each gun was supplied with 130 armor-piercing shells, and fired at a rate of approximately 5 per minute. The guns had an arc of train of 160°. '''

'''The ships were armed with twenty-two 8.8 cm quick-firing guns in single mounts, which were manually operated. The guns fired 14.8 kg high-explosive shells at up to 12 rounds per minute. They were supplied with 140 shells each. The guns could hit targets out to 11000 m. '''

Armor
'The Deutschland''-class ships were equipped with Krupp cemented armor. Deutschland had a slightly different arrangement in the belt armor and the citadel in the superstructure. Deutschland's belt was 225 mm at the waterline and tapered to 140 mm on the lower edge. Her sister ships' belts was increased in thickness to 240 mm at the waterline and down to 170 mm on the bottom edge. In Deutschland, the citadel armor was 160 mm thick, while on the other four ships the armor was 170 mm thick. All five ships had an armored deck that was 40 mm thick. '''

'''The main battery gun turrets had armored sides that were 280 mm thick and roofs that were 50 mm thick. The barbettes that held the turrets were armored with 250 mm thick steel. The casemate guns were protected by 35 mm thick armor plating. Their forward conning towers were protected by 300 mm on the sides, while the rear conning towers had 140 mm worth of armor. '''

Construction
'Deutschland'' was ordered for the German fleet under the contract designation "N." She was laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in 1903, under construction number 109. She was launched on 20 November 1904; once she left the stocks fitting out work commenced. This included the installation of the ship's armament, completion of the interior compartments, and the finishing of the superstructure. By mid 1906 work on the ship was finished. Deutschland was commissioned into the fleet on 3 August of that year. Hannover was ordered as "O" and laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven in 1904. She was launched on 29 September 1905 and commissioned on 1 October 1907. '''

'Pommern'' was laid down at the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin under the provisional name "P" in 1904. She was launched on 2 December 1905 and commissioned in to the fleet on 1 October 1907. In 1904, Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke in Danzig under the provisional name "R." She was launched on 28 May 1906 and commissioned on 5 May 1908. Schleswig-Holstein was ordered from the Germaniawerft dockyard under the contract name "Q." Her keel was laid there in 1905. Launched on 17 December 1906, Schleswig-Holstein was completed by July 1908 and commissioned on the 6th, the last ship of the five to join th'''