SMS Bayern

SMS Bayern

SMS Bayern

Description

The Bayern-class, SMS Bayern, 1916 was the lead ship of the Bayern-class dreadnoughts of the Kaiserliche Marine. She had one sister, Baden, while the other two ordered ships were cancelled. She was laid down on 22nd December 1913 and commissioned on 15th July 1916. She saw very limited service during her career. Her most notable action was in September 1917 during Operation Albion where she, together with four König- and five Kaiser-class battleships, participated in seizing the Baltic island of Ösel (Saaremaa). During the operation, Bayern struck a mine and had to withdraw to Kiel to undergo repairs. Meanwhile, König and Kronprinz engaged the Russian pre-dreadnought battleship Slava and sunk it. After the German surrender, Bayern was to be handed over to the British. She was scuttled by her crew and sunk at Scapa Flow together with the majority of the German High Seas Fleet.

The Bayern was introduced in Update "Danger Zone". She boasts a powerful 38 cm guns paired with only twenty-six second reload which is faster than most dreadnoughts with smaller calibre guns. The ship itself is very well protected, though caution is adivsed when the armour plates covering magazines at waterline are destroyed as this can lead up to fatal magazine explosion. The coal bunkers behind the armour belt also further enhance the magazine protection. As the Sachsen is a WWI-era ship, she is vulnerable to air attacks as she posses very limited anti-air weaponry.

General info

Survivability and armour

Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.

Mobility

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded

Armament

Primary armament

Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: {{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
Spr.gr. L/4,1 Bdz.	SAP	458	402	325	266	221	170
Psgr. L/3,5 APCBC	APCBC	595	553	492	440	396	332

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Spr.gr. L/4,1 Bdz.	SAP	800	750	0.025	26	67.1	47°	60°	65°
Psgr. L/3,5 APCBC	APCBC	800	750	0.025	26	25	48°	63°	71°

Secondary armament

Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control Select secondary weapon. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
Sprgr. L/4.1 Kz	HE	21	21	21	21	21	21
Sprgr. L/4.1 Bdz	SAPBC	95	80	61	47	37	28
Psgr. L/3.7	APCBC	238	201	153	117	93	71

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Sprgr. L/4.1 Kz	HE	835	45.3	0	0.1	1,600	79°	80°	81°
Sprgr. L/4.1 Bdz	SAPBC	835	45.3	0.01	7	1,050	48°	63°	71°
Psgr. L/3.7	APCBC	835	45.3	0.015	7	990	48°	63°	71°

Anti-aircraft armament

Like many other WWI-era battleships the anti-aircraft suite on the Bayern is very lacking. With only 2 x 88 mm cannons, one on the right and left side located near the centre of the ship, the Bayern will struggle to defend itself from enemy aircraft. The reload on these weapons in somewhat decent allowing for a semi-sustained rate of fire. If a shot lands on an enemy aircraft, the 88 mm shell will almost always take it out of the sky.

With such a small amount of anti-aircraft weapons, their effectiveness against enemy ships will be negligible. It is not recommended to repair these while fighting other ships if they are damaged due to their minimal firepower.

Overall, the anti-aircraft armament on the Bayern is mediocre and matches the poor effectiveness of most other WWI-era battleships.

Additional armament

Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Strong belt armour
• Manoeuvrable: good acceleration and deceleration

Cons:

• Extremely weak deck armour, only two layers of 30 mm armour plate
• Mediocre main gun: SAP loses penetration over distance drastically, and APC has less than 600 mm penetration
• Main gun ammunition is stored together with auxiliary gun ammunition; they are prone to fire hazard and chain detonation
• Crew compartments and boilers/transmission are not separated by internal structural armour. Fire will spread and cause severe damage

History

SMS Bayern was the lead ship of the Bayern-class dreadnoughts of the Kaiserliche Marine. She had one sister, Baden, while the other two ordered ships were cancelled. She was laid down on 22nd December 1913 and commissioned on 15th July 1916. She saw very limited service during her career. Her most notable action was in September 1917 during Operation Albion where she, together with four König- and five Kaiser-class battleships, participated in seizing the Baltic island of Ösel (Saaremaa). During the operation, Bayern struck a mine and had to withdraw to Kiel to undergo repairs. Meanwhile, König and Kronprinz engaged the Russian pre-dreadnought battleship Slava and sunk it. After the German surrender, Bayern was to be handed over to the British. She was scuttled by her crew and sunk at Scapa Flow together with the majority of the German High Seas Fleet.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the SMS Bayern from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] SMS Bayern - A State at War
• [Wikipedia] SMS Bayern

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft
Minelayer
R-1-class	Drache(*)**
Battleships
Helgoland-class	SMS Helgoland*
Bayern-class	SMS Bayern*
	*Previously Howaldtswerke, Kiel **Previously Deutsche Werft, Hamburg (*)KB Zmaj before it was captured by Nazi Germany