SMS Prinzregent Luitpold

SMS "Prinzregent Luitpold" was a "Kaiser" class battleship that served in the High Seas Fleet of the German Imperial Navy during the First World War. She was named for Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, who died a few months after the ship was commissioned.

As originally designed, "Luitpold" would have been the first German battleship to feature a marine diesel engine on the center shaft. In December 1909, the "Konstrukteurdepartement" of the "Reichsmarineamt" (RMA), issued a paper advocating the use of diesel engines in large ships. The RMA argued that diesel power would provide significantly increased cruising range, easier refueling, and would require fewer engine room personnel to operate. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz endorsed the proposal and ordered construction of a battleship with diesel propulsion.

In February 1910, the RMA issued a contract to MAN for the development and construction of "Luitpold's" diesel engine. However, the giant six-cylinder, Auto bhp|12000|-2 engine suffered numerous technical difficulties and was never installed. Indeed, the diesel was not ready for shipboard use until April 1917.

"Luitpold" was accordingly completed with only 14 of 16 boilers and two sets of Parsons steam turbines producing a designed Auto shp|26000|-2. The diesel engine room was left empty. On trials, "Luitpold" produced Auto shp|38751|0 for a maximum speed of convert|21.7|knot|km/h|0. The ship was thus insignificantly slower than the rest of her sister ships, which used a full complement of boilers and three turbines.

During the war, "Prinzregent Luitpold" was assigned to the 3rd Battleship Squadron along with her sister ships. She fought at the Battle of Jutland, firing 169 12-inch rounds and suffering no damage. She was interned at Scapa Flow and scuttled with the rest of the fleet on 21 June 1919. The wreck was raised in 1931 and broken up at Rosyth through 1933.

ee also

* List of German Imperial Navy ships
* List of naval ships of Germany
* List of ship launches in 1911
* List of ship commissionings in 1912
* List of shipwrecks in 1919