Mackensen

Ballistics

Armor Model

Overview

In 1912, Germany began designing a battlecruiser for laying down in 1914. The issue of artillery armament was particularly acute: increasing the caliber to 305 mm on previous projects did not provide a significant advantage in firepower over British ships. At the same time, ship sizes were also limited: few docks in Germany could accommodate ships wider than thirty meters. Two armament options were considered for the project: Kaiser Wilhelm insisted on six 380 mm guns in three turrets, while the commander of the High Seas Fleet, Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, wanted to install ten 305 mm guns on the ships. As a compromise, it was decided to arm the battlecruisers with eight 350 mm guns. SMS Mackensen was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. Approximately 15 months remained until the ship's completion when work stopped due to the end of hostilities in World War I.