The SMS König: A 10-gun broadside

The SMS König with Rear Admiral Behncke taking the van position at Jutland.

Model is from the 1/2400 Micronauts range by GHQ.

Borrowing the internal layout of the previous Kaiser Class, but with improved broadside factor matching that of the contemporary British Iron Duke class, the König class battleship program was approved by the Kaiser as part of the 1909-10 naval budget. The class would comprise four ships: König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf and Kronprinz – all fitted and launched during 1914, making them the newest ships in the German navy at the outbreak of the war.

The SMS König enjoying a quiet day at sea.

The König class would retain the use of the 12in Krupp guns, offering a higher muzzle velocity but also increased barrel wear. The British navy had at this time already shifted to 13.5in or even 14in guns for their ships, with the improved shoot that would potentially come as an effect of lower muzzle velocity. The German navy would keep their faith in the 12in all the way until the launch of the Bayern class in 1916, fitting that class with whopping 15in guns.

Horizontal photo of the model.

Note the elevated masts,

In terms of armor, the König class stood it’s ground towards the opposing British ships both in belt and deck armor. Comparing to the Kaiser class, the significant improvement was to scrap the clumsy layout of the mid-ship turrets of the Kaiser class, and replacing this with a superimposed central turret on the new König class. With this mid-ship turret being able to rotate to both sides, the König was the first ship class able to direct a 10-gun broadside towards the enemy. 

Extending the masts.

I'm adding a small "T" etched in brass. 

The crisply detailed GHQ models take nicely to washes and highlighting.

Here the rust effects on the protective mine-skirts gets a light brown highlighting.

A good way to get a 3D effect when looking down on the deck,

is by picking out all the grey edges with a light grey.

Just like the grey hull, the tan colored deck also gets a 

highlighted edge to really create contrast and visual effect.

A final touch is applied to the dark sea green, by adding a layer of glossy varnish on top. 

This will create both depth and a realistic water effect.

Named in honor of King William II of Württemberg, the SMS König joined the High Seas Fleet as part of Battle Squadron III in 1914. In 1916 at the Battle of Jutland the SMS König, under Rear Admiral Paul Behncke, had van position as Battle Squadron III approached the Grand Fleet. When the two navies closed in she became heavily involved in a gunnery duel with Beatty’s Lion and later with the bigger British battleships Barham and Warspite of the 5th Battle Squadron. 

Actual WW1 postcard with the SMS König.

After this first graze with Beatty and as the afternoon went into evenings, the König closed with the Iron Duke, the British flagship with Admiral Sir John Jellicoe on-board. The König started to come under fire from the larger 13.5in guns of the Iron Duke. One shell struck the forward conning tower, but didn’t penetrate. However, Behncke was injured but refused to leave the bridge and stayed in command of his ship during the rest of the battle.

The SMS König model, with full steam ahead on the North Sea.

In 1917 the König was again in action, but this time against the Russian navy at the engagement of Moon Sound. Here the König scored 9 hits on the Russian pre-dreanought Slava, eventually forcing the Russian crew to scuttle their ship. The operation was tied to the recent German conquest of Riga, and had the strategic aim to clear out the remnants of Russian naval forces in the area. 

A view from above.  I always apply name tags to the bases. Not only does it help with fast identification during games, but it also looks nice and adds to the finished model.

The last action of the SMS König was in 1918, and turned into nothing less than mutiny. With the Great War coming to a close, Scheer and the German admiralty wanted to strike a hard blow at the British Grand Fleet in the hopes of improving Germany’s position at the coming peace negotiations. In full disregard of the obvious peril and undoubted cost in men and material this operation would cause, Scheer ordered the Germany navy out to sea on the 29th October 1918. The order for a virtual suicide mission was to much for the hard tested sailors. Mutiny spread like a wildfire from ship to ship. Onboard the König, the Captain was wounded while both the first officer and adjutant was killed during the turmoil. 

The SMS König was finally surrendered and interned at Scapa Flow, where her crew scuttled her in June 1919. Today she rests at 40 meters depth and has become a popular diving site for enthusiasts.

SHIP DATA:

Laid Down: Oct 1911

Launched: Mar 1913

Completed: Aug 1914

Constructed at: Wilhelmshaven

Displacement: 28.148 tons (Full load)

Dimensions: 580ft x 97ft x 28ft 6in

Main guns: 10 x 12in 50cal (5 turrets)

Armor: 14-10in belt, 4,5in deck and 14in turret armor

Machinery: 3-shaft Parsons Turbines creating 31.000 shp 

Speed: 21 knots

Endurance: 10.000 miles at 10 knots

Thank you very much for reading