SMS Schleswig-Holstein was the last Imperial German pre-dreadnought class of battleship. They were laid down in 1905 and completed in 1908. They were a significant improvement over the earlier Braunschweig class, but were almost immediately made obsolete by the launch of the British HMS Dreadnought in 1905. Despite being outclassed by the dreadnoughts, they remained effective ships and all four of the class were in second line of the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Unfortunately, one of the class, the SMS Pommern, was struck by a torpedo during the night action which detonated one of the secondary armament magazines. The ship was blown to pieces and sunk with all hands.
Schleswig-Holstein saw further action in the Baltic later in the war against the Russians. At the war's end they were considered as second rate ships and were not surrendered to the Allies. Consequently they escaped the scuttling at Scapa Flow in 1919.
During the interwar period the Schleswig-Holstein became flagship of the German fleet. She and her sisters Schlesein and Hessen were modernized, losing one funnel and gaining improved fire-control masts.
Schleswig-Holstein would fire the first shots of WWII when she bombarded the Polish ports at Danzig. She returned to training duties in 1940 and she saw little action for the rest of the war. She was sunk at her moorings by British bombers in December 1944. The wreck was later towed to sea by the Soviets and beached on a sandbar for use as a gunnery target. The wreck's remains lie in shallow water off the Gulf of Finland.
I purchased this kit from Real Toys Store - realtoys.aliexpress.com/store...
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27 мар 2020
