König-class battleship

König-class battleship.
The König class was a group of four battleships built for the Imperial German Navy on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of König, Grosser Kurfürst, Markgraf, and Kronprinz (pictured). The Königs were an improvement over the preceding Kaiser class, mounting ten 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns in five twin turrets. Two turrets were mounted forward of the main superstructure in a superfiring pair, the third was placed on the centerline amidships, and the fourth and fifth turrets were aft, also in a superfiring pair. This allowed all 10 guns to fire in a large arc. The most powerful warships of the German High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a unit throughout World War I. The ships took part in the Battle of Jutland, where they acted as the German vanguard. They survived the war and were interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918. All four ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany.)