The Kaiserliche Marine's Odin class paired a ram bow with three 9.4-inch guns, heavy belt armor, and thick teak backing. Two separate forward turrets were intended to keep at least one gun firing while the ship closed to ram an enemy battleship. The design is a useful reminder that coastal warship layouts reflected contemporary tactical expectations, even when those expectations soon became obsolete.
Notable Point · 1:31:51-1:39:44
Germany's Odin class and the persistence of ramming doctrine
The German Odin class reveals how late nineteenth-century ramming ideas shaped gun placement, armor, and hull form.