Coast Defence Battleship Diego Dias.
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The Dias was the first large scale ‘battleship’ built for the Algarvian Navy.
While classed as a battleship by the proud Algarvians, in other navies the ship
would be classed as a coast defence battleship. With two single 12” and four
single 6” it was armed well enough to see off any pirate/raider type vessel. The
maximum speed at 18 knots was fast enough for its time. Armour was quite
extensive with an 8” belt of the new Krupp cemented armour. A 2” armoured deck,
8” conning tower, and the turrets were also armoured with 8” faces, 6” side and
4” rear and roof.
The Dias’ job was to sail round Algarve investigating shipping that should not
be where it was. Algarves tough stance on lawbreakers had borne fruit over the
past hundred years with many would be pirates hung like washing on the end of
the yardarms. But fewer and fewer transgressors were being found. Either the
‘pirates’ had become better organised or had all but given up.
By 1914 the Dias was hopelessly obsolete but was kept in service doing its
rounds, which helped release some of the newer scout cruisers from this onerous
guard duty. While a modern Armoured Cruiser would have put paid to the Dias, the
closest the Dias came to action in 5 years of war was the sight of smoke on the
horizon as the Konigsberg passed by in 1914. Discarded in 1919, the Dias was
sold for scrap in 1920.
Displacement: 9,200 tons standard, 11,600 tons full load.
Dimensions: 400 x 68 x 22 feet
Machinery: 2 shaft, triple expansion, 10,000ihp
Speed: 18 knots
Endurance: 4,500 miles @ 8 knots.
Armour: 8" belt, 2" deck, 8/6/4" turrets
Armament:
2 x 12" (2x1)
4 x 6" (4x1)
10 x 4" (10x1)
2 x 47mm bow chasers (2x1)
Crew: 585