 The Wittelsbach @-@ class battleships were a group of five pre @-@ dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy . They were the first battleships produced under the Navy Law of 1898 . The class was composed of the lead ship , Wettin , Zähringen , Schwaben , and Mecklenburg . All five ships were laid down between 1899 and 1900 , and finished by 1904 . The ships of the Wittelsbach class were similar in appearance to their predecessors of the Kaiser Friedrich III class , however , they had a flush main deck , as opposed to the lower quarterdeck of the Kaiser Friedrich class , and had a more extensive armor belt . Their armament was almost identical , though more efficiently arranged . 
