SMS Loodvig

The LOODVIG was commissioned during the stellar reign of Ferdinand, Commander-General of the German Navy. Known for his eccentricities— most famously his insistence on wearing his helmet even to bed, a quirk that amused polite society and was whispered about by both his wife and mistresses—Ferdinand was so captivated by his helmeted image that he personally insisted the LOODVIG’s conning tower be designed to resemble one. Likely the largest submersible constructed before the economic collapse of the 1920s, the LOODVIG lived up to her name in every respect: garish, grandiose, overengineered, and formidable in both design and capability but ultimately impotent as she never saw battle.