The main section of belt armor was for a height of , increased to abreast the engine rooms, though it tapered to on the bottom edge, which was below the waterline. It also thinned at the top edge to at upper deck level. Toward the bow, it was reduced to and then to . Aft of the citadel, the belt reduced to to before terminating at another transverse bulkhead that was also 9 cm thick. Behind the main belt was a torpedo bulkhead thick; there was some difficulty mounting the torpedo bulkhead, due to the four wing turrets and their barbettes, which took up considerable space close to the edge of the hull. The casemate battery, located directly above the central portion of the belt, was protected by a strake of armor that was 16 cm thick. This portion of the side armor was also capped on either end by a bulkhead that was thick.