armored cruisers of germany

74
PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:04:54 UTC Armored cruisers of Germany

Upload: paul-muljadi

Post on 26-Dec-2014

250 views

Category:

Documents


10 download

DESCRIPTION

Armored cruisers of Germany book

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Armored Cruisers of Germany

PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information.PDF generated at: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:04:54 UTC

Armored cruisers ofGermany

Page 2: Armored Cruisers of Germany

ContentsArticlesOverview 1

Armored cruisers of Germany 1

Fürst Bismarck class 8

SMS Fürst Bismarck 8

Prinz Heinrich class 13

SMS Prinz Heinrich 13

Prinz Adalbert class 19

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser 19SMS Prinz Adalbert 23Friedrich Carl 27

Roon class 30

Roon class armored cruiser 30SMS Roon 35SMS Yorck 40

Scharnhorst class 44

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser 44SMS Scharnhorst 49SMS Gneisenau 55

Blücher class 61

SMS Blücher 61

ReferencesArticle Sources and Contributors 70Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 71

Article LicensesLicense 72

Page 3: Armored Cruisers of Germany

1

Overview

Armored cruisers of Germany

Fürst Bismarck, Germany's first armored cruiser, during a goodwill visit to theUnited States.

In the late 19th century, the GermanImperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine)experimented with a variety of cruiser types,including small avisos and larger protectedcruisers.[1] Due to budget constraints, thenavy was unable to build cruisers designedsolely for fleet service or for overseasduties. As a result, the naval constructiondepartment attempted to design vessels thatcould fulfill both roles.[2] The protectedcruisers, the first of which were the twoIrene-class vessels, were laid down startingin 1886.[3] The protected cruisers evolvedinto more powerful vessels, culminating inFürst Bismarck, Germany's first armoredcruiser. Fürst Bismarck was laid down in 1896, a decade after the first German protected cruiser.[4] [5]

Fürst Bismarck proved to be "ideally suited"[2] to overseas duties and formed the basis for subsequent armoredcruiser designs.[2] Prinz Heinrich followed in 1898 and incorporated several alterations, including a reduced primaryarmament, a thinner but more comprehensive armor system, and a higher top speed. The two Prinz Adalbert-classvessels, laid down in 1900 and 1901, were designed with incremental improvements over Prinz Heinrich. Roon andYorck, two sister ships laid down in 1902 and 1903, respectively, were similar to the two Prinz Adalbert-classcruisers and incorporated only minor improvements.[6] The two Scharnhorst-class armored cruisers, laid down in1904 and 1905, were marked improvements over the previous designs; they carried a much heavier armament andwere more than 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph) faster than the earlier vessels.[7] The last German armored cruiser,Blücher, bridged the development of larger, more powerful battlecruisers. The ship was significantly larger, betterarmed, and faster than the Scharnhorst class, though she remained inferior to the new Invincible-class battlecruisersthen being built by the British Royal Navy.[8]

German armored cruisers followed the pattern set by the corresponding battleships; as compared to foreignequivalents, German warships mounted smaller main battery guns, but a heavier secondary battery. This armamenthas been compared unfavorably against their British and other counterparts. Naval historian Hugh Lyon remarkedthat the armored cruisers built by Germany were the "worst designed and least battle-worthy ships" in the navy.[1]

Conversely, the German battlecruisers, into which the armored cruiser evolved, were very highly regarded; navalhistorian John Campbell stated that Von der Tann was "a considerably better fighting ship than any of the 6 British12 in gun battlecruisers."[9]

Page 4: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 2

Key

Armament The number and type of the primary armament

Armor The maximum thickness of the armored belt

Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load[10]

Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed/horsepower generated

Cost Cost of the ship's construction

Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate

Laid down The date the keel began to be assembled

Commissioned The date the ship was commissioned

SMS Fürst Bismarck

Fürst Bismarck

Fürst Bismarck was the first armored cruiser constructed for theImperial Navy. The ship was the only member of its class, and wasdesigned primarily to serve in Germany's colonial fleet. The design forFürst Bismarck was an improvement over the previous VictoriaLouise-class protected cruiser—Fürst Bismarck was significantlylarger and better armed than her predecessors.[2] She was equippedwith four 24 centimeters (9.4 in) guns mounted in twin gun turrets foreand aft, and with twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) casemated guns as secondaryarmament. Fürst Bismarck was fitted with Krupp armor; the ship'smain armor belt was up to 20 cm (7.9 in) thick over the vessel's machinery spaces, and the deck was armored to athickness of 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in).[11]

Assigned to the German East Asia Squadron, Fürst Bismarck assisted in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion beforebeing replaced in 1909 by SMS Scharnhorst. Modernized upon arriving in Germany, she acted in a coast-defenserole early in World War I, but was soon relegated to service as a stationary training ship. Following the war, FürstBismarck was scrapped in 1919–1920.[4] [11]

Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS FürstBismarck

4 × 24 cm(9.4 in) SK

L/4010 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[11]

20 cm(7.9 in)[11]

11461 t (11280long tons)[12]

3 screws, tripleexpansionengines, 18.7 kn(34.6 km/h;21.5 mph),13,622 ihp[13]

18,945,000 marks[12] 1896[4] 1 April 1900[4] Broken up forscrap in1919–1920[11]

Page 5: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 3

SMS Prinz Heinrich

Prinz Heinrich

SMS Prinz Heinrich was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. Shewas laid down in 1898 and completed in March 1902 at a cost of16,588,000 Marks.[11] Prinz Heinrich's design was a modification ofFürst Bismarck, and traded a smaller main battery for higher speed andmore comprehensive armor protection. The ship set a precedent forsubsequent German armored cruisers by concentrating her secondaryarmament amidships, as opposed to Fürst Bismarck, which spread thesecondary armament along the length of the ship.[6]

Prinz Heinrich served with the German fleet for the majority of hercareer.[14] After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the shipparticipated in an operation against the British coast in December 1914,[15] after which she was transferred to theBaltic Sea.[6] Here, she operated against the Russian navy and was involved in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga inAugust 1915, where she damaged a Russian destroyer.[16] In 1916, the ship was withdrawn from active duty and wasused in several secondary roles in Kiel, including acting as a floating office for naval staff. Prinz Heinrich wasultimately sold in 1920 and broken up for scrap later that year.[14]

Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS PrinzHeinrich

2 × 24 cm(9.4 in) SK

L/4010 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40 guns[11]

10 cm(3.9 in)[11]

9806 t (9651long tons)[11]

3 screws, tripleexpansion engines,19.9 kn (36.9 km/h;22.9 mph),15,694 ihp[11]

16,588,000 marks[11] 1898[6] 11 March1902[6]

Broken upfor scrap in1920[14]

Prinz Adalbert class

Prinz Adalbert

The Prinz Adalbert class comprised two ships, Prinz Adalbert andFriedrich Carl. Friedrich Carl was commissioned first, on 12December 1903, and Prinz Adalbert followed on 12 January 1904.They were an improvement on the design of the previous armoredcruiser, Prinz Heinrich. Their armor belts were the same thickness butwere more extensive than that of their predecessor. The two ships werearmed with four main guns in twin gun turrets, as opposed to the twosingle gun turrets of Prinz Heinrich.[6]

Both ships saw extensive service with the German Navy; PrinzAdalbert was used as a gunnery training ship for the her entire peacetime career, while Friedrich Carl served withthe fleet until 1909, when she was withdrawn to act as a torpedo training vessel. At the outbreak of World War I inAugust 1914, both vessels were mobilized and assigned to the cruiser squadron in the Baltic.[17] Friedrich Carl wassunk by Russian naval mines off Memel in November 1914, though most of her crew was safely evacuated.[18] PrinzAdalbert was torpedoed twice by British submarines operating in the Baltic; the first, on 1 July 1915, caused seriousdamage that was ultimately repaired.[19] The second, on 23 October 1915, caused a catastrophic explosion in theship's ammunition magazines that destroyed the vessel. Six hundred and seventy-two men were killed, the greatestsingle loss of life for the German Navy in the Baltic during the war.[20]

Page 6: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 4

Ship Armament Armor Displacement

Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS PrinzAdalbert

4 × 21 cm(8.3 in) SK

L/4010 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[14]

10 cm(3.9 in)[14]

9875 t (9719long tons)[14]

3 screws, tripleexpansionengines, 20.4 kn(37.8 km/h;23.5 mph),17,272 ihp[14]

16,371,000 marks[14] 1900[6] 12 January1904[6]

Sunk on 23October 1915byHMS E8[17]

SMS FriedrichCarl

4 × 21 cm(8.3 in) SK

L/4010 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[14]

10 cm(3.9 in)[14]

9875 t (9719long tons)[14]

3 screws, tripleexpansionengines, 20.5 kn(38.0 km/h;23.6 mph),18,541 ihp[14]

15,665,000 marks[14] 1901[6] 12 December1903[6]

Sunk on 17November1914 byRussianmines[14]

Roon class

A Roon class cruiser

The Roon class comprised Roon and Yorck, which closely resembledthe earlier Prinz Adalbert class ships, but incorporated incrementalimprovements. The ships were easily distinguished from theirpredecessors by the addition of a fourth funnel. Like all of the armoredcruisers built by Germany, they were intended to serve as station shipsin Germany's overseas possessions.[2] The ships displaced up to 9875metric tons (9719 long tons) and were armed with a main battery offour 21 cm (8.3 in) guns. Their top speed was 21 kn (39 km/h;24 mph).[17]

The two ships served with the High Seas Fleet in the reconnaissancesquadrons after they joined the fleet in 1905–1906.[21] At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the ships servedalongside the more powerful battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group. While returning to port after a raid of theEnglish coast on 3–4 November 1914, Yorck struck German mines and sank with heavy loss of life.[22] Roon wasdisarmed in 1916 and intended to be converted into a seaplane carrier, though this was never carried out. The shipwas eventually broken up for scrap in 1921.[21]

Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS Roon 4 × 21 cmSK L/40

10 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[17]

10 cm(3.9 in)[17]

10266 t (10104long tons)[17]

3 screws, tripleexpansion engines,21.1 kn (39.1 km/h;24.3 mph),20,625 ihp[17]

15,345,000 marks[17] 1902[6] 5 April 1906[6] Broken upfor scrap in1921[21]

Page 7: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 5

SMS Yorck 4 × 21 cmSK L/40

10 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[17]

10 cm(3.9 in)[17]

10266 t (10104long tons)[17]

3 screws, tripleexpansion engines,21.4 kn (39.6 km/h;24.6 mph),20,031 ihp[17]

16,241,000 marks[17] 1903[6] 21 November1905[6]

Sunk on 4November1914 byGermanmines[21]

Scharnhorst class

Scharnhorst steaming at top speed

The Scharnhorst class was the last traditional class of armored cruisersbuilt by the Imperial Navy. The class comprised two ships,Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. They were larger than the Roon class thatpreceded them; the extra size was used primarily to increase the mainarmament of 21 cm (8.2 inch) guns from four to eight. The ships werethe first German cruisers to equal their British counterparts.[23]

Built for overseas service, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were assignedto the East Asia Squadron in 1909 and 1910, respectively.[24] Bothships had brief careers; shortly before the outbreak of World War I, theships departed the German colony at Tsingtao.[25] On 1 November1914, the ships destroyed a British force at the Battle of Coronel andinflicted upon the Royal Navy its first defeat since the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814.[26] The East Asia Squadron,including both Scharnhorst-class ships, was subsequently annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8December.[27]

Ship Armament Armor Displacement

Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS Scharnhorst 8 × 21 cm(8.3 in) SK

L/406 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[21]

15 cm(5.9 in)[21]

12985 t(12780 long

tons)[21]

3 screws, tripleexpansionengines, 23.5 kn(43.5 km/h;27.0 mph),28,783 ihp[21]

20,319,000 marks[21] 1905[7] 24 October1907[7]

Sunk on 8December1914 at theBattle of theFalklandIslands[21]

SMS Gneisenau 8 × 21 cm(8.3 in) SK

L/406 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[21]

15 cm(5.9 in)[21]

12985 t(12780 long

tons)[21]

3 screws, tripleexpansionengines, 23.6 kn(43.7 km/h;27.2 mph),30,396 ihp[21]

19,243,000 marks[21] 1904[7] 6 March1908[7]

Sunk on 8December1914 at theBattle of theFalklandIslands[21]

Page 8: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 6

SMS Blücher

Blücher

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the ImperialNavy.[28] She was designed to match what German intelligenceincorrectly believed to be the specifications of the BritishInvincible-class battlecruisers. Blücher was larger than precedingarmored cruisers and carried more heavy guns, but was unable tomatch the size and armament of the battlecruisers which replacedarmored cruisers in the British and German navies. Her primaryarmament of twelve 21 cm (8.3 in) guns was greatly inferior to theeight 12 in (300 mm) guns of the British battlecruisers.[29]

The ship initially served as a gunnery training ship, but joined the I Scouting Group after the outbreak of World WarI.[9] She took part in the operation to bombard Yarmouth and the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in1914.[30] At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit bygunfire from the British battlecruiser squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty. Rear AdmiralFranz von Hipper, the commander of the German squadron, decided to abandon Blücher to the pursuing enemy shipsin order to save his more valuable battlecruisers. Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk with heavyloss of life.[31]

Ship Armament Armor Displacement Propulsion Cost Service

Laiddown

Commissioned Fate

SMS Blücher 12 × 21 cm(8.3 in) SK

L/408 × 15 cm(5.9 in) SK

L/40guns[32]

18 cm(7.1 in)[32]

17500 t (17200long tons)[32]

3 screws, tripleexpansion engines,25.4 kn(47.0 km/h;29.2 mph),38,323 ihp[32]

28,532,000 marks[32] 21February1907[8]

1 October1909[32]

Sunk on 24January1915 at theBattle ofDoggerBank[32]

ReferencesFootnotes[1] Lyon, p. 249[2] Campbell, p. 142[3] Lyon, p. 253[4] Lyon, p. 254[5] German armored cruisers were known as Panzerkreuzer or Grosse Kreuzer, "armored cruiser" and "large cruiser", respectively.Grießmer, pp.

8–10[6] Lyon, p. 255[7] Lyon, p. 256[8] Campbell, p. 150[9] Campbell, p. 151[10] Historian Erich Gröner states that full load was defined as "[equal to] type displacement plus full load fuel oil, diesel oil, coal, reserve boiler

feed water, aircraft fuel, and special equipment."Gröner, p. ix[11] Gröner, p. 49[12] Gröner, p. 48[13] Gröner, pp. 48–49[14] Gröner, p. 50[15] Scheer, p. 69[16] Halpern, p. 197[17] Gröner, p. 51

Page 9: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Armored cruisers of Germany 7

[18] Corbett & Newbolt, p. 286[19] Halpern, p. 195[20] Halpern, p. 203[21] Gröner, p. 52[22] Tarrant, p. 30[23] Herwig, p. 28[24] Halpern, p. 66[25] Herwig, pp. 155–156[26] Gilbert, p. 102[27] Herwig, pp. 157–158[28] Herwig, p. 44[29] Herwig, p. 45[30] Tarrant, pp. 30–31[31] Tarrant, pp. 36–42[32] Gröner, p. 53

CitationsBibliography• Campbell, N. J. M. (1984). "Germany 1906–1922". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal. Conway's All the World's

Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.• Corbett, Julian Stafford; Newbolt, Henry John (1922). Naval Operations ...: From the Battle of the Falklands to

the entry of Italy into the war in May 1915. London: Longmans, Green and Co.• Gilbert, Martin (2004). The First World War: A Complete History. Macmillan. ISBN 9780805076172.• Grießmer, Axel (1996). Die Große Kreuzer der Kaiserlichen Marine 1906–1918. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe

Verlag. ISBN 3763759468.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity

Books. ISBN 9781573922869.• Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M.. Conway's All the

World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 240–265. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Paine, Lincoln P. (1997). Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co..

ISBN 0395715563.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Annapolis: Cassell Military Paperbacks.

ISBN 0-304-35848-7.

Page 10: Armored Cruisers of Germany

8

Fürst Bismarck class

SMS Fürst Bismarck

SMS Fürst Bismarck

Career (German Empire)

Name: Fürst Bismarck

Namesake: Otto von Bismarck

Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel

Laid down: April 1896

Launched: 25 Sept 1897

Commissioned: 1 April 1900

Struck: 17 June 1919

Fate: Scrapped in 1919–1920

General characteristics

Class and type: Fürst Bismarck class unique armored cruiser

Displacement: 10,690t normal;11,461t full load

Length: 127 m (417 ft)

Beam: 20.4 m (67 ft)

Draft: 7.8 m (26 ft)

Propulsion: 3-shaft triple expansion engines,13500 hp (10100 kW)

Speed: 18.7 knots (35 km/h)

Range: 4,560 nm @ 10 knots3,230 nm @ 12 knots

Complement: 36 officers585 men

Page 11: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Fürst Bismarck 9

Armament: 4 × 24 cm (9.4 in) (2 × 2)12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) (12 × 1)10 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (10 × 1)6 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 20 cm (7.9 in)Turrets: 20 cm (7.9 in)Deck: 3 cm (1.2 in)

SMS Fürst Bismarck[1] was Germany's first armored cruiser, built for the Kaiserliche Marine before the turn of the20th century. She was named for the German statesman Otto von Bismarck. The design for the Fürst Bismarck wasan improvement over the previous Victoria Louise-class protected cruiser—Fürst Bismarck was significantly largerand better armed than her predecessors.The ship was primarily intended for colonial duties, and she served in this capacity as part of the East Asia Squadronuntil she was relieved in 1909, at which point she returned to Germany. The ship was rebuilt between 1910 and1914, and after the start of World War I, she was briefly used as a coastal defense ship. She proved inadequate to thistask, and so she was withdrawn from active duty and served as a training ship for engineers until the end of the war.Fürst Bismarck was decommissioned in 1919 and sold for scrap.

DesignFürst Bismarck was designed before the naval arms race between Germany and the United Kingdom had gottenunder way. Admiral Hollmann was the State Secretary of the Naval Office at the time. Given the dominance of theBritish Royal Navy and the impossibility, as he saw it, of competing with it, Hollmann envisaged a small fleetconsisting of torpedo boats and coastal defense ships to be based in German waters. This would be supplemented bya number of cruisers for overseas duties, including trade protection.[2]

The first armored cruiser to be designed by the German navy, Fürst Bismarck was an enlarged version of theVictoria Louise-class protected cruisers, at nearly twice the displacement and with a significantly more powerfularmament. The ship was intended for overseas use, particularly in support of German colonies in Asia and thePacific. Despite heavy political opposition, the new ship was approved by the Reichstag, and was laid down asErsatz Leipzig in April 1896 at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. Fürst Bismarck, named after the famous Germanchancellor Otto von Bismarck, was completed on 1 April 1900, at a cost of 18,945,000 Marks.[3]

DimensionsFürst Bismarck was 125.7 m (412 ft) at the waterline, with an overall length of 127 m (417 ft) and a beam of 20.4 m(67 ft). She had a draft of 7.8 m (26 ft) forward and 8.46 m (27.8 ft) aft. She displaced 10,690 metric tons at thedesigned load, and 11,461 tons at full load.[4] Fürst Bismarck was described as being a very good sea-boat, and washighly responsive to commands from the helm. However, the ship suffered from serious roll problems and heavyvibration at higher speeds. Her metacentric height was .72 m.[5]

The ship was of transverse and longitudinal steel frame construction; the hull was a single layer of wooden plankscovered by a Muntz metal sheath that extended up to .95 m (3.1 ft) above the waterline. The lower portions of theship, including the stem and the stern, were covered with bronze plating. The ship had 13 watertight compartmentsand a double bottom that ran for 59% of the length of the hull.[5]

Page 12: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Fürst Bismarck 10

MachineryFürst Bismarck was propelled by three vertical four-cylinder, triple-expansion reciprocating engines. The engineswere powered by four Thornycroft boilers—which had been built by AG Germania—and 8 cylindrical boilers. TheThornycroft boilers had two fire boxes apiece, for a total of eight, while the cylindrical boilers each had four fireboxes, for a total of 32. Each of the three engines drove a three-bladed screw. The center propeller was 4.4 m (14 ft)in diameter, while the two outer screws were slightly larger, at 4.8 m (16 ft) in diameter. The engines produced13500 ihp (10100 kW) and a top speed of 18.7 knots (34.6 km/h). On trials, the engines were pushed to 13622 ihp(10158 kW), but still only provided a top speed of 18.7 knots (34.6 km/h). Electrical power was supplied by fivegenerators that provided 325 kilowatts at 110 volts.[5]

Armor

Fürst Bismarck, in Manila harbor

Fürst Bismarck was protected with Krupp armor, which was in somecases thicker than that of subsequent designs. The armor belt was20 cm (7.9 in) thick in the central portion of the ship, and tapered downto 10 cm (3.9 in) towards either end of the ship. Set behind the armoredbelt were 10 cm (3.9 in) thick shields for critical areas of the ship. Themain armored deck was 3 cm (1.2 in) thick, with 5 cm (2.0 in) thickslopes. The forward conning tower had 20 cm-thick sides and a 4 cm(1.6 in) thick roof, while the aft conning tower had 10 cm sides and a3 cm roof. The main battery turret sides were 20 cm thick and the roofswere 4 cm thick. The 15 cm turrets had 10 cm sides and 7 cm (2.8 in)gun shields. The casemated guns had 10 cm shields.[5]

By contrast, the following armored cruiser design, Prinz Heinrich, had only had a 10 cm-thick armor belt and 15 cm(5.9 in) of armor on the turret sides.[5] Even Blücher, Germany's last armored cruiser, only had a 18.0 cm (7.1 in)armored belt and 18 cm-thick turret faces, though her overall scale of protection was much more comprehensive thanFürst Bismarck's.[6]

ArmamentFürst Bismarck's main armament consisted of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 quick-firing guns[7] in two Drh. L. C/98twin turrets, fore and aft of the main superstructure.[8] These guns could depress to −4 degrees and elevate to30 degrees, for a maximum range of 16900 m (18482 yd).[5] The guns fired 140 kg (309 lb) armor piercing shells at amuzzle velocity of 690 metres per second (2300 ft/s). The propellant charge weighed 41.35 kg (91 lb) and was storedin a brass case.[8] The ship stored 312 rounds, for a total of 78 shells per gun.[5]

The secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm (6 in) SK L/40 quick-firing guns in MPL type casemates,[9] andten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns in a combination of casemates and shielded mounts.[5] The 15 cm guns couldelevate to 20 degrees, and had a range of 13700 m (14983 yd). The 15 cm guns could sustain a rate of fire of 4 to 5rounds per minute, and stored 120 shells per gun.[9] The 8.8 cm gun fired a 10 kg (22 lb) projectile at a muzzlevelocity of 590 m/s (1900 ft/s). Each gun was supplied with 250 shells.[10]

Six 17.7 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes were also fitted, with a total of 16 torpedoes. One tube was fitted to a swivelmount on the stern of the ship, four were submerged on the broadside, and the sixth was placed in the bow, alsosubmerged.[5]

Page 13: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Fürst Bismarck 11

Service history

Fürst Bismarck in harbor

Upon commissioning, Fürst Bismarck was assigned to the GermanEast Asia Squadron. She arrived at Tsingtao in August 1900, under thecommand of Conter Admiral (Rear Admiral) Curt von Prittwitz undGaffron, and participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion.[5]

The ship won the Kaiser's gold challenge cup for heavy-gunmarksmanship in 1901 and 1903.[11] When the new armored cruiserSMS Scharnhorst arrived at Tsingtao in 1909 to replace FürstBismarck as flagship of the East Asia Squadron,[12] she was orderedback to Germany. Upon arriving in Kiel in June 1909, she wasdecommissioned and entered a lengthy modernization that lasted until1914.[13]

At the outbreak of World War I, the ship was reactivated for coast defense duties, but was quickly withdrawn fromactive service. Fürst Bismarck spent the remainder of the war as a stationary accommodation and engineeringtraining ship in Kiel. In 1919, she was used for a short time as an office ship. Fürst Bismarck was struck from thenavy register on 17 June 1919, sold for scrap, and broken up the following year at Audorf-Rendsburg.[5]

Notes[1] "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.[2] Padfield, p. 37.[3] Gardiner and Gray, p. 142.[4] Gröner, p. 48[5] Gröner, p. 49[6] Gröner, p. 53[7] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun is 40 as times long as it is in diameter.[8] DiGiulian, Tony (6 April 2009). "Germany 24 cm/40 (9.4") SK L/40" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WNGER_945-40_skc94.

htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 5 June 2009.[9] DiGiulian, Tony (20 October 2008). "German 15 cm/40 (5.9") SK L/40" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WNGER_59-40_skc96.

htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 5 June 2009.[10] DiGiulian, Tony (22 March 2007). "German 8.8 cm/30 (3.46") SK L/30 8.8 cm/30 (3.46") Ubts L/30" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/

Weapons/ WNGER_88mm-30_skc97. htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 5 June 2009.[11] Naval Notes — Germany, p. 1321[12] Gröner, p. 52.[13] Gardiner, p. 254.

Footnotes

ReferencesBooks• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.• Gardiner, Robert, ed (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime

Press. ISBN 0851771335.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Padfield, Peter (1974). The Great Naval Race. Edinburg: West Newington House. ISBN 1843410133.Journals

Page 14: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Fürst Bismarck 12

• "Naval Notes — Germany". Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (London: RoyalUnited Service Institution) 48: 1318–1321. 1904.

Page 15: Armored Cruisers of Germany

13

Prinz Heinrich class

SMS Prinz Heinrich

Illustration of Prinz Heinrich

Career (German Empire)

Name: Prinz Heinrich

Namesake: Prince Heinrich of Prussia

Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel

Laid down: December 1898

Launched: 22 March 1900

Commissioned: March 1902

Fate: Scrapped in 1920

General characteristics

Class and type: Prinz Heinrich class unique armored cruiser

Displacement: 8,857t standard; 9,806t full load

Length: 415.33 ft (126.59 m)

Beam: 64.33 ft (19.61 m)

Draft: 26.5 ft (8.1 m)

Propulsion: 15694 hp (11703 kW), three shafts

Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)

Complement: 567

Armament: Two 24 cm (9.4 in) (2 × 1)Ten 15 cm (5.9 in) (10 × 1)Ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (10 × 1)Four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes

Armor: 4 in (10 cm) in belt6 in (15 cm) in turret faces2 in (5.1 cm) in deck

Page 16: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Heinrich 14

SMS Prinz Heinrich was a unique German armored cruiser built at the turn of the 20th century for the ImperialGerman Navy, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's younger brother Prince Henry. Prinz Heinrich was built at theImperial Dockyard in Kiel. She was laid down in 1898 and completed in March 1902, at the cost of 16,588,000Marks. Prinz Heinrich's design was a modification of the previous armored cruiser, Fürst Bismarck, and traded asmaller main battery for higher speed and more comprehensive armor protection. The ship set a precedent forsubsequent German armored cruisers by concentrating her secondary armament amidships, as opposed to FürstBismarck, which spread the secondary armament along the length of the ship.Prinz Heinrich served with the German fleet for the majority of her career. After the outbreak of World War I inAugust 1914, the ship participated in the operation against the British coast in December 1914, after which she wastransferred to the Baltic Sea. Here, she operated against the Russian navy and was involved in the Battle of the Gulfof Riga in August 1915, where she damaged a Russian destroyer. In 1916, the ship was withdrawn from active dutyand was used in several secondary roles in Kiel, including acting as a floating office for naval staff. Prinz Heinrichwas ultimately sold in 1920 and broken up for scrap later that year.

DesignThe Second Naval Law in Germany, passed in 1900, envisioned a force of fourteen armored cruisers intended foroverseas service in the German colonies. However, the German Navy required cruisers for operations with the fleetas well, and attempted to design ships that could fulfill both roles,[1] primarily due to budget constraints.[2] The firstproduct of the 1900 Naval Law, Prinz Heinrich was an alteration of an earlier vessel, Fürst Bismarck, and wasequipped with fewer guns and thinner armor in a trade-off for higher speed and lower cost.[3] The design also set theprecedent of concentrating the secondary battery amidships; Fürst Bismarck secondary guns had been spread alongthe length of the hull.[4] All subsequent armored cruisers were developments of Prinz Heinrich.[3] Prinz Heinrichwas laid down in 1898 at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. She was launched on 22 March 1900 and completed justunder two years later, on 11 March 1902.[4] The new cruiser cost 16,588,000 Marks.[5]

Dimensions and machineryPrinz Heinrich was 124.9 meters (410 ft) long at the waterline and 126.5 m (415 ft) overall. She had a beam of19.6 m (64 ft) and a draft of 7.65 m (25.1 ft) forward and 8.07 m (26.5 ft) aft. The ship displaced 8887 metric tons(8747 long tons; 9796 short tons) as built, and 9806 t (9651 long tons; 10809 short tons) at full combat load. The hullwas constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and incorporated thirteen watertight compartmentsand a double bottom that extended for 57 percent of the length of the ship. The German navy considered the ship tobe a good sea boat with gentle motion, though she suffered from severe roll. Her transverse metacentric height was.731 m (2 ft 4.8 in).[5] Prinz Heinrich was manned by a crew of 35 officers and 532 enlisted men. For the duration ofher career as the second command flagship of the Cruiser Division, the standard crew was augmented by anadditional nine officers and 44 enlisted men. She carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, alaunch, a pinnace, two cutters, two yawls, and two dinghies.[6]

The ship was propelled by three vertical 4-cylinder triple expansion engines; the center shaft drove a four-bladedscrew 4.28 m (14.0 ft) in diameter while the two outer shafts drove 4.65-meter (15.3 ft) wide four-bladed screws.Fourteen Dürr boilers, produced by Düsseldorf-Ratinger Röhrenkesselfabrik, supplied steam to the engines atpressures up to 15 standard atmospheres (1500 kPa). The propulsion system was rated at 15000 indicatedhorsepower (11000 kW) and gave the ship a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), though on sea trials, PrinzHeinrich's engines reached 15694 ihp (11703 kW) but a top speed of only 19.9 kn (36.9 km/h; 22.9 mph). She wasdesigned to carry 900 t (890 long tons; 990 short tons) of coal, though additional storage allowed up to 1590 t (1560long tons; 1750 short tons). This enabled a maximum range of 2290 nautical miles (4240 km; 2640 mi) at a speed of18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) and 4580 nmi (8480 km; 5270 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).[5]

Page 17: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Heinrich 15

ArmorPrinz Heinrich was protected by Krupp armor. Her armor belt was 100 millimeters (3.9 in) thick in the centralportion of the ship, which protected the ammunition magazines, machinery spaces, and other vital areas of thecruiser. The belt was reduced to 80 mm (3.1 in) on either end of the main belt, and the bow and stern wereunarmored. The entire length of the belt was backed by equal thicknesses of teak planks. The armored deck was 35to 40 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in) thick and was connected to the belt by 50 mm (2.0 in) thick sloped armor on thebroadside.[5]

The forward conning tower had 150 mm (5.9 in) thick sides and a 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roof. The aft conning towerwas much less thoroughly protected; it was covered by only 12 mm (0.47 in) of steel plating. The main battery gunturrets had 150 mm-thick sides and 30 mm-thick roofs. The 15 cm gun turrets had 100 mm-thick armor, while thecasemated weapons were protected by 70 mm (2.8 in) gun shields. The casemates themselves were armored with100 mm worth of steel plating.[5]

ArmamentPrinz Heinrich was armed with a variety of weapons. Her primary armament consisted of two 24 cm (9.4 in) SKL/40 quick-firing guns mounted in single turrets, one on either end of the superstructure. These guns were suppliedwith 75 rounds each; they could depress to −4° and elevate to 30°, which enabled a maximum range of 16900 m(18500 yd).[5] The guns fired a 140 kg (310 lb) round at a muzzle velocity of 835 m (2740 ft) per second.[7] Asecondary battery of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 quick-firing guns rounded out her offensive armament. Six of theseguns were mounted in amidships casemates on either side of the vessel, and the remaining four were mounted inturrets in the ship's hull above the casemates. These guns were supplied with 120 rounds each.[8] The shells weighed40 kg (88 lb) and were fired at a muzzle velocity of 800 m (2600 ft) per second. The guns could elevate to 25° for amaximum range of 13700 m (15000 yd).[7]

The cruiser carried ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns for defense against torpedo boats. Each of theseguns was supplied with 250 shells.[5] The shells weighed 7 kg (15 lb) and were fired at a muzzle velocity of 670 m(2200 ft) per second. This enabled a maximum range of 7300 m (8000 yd) at an elevation of 20°.[7] The ship's gunarmament was rounded out by four autocannons, though these were subsequently removed. The ship was also fittedwith four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes.[5] One was mounted on the stern in a swivel mount, one was mountedsubmerged in the bow, and one was placed submerged in the hull on either side abreast of the forward gun turret.[8]

Service history

Prinz Heinrich coaling from Hermann Sauber

Following her commissioning in 1902, Prinz Heinrich served with thefleet. She was the flagship of the Cruiser Division, along with theprotected cruiser Victoria Louise and eight light cruisers.[9] In January1904, the cruiser and two passenger ships went to the Norwegian townof Ålesund in the aftermath of a fire that destroyed the town. The shipscarried supplies and medical stores to the port and assisted with therelief effort.[10] She was reassigned to the II Subdivision of the CruiserDivision of the Active Fleet in 1905, after the arrival of the new armored cruiser Friedrich Carl. The II Subdivisionalso included the light cruisers Arcona, Hamburg, and Amazone, and was attached to the II Squadron of the ActiveFleet. A second subdivision, composed of an armored cruiser and three light cruisers was attached to the ISquadron.[11]

Prinz Heinrich conducted a series of tests with the Miller apparatus, a device used by the US Navy to resupply warships at sea, in February 1907. The ship engaged in the experiments with the collier Hermann Sauber; the first test took place on 17 February, and resulted in the crew being able to transfer 56 short tons (51 t) of coal per hour.

Page 18: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Heinrich 16

On the 22nd, another test was undertaken, under harsh weather conditions, and similar results were reached.[12] In1914, Prinz Heinrich went into drydock at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel for modernization. The arrangement of thesearchlights was modified, the superstructure deck bulwark was removed, and the masts were modernized.Following the improvements, she returned to the fleet.[8]

World War IFollowing the wave of declarations of war between the major European powers at the end of July 1914, Britaindeclared war on Germany on 5 August.[13] Prinz Heinrich participated in the second major German offensive in theNorth Sea, the operation to bombard Hartlepool on 15–16 December, 1914. Prinz Heinrich, along with Roon and aflotilla of torpedo boats, was assigned to the van of the High Seas Fleet, commanded by Admiral Friedrich vonIngenohl. The main fleet was providing distant cover to Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's battlecruisers, which wereconducting the bombardment.[14] During the night of the 15th, the German battle fleet of some twelve dreadnoughtsand eight pre-dreadnoughts came to within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of an isolated squadron of six British battleships.However, skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced von Ingenohl that he was facedwith the entire Grand Fleet. Under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily, vonIngenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battle fleet back toward Germany.[15] After the operation, it wasdetermined that the twelve-year old Prinz Heinrich had no place in operations against the powerful British GrandFleet, and she was transferred to the Baltic Sea to operate against the Russian Baltic Fleet.[4]

Prinz Heinrich steaming at high speed

Rear Admiral Hopman, the commander of the reconnaissance forces inthe Baltic, conducted a major assault on Libau, in conjunction with anattempt by the German Army to seize the city.[16] The attack took placeon 7 May, and consisted of Prinz Heinrich and the armored cruisersRoon and Prinz Adalbert, the elderly coast defense ship Beowulf, andthe light cruisers Augsburg, Thetis, and Lübeck. They were escorted bya number of destroyers, torpedo boats, and minesweepers. The IVScouting Group of the High Seas Fleet was detached from the NorthSea to provide cover for the operation.[17] The bombardment went asplanned, though the destroyer V107 struck a mine in Libau's harbor,which blew off her bow and destroyed the ship. German ground forces

were successful in their assault however, and took the city.[18]

On 1 July, the minelayer Albatross, escorted by the cruisers Roon, Augsburg, and Lübeck and seven destroyers, laid aminefield north of Bogskär. While returning to port, the flotilla separated into two sections; Augsburg, Albatross,and three destroyers made for Rixhöft while the remainder of the unit went to Libau. Augsburg and Albatross wereintercepted by a powerful Russian squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Bakhirev, consisting of three armored andtwo light cruisers.[19] Commodore von Karpf, the flotilla commander, ordered the slower Albatross to steam forneutral Swedish waters and recalled Roon and Lübeck. Albatross was grounded off Gotland and Augsburg escaped,and the Russian squadron briefly engaged Roon before both sides broke contact. Upon being informed of thesituation, Hopman sortied with Prinz Heinrich and Prinz Adalbert to support von Karpf. While en route, the cruisersencountered the British submarine E9, which scored a hit on Prinz Adalbert. Hopman broke off the operation andreturned to port with the damaged cruiser.[20]

German naval forces in the Baltic were reinforced by elements of the High Seas Fleet during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. The Germans sought to drive out the Russians in the Gulf of Riga and to lay defensive minefields that would prevent a Russian counterattack. The battleships of the I Battle Squadron were the primary force, though Prinz Heinrich and the rest of the older vessels assigned to the Baltic fleet participated.[21] On 10 August, Prinz Heinrich and Roon bombarded Russian defenses at Zerel, on the southernmost tip of the Sworbe Peninsula on the island of Ösel. Several Russian destroyers were anchored off Zerel, and were caught unawares by

Page 19: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Heinrich 17

the German bombardment. Prinz Heinrich and Roon damaged one of the destroyers during their attack.[22] Acombination of tenacious Russian defense and reports of British submarines in the area—proved by the torpedoingof the battlecruiser Moltke on 19 August—caused the German navy to break off the operation.[23]

Beginning in 1916, Prinz Heinrich was removed from front-line service and used as a floating office in Kiel.[1] Aftershe left active duty, the ship had her armament removed. She was subsequently used as a tender [24], also in Kiel, forthe remainder of her service career. She was stricken from the navy list on 25 January 1920 and sold later that year.The ship was ultimately broken up for scrap at Audorf-Rendsburg.[6]

Footnotes[1] Campbell, p. 142[2] Herwig, p. 27[3] Herwig, p. 28[4] Lyon, p. 255[5] Gröner, p. 49[6] Gröner, p. 50[7] Campbell, p. 140[8] Gröner, pp. 49–50[9] Our Contemporaries, p. 355[10] Survey of the World, p. 176[11] Naval Notes - Germany, p. 1319[12] New Apparatus for Coaling Warships, pp. 65–66[13] Herwig, p. 144[14] Scheer, p. 69[15] Tarrant, pp. 31–33[16] Halpern, p. 191[17] Halpern, pp. 191–192[18] Halpern, pp. 192–193[19] Halpern, pp. 194–195[20] Halpern, p. 195[21] Halpern, pp. 196–197[22] Halpern, p. 197[23] Halpern, pp. 197–198[24] http:/ / en. wiktionary. org/ wiki/ tender#Etymology_2

ReferencesBooks• Campbell, N. J. M. (1984). "Germany 1906–1922". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal. Conway's All the World's

Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M.. Conway's All the

World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 240–265. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity

Books. ISBN 9781573922869.• Scheer, Reinhard (1920). Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War. Cassell and Company, ltd.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks.

ISBN 0304358487.Journals

Page 20: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Heinrich 18

• "Naval Notes - Germany". Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (London: RoyalUnited Service Institution) 48: 1318–1321. 1904.

• "New Apparatus for Coaling Warships". Industrial Magazine (Collingwood, OH: The Browning Press) 6 (1):65–66. 1907.

• "Our Contemporaries". The United Service (Collingwood, OH: L.R. Hamersly & Co.) 5: 350–367. 1903.• "Survey of the World". The Independent (New York: S.W. Benedict) LVI: 169–176. 1904.

Page 21: Armored Cruisers of Germany

19

Prinz Adalbert class

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser

SMS Prinz Adalbert Class overview

Name: Prinz Adalbert

Operators:  Kaiserliche Marine

Preceded by: Prinz Heinrich unique armored cruiser

Succeeded by: Roon class armored cruiser

Completed: two ordered and commissioned

General characteristics

Type: Armored cruiser

Displacement: 9,087 tons (9233 t) normal;9,875 tons (10,033 t) full load

Length: 415.33 ft (126.59 m)

Beam: 64.33 ft (19.61 m)

Draught: 25.5 ft (7.8 m)

Propulsion: 16200 hp (12100 kW), three shafts

Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)

Armament: Four 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2)ten 5.9 in (15 cm) (10 × 1)twelve 3.45 in (8.8 cm) (12 × 1)four 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armour: 6 in (15 cm) main belt8 in (20 cm) turret faces2 in (5.1 cm) - 3 in (7.6 cm) deck

The Prinz Adalbert class was a type of armored cruiser built for the Imperial German Navy in the early 1900s. Twoships of the class were built, Prinz Adalbert, and Friedrich Carl. Friedrich Carl was commissioned first, on 12December 1903 and Prinz Adalbert followed on 12 January 1904. They were an improvement upon the design of theprevious unique armored cruiser, Prinz Heinrich. Their armor belts were the same thickness but were more extensivethan that of their predecessor. The two ships were also armed with four main guns in twin gun turrets, as opposed tothe two single gun turrets of Prinz Heinrich.Both ships saw extensive service with the German Navy; Prinz Adalbert was used as a gunnery training ship for the entirety of her peacetime career, while Friedrich Carl served with the fleet until 1909, when she was withdrawn to

Page 22: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser 20

act as a torpedo training vessel. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, both vessels were mobilized andassigned to the cruiser squadron in the Baltic. Friedrich Carl was sunk by Russian naval mines off Memel inNovember 1914, though most of her crew was safely evacuated. Prinz Adalbert was torpedoed twice by Britishsubmarines operating in the Baltic; the first, on 1 July 1915, caused serious damage that was ultimately repaired. Thesecond, on 23 October 1915, caused a catastrophic explosion in the ship's ammunition magazines that destroyed theship. Six-hundred and seventy-two men were killed, the greatest single loss of life for the German Navy in the Balticduring the war.

DesignThe Second Naval Law in Germany, passed in 1900, envisioned a force of fourteen armored cruisers intended foroverseas service in the German colonies. However, the German Navy required cruisers for operations with the fleetas well, and attempted to design ships that could fulfill both roles,[1] primarily due to budget constraints.[2] The firstproduct of the 1900 Naval Law, Prinz Heinrich, was an alteration of an earlier vessel, Fürst Bismarck, equipped withfewer guns and thinner armor in a trade-off for higher speed and lower cost.[3] The subsequent design—that of thePrinz Adalbert class—prepared in 1899–1900,[4] was an improvement on Prinz Heinrich. Four quick-firing 21 cm(8.3 in) guns were substituted for the pair of slower 24 cm (9.4 in) guns mounted on the older vessel.[1] Armorthickness remained similar in strength to that of Prinz Heinrich, though it was made more comprehensive.[5]

General characteristics

Line-drawing of Prinz Adalbert; the shaded areasrepresent the portions of the ship protected by

armor

The ships of the Prinz Adalbert class were 124.9 meters (410 ft) long atthe waterline and 126.5 m (415 ft) overall, and had a beam of 19.6 m(64 ft). The ships were designed to displace 9087 metric tons (8943long tons; 10017 short tons), but at full combat load displaced up to9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons); they had a draft of 7.43 m(24.4 ft) forward and 7.9 m (26 ft) aft. The ships' hulls wereconstructed from transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over whichthe steel hull plates were riveted. The vessels contained fourteenwatertight compartments and a double bottom that extended for60 percent of the length of the hull.[4]

The German navy regarded the vessels as good sea boats, with gentlemotion when the ships' lower fuel bunkers were full. The ships were responsive to commands from the helm. Theylost up to 60 percent speed with the rudder hard over, but suffered only minimal speed loss in heavy seas. The ships'casemate guns were placed too low, which rendered them exceedingly wet even in a slight swell. They had atransverse metacentric height of .734 m (2 ft 4.9 in).[6] The ships had a standard crew of 35 officers and 551 enlistedmen, though when serving as a squadron flagship this could be augmented by another nine officers and 44 enlistedmen. The ships were equipped with several boats, including a pair of picket boats, a launch, a pinnace, two cutters,two yawls, and two dinghies.[7]

Prinz Adalbert and Friedrich Carl were powered by three vertical 3-cylinder triple expansion engines; the center shaft drove a three-bladed screw 4.5 m (15 ft) in diameter, while the two outboard shafts powered four-bladed screws 4.8 m (16 ft) in diameter. The engines were supplied with steam by fourteen Dürr boilers produced by Düsseldorf-Ratinger Röhrenkesselfabrik. The propulsion system was rated at 16200 indicated horsepower (12100 kW) for Prinz Adalbert and 17000 ihp (13000 kW) for Friedrich Carl and top speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and 20.5 kn (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph), respectively. Both ships reached higher horsepower figures on trials, though their speeds were not significantly improved. The ships were designed to carry 750 t (740 long tons; 830 short tons) of coal, though storage could be increased to 1630 t (1600 long tons; 1800 short tons). This enabled a

Page 23: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser 21

maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9410 km; 5850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).Electrical power was supplied by four generators with a total output of 246 kilowatts (330 hp) at 110 volts.[4]

Armament

Midsection of SMS Friedrich Carl in a miniaturein the Deutsches Museum showing the ship's

secondary armament on the side.

Prinz Adalbert and Friedrich Carl were armed with a main battery offour 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/40 guns in two twin turrets, one on either endof the main superstructure. The four guns were supplied with a total of340 rounds of ammunition, or 85 shells per gun. The turrets coulddepress to −5° and elevate to 30°, which provided a maximum range of16300 m (53500 ft).[4] The 21 cm gun fired a 238-pound (108 kg) shellat a muzzle velocity of 780 m (2560 ft) per second.[8] The ships'secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns, allplaced in the sides of the hulls. Three guns were mounted in casematesamidships on either side, with a pair of gun turrets above them. Theseguns were provided with a total of 1,400 shells, or 140 per gun.[4]

These guns fired an 88.2-pound (40.0 kg) projectile at a muzzlevelocity of 800 m (2600 ft) per second. The guns could elevate to 30°, allowing a maximum range of 13700 m(44900 ft).[8]

The ships also carried twelve 8.8 cm SK L/35 guns for close in defense; these were arranged in groups of four inshielded pivot mounts. Four guns were mounted around the forward conning tower, four were emplaced around therear two funnels amidships, with the last four guns placed on top of the rear superstructure.[4] These guns fired a15.4 lb (7.0 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 770 m (2530 ft) per second. They could elevate to 25° and could engagetargets out to 9090 m (29820 ft).[8] The vessels' armament system was rounded out by four 45 cm (18 in) submergedtorpedo tubes. They were mounted in the bow, stern, and on each broadside, and supplied with eleven torpedoes.[4]

ArmorThe steel armor used on the two ships was produced by the Krupp firm. The main belt armor consisted of a layer ofteak that was 50 mm (2.0 in) thick, covered by 100 mm (3.9 in) thick steel plating in the central section, whichcovered the ships' machinery spaces and ammunition magazines. The belt was reduced to 80 mm (3.1 in) on eitherends of the central portion; the bow and stern were unprotected. The armored deck ranged in thickness from 40 mm(1.6 in) to 80 mm. Sloped armor, which ranged in thickness from 50 to 80 mm, connected the deck to the armoredbelt. The ships' casemate guns, which were placed above the main belt, were protected by 100 mm thick armorplating, as were the 15 cm turret guns. The two 21 cm guns had 150 mm thick sides and 30 mm roofs. The forwardconning tower was protected by 150 mm (5.9 in) sides and had a 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roof. The rear conning towerwas much less thoroughly protected, with only 20 mm (0.79 in) worth of armor protection.[4]

Service historyPrinz Adalbert was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in 1900, under construction number 27. She wasordered under the contract name "B".[4] The completed hull was launched on 22 June 1901, after which fitting-outwork was effected. The ship was finally completed by 12 January 1904, the day she was commissioned into theGerman Navy.[5] Friedrich Carl was ordered as Ersatz König Wilhelm and assigned to the Blohm & Voss shipyard;her keel was laid in 1901.[4] She was launched on 21 June 1902, almost exactly a year after her sister ship. Afterfitting out work was completed, Friedrich Carl was commissioned into the Navy on 12 December 1903, a monthbefore her sister ship.[5]

Page 24: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser 22

Prinz Adalbert went into service as a gunnery training vessel for the fleet after her commissioning, while FriedrichCarl served with the cruiser division of the battle fleet. In 1909, Friedrich Carl joined her sister ship as a trainingvessel, being used as a torpedo training ship. The two ships were re-mobilized after the outbreak of World War I inAugust 1914.[7] Both ships were assigned to Admiral Behring's cruiser squadron in the Baltic Sea, with FriedrichCarl serving as his flagship. The squadron was based in Neufahrwasser in Danzig. Behring was ordered to undertakeactions against the Russian port of Libau, which was believed to be acting as a staging area for British submarines.[9]

On the first assault on the port, on 17 November 1914, Friedrich Carl struck a pair of Russian naval mines offMemel. The ship's crew managed to keep the cruiser afloat long enough to allow nearby vessels to take off the entirecrew;[9] only seven men were killed in the attack.[7] The operation proceeded as planned, however, and severalblockships were sunk in the harbor entrance.[9]

After the sinking of Friedrich Carl, Behring shifted his flag to Prinz Adalbert.[9] The ship conducted severaloperations against Russian forces, including bombardments of Libau. In May 1915, she supported the German Armyattack that captured the city.[10] On 1 July 1915, the ship sortied to reinforce a German minelaying operation that hadcome under attack by a Russian cruiser flotilla. While en route with the armored cruiser Prinz Heinrich, PrinzAdalbert was torpedoed by the British submarine E9.[11] The damage was severe, though the cruiser was able toreturn to Kiel for repairs.[12]

Repairs were finally completed by October 1915. Prinz Adalbert was steaming some 20 miles west of Libau incompany with a pair of destroyers on 23 October when she was intercepted by the submarine E8.[13] E8 fired aspread of torpedoes at a range of approximately 1,200 m (1,300 yd), which detonated the ship's ammunitionmagazine.[14] The massive explosion destroyed the ship,[13] which sank immediately with the loss of 672 crew.[7]

There were only three survivors. The sinking was the greatest single loss of life for the German Baltic forces for theduration of the war.[13]

ReferencesCitations[1] Gardiner & Gray, p. 142[2] Herwig, p. 27[3] Herwig, p. 28[4] Gröner, p. 50[5] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[6] Gröner, pp. 50–51[7] Gröner, p. 51[8] Gardiner & Gray, p. 140[9] Corbett & Newbolt, p. 286[10] Halpern, pp. 191–193[11] Halpern, p. 195[12] Polmar & Noot, p. 42[13] Halpern, p. 203[14] Polmar & Noot, p. 45

Bibliography• Corbett, Julian Stafford; Newbolt, Henry John (1922). Naval Operations ...: From the Battle of the Falklands to

the entry of Italy into the war in May 1915. London: Longmans, Green and Co..• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:

1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.

Page 25: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser 23

• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: HumanityBooks. ISBN 9781573922869.

• Polmar, Norman; Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis:Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870215701.

SMS Prinz Adalbert

SMS Prinz Adalbert at full speed

Career (German Empire)

Name: Prinz Adalbert

Namesake: Prince Adalbert of Prussia

Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel

Laid down: 1900

Launched: 22 June 1901

Commissioned: 12 January 1904

Fate: Torpedoed and sunk 23 October 1915

General characteristics

Class and type: Prinz Adalbert-class armored cruiser

Displacement: 9087 t (8943 long tons; 10017 short tons) normal9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) full load

Length: 126.5 m (415 ft)

Beam: 19.6 m (64 ft)

Draught: 7.43 m (24.4 ft)

Propulsion: 16,200 hp, three shafts

Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)

Range: 5080 nmi (9410 km; 5850 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)

Complement: 34 officers551 enlisted men

Armament: Four 21 cm (8.3 in) (2 × 2)ten 15 cm (5.9 in) (10 × 1)twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (12 × 1)four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes

Page 26: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Adalbert 24

Armor: Belt: 100 mm (3.9 in)Turrets: 150 mm (5.9 in)Deck: 40 to 80 mm (1.6 to 3.1 in)[1]

For other ships of the same name, see SMS Prinz Adalbert

SMS Prinz Adalbert was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Imperial German Navy, namedafter Kaiser Wilhelm II's third son Prince Adalbert of Prussia. She was the lead ship of her class, which included asecond ship, Friedrich Carl. Prinz Adalbert was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. She was laid down in 1900and completed in January 1904, at the cost of 16,371,000 Marks. She was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm(8.3 in) guns and was capable of a top speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph).Upon commissioning, Prinz Adalbert served as a gunnery training ship, a role she held for the majority of her career.After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she was assigned to the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic. Afterher sister ship was sunk in November 1914, she became the flagship of the cruiser squadron in the Baltic. Sheconducted operations against Russian forces in the Baltic, including bombarding the port of Libau. She wastorpedoed by a British submarine in July 1915, but was able to return to port and was repaired. She was torpedoed asecond time on 23 October 1915; the torpedo detonated her ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship. She sankquickly with heavy loss of life; only three men were rescued from a crew of 675.

Construction

Line-drawing of Prinz Adalbert; the shaded areasrepresent the portions of the ship protected by

armor

Prinz Adalbert was ordered under the provisional name "B" and built atthe Imperial Dockyard in Kiel under construction number 27.[1] [2] Herkeel was laid in 1900 and she was launched on 22 June 1901.Fitting-out work was somewhat lengthy, but was completed by 12January 1904, being commissioned into the Imperial German Navy thesame day.[3] [4] She had cost the Imperial German Government16,371,000 Goldmarks.[1]

Prinz Adalbert displaced 9087 t (8943 long tons; 10017 short tons) asbuilt and 9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) fully loaded, with alength of 126.5 m (415 ft), a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft) and a draft of7.43 m (24.4 ft) forward. She was powered by three vertical triple

expansion engines, which developed a total of 17272 indicated horsepower (12880 kW) and yielded a maximumspeed of 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) on trials. She carried up to 1630 t (1600 long tons; 1800 short tons) of coal,which enabled a maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9410 km; 5850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn(22 km/h; 14 mph).[1]

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of thesuperstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and four45 cm (18 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.[1]

Service historyAfter commissioning and sea trials, Prinz Adalbert was placed in service as a gunnery training ship, a role she held for the majority of her career. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Prinz Adalbert was brought into front-line service with the fleet.[5] After her sister ship, Friedrich Carl was sunk in November 1914,[5] Prinz Adalbert became the flagship for Admiral Behring's cruiser squadron in the Baltic Sea.[6] In January 1915, Prinz Adalbert, in company with the light cruiser Augsburg and commanded by Admiral Behring, conducted a reconnaissance sweep toward the Åland Islands. While on the return voyage, she bombarded Russian positions at

Page 27: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Adalbert 25

Libau. She ran aground off Steinort during the operation, and Augsburg struck a mine off Bornholm.[7]

After being freed from her grounding, the ship was repaired and was ready for another operation in early May. RearAdmiral Hopman, the commander of the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic, hoisted his flag on Prinz Adalbert for amajor assault on Libau, in conjunction with an attempt by the German Army to seize the city.[8] The attack tookplace on 7 May, and consisted of Prinz Adalbert and the armored cruisers Roon and Prinz Heinrich, the elderly coastdefense ship Beowulf, and the light cruisers Augsburg, Thetis, and Lübeck. They were escorted by a number ofdestroyers, torpedo boats, and minesweepers. The IV Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet was detached from theNorth Sea to provide cover for the operation.[9] The bombardment went as planned, though the destroyer V107 strucka mine in Libau's harbor, which blew off her bow and destroyed the ship. German ground forces were successful intheir assault however, and took the city.[10]

On 1 July, the minelayer Albatross, escorted by the cruisers Roon, Augsburg, and Lübeck and seven destroyers, laid aminefield north of Bogskär. While returning to port, the flotilla separated into two sections; Augsburg, Albatross,and three destroyers made for Rixhöft while the remainder of the unit went to Libau. Augsburg and Albatross wereintercepted by a powerful Russian squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Bakhirev, consisting of three armored andtwo light cruisers.[11] Commodore von Karpf, the flotilla commander, ordered the slower Albatross to steam forneutral Swedish waters and recalled Roon and Lübeck. Albatross was grounded off Gotland and Augsburg escaped,and the Russian squadron briefly engaged Roon before both sides broke contact. Upon being informed of thesituation, Hopman sortied with Prinz Adalbert and Prinz Heinrich to support von Karpf. While en route, the cruisersencountered the British submarine E9, which scored a hit on Prinz Adalbert.[12] The torpedo hit below the conningtower and caused severe damage. Prinz Adalbert took on some 2000 t (2000 long tons; 2200 short tons) of water; herdraft increased significantly, which prevented her from being able to put in to Danzig. She instead had to make thejourney back to Kiel for repairs, which she reached on 4 July.[13]

Repairs were finally completed by October 1915. Prinz Adalbert was steaming some 20 miles west of Libau incompany with a pair of destroyers on 23 October when she was intercepted by the submarine E8.[14] E8 fired aspread of torpedoes at a range of approximately 1,200 m (1,300 yd), which detonated the ship's ammunitionmagazine.[15] The massive explosion destroyed the ship,[14] which sank immediately with the loss of 672 crew.[5]

There were only three survivors. The sinking was the greatest single loss of life for the German Baltic forces for theduration of the war.[14]

ReferencesFootnotes[1] Gröner, p. 50[2] German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships

intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".[3] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[4] Fitting out work on the ship lasted for slightly over 30 months. In comparison, Friedrich Carl, her sister ship, was launched on 21 June 1902

and completed by 12 December 1903, a total of 18 months.[5] Gröner, p. 51[6] Corbett & Newbolt, p. 286[7] Halpern, p. 187[8] Halpern, p. 191[9] Halpern, pp. 191–192[10] Halpern, pp. 192–193[11] Halpern, pp. 194–195[12] Halpern, p. 195[13] Polmar & Noot, p. 42[14] Halpern, p. 203[15] Polmar & Noot, p. 45

Citations

Page 28: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Prinz Adalbert 26

Bibliography• Corbett, Julian Stafford; Newbolt, Henry John (1922). Naval Operations ...: From the Battle of the Falklands to

the entry of Italy into the war in May 1915. London: Longmans, Green and Co..• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:

1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Polmar, Norman; Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870215701.

Page 29: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Friedrich Carl 27

Friedrich CarlFor the broadside ironclad, see SMS Friedrich Carl (1867)

Career (German Empire)

Name: Friedrich Carl

Namesake: Prince Friedrich Carl

Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg

Laid down: 1901

Launched: 21 June 1902

Commissioned: 12 December 1903

Fate: Mined and sunk 17 November 1914

General characteristics

Class and type: Prinz Adalbert class

Displacement: 9087 long tons (9233 t) normal9875 long tons (10033 t) full load

Length: 415.33 ft (126.59 m)

Beam: 64.33 ft (19.61 m)

Draught: 25.5 ft (7.8 m)

Propulsion: 16200 hp (12100 kW), three shafts

Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)

Complement: 586

Armament: Four 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2)ten 5.9 in (15 cm) (10 × 1)twelve3.45 in (8.8 cm) (12 × 1)four 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armor: 6 in (15 cm) belt8 in (20 cm) turret faces2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) deck

SMS Friedrich Carl was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Kaiserliche Marine. She was thesecond ship of the Prinz Adalbert class. Friedrich Carl was built in Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. She waslaid down in 1901, and completed in December 1903, at the cost of 15,665,000 Marks. She was armed with a mainbattery of four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns and was capable of a top speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph).The ship served with the German fleet after her commissioning before being used as a torpedo training ship in 1909.In August 1914 after the outbreak of World War I, she was brought back to active service to act as Rear AdmiralBehring's flagship in the Baltic Sea. Her wartime career was cut short on 17 November when she struck a pair ofRussian mines off Memel. The mines caused fatal damage, but the ship sank slowly enough to permit the safeevacuation of most of the crew; only seven men were killed in the incident.

Page 30: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Friedrich Carl 28

Construction

Line-drawing of Prinz Adalbert; the shaded areasrepresent the portions of the ship protected by

armor

Friedrich Carl was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz KönigWilhelm and built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg underconstruction number 155.[1] [2] Her keel was laid in 1900 and she waslaunched on 21 June 1902. Fitting-out work followed and this wascompleted by 12 December 1903, the day she was commissioned intothe Imperial German Navy.[3] She had cost the Imperial GermanGovernment 15,665,000 Goldmarks.[1]

Friedrich Carl displaced 9087 t (8943 long tons; 10017 short tons) asbuilt and 9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) fully loaded, with alength of 126.5 m (415 ft), a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft) and a draft of7.43 m (24.4 ft) forward. She was powered by three vertical triple

expansion engines, which produced a total of 17272 indicated horsepower (12880 kW) and yielded a maximumspeed of 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) on trials. She carried up to 1630 t (1600 long tons; 1800 short tons) of coal,which enabled a maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9410 km; 5850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn(22 km/h; 14 mph).[1]

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of thesuperstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and four45 cm (18 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.[1]

Service history

Midsection of SMS Friedrich Carl in a miniaturein the Deutsches Museum

Friedrich Carl served with the fleet from her commissioning inDecember 1903.[4] She was assigned to I Subdivision of the CruiserDivision of the Active Fleet. Along with the light cruisers Frauenlob,Arcona, and Hamburg, Friedrich Carl's subdivision was attached tothe I Squadron of the Active Fleet. Friedrich Carl was the flagship ofRear Admiral Schmidt, the commander of the Cruiser Division. Asecond subdivision, composed of an armored cruiser and three lightcruisers was attached to the II Squadron.[5] She served with the fleetuntil 1 March 1909, when she was withdrawn for use as a torpedotraining ship. She served in this capacity until the outbreak of WorldWar I in August 1914, when she was again placed in active service.[4]

In October 1914, Friedrich Carl was the first German warship to carry seaplanes. The ship carried two planesprovisionally and had no permanent modifications made to support them.[6] She was made the flagship of RearAdmiral Behring, the commander of the German cruiser squadron in the Baltic Sea. The squadron was based inNeufahrwasser in Danzig. The German naval command was aware that British submarines were operating in theBaltic Sea, and so ordered Behring to attack the Russian port at Libau to prevent it from being used as a Britishsubmarine base.[7]

The Russian Navy, however, had begun a campaign of mine-warfare in the Baltic. Russian destroyers laid a series of minefields off Memel, Pillau, and other German ports in October 1914. The Russian operations went completely undetected by the German navy.[8] During this period, Friedrich Carl used her seaplanes in operations against the port in Libau.[6] Behring was ordered to begin the attack on Libau in November; poor weather conditions delayed the operation until the 16th. Early on the 17th, Friedrich Carl was steaming some 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) off Memel when she struck two Russian mines. The ship was kept afloat for several hours, which allowed the crew to be

Page 31: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Friedrich Carl 29

evacuated safely. The operation went ahead as scheduled and blockships were sunk at the entrance to Libau.[7] Afterthe crew was removed, Friedrich Carl was abandoned; she capsized and sank at around 06:30.[7] [8] Only seven menwere killed in the attack.[4]

NotesFootnotes[1] Gröner, p. 50[2] German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships

intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".[3] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[4] Gröner, p. 51[5] Naval Notes - Germany, p. 1319[6] Greger, p. 87[7] Corbett & Newbolt, p. 286[8] Halpern, p. 186

Citations

ReferencesBooks• Corbett, Julian Stafford; Newbolt, Henry John (1922). Naval Operations ...: From the Battle of the Falklands to

the entry of Italy into the war in May 1915. London: Longmans, Green and Co..• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:

1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Greger, Rene (1964). "German Seaplane and Aircraft Carriers in Both World Wars". Warship International

(Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club, Inc.) I (1–12): 87–91.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.Journals• "Naval Notes - Germany". Journal of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (London: Royal

United Service Institution) 48: 1318–1321. 1904.

Page 32: Armored Cruisers of Germany

30

Roon class

Roon class armored cruiser

Roon class cruiser Class overview

Name: Roon

Builders: Kaiserliche Werft KielBlohm & Voss

Operators:  Kaiserliche Marine

Preceded by: Prinz Adalbert-class armored cruiser

Succeeded by: Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser

Built: 1902–1906

Completed: 2 ordered and commissioned

Lost: 1

Retired: 1

General characteristics

Class and type: Roon

Type: Armored cruiser

Displacement: 9533 t (9382 long tons; 10508 short tons) normal10266 t (10104 long tons; 11316 short tons) full load

Length: 127.8 m (419 ft)

Beam: 20.2 m (66 ft)

Draft: 7.76 m (25.5 ft)

Propulsion: 19000 ihp (14000 kW), three shafts

Speed: 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph)

Range: 4200 nmi (7800 km; 4800 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)

Page 33: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Roon class armored cruiser 31

Complement: 35 officers598 enlisted men

Armament: Four 21 cm (8.3 in) (2 × 2)ten 15 cm (5.9 in) (10 × 1)fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (14 × 1)four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 80–100 mm (3.1–3.9 in)Turrets: 150 mm (5.9 in)Deck: 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in)

The Roon class was a pair of armored cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy after the turn of the 20th century.The class comprised Roon and Yorck, which closely resembled the earlier Prinz Adalbert class ships, butincorporated slight incremental improvements. The ships were easily distinguished from their predecessors by theaddition of a fourth funnel. Like all of the armored cruisers built by Germany, they were intended to serve as stationships in Germany's overseas possessions. The ships did not compare well with their British rivals.The two ships served with the High Seas Fleet in the reconnaissance squadrons after they joined the fleet in1905–1906. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the ships served alongside the more powerful battlecruisers ofthe I Scouting Group. While returning to port after a raid of the English coast on 16 December 1914, Yorck struckGerman mines and sank with heavy loss of life. Roon was disarmed in 1916 and intended to be converted into aseaplane carrier, though this was never carried out. The ship was eventually broken up for scrap in 1921.

Design

Plan and elevation of the Roon class

Design work on Roon and her sistership Yorck was completed in1901.[1] The design for the Roon class can be traced back to the firstGerman armored cruiser, Fürst Bismarck, built between 1896–1900,and the preceding Victoria Louise class of protected cruisers that camebefore it. The German armored cruisers were designed for overseasservice, specifically to serve as station ships in the German colonies inAfrica, Asia, and the Pacific.[2]

Roon and her sister Yorck were improved versions of the precedingPrinz Adalbert class. The two ships German armored cruisers were

slightly larger and faster than the Prinz Adalbert class and had a slightly different armor layout; the Roon class shipshad thinner armor on the turret faces, and slightly thinner armored decks.[3] They shared many of the same layoutcharacteristics as the contemporary German pre-dreadnought battleships, including a smaller main armament butheavier secondary battery than their foreign equivalents. As a result, they likewise compared unfavorably with theirBritish contemporaries.[4] Taylor describes the ships as "poorly protected and not a successful class in service."[5]

General characteristicsThe ships of the Roon class were 127.3 meters (418 ft) long at the waterline and 127.8 m (419 ft) overall. They had abeam of 20.2 m (66 ft) and a draft of 7.76 m (25.5 ft). Roon and Yorck displaced 9533 metric tons (9382 long tons;10508 short tons) normally,[6] and 10266 metric tons (10104 long tons; 11316 short tons) at full load. Their hullswere constructed from transverse and longitudinal steel frames that formed a structure over which the steel hullplates were riveted. The hulls contained 12 watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for 60 percent ofthe length of the ship.[1]

Like the preceding Prinz Adalbert class ships, Roon and Yorck were good sea boats; when the fuel bunkers were full they had a gentle motion. They also maneuvered well and were responsive to the helm. With the rudder hard over,

Page 34: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Roon class armored cruiser 32

the ships lost up to 60 percent speed. The ships' casemates were placed too low, and as a result they wereexceedingly wet; the casemate guns were impossible to use in heavy seas.[7] They had a metacentric height of 1.04 m(3.4 ft). Their standard complements numbered some 35 officers and 598 enlisted men. While serving as a squadronflagship the crew was augmented by 13 officers and 62 men, and as a second command ship 9 officers and 44 sailorswere added to the standard crew.[8]

PropulsionRoon and Yorck were powered by the same engine system as the preceding class, which consisted of three 3-cylindervertical triple expansion engines, each of which drove one of the ships' three screws. The central screw was 4.5 m(15 ft) in diameter while the outer screws were 4.8 m (16 ft) wide.[9] Steam was provided to the engines by 16 Dürrboilers built by Düsseldorf-Ratinger Röhrenkesselfabrik. Each boiler had 4 fireboxes apiece for a total of 48. Thepropulsion system produced 19000 ihp (14000 kW), which delivered a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h). The shipsboth had four turbo generators, which provided 260 kilowatts at 110 volts. The ships both had a single rudder.[1]

ArmamentThe ships' primary armament consisted of four 21-centimeter (8.3 in) SK L/40 guns mounted two twin turrets, onefore and one aft.[10] These guns fired a 108-kilogram (240 lb) armored-piercing shell at a muzzle velocity of 780meters (2560 ft) per second, for a maximum range of 12300 m (13500 yd) with their original maximum elevation of16 degrees. The guns were later improved to 30 degrees, which extended the maximum range to 16200 m(17700 yd).[11]

Secondary armament included ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns in single turrets and casemates and fourteen 8.8 cm(3.5 in) SK L/35 guns, also casemated. The 15 cm guns fired a 40 kg (88 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 800 m(2600 ft) per second. The guns could be elevated to 30 degrees, which provided a maximum range of 13900 m(15200 yd). The 8.8 cm guns fired a 7 kg (15 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 770 m (2530 ft) per second. Theseguns had a maximum elevation of 25 degrees and a range of 9100 m (10000 yd).[11] The ships were also equippedwith four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes.[9]

This armament was identical to that on the preceding Prinz Adalbert class,[12] with the exception of ammunitionstores. The Roon class ships carried 380 shells for the main battery, 1,600 rounds for the 15 cm guns, and 2,100shells for the 8.8 cm guns. The planned conversion for Roon to a seaplane carrier called for six 15 cm L/45 guns andsix 8.8 cm Flak guns, with 2,400 rounds, though this was never carried out.[1]

ArmorRoon and Yorck were protected by Krupp cemented steel armor. At the waterline, their armored belt was 100 mm(3.9 in) thick amidships were the ships' vitals were located. This was decreased slightly to 80 mm (3.1 in) on eitherends of the central section of the belt. The belt was backed by 55 mm (2.2 in) of teak planking. At the casemate deckthe side armor was also 100 mm thick. Their armored deck ranged in thickness from 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in) and wasconnected to the belt by sloped armor that was 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) thick.[9]

The forward conning tower had 150 mm (5.9 in) thick sides and a 30 mm (1.2 in) thick roof. The rear conning towerwas less well-protected; its sides were only 80 mm thick and its roof was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick.[1] The main batterygun turrets were armored with 150 mm thick steel plates on the sides and 30 mm thick roofs. The 15 cm turrets wereprotected by 100 mm thick sides and 80 mm thick gun shields.[9]

Page 35: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Roon class armored cruiser 33

ConstructionRoon was laid down in 1902 at the Kiel Navy dockyard. She was launched on 27 June 1903 and completed on 5April 1906, at the cost of 15,345,000 marks. Yorck was laid down in February 1903, at Blohm & Voss shipyard.Yorck was launched on 14 May 1904 and completed on 21 November 1905 at a cost of 16,241,000 marks.[13] Roonwas laid down as Ersatz Kaiser, as a replacement for the old armored frigate Kaiser,[1] which had been renamedUranus and used as a harbor ship.[14] Yorck was ordered as Ersatz Deutschland to replace Deutschland,[1] thesistership to Kaiser, which had renamed Jupiter and converted into a target ship.[14] [15]

Service history

SMS Roon

Roon before World War I

After commissioning into the fleet, Roon was assigned to the IScouting Group. In 1908, she served as the flagship for Rear AdmiralJacobsen in the second division.[16] Roon served here until 1912 whenshe was replaced by the new battlecruiser Moltke.[17]

At the start of World War I, Roon was serving as the flagship of the IIIScouting Group. The ship participated in several actions during WorldWar I, including the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby,

during which she served in the cruiser screen for the dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet.[18] Roon also conductedoperations against Russian forces in the Baltic Sea, including bombardments against the Russian positions at Libauin support of the army in May 1915.[19] The Battle of the Åland Islands took place between Roon and several otherGerman cruisers and Russian forces led by the powerful cruiser Rurik. in July 1915.[20] In August Roon and PrinzHeinrich bombarded Russian positions in the Baltic and briefly engaged several Russian destroyers.[21]

After 1916, Roon was disarmed and used as a guard ship and floating barracks in Kiel until the end of the war.Design work commenced in 1916 to convert the ship into a seaplane carrier; work was planned to last from 1917 to1918 during a period of 20 months. The ship was struck from the naval register on 25 November 1920 and scrappedthe following year at Kiel-Nordmole.[8]

SMS Yorck

Yorck also served in the I Scouting Group with her sistership, in the second division. In 1908, the ship won theannual "Kaiser's Challenge Cups for Prize Firing" for the reconnaissance squadron.[16] In 1911, the ship came underthe command of Franz von Hipper, who would go on to command the I Scouting Group during the war.[22] Hipperheld this position aboard Yorck from 1 October 1911 to 26 January 1912.[23] In early 1912 the ship wasdecommissioned and her crew was transferred to the new battlecruiser Seydlitz.[24]

The ship had a short career during World War I. At the outbreak of war, Yorck was brought out of the reserve fleetand joined her sistership Roon in the III Scouting Group. After the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, theship made a navigational error upon returning to the Jadebusen, and accidentally sailed into a German defensiveminefield. The ship sank quickly and only 127 men of her complement of 629 were rescued.[25] The wreck wascleared over several periods between 1929 and the mid 1980s. The first period of work lasted from 1929–30; workcommenced briefly in 1965. The final work on removing the ship began in 1982.[8]

Page 36: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Roon class armored cruiser 34

Notes[1] Gröner, p. 51[2] Gardiner & Gray, p. 142[3] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[4] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 249[5] Taylor, p. 50[6] Seligmann, p. 20[7] Gröner, pp. 50–52[8] Gröner, p. 52[9] Gröner, pp. 50–51[10] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun is 40 times long as it is in diameter.[11] Gardiner & Gray, p. 140[12] O'Brien p. 18[13] Gröner, pp. 51–52[14] Gröner, p. 7[15] All German ships were ordered under provisional names; additions to the fleet were given a letter, while ships that were intended to replace

older vessels were ordered as "Ersatz (ship name)." An example of this practice is the Derfflinger-class battlecruisers: the lead shipSMS Derfflinger was considered an addition to the fleet, and was ordered as "K", while her sisters Lützow and Hindenburg were ordered asErsatz Kaiserin Augusta and Ersatz Hertha, being replacements for two older ships. See: Gröner, p. 56

[16] Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, p. 1053[17] Staff, p. 15[18] Scheer, p. 69[19] Halpern, p. 191[20] Halpern, pp. 194–195[21] Tucker pp. 293–294[22] Philbin, p. 18[23] Philbin, p. 183[24] Staff, p. 22[25] Tarrant, p. 30

Footnotes

References• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922 (http:/ / books.

google. com/ books?id=V2r_TBjR2TYC& printsec=frontcover). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866.

• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.

• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• O'Brien, Phillips Payson (2001). Technology and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Routledge.

ISBN 0714651257.• Scheer, Reinhard (1920). Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War. Cassell and Company, ltd.• Seligmann, Matthew S. (2007). Naval Intelligence from Germany: The Reports of the British Naval Attaches in

Berlin, 1906-1914. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. ISBN 0754661571.• Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.• Taylor, John (1970). German Warships of World War I. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 75-111292.• Tucker, Spencer E. (2005). The Encyclopedia of World War I. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1851094202.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.• "German Naval Notes". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers (Annapolis: American Society of

Naval Engineers) 21: 1052–1056. 1909.

Page 37: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Roon 35

SMS Roon

SMS Roon

Career (German Empire)

Name: Roon

Namesake: Albrecht von Roon

Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel

Laid down: August 1902

Launched: 27 June 1903

Commissioned: 5 April 1906

Decommissioned: 1911

Commissioned: 1914

Struck: 25 November 1920

Fate: Scrapped 1921

General characteristics

Class and type: Roon-class armored cruiser

Displacement: 9,533 t normal; 10,104 t full load

Length: 419 ft (128 m)

Beam: 66.33 ft (20.22 m)

Draught: 25.5 ft (7.8 m)

Propulsion: 19000 hp (14000 kW), three shafts

Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h)

Complement: 633

Armament: Four 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2)ten 5.9 in (15 cm) (10 × 1)fourteen 3.45 in (8.8 cm) (14 × 1)four 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armor: 6 in (15 cm) in belt7 in (18 cm) in turret faces1.5 in (3.8 cm) - 2.5 in (6.4 cm) in deck

SMS Roon[1] was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was authorized under the second Naval Law in 1902, and built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel at the cost of 15.3 million marks. The ship was named after Albrecht von Roon, a Prussian general and politician. She displaced up to 9875 tonnes (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) and was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns. Her

Page 38: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Roon 36

top speed was 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph).The ship participated in several actions during the First World War, including the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepooland Whitby, were she acted as a scout for the High Seas Fleet. Roon also saw duty in the Baltic Sea, including abattle in July 1915 against Russian cruisers and shore bombardment missions. After 1916, Roon was used as atraining and barracks ship in Kiel until the end of the war. It was intended to convert the ship into a seaplane tender,but the plan was eventually abandoned. The ship was struck from the naval register in 1920 and scrapped thereafter.

Construction

Plan and elevation of the Roon class

Roon was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz Kaiser and builtat the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel under construction number 28.[2] [3]

Her keel was laid in 1902 and she was launched on 27 June 1903.Fitting-out work was lengthy, but was completed by 5 April 1906,being commissioned into the Imperial German Navy the same day.[4]

[5] She had cost the Imperial German Government 15,345,000Goldmarks.[2]

Roon displaced 9087 t (8943 long tons; 10017 short tons) as built and9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) fully loaded, with a length of

126.5 m (415 ft), a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft) and a draft of 7.43 m (24.4 ft) forward. She was powered by three verticaltriple expansion engines, which developed a total of 17272 indicated horsepower (12880 kW) and yielded amaximum speed of 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) on trials. She carried up to 1630 t (1600 long tons; 1800 shorttons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9410 km; 5850 mi) at a cruising speedof 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).[2]

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of thesuperstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and four45 cm (18 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.[2]

Service history

Pre-war photo of SMS Roon, most likely takenduring 1907 visit to US

Roon was laid down in August 1902 at the Kiel dockyard, andlaunched in June 1903, during which the inspector general Alfred vonWaldersee was made patron of the ship.[6] The ship was completed inApril 1906, at a cost of 15,345,000 Marks.[7] In April 1907, Roon andthe light cruiser Bremen sailed to the United States to participate in aceremony commemorating the anniversary of the arrival of colonists inChesapeake Bay on 26 April. In addition to the German delegation, theinternational fleet consisted of warships from Great Britain, Japan,Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, and several other nations.[8]

In 1908, Roon was serving as the flagship for Rear Admiral Jacobsen,in the Second Group of the Scouting Division of the High Seas Fleet, along with her sistership Yorck. After beingreplaced as the flagship of the Scouting Group on 30 September by the new battlecruiser Moltke,[9] Roon wasdecommissioned in 1911; however, she was recommissioned three years later at the outbreak of World War I. At thestart of hostilities, Roon was serving as the flagship of the III Scouting Group. On 3 November 1914, sheparticipated in the operation to bombard Yarmouth.

Page 39: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Roon 37

Bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby

Map illustrating the locations of the variousforces during the German retreat from the Englishcoast. By this time, Roon was in the rearguard for

the High Seas Fleet.

A month later, on 15–16 December, she participated in thebombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. Along with thearmored cruiser Prinz Heinrich, Roon was assigned to the van of theHigh Seas Fleet, which was providing distant cover to Rear AdmiralFranz von Hipper's battlecruisers while they were conducting thebombardment.[10] During the operation, Roon and her attacheddestroyers encountered the British screening forces; at 06:16, Rooncame in contact with HMS Lynx and Unity, but no gunfire wasexchanged and the ships turned away. Following reports of Britishdestroyers from Roon as well as from Hamburg, Admiral von Ingenohlordered the High Seas Fleet to turn to port and head for Germany. Atthis point, Roon and her destroyers became the rearguard for the HighSeas Fleet.[11]

At 06:59, Roon, by this time joined by the light cruisers Stuttgart and Hamburg, encountered Commander Jones'destroyers. Jones shadowed Roon until 07:40, at which point Stuttgart and Hamburg were detached to sink theirpursuers. At 08:02, Roon signaled the two light cruisers and ordered them to abandon the pursuit and retreat alongwith the rest of the High Seas Fleet.[12] At 07:55, Beatty received word of Roon's location, and in an attempt tointercept the German cruisers, detached HMS New Zealand to hunt the German ships down, while his other threebattlecruisers followed from a distance.[13] By 09:00, Beatty had become aware that the German battlecruisers wereshelling Hartlepool, so he decided to break off the pursuit of Roon and turn towards the German battlecruisers.[14]

Operations in the BalticAdmiral Reinhard Scheer decided that because Roon and the other armored cruisers of the III Scouting Group wereslow and lacked thick enough armor, they were unsuitable for service in the North Sea.[15] Therefore, after April1915, she operated in the Baltic Sea, participating in several bombardment missions. On 11 May, the Britishsubmarine E9 spotted Roon and several other ships en route to Libau, which had been recently captured by theGerman army. E9 fired five torpedoes at the German flotilla; two passed closely astern of Roon while the other threemissed their targets as well.[16]

Russian cruiser Admiral Makarov

On 2 July 1915, Roon participated in a battle with Russian cruisers offthe shores of Gotland, Sweden.[17] The light cruiser Augsburg andthree destroyers were escorting the minelaying cruiser Albatross whenthey were attacked by four Russian cruisers—the armored cruisersBayan, Admiral Makarov, and light cruisers Bogatyr and Oleg.Augsburg escaped while the destroyers covered the retreat of theAlbatross, which was severely damaged and forced to seek refuge inneutral Swedish waters. Roon and the light cruiser Lübeck sortied to

relieve the beleaguered German destroyers. Upon arriving at the scene, Roon engaged Bayan, and Lübeck openedfire on Oleg.[18] Shortly thereafter, the Russian cruiser Rurik, along with a destroyer, arrived to reinforce the Russianflotilla. In the following artillery duel, Roon was hit several times, and the German ships were forced to retreat.[19]

On 10 August, Roon and Prinz Heinrich shelled Russian positions at Zerel on the Sworbe Peninsula. There wereseveral Russian destroyers anchored off Zerel; the German cruisers caught them by surprise and damaged one ofthem.[20]

Page 40: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Roon 38

Later serviceThe fog of war led to several instances where the Royal Navy misidentified several vessels as Roon in 1916. On 16February 1916, Roon was mistakenly reported as having been captured by a British cruiser in the North Atlantic.[21]

The ship was also mistakenly reported to have taken part in the Battle of Jutland as the flagship of the screeningforce for the main body of the High Seas Fleet. This mistake appeared in historical works published shortly after theFirst World War,[22] but later works have corrected it.[23]

In November 1916, Roon was disarmed and converted into a training and accommodation ship. Stationed at Kiel, sheserved in this capacity until 1918.[24] The German Navy had previously experimented with seaplane carriers,including the conversion of the old light cruiser Stuttgart early in 1918 for service with the fleet. Stuttgart couldcarry only two aircraft, however, which was deemed insufficient for fleet support. As a result, plans were drawn upto convert Roon into a seaplane carrier,[25] with a capacity for four aircraft. The ship's main battery would have beenremoved and replaced with only six 15 cm guns and six 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns; the large hangar for the seaplaneswas to have been installed aft of the main superstructure[24] The plan did not come to fruition, primarily because theGerman Navy relied on zeppelins for aerial reconnaissance, not seaplanes. Roon was struck from the naval registeron 25 November 1920 and scrapped the following year,[26] in Kiel-Nordmole.[24]

FootnotesNotes[1] "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.[2] Gröner, p. 51[3] German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships

intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".[4] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[5] Fitting out work on the ship lasted for nearly 30 months. In comparison, Yorck, her sister ship, was launched on 14 May 1904 and completed

by 21 November 1905, a total of 18 months.[6] Rüger p. 160[7] Gröner, p. 51–52[8] Schroeder, pp. 302–303[9] Staff, p. 15[10] Scheer, p. 69[11] Massie, p. 340[12] Massie, p. 340–341[13] Massie, p. 342[14] Massie, p. 343[15] Scheer, p. 135[16] Polmar and Noot, p. 40.[17] Corbett and Newbolt, p. 62[18] Pavlovich, p. 145[19] Hart, p. 365[20] Tucker pp. 293–294[21] Smith p. 350[22] Stevens and Westcott, p. 390[23] Tarrant, Appendix II[24] Gröner, p. 52[25] Greger, p. 88[26] Gardiner and Gray, p. 142

Citations

Page 41: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Roon 39

References• American Society of Naval Engineers (1909). Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, Inc. American

Society of Naval Engineers.• Corbett, Julian Stafford; Newbolt, Henry John (1923). Naval Operations. Longmans, Green and Co..• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.• Greger, Rene (1964). "German Seaplane and Aircraft Carriers in Both World Wars". Warship International

(Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club, Inc.) I (1–12): 87–91.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.• Hart, Albert Bushnell (1920). Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War. Harper.• Massie, Robert K. (2003). Castles of Steel. New York City: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40878-0.• Pavlovich, Nikolaĭ Bronislavovich (1979). The Fleet in the First World War : Operations of the Russian fleet.

Amerind Pub. Co..• Polmar, Norman; Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990: 1718-1990.

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870215701.• Rüger, Jan (2007). The Great Naval Game. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521875765.• Scheer, Reinhard (1920). Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War. Cassell and Company, ltd.• Schroeder, Seaton (1922). A Half Century of Naval Service. New York: D. Appleton and Company.• Seligmann, Matthew S. (2007). Naval Intelligence from Germany: The Reports of the British Naval Attaches in

Berlin, 1906-1914. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. ISBN 0754661571.• Smith, Alfred Emanuel (1916). New Outlook. Outlook Publishing Company, Inc..• Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914-1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.• Stevens, William Oliver; Westcott, Allan (1920). A History of Sea Power. Annapolis: United States Naval

Academy.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.• Tucker, Spencer E. (2005). The Encyclopedia of World War I. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1851094202.

Page 42: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Yorck 40

SMS Yorck

Yorck in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal

Career (German Empire)

Name: Yorck

Namesake: Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg

Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg

Laid down: February 1903

Launched: 14 May 1904

Commissioned: November 1905

Fate: Sunk accidentally by German mines, 4 November 1914

General characteristics

Class and type: Roon

Type: Armored cruiser

Displacement: 9533 t (9382 long tons; 10508 short tons) normal10266 t (10104 long tons; 11316 short tons) full load

Length: 127.8 m (419 ft)

Beam: 20.2 m (66 ft)

Draft: 7.76 m (25.5 ft)

Propulsion: 19000 ihp (14000 kW), three shafts

Speed: 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph)

Range: 4200 nmi (7800 km; 4800 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)

Crew: 35 officers598 enlisted men

Armament: Four 21 cm (8.3 in) (2 × 2)ten 15 cm (5.9 in) (10 × 1)fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (14 × 1)four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 80–100 mm (3.1–3.9 in)Turrets: 150 mm (5.9 in)Deck: 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in)

Page 43: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Yorck 41

SMS Yorck[1] was the second and final ship of the Roon-class of armored cruisers built for the German ImperialNavy. Yorck was named for Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, a Prussian field marshal. She was laid down in 1903 atthe Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, and finished in November 1905, at the cost of 16,241,000 Marks. Shedisplaced up to 9875 tonnes (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) and was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm(8.3 in) guns. Her top speed was 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph).The ship had a short career; she served with the fleet for the first seven years, after which she was decommissionedand placed in reserve. After the outbreak of World War I, she was reactivated and returned to front-line service.After returning from the raid on Yarmouth on 3–4 November, the ship made a navigational error in heavy fog andaccidentally sailed into a German defensive minefield. The ship sank quickly with heavy loss of life, though sourcesdisagree on the exact number of fatalities. Her commander was subsequently brought before a court martial andconvicted of negligence. Yorck was broken up incrementally, with work occurring in 1929–30, 1965, and finallycompleted in 1982.

Construction

Plan and elevation of the Roon class

Yorck was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz Deutschland andbuilt at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg under constructionnumber 167.[2] [3] Her keel was laid in 1902 and she was launched on14 May 1904. Fitting-out work was completed by 21 November 1905,being commissioned into the Imperial German Navy the same day.[4]

She had cost the Imperial German Government 16,241,000Goldmarks.[2]

Yorck displaced 9087 t (8943 long tons; 10017 short tons) as built and9875 t (9719 long tons; 10885 short tons) fully loaded, with a length of

126.5 m (415 ft), a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft) and a draft of 7.43 m (24.4 ft) forward. She was powered by three verticaltriple expansion engines, which developed a total of 17272 indicated horsepower (12880 kW) and yielded amaximum speed of 20.4 kn (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) on trials. She carried up to 1630 t (1600 long tons; 1800 shorttons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9410 km; 5850 mi) at a cruising speedof 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).[2]

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of thesuperstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and four45 cm (18 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.[2]

Service history

PeacetimeYorck was launched on 14 May 1904,[5] and commissioned into the German navy on 21 November 1905.[6] At thecommissioning Field Marshal Wilhelm von Hahnke spoke, saying, "old wisdom, si vis pacem, para bellum—he whowants peace shall be prepared for war...may the guns and machines of the Yorck be operated only by men with ironhearts and an iron will, men who know no other order than to put their lives at risk when the might, the greatness andhonor of the German people are being fought for."[5] After her commissioning, Yorck served with the fleet in thecruiser squadron.[6] From 1 October 1911 to 26 January 1912 Franz von Hipper, later commander-in-chief of theGerman navy, served as the ship's commanding officer.[7]

In early March 1913, the fleet conducted maneuvers off the island of Helgoland in the North Sea. Early on 4 March, the destroyer S178 fell out of formation in heavy seas and attempted to cross in front of Yorck. The destroyer was

Page 44: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Yorck 42

caught by a large wave and thrown into Yorck , which cut S178 in half. Out of a crew of 83 men, only 13 were pulledfrom the stormy sea.[8] Yorck was decommissioned and laid up in the reserve fleet in May 1913 with most of hercrew transferring to the newly completed battlecruiser Seydlitz.[9] Hipper, by now the deputy commander of thebattlecruiser squadron, stated that "the Seydlitz has a fine spirit and high morale, having carried over the spirit of theold Yorck crew."[10] On 12 August 1914 Yorck was recommissioned and assigned to III Scouting Group.

First World War

An unidentified Roon-class cruiser

On 3 November, Yorck participated in the first offensive operation ofthe war conducted by the German fleet. She augmented the forcesassigned to the I Scouting Group, which primarily consisted of thebattlecruisers Seydlitz, Moltke, and Von der Tann and the large armoredcruiser Blücher. The I Scouting Group, commanded by Rear AdmiralHipper, was ordered to bombard Great Yarmouth on the English coast.The four large cruisers bombarded the port but inflicted little damage;minelayers laid minefields off the coast, which sank the submarineD5.[11] Upon returning to the Helgoland Bight late that day, Hipper'sforces encountered heavy fog.[12] The fog prevented the ships fromentering Wilhelmshaven; instead, they anchored for the night in theSchillig roadstead. Yorck attempted to enter Wilhelmshaven early on the 4th,[13] but her crew made a navigationalerror which led the ship into a defensive minefield. She struck two German mines and capsized and sank with heavyloss of life.[12]

Sources disagree on the exact figures; V. E. Tarrant's Jutland: The German Perspective, states that 127 men out of acrew of 629 were rescued,[12] while Erich Gröner's German Warships 1815–1945 indicates that there were only 336fatalities.[6] Daniel Butler's Distant Victory states that "some 235" men perished in the sinking.[13] A contemporaryNew York Times article reported that the ship sank with the "loss of over 300 men."[14] Yorck's commanding officer,Captain Piper, was among those rescued. In December 1914, he was subjected to a court-martial and convicted ofnegligence and failure to follow orders.[14] The ship's wreck was partially scrapped in 1929–30; more work was donein 1965, though the ship was not completely removed until work resumed in 1982.[6]

FootnotesNotes[1] "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.[2] Gröner, p. 51[3] German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships

intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".[4] Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 255[5] Rüger, p. 237.[6] Gröner, p. 52[7] Philbin, p. 183.[8] The Sinking of Torpedo-boat "S-178", p. 848[9] Staff, p. 22.[10] Philbin, p. 24[11] Halpern, p. 39[12] Tarrant, p. 30[13] Butler, p. 110[14] "Prison for Yorck's Captain" (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ mem/ archive-free/

pdf?res=9F0CE4D61438E633A2575BC2A9649D946596D6CF). New York Times. 28 December 1914. . Retrieved 2 February 2011.

Citations

Page 45: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Yorck 43

ReferencesBooks• Butler, Daniel Allen (2006). Distant Victory. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International. ISBN 0275990737.• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:

1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal; Budzbon, Przemyslaw (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships:

1906-1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral Hipper:The Inconvenient Hero. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

ISBN 9060322002.• Rüger, Jan (2007). The Great Naval Game. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521875765.• Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914-1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.Journals• "The Sinking of Torpedo-boat "S-178"". Proceedings (Annapolis, MD: United States Naval Institute) 39:

847–848. 1913.

Page 46: Armored Cruisers of Germany

44

Scharnhorst class

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser

SMS Scharnhorst Class overview

Name: Scharnhorst

Operators:  Kaiserliche Marine

Preceded by: Roon class armored cruiser

Succeeded by: Blücher class unique armored cruiser

Completed: Two ordered and commissioned

Lost: 2

General characteristics

Type: Armored cruiser

Displacement: 12781 t (12579 long tons; 14089 short tons)

Length: 474.7 ft (144.7 m)

Beam: 71 ft (22 m)

Draught: 27.5 ft (8.4 m)

Propulsion: 18 Schulz Thornycroft Boilers3 shaft triple expansion engines27,759 ihp (trials)

Speed: 22.7 knots (42 km/h)

Armament: 8 × 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2, 4 × 1)6 × 5.9 in (15 cm) (6 × 1)18 × 3.45 in (8.8 cm) (18 × 1)4 × 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 6 in (15 cm)Turrets: 7 in (18 cm)Deck: 1.5 in (3.8 cm)–2.5 in (6.4 cm)

The Scharnhorst class was the last traditional class of armored cruisers built by the Kaiserliche Marine. The class comprised two ships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. They were larger than the Roon class armored cruiser that preceded them; the extra size was used primarily to increase the main armament of 21 cm (8.2 inch) guns from four to eight. The ships were the first German cruiser to reach equality with their British counterparts.[1] The ships were

Page 47: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser 45

named after 19th century Prussian army reformers, Gerhard von Scharnhorst and August von Gneisenau.Built for overseas service, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were assigned to the East Asia Squadron in 1909 and 1910,respectively. Scharnhorst relieved the old armored cruiser Fürst Bismarck as the squadron flagship, which had beenon station since 1900. Both ships had short careers; shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the ships departedthe German colony at Tsingtao. On 1 November 1914, the ships destroyed a British force at the Battle of Coroneland inflicted upon the Royal Navy its first defeat since the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814.[2] The East Asia Squadron,including both Scharnhorst class ships, was subsequently annihilated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8December.

Design

Left elevation and deck plan as depicted in Jane'sFighting Ships 1914

General characteristics

The ships of the class were 144.6 meters (474 ft) long overall, and143.8 m (472 ft) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 21.6 m(71 ft), a draft of 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in), and displaced 11616 metric tons(11433 long tons; 12804 short tons) standard, and 12985 t (12780 longtons; 14314 short tons) at full load. The ships' hulls were constructed oftransverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which the outer hullplating was riveted. The vessels had 15 watertight compartments and adouble bottom that ran for 50% of the length of the hull.[3]

The ships had a standard crew of 38 officers and 726 enlisted men.Scharnhorst, as the squadron flagship, had a larger crew, including anadditional 14 officers and 62 men. Gneisenau, when serving as the

squadron second command flagship, had an extra staff of 3 officers and 25 men. The ships carried a number ofsmaller vessels, including two picket boats, two launches, one pinnace, two cutters, three yawls, and one dinghy.[3]

MachineryThe Scharnhorst class ships used the same powerplant as in the preceding Roon class armored cruisers: three3-cylinder triple expansion engines.[4] Each engine drove a single propeller; the center shaft on Scharnhorst was4.7 m (15 ft) in diameter while the outer two were 5 m (16 ft) wide. Gneisenau's screws were slightly smaller, at4.6 m (15 ft) wide on the center shaft and 4.8 m (16 ft) on the outer pair. The triple expansion engines were suppliedwith steam by 18 coal-fired marine-type boilers with 36 fire boxes. The engines were designed to provide26,000 indicated horsepower, though on trials they achieved higher figures—28,782 ihp for Scharnhorst and30,396 ihp for Gneisenau. The ships were rated at a top speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph), though on trialsScharnhorst steamed at a maximum of 23.5 kn (43.5 km/h; 27.0 mph), while Gneisenau ran at 23.6 kn (43.7 km/h;27.2 mph).[3] The vessels carried 800 t (790 long tons; 880 short tons) of coal normally, though they were capable ofstoring up to 2000 t (2000 long tons; 2200 short tons) of coal. This provided a maximum range of 4800 nauticalmiles (8900 km; 5500 mi) at a cruising speed of 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph).[5] The ships had a single rudder.[3]

The vessels also carried the same electrical plant as in the older Roon class ships. It consisted of fourturbo-generators that delivered 260 kilowatts at 110 volts.[6] The Scharnhorst class ships were the last cruisers builtby Germany to be equipped with generators that put out power at 110 volts; the subsequent design, Blücher, hadgenerators that ran at 225 volts.[7]

Page 48: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser 46

Armament

Forward gun turret on Scharnhorst

The ships' main battery armament consisted of eight 21 cm (8.2 inch)SK L/40 guns,[8] four in twin gun turrets, one fore and one aft of themain superstructure, and the remaining four were mounted in singlewing turrets. The 21 cm guns fired a 108 kg (238 lb) armor-piercingprojectile at a muzzle velocity of 780 meters per second (2,559 ft/s).The guns had a rate of fire of between 4–5 rounds per minute.[9] Theguns were supplied with a total of 700 rounds.[3] The guns mounted inthe twin turrets could elevate to 30 degrees, which enabled a maximumrange of 16,300 m (17,830 yards). The single turrets could only elevateto 16 degrees, and so their range was correspondingly lower at12,400 m (13,560 yards). The twin turrets could train to approximately150 degrees in either direction from the centerline.[9]

Secondary armament included six 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns in MPL casemates.[10] These guns had a firedarmor-piercing shells at a rate of 4–5 per minute. The ships carried 170 shells per gun, for a total of 1,020 roundstotal. The guns could depress to −7 degrees and elevate to 20 degrees, for a maximum range of 13,700 m(14,990 yd). They were manually elevated and trained.[11]

The ships were also armed with eighteen 8.8 cm (3.45 inch) guns mounted in casemates. They fired 10 kg (22 lb)shells at a muzzle velocity of approximately 620 m/s (2,034 f/s). The ship carried 150 shells per gun, for a total of2,700 rounds. They were capable of engaging targets out to 11,000 m (12,030 yd). As with the larger 15 cm guns, the8.8 cm weapons were manually elevated and trained.[12]

As was customary for warships of the period, the Scharnhorst class ships were equipped with four 44 cm (17 in)submerged torpedo tubes. One was mounted in the bow, one on each broadside, and the fourth was placed in thestern. The ships were supplied with a total of 11 torpedoes.[3] The weapons were the C/03 type, which weighed662 kg (1,460 lb) and carried a 176 kg (388 lb) high explosive warhead. At a speed of 31 knots, the torpedoes had aneffective range of 1,500 m (1,640 yd); when set at a slower speed of 26 knots, the weapons could hit targets out totwice the distance, at 3,000 m (3,280 yd).[13]

ArmorAs was the standard for German warships, the ships of the Scharnhorst class were protected by Krupp armor. Theyhad an armor belt that was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick in the central portion of the ship, where the most important areaswere located. The belt decreased to 80 mm (3.1 in) on either end of the central citadel, and down to nothing at thebow and stern. The entire belt was backed with teak planking. The main armored deck ranged in thickness from60 mm (2.4 in) over critical areas and down to 35 mm (1.4 in) elsewhere. The deck sloped down to the belt; thisportion was between 40–55 mm (1.6–2.2 in) thick. The forward conning tower had 200 mm (7.9 in)-thick sides anda 30 mm (1.2 in)-thick roof. The rear conning tower was less well-armored, with sides that were only 50 mm (2.0 in)thick and a roof that was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 170 mm (6.7 in)-thick sides and30 mm thick-roofs, while the amidships guns were protected with 150 mm-thick gun shields and 40 mm-thick roofs.The 15 cm guns were armored with 80 mm-thick shields.[3]

Page 49: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser 47

Service historyUpon commissioning, both ships of the class were assigned to the German East Asia Squadron, with Scharnhorstserving as Admiral Maximilian von Spee's flagship. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were regarded as well-trainedvessels; both ships won awards for their excellence at gunnery.[14] At the start of World War I, the two ships were inthe Caroline Islands on a routine cruise; the rest of von Spee's squadron was dispersed around the Pacific. Thedeclaration of war by Japan on Germany convinced von Spee to consolidate his force with the cruisers Leipzig andDresden from the American station, and head for Chile to refuel. The flotilla would then attempt to return toGermany via the Atlantic Ocean. Admiral von Spee also intended to attack the three British cruisers under thecommand of Admiral Christopher Cradock, and any British shipping encountered.[15] On 22 September, Scharnhorstand Gneisenau approached the island of Papeete in French Polynesia with the intention of seizing the coal stockpiledin the harbor. The ships conducted a short bombardment that resulted in the sinking of the old gunboat Zélée.However, von Spee feared that the harbor had been mined, and decided to avoid the risk. The French had also set fireto the coal stocks to prevent the Germans from using the coal.[16]

Battle of CoronelAt approximately 17:00 on 1 November 1914, the East Asia Squadron encountered Craddock's ships off Coronel.Because the German ships had an advantage in speed, von Spee was able to keep the distance to 18 kilometers,before closing to 12 km to engage the British flotilla at 19:00. Scharnhorst hit Good Hope some 34 times; at leastone of the shells penetrated Good Hope's ammunition magazines, which resulted in a tremendous explosion thatdestroyed the ship. The light cruiser Nürnberg closed to point-blank range to attack Monmouth; after a severepummeling, Monmouth sank as well. The British light cruiser Glasgow and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto bothescaped under the cover of darkness. First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher remarked that it was "the saddest naval action ofthe war."[17] The defeat was the first to be inflicted on the Royal Navy since the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh. Afternews of the battle reached Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin, he ordered 300 Iron Crosses to be awarded to the men of vonSpee's squadron. After refueling in Valparaiso, the East Asia Squadron departed for the Falkland Islands, in order todestroy the British wireless transmitter located there.[17]

Battle of the Falkland Islands

Inflexible picking up survivors from Gneisenau

Some six hours after news of the battle reached England, AdmiralFisher ordered Admiral John Jellicoe, the commander of the GrandFleet, to detach the battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible to huntdown the German ships. Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee was placed incommand of the flotilla, which also included the armored cruisersCarnarvon, Cornwall, Defence, and Kent, and the light cruisers Bristoland Glasgow, which had survived Coronel.[17] Sturdee's ships reachedthe Falklands by the morning of 8 December, shortly before von Spee'ssquadron arrived. The British spotted the East Asia Squadron at 09:40;von Spee was unaware that the British had sent the two battlecruisers,and when he observed them, he ordered his ships to withdraw. Despitethe head start, the fast battlecruisers quickly caught up with the worn-out German ships, which had just completed a16,000 mile voyage without repairs.[18]

At approximately 13:20, the battlecruisers opened fire at a range of 14 kilometers. After a two hour-long battle,Scharnhorst was dead in the water and listing heavily. The ship was sunk shortly thereafter. Gneisenau had been hitmore than 50 times at close range; the crew gave three cheers for the Kaiser before the vessel sank. Nürnberg andLeipzig were also sunk, though Dresden managed to escape temporarily, before she too was destroyed off JuanFernandez island. Some 2,200 men were killed, among them Admiral von Spee.[19]

Page 50: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser 48

Notes[1] Herwig, p. 28[2] Gilbert, p. 102[3] Gröner, p. 52[4] Gröner, p. 50[5] Herwig, p. 268[6] Gröner, p. 51[7] Gröner, p. 53[8] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.[9] DiGiulian, Tony (25 February 2009). "Germany 21 cm/40 (8.27") SK L/40" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_827-40_skc95. htm). NavWeaps.com. . Retrieved 3 August 2009.[10] MPL stands for Mittel-Pivot-Lafette (Central pivot mounting). See NavWeaps.com (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_projectiles. htm)[11] DiGiulian, Tony (20 October 2008). "German 15 cm/40 (5.9") SK L/40" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WNGER_59-40_skc96.

htm). NavWeaps.com. . Retrieved 3 August 2009.[12] DiGiulian, Tony (29 October 2006). "German 8.8 cm/35 (3.46") SK L/35" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_88mm-35_skc00. htm). NavWeaps.com. . Retrieved 3 August 2009.[13] DiGiulian, Tony (21 April 2007). "German Torpedoes Pre-World War II" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WTGER_PreWWII.

htm). NavWeaps.com. . Retrieved 3 August 2009.[14] Halpern, p. 66[15] Herwig, p. 155–156[16] Halpern, p. 89[17] Herwig, p. 157[18] Herwig, pp. 157–158[19] Herwig, p. 158

Footnotes

References• Gilbert, Martin (2004). The First World War: A Complete History. Macmillan. ISBN 9780805076172.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity

Books. ISBN 9781573922869.

Page 51: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 49

SMS ScharnhorstThis article is about the World War I armored cruiser Scharnhorst; for the World War II battlecruiser of thesame name, see German warship Scharnhorst (1936).

Career (German Empire)

Name: Scharnhorst

Namesake: Gerhard von Scharnhorst

Ordered: 1904

Laid down: January 1905

Launched: 22 March 1906

Commissioned: 24 October 1907

Fate: Sunk in action, First Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914

General characteristics

Class and type: Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser

Displacement: 12985 t (12780 long tons; 14314 short tons)

Length: 144.6 m (474 ft)

Beam: 21.6 m (71 ft)

Draft: 8.37 m (27.5 ft)

Propulsion: 18 Schulz Thornycroft Boilers3 shaft triple expansion engines27,759 ihp (trials)

Speed: 22.7 knots (42 km/h)

Range: 5000 nmi (9300 km; 5800 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)2200 nmi (4100 km; 2500 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1]

Armament: 8 × 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2, 4 × 1)6 × 5.9 in (15 cm) (6 × 1)18 × 3.45 in (8.8 cm) (18 × 1)4 × 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 6 in (15 cm)Turrets: 7 in (18 cm)Deck: 1.5 in (3.8 cm)–2.5 in (6.4 cm)

SMS Scharnhorst was an 12985 t (12780 long tons; 14314 short tons) armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of her class, which also

Page 52: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 50

included her sister SMS Gneisenau. Scharnhorst and her sister were enlarged versions of the preceding Roon class;they were equipped with a greater number of main guns and a higher top speed. The ship was named after thePrussian reformer general Gerhard von Scharnhorst and commissioned into service on 24 October 1907.Scharnhorst was assigned to the German East Asia Squadron based in Tsingtao, China, along with Gneisenau, in1911. They served as the core of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee's fleet. After the outbreak of World War I inAugust 1914, the two ships, accompanied by three light cruisers and several colliers, sailed across the Pacificocean—in the process evading the various Allied naval forces sent to intercept them—before arriving off thesouthern coast of South America. On 1 November 1914, Scharnhorst and the rest of the East Asia Squadronencountered and overpowered a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel. The stinging defeat prompted the BritishAdmiralty to dispatch two battlecruisers to hunt down and destroy von Spee's flotilla, which they accomplished atthe Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914.

ConstructionScharnhorst was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany in 1905, under constructionnumber 175. She was launched on 23 March 1906, and commissioned into the fleet a year and a half later on 24October 1907. The ship cost the German government 20,319,000 goldmarks.[2] The ship had been designed forservice with the High Seas Fleet,[3] though they were found to be too weak for service with the battle fleet; insteadthey were deployed overseas, a role in which they performed well.[4]

Guns on SMS Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was 144.6 meters (474 ft) long overall, and had a beam of21.6 m (71 ft), a draft of 8.37 m (27 ft 6 in). The ship displaced 11616metric tons (11433 long tons; 12804 short tons) standard, and 12985 t(12780 long tons; 14314 short tons) at full load. Scharnhorst's crewconsisted of 52 officers and 788 enlisted men; of these, 14 officers and62 enlisted men were assigned to the squadron commander's staff, andwere additional to the standard complement.[2]

Scharnhorst's primary armament consisted of eight 21 cm (8.2 inch)SK L/40 guns,[5] four in twin gun turrets, one fore and one aft of themain superstructure, and the remaining four were mounted in single

wing turrets. Secondary armament included six 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns in MPL casemates,[6] and eighteen8.8 cm (3.45 inch) guns mounted in casemates. She was also equipped with four 44 cm (17 in) submerged torpedotubes. One was mounted in the bow, one on each broadside, and the fourth was placed in the stern.[2]

Service historyIn 1909, Scharnhorst was assigned to the Ostasiengeschwader (East Asia Squadron); Gneisenau followed in 1910.The two ships formed the core of the squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as the flagship.[2] The pair were crackgunnery ships; Gneisenau had won the Kaiser's Cup twice,[7] and Scharnhorst's finished in second place in 1913 and1914.[8]

In June 1914, the annual summer cruise of the East Asia Squadron began; Gneisenau rendezvoused with Scharnhorstin Nagasaki, Japan, where they received a full supply of coal. They then sailed south, arriving in Truk in early Julywhere they would restock their coal supplies; while en route, they received news of the assassination of ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand.[9] On 17 July, the East Asia Squadron arrived in Ponape in the Caroline Islands. Here, von Speehad access to the German radio network, where he learned of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia andthe Russian mobilization. On 31 July, word came that the German ultimatum that Russia demobilize its armies wasset to expire. Von Spee ordered his ships be stripped for war.[10] On 2 August, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered Germanmobilization against France and Russia.[11]

Page 53: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 51

World War I

When the First World War broke out, Scharnhorst was AdmiralMaximilian von Spee's flagship in the East Asia Squadron. Thissquadron consisted of Scharnhorst, her sister ship Gneisenau, and thelight cruisers Emden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig.[12] On 6 August 1914,Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, the supply ship Titania, and the Japanesecollier Fukoku Maru were still in Ponape;[13] von Spee had issuedorders to recall the light cruisers, which had been dispersed on variouscruises around the Pacific.[14] Nürnberg joined von Spee that day.[13]

Von Spee decided the best place to concentrate his forces was Pagan Island in the northern Marianas Islands, aGerman possession in the central Pacific. All available colliers, supply ships, and passenger liners were ordered tomeet the East Asia Squadron there.[15] On 11 August, von Spee arrived in Pagan; he was joined by several supplyships, as well as Emden and the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich.[16]

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau regrouped with Emden and Nürnberg; the four ships then departed the central Pacific,bound for Chile. On 13 August the captain of the Emden, Commodore Karl von Müller, persuaded von Spee todetach his ship for commerce raiding. By this time, the squadron had been reinforced by the arrival of Dresden andLeipzig.[17] Dresden was stationed in the Caribbean,[12] but had been in San Francisco when von Spee issued theorder to consolidate German naval forces.[18] On 14 August, the East Asia Squadron departed Pagan for EnewetakAtoll in the Marshall Islands, with Scharnhorst in the lead.[19] The ships again coaled after their arrival on 20August.[20]

In order to keep the German high command informed, von Spee detached Nürnberg on 8 September to Honolulu tosend word through neutral countries. Nürnberg brought back news of the Allied conquest of the German colony atSamoa; on 14 August, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sailed to Apia to investigate the situation, but found no suitabletargets.[21] At the Battle of Papeete on 22 September, Scharnhorst and the rest of the East Asia Squadron bombardedthe colony.[22] During the bombardment, the French gunboat Zélée was sunk by gunfire from the German ships. Fearof mines in the harbor prevented von Spee from seizing the coal that lay in the harbor.[23] By 12 October,Scharnhorst and the rest of the squadron had reached Easter Island. There they were joined by Dresden and Leipzig,which had sailed from American waters. After a week in the area, the ships departed for Chile.[24]

Battle of Coronel

Scharnhorst steaming at high speed

To oppose the German squadron off the coast of South America, theBritish had scant resources; under the command of Rear AdmiralChristopher Cradock were the armored cruisers HMS Good Hope andMonmouth, the light cruiser Glasgow, and the auxiliary cruiserOtranto. This flotilla was reinforced by the elderly pre-dreadnoughtbattleship Canopus and the armored cruiser Defence, the latter,however, did not arrive until after the Battle of Coronel.[25] Canopuswas left behind by Cradock, who likely felt that her slow speed wouldprevent him from bringing the German ships to battle.[26]

On the evening of 26 October, Scharnhorst and the rest of the squadronsteamed out of Mas a Fuera, Chile, and headed eastward. Von Spee learned that Glasgow had been spotted inCoronel on the 31st, and so turned towards the port.[26] He arrived on the afternoon of 1 November, and to hissurprise, encountered Good Hope, Monmouth, and Otranto as well as Glasgow. Canopus was still some 300 miles

(480 km) behind, with the British colliers.[27] At 17:00, Glasgow spotted the Germans; Cradock formed a line with Good Hope in the lead, followed by Monmouth, Glasgow, and Otranto in the rear. Von Spee decided to hold off on

Page 54: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 52

engaging the British until the sun had set more, at which point the British ships would be silhouetted by the sun.Cradock realized the uselessness of Otranto in the line of battle, and so detached her.[28]

At 19:00, the German ships closed to attack.[28] Scharnhorst engaged Good Hope and hit her at least 35 times; one ofthese shells penetrated an ammunition magazine, which destroyed Good Hope in a huge explosion at 19:57.[8] At thesame time, Nürnberg closed to point-blank range of Monmouth and poured shells into her.[29] Glasgow was forced toabandon Monmouth after 20:20, before fleeing south and meeting with Canopus. Monmouth eventually capsized andsank at 21:18.[30] Over 1,600 men were killed in the sinking of the two armored cruisers, including AdmiralCradock; German losses were negligible. However, the German ships had expended over 40% of their ammunitionsupply.[28] Scharnhorst was hit twice during the engagement, but both shells failed to explode.[30]

Battle of the Falkland Islands

Once word of the defeat reached London, the Royal Navy set to organizing a force to hunt down and destroy the EastAsia Squadron. To this end, the powerful new battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were detached from the GrandFleet and placed under the command of Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee.[31] The two ships left Devonport on 10November, and while en route to the Falkland Islands, they were joined by the armored cruisers Carnarvon, Kent,and Cornwall, the light cruisers Bristol and Glasgow, and the Otranto. The force of eight ships reached the Falklandsby 7 December, where they immediately coaled.[32]

Gneisenau and Nürnberg, the first two ships in the German line, approached the Falklands on the same morning,with the intention of destroying the wireless transmitter there. Observers aboard Gneisenau spotted the twobattlecruisers in the harbor of Port Stanley, and when 30.5 cm (12.0 in) shells were fired from Canopus, which hadbeen beached as a guard ship, the Germans turned to flee.[32] The Germans took a south-easterly course at 22 kn(41 km/h; 25 mph). Scharnhorst was the center ship, with Gneisenau and Nürnberg ahead and Dresden and Leipzigastern.[33] The fast battlecruisers quickly got up steam and sailed out of the harbor to pursue the East AsiaSquadron.[32]

Scharnhorst rolls over and sinks while Gneisenaucontinues to fight

By 13:20, the faster British ships had caught up with Scharnhorst andthe other cruisers, and began to fire at a range of 14 km (8.7 mi).[34]

Von Spee realized his armored cruisers could not escape the muchfaster battlecruisers, and so ordered the three light cruisers to attemptto break away while he turned about to engage the British withScharnhorst and Gneisenau. However, Sturdee detached his armoredand light cruisers to pursue the German light cruisers, while thebattlecruisers dealt with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.[35] Invincibleopened fire at Scharnhorst while Inflexible attacked Gneisenau.Sturdee attempted to widen the distance by turning two points to thenorth to prevent von Spee from closing to within the range of his smaller 8.2 in (21 cm) guns. However, von Speecounteracted this maneuver by turning rapidly to the south, which forced Sturdee to turn south as well. This allowedScharnhorst and Gneisenau to get close enough to engage with their secondary 5.9 in (15 cm) guns; their shootingwas so effective that it forced the British to haul away.[36]

By 15:30, Scharnhorst had been holed in several places below the waterline, her third funnel had been destroyed,and she was burning badly. She was also low in the water, drawing some 3 ft (0.91 m) more than normal. At 16:04,Scharnhorst was observed from Inflexible as having rapidly listed to port, and she sank at 16:17.[37] All 860 officersand men on board, including von Spee, went down with the ship.[2] Gneisenau, Leipzig, and Nürnberg were alsosunk. Only Dresden managed to escape, but she was eventually tracked to the Juan Fernandez Island and sunk. Thecomplete destruction of the squadron killed some 2,200 German sailors and officers, including two of von Spee'ssons.[34]

Page 55: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 53

NotesFootnotes[1] Hough, p. 12[2] Gröner, p. 52[3] Herwig, p. 44[4] Gardiner & Gray, p. 142[5] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.[6] MPL stands for Mittel-Pivot-Lafette (Central pivot mounting). See Navweaps.com (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_projectiles. htm)[7] Hough, p. 3[8] Strachan, p. 35[9] Hough, pp. 11–12[10] This meant the removal of all non-essential items, to include dress uniforms, tapestries, furniture, and other flammable objects. See: Hough,

p. 17[11] Hough, pp. 17–18[12] Halpern, p. 66[13] Halpern, p. 71[14] Hough, pp. 1–2[15] Hough, pp. 3–4[16] Hough, p. 5[17] Herwig, pp. 155–156[18] Hough, p. 2[19] Hough, p. 23[20] Hough, p. 33[21] Strachan, p. 471[22] Strachan, p. 472[23] Halpern, p. 89[24] Hawkins, p. 34[25] Herwig, p. 156[26] Halpern, p. 92[27] Halpern, pp. 92–93[28] Halpern, p. 93[29] Herwig, p. 157[30] Strachan, p. 36[31] Strachan, p. 41[32] Strachan, p. 47[33] Bennett, p. 115[34] Herwig, p. 158[35] Bennett, p. 117[36] Bennett, p. 118[37] Bennett, p. 119

Citations

References• Bennett, Geoffrey (2005). Naval Battles of the First World War. London: Pen & Sword Military Classics.

ISBN 1-84415-300-2.• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Hawkins, Nigel (2002). Starvation Blockade: The Naval Blockades of WWI. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

ISBN 0850529085.

Page 56: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Scharnhorst 54

• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: HumanityBooks. ISBN 9781573922869.

• Hough, Richard (1980). Falklands 1914: The Pursuit of Admiral Von Spee. Periscope Publishing Ltd..ISBN 9781904381129.

• Strachan, Hew (2001). The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0199261911.

Page 57: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 55

SMS Gneisenau

SMS Gneisenau

Career (German Empire)

Name: Gneisenau

Namesake: August von Gneisenau

Builder: AG Weser, Bremen

Laid down: 1904

Launched: 14 June 1906

Commissioned: 6 March 1908

Fate: Scuttled and sunk in action, Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914

General characteristics

Class and type: Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser

Displacement: 12985 t (12780 long tons; 14314 short tons)

Length: 144.6 m (474 ft)

Beam: 21.6 m (71 ft)

Draft: 8.37 m (27.5 ft)

Propulsion: 18 Schulz Thornycroft Boilers3 shaft triple expansion engines27,759 ihp (trials)

Speed: 23.6 knots (44 km/h)

Range: 5000 nmi (9300 km; 5800 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)2200 nmi (4100 km; 2500 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)[1]

Crew: 38 officers726 enlisted men

Armament: 8 × 8.2 in (21 cm) (2 × 2, 4 × 1)6 × 5.9 in (15 cm) (6 × 1)18 × 3.45 in (8.8 cm) (18 × 1)4 × 17.7 in (45 cm) torpedo tubes

Armor: Belt: 6 in (15 cm)Turrets: 7 in (18 cm)Deck: 1.5 in (3.8 cm)–2.5 in (6.4 cm)

Page 58: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 56

SMS Gneisenau was an armored cruiser of the German navy, part of the two-ship Scharnhorst class. She was namedafter August von Gneisenau, a Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was laid down in 1904 at the AGWeser dockyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and completed in March 1908, at a cost of over 19 milliongoldmarks. She was armed with a main battery of eight 21-centimeter (8.3 in) guns, had a top speed of 23.6 knots(43.7 km/h; 27.2 mph), and displaced 12985 metric tons (12780 long tons; 14314 short tons) at full combat load.Gneisenau was assigned to the German East Asia Squadron based in Tsingtao, China, along with Scharnhorst, in1910. They served as the core of Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee's fleet. After the outbreak of World War I inAugust 1914, the two ships, accompanied by three light cruisers and several colliers, sailed across the Pacificocean—in the process evading the various Allied naval forces sent to intercept them—before arriving off thesouthern coast of South America. On 1 November 1914, Gneisenau and the rest of the East Asia Squadronencountered and overpowered a British squadron at the Battle of Coronel. The stinging defeat prompted the BritishAdmiralty to detach two battlecruisers to hunt down and destroy von Spee's flotilla, which they accomplished at theBattle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914.

Construction

Line-drawing of the Scharnhorst class

Gneisenau was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen,Germany in 1904, under construction number 144. She was launchedon 14 June 1906, and commissioned into the fleet nearly two years on6 March 1908. The ship cost the German government 19,243,000goldmarks.[2] The ship had been designed for service with the HighSeas Fleet,[3] though they were found to be too weak for service withthe battle fleet; instead they were deployed overseas, a role in whichthey performed well.[4]

Gneisenau was 144.6 meters (474 ft) long overall, and had a beam of21.6 m (71 ft), a draft of 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in). The ship displaced 11616 metric tons (11433 long tons; 12804 short tons)standard, and 12985 t (12780 long tons; 14314 short tons) at full load. Gneisenau's crew consisted of 38 officers and726 enlisted men. The ship was powered by coal-fired triple expansion engines that provided a top speed of 23.6knots (43.7 km/h; 27.2 mph)[2]

Gneisenau's primary armament consisted of eight 21 cm (8.2 inch) SK L/40 guns,[5] four in twin gun turrets, one foreand one aft of the main superstructure, and the remaining four were mounted in single wing turrets. Secondaryarmament included six 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns in MPL casemates,[6] and eighteen 8.8 cm (3.45 inch) gunsmounted in casemates. She was also equipped with four 44 cm (17 in) submerged torpedo tubes. One was mountedin the bow, one on each broadside, and the fourth was placed in the stern.[2]

Service historyField Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen, the former Chief of the General Staff, christened the ship at her commissioningon 6 March 1908.[7] Captain Franz von Hipper was the ship's first commanding officer; he took command of the shipthe day she was commissioned. He was tasked with conducting the ship's shakedown cruise,[8] which lasted from 26March to the middle of July. She officially joined the fleet on 12 July.[9] The ship then departed for Asia, thoughHipper left the ship and went on to command the I Torpedo-boat Division in Kiel.[8] Gneisenau was assigned to theOstasiengeschwader (East Asia Squadron), where in 1910 she joined Scharnhorst, which had been assigned to theunit the previous year. The two ships formed the core of the squadron, with Scharnhorst serving as the flagship.[2]

The pair were crack gunnery ships;[10] Gneisenau won the Kaiser's Cup four times during her career: twice while inGerman waters in 1908 and 1909 and twice in Asia in 1910 and 1911,[9] and Scharnhorst's finished in second placein 1913 and 1914.[11] [12]

Page 59: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 57

In June 1914, the annual summer cruise of the East Asia Squadron began; Gneisenau rendezvoused with Scharnhorstin Nagasaki, Japan, where they received a full supply of coal. They then sailed south, arriving in Truk in early Julywhere they restocked their coal supplies. While en route, they received news of the assassination of Archduke FranzFerdinand in Sarajevo.[13] On 17 July, the East Asia Squadron arrived in Ponape in the Caroline Islands. Here, vonSpee had access to the German radio network, where he learned of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war onSerbia and the Russian mobilization. On 31 July, word came that the German ultimatum, which demanded thedemobilization of Russia's armies, was set to expire. Von Spee ordered his ships be stripped for war.[14] On 2August, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered German mobilization against France and Russia.[15]

World War IAt the outbreak of World War I the East Asia Squadron consisted of Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, and the lightcruisers Emden, Nürnberg, and Leipzig.[16] On 6 August 1914, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, the supply ship Titania, andthe Japanese collier Fukoku Maru were still in Ponape;[17] von Spee had issued orders to recall the light cruisers,which had been dispersed on various cruises around the Pacific.[18] Nürnberg joined von Spee that day.[17] Von Speedecided the best place to concentrate his forces was Pagan Island in the northern Marianas Islands, a Germanpossession in the central Pacific. All available colliers, supply ships, and passenger liners were ordered to meet theEast Asia Squadron there.[19] On 11 August, von Spee arrived in Pagan; he was joined by several supply ships, aswell as Emden and the auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich.[20]

The flotilla was reinforced with the arrival of Emden and Nürnberg; the ships then departed the central Pacific,bound for Chile. On 13 August the captain of Emden, Commodore Karl von Müller, persuaded von Spee to detachhis ship for commerce raiding.[21] On 14 August, the East Asia Squadron departed Pagan for Enewetak Atoll in theMarshall Islands.[22] The ships again coaled after their arrival on 20 August.[23] In order to keep the German highcommand informed, von Spee detached Nürnberg on 8 September to Honolulu to send word through neutralcountries. Nürnberg brought back news of the Allied conquest of the German colony at Samoa; on 14 August,Gneisenau and Scharnhorst sailed to Apia to investigate the situation, but found no suitable targets.[24]

At the Battle of Papeete on 22 September, Gneisenau and the rest of the East Asia Squadron bombarded thecolony.[25] During the bombardment, the French gunboat Zélée was sunk by gunfire from the German ships. Fear ofmines in the harbor prevented von Spee from seizing the coal that lay in the harbor.[26] By 12 October, Gneisenauand the rest of the squadron had reached Easter Island. There they were joined by Dresden and Leipzig, which hadsailed from American waters.[27] Dresden was stationed in the Caribbean,[16] but had been in San Francisco whenvon Spee issued the order to consolidate German naval forces in the Pacific.[28] After a week off Easter Island, theships departed for Chile.[27]

Battle of Coronel

To oppose the German squadron off the coast of South America, the British had scant resources; under the commandof Rear Admiral Christopher Craddock were the armored cruisers HMS Good Hope and Monmouth, the light cruiserGlasgow, and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto. This flotilla was reinforced by the elderly pre-dreadnought battleshipCanopus and the armored cruiser Defence, the latter, however, did not arrive until after the Battle of Coronel.[29]

Canopus was left behind by Craddock, who likely felt that her slow speed would prevent him from bringing theGerman ships to battle.[30]

On the evening of 26 October, Gneisenau and the rest of the squadron steamed out of Mas a Fuera, Chile, and headed eastward. Von Spee learned that Glasgow had been spotted in Coronel on the 31st, and so turned toward the port.[30] He arrived on the afternoon of 1 November, and to his surprise, encountered Good Hope, Monmouth, and Otranto as well as Glasgow. Canopus was still some 300 miles (480 km) behind, escorting the British colliers.[31] At 17:00, Glasgow spotted the Germans; Craddock formed a line with Good Hope in the lead, followed by Monmouth, Glasgow, and Otranto in the rear. Von Spee decided to hold off on engaging the British until the sun had set more, at

Page 60: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 58

which point the British ships would be silhouetted by the sun. At this point, Craddock realized the uselessness ofOtranto in the line of battle, and so detached her.[32]

At 19:00, the German ships closed to attack.[32] In the span of five minutes, the German cruisers' guns had seriouslydamaged Good Hope, which was destroyed by a magazine explosion. Monmouth attempted to escape to the south;she was burning furiously and her guns had fallen silent.[33] Nürnberg closed to point-blank range of Monmouth andpoured shells into her.[34] Glasgow was forced to abandon Monmouth after 20:20, before fleeing south and meetingwith Canopus. Monmouth eventually capsized and sank at 21:18.[35] Over 1,600 men were killed in the sinking ofthe two armored cruisers, including Admiral Craddock; German losses were negligible. However, the German shipshad expended over 40% of their ammunition supply.[32]

Battle of the Falkland Islands

Movement of forces at the Battle ofthe Falkland Islands

Once word of the defeat reached London, the Royal Navy set to organizing aforce to hunt down and destroy the East Asia Squadron. To this end, the powerfulnew battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were detached from the Grand Fleetand placed under the command of Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee.[36] The twoships left Devonport on 10 November, and while en route to the Falkland Islands,they were joined by the armored cruisers Carnarvon, Kent, and Cornwall, thelight cruisers Bristol and Glasgow, and the Otranto. The force of eight shipsreached the Falklands by 7 December, where they immediately coaled.[37]

Gneisenau and Nürnberg, the first two ships in the German line, approached theFalklands on the same morning, with the intention of destroying the wirelesstransmitter there. Observers aboard Gneisenau spotted the two battlecruisers inthe harbor of Port Stanley, and when 30.5 cm (12.0 in) shells were fired fromCanopus, which had been beached as a guard ship, the Germans turned toflee.[37] The Germans took a south-easterly course at 22 kn (41 km/h; 25 mph).Von Spee formed his line with Gneisenau and Nürnberg ahead, Scharnhorst inthe center, and Dresden and Leipzig astern.[38] The fast battlecruisers quickly gotup steam and sailed out of the harbor to pursue the East Asia Squadron.[37]

By 13:20, the faster British ships had caught up with Gneisenau and the other cruisers, and began to fire at a range of14 km (8.7 mi).[39] Von Spee realized his armored cruisers could not escape the much faster battlecruisers, and soordered the three light cruisers to attempt to break away while he turned about to engage the British with Gneisenauand Scharnhorst. However, Sturdee detached his armored and light cruisers to pursue the German light cruisers,while the battlecruisers dealt with Gneisenau and Scharnhorst.[40] Inflexible attacked Gneisenau while Invincibleopened fire at Scharnhorst. Sturdee attempted to widen the distance by turning two points to the north to prevent vonSpee from closing to within the range of his smaller 8.2 in (21 cm) guns. Von Spee counteracted this maneuver byturning rapidly to the south, which forced Sturdee to turn south as well. This allowed Scharnhorst and Gneisenau toget close enough to engage with their secondary 5.9 in (15 cm) guns; their shooting was so effective that it forced theBritish to haul away temporarily.[41]

Page 61: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 59

Scharnhorst rolls over and sinks while Gneisenaucontinues to fight

At 16:04, Scharnhorst was observed from Inflexible as having rapidlylisted to port, and she sank at 16:17. Shortly before she sank, von Speetransmitted one last order to Gneisenau: "Endeavor to escape if yourengines are still intact." Damage to the ship's boiler rooms had reducedher speed to 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph), however, and so the shipcontinued to fight on. Gneisenau scored a hit on Invincible as late as17:15.[42] By 17:30, however, the ship was a burning wreck; she had asevere list to starboard and smoke poured from the ship, which came toa stop.[43] Ten minutes later, the British ships closed in and the flag onGneisenau's foremast was struck; at 17:50, Sturdee ordered his ships to

cease fire. Gneisenau's captain ordered the crew to scuttle the ship, as they had expended their ammunition and theengines were disabled. The ship slowly rolled over and sank, but not before allowing some 200 of the survivors timeto escape. Of these men, many died quickly from exposure in the 39°F water.[44] A total of 598 men of her crewwere killed in the engagement.[2] Leipzig, and Nürnberg were also sunk. Only Dresden managed to escape, but shewas eventually tracked to the Juan Fernandez Island and sunk. The complete destruction of the squadron killed some2,200 German sailors and officers, including two of von Spee's sons.[39]

NotesFootnotes[1] Hough, p. 12[2] Gröner, p. 52[3] Herwig, p. 44[4] Lyon, p. 142[5] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun barrel is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.[6] MPL stands for Mittel-Pivot-Lafette (Central pivot mounting). See Navweaps.com (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_projectiles. htm)[7] Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 211–212[8] Philbin, p. 17[9] Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 212[10] Hough, p. 3[11] Strachan, p. 35[12] Kaiser Wilhelm II sponsored annual long-range gunnery competitions in the fleet, for each battle squadron and the cruiser squadrons.[13] Hough, pp. 11–12[14] This meant the removal of all non-essential items, to include dress uniforms, tapestries, furniture, and other flammable objects. See: Hough,

p. 17[15] Hough, pp. 17–18[16] Halpern, p. 66[17] Halpern, p. 71[18] Hough, pp. 1–2[19] Hough, pp. 3–4[20] Hough, p. 5[21] Herwig, pp. 155–156[22] Hough, p. 23[23] Hough, p. 33[24] Strachan, p. 471[25] Strachan, p. 472[26] Halpern, p. 89[27] Hawkins, p. 34[28] Hough, p. 2[29] Herwig, p. 156[30] Halpern, p. 92[31] Halpern, pp. 92–93

Page 62: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Gneisenau 60

[32] Halpern, p. 93[33] Potter et. al., p. 205[34] Herwig, p. 157[35] Strachan, p. 36[36] Strachan, p. 41[37] Strachan, p. 47[38] Bennett, p. 115[39] Herwig, p. 158[40] Bennett, p. 117[41] Bennett, p. 118[42] Bennett, p. 119[43] Bennett, pp. 119–120[44] Bennett, p. 120

Citations

References• Bennett, Geoffrey (2005). Naval Battles of the First World War. London: Pen & Sword Military Classics.

ISBN 1844153002.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870217909.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557503524.• Hawkins, Nigel (2002). Starvation Blockade: The Naval Blockades of WWI. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

ISBN 0850529085.• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity

Books. ISBN 9781573922869.• Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe (Volume 3).

Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 3836497433.• Hough, Richard (1980). Falklands 1914: The Pursuit of Admiral Von Spee. Periscope Publishing Ltd..

ISBN 9781904381129.• Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M.. Conway's All the

World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 240–265. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.• Philbin, Tobias R., III (1982). Admiral von Hipper: The Inconvenient Hero. Amsterdam: B. R. Grüner Publishing

Co.. ISBN 9060322002.• Potter, Elmer; Fredland, Roger; Adams, Henry (1981). Sea Power: A Naval History. Annapolis: Naval Institute

Press. ISBN 0870216074.• Strachan, Hew (2001). The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ISBN 0199261911.

Page 63: Armored Cruisers of Germany

61

Blücher class

SMS Blücher

SMS Blücher in 1912

Career (German Empire)

Name: Blücher

Namesake: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel

Laid down: 21 February 1907

Launched: 11 April 1908

Commissioned: 1 October 1909

Fate: Sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915

General characteristics

Class and type: Armored cruiser

Displacement: 15842 t (15592 long tons) (designed)17500 t (17200 long tons) (full load)

Length: 161.8 m (530 ft 10 in) overall

Beam: 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in)

Draft: 8.84 m (29 ft 0 in)

Installed power: 32000 ihp (24000 kW)

Propulsion: 3 × 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines18 × marine-type boilers3 × screws

Speed: 25.4 kn (47.0 km/h; 29.2 mph)

Range: 6600 nmi (12200 km; 7600 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h;14 mph)3350 nmi (6200 km; 3860 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)

Page 64: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 62

Complement: 41 officers812 sailors1026 at Dogger Bank

Armament: 12 × 210 mm (8.3 in) SKL/45 guns (6x2)8 × 150 mm (5.9 in) SKL/45 guns16 × 88 mm (3.46 in) guns4 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

Armor: 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) belt14 cm (5.5 in) battery18 cm (7 in) barbettes6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) turret8–25 cm (3.1–9.8 in) conning tower

SMS Blücher ("His Majesty's Ship Blücher") was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy(Kaiserliche Marine). She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be thespecifications of the British Invincible class battlecruisers. Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers andcarried more heavy guns, but was unable to match the size and armament of the battlecruisers which replacedarmored cruisers in the British and German navies. The ship was named for the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard vonBlücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.Blücher was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel between 1907 and 1909, and commissioned on 1 October1909. The ship served in the I Scouting Group for most of her career, including the early portion of World War I.She took part in the operation to bombard Yarmouth and the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in 1914.At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit by gunfire fromthe British battlecruiser squadron under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty. Rear Admiral Franz vonHipper, the commander of the German squadron, decided to abandon Blücher to the pursuing enemy ships in orderto save his more valuable battlecruisers. Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk, and Britishdestroyers began recovering the survivors. However, the destroyers were forced to withdraw when a Germanzeppelin began bombing them, mistaking the sinking Blücher for a British battlecruiser. The number of casualties isunknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000.

DesignGerman armored cruisers—referred to as Große Kreuzer (large cruisers)—were designed for several tasks. The shipswere designed to engage the reconnaissance forces of rival navies, as well as fight in the line of battle.[1] The earliestarmored cruiser—Fürst Bismarck—was rushed through production specifically to be deployed to China to assist inthe suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Subsequent armored cruisers—with the exception of the twoScharnhorst class ships—served with the fleet in the reconnaissance force.[2]

On 26 May 1906, the Reichstag authorized funds for Blücher, along with the first two Nassau class battleships.Though the ship would be much larger and more powerful than previous armored cruisers, Blücher retained thatdesignation in an attempt to conceal its more powerful nature.[3] The ship was ordered under the provisional name"E". Her design was influenced by the need to match the armored cruisers which Britain was known to be building atthe time. The Germans expected these new British ships to be armed with six or eight 9.2 in (23 cm) guns.[4] Inresponse, the German navy approved a design with twelve 21 cm (8.3 in) guns in six twin turrets. This wassignificantly more firepower than that of the previous Scharnhorst class of German armored cruisers, which onlycarried eight 21 cm guns.[5]

One week after the final decision was made to authorize construction of Blücher, the German naval attache obtained the actual details of the new British ships, called the Invincible class. In fact, HMS Invincible carried eight 30.5 cm (12.0 in) guns of the same type mounted on battleships. It was soon recognized that these ships were a new type of

Page 65: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 63

warship, which eventually came to be classified as the battlecruiser. When the details of the Invincible class came tolight, it was too late to redesign Blücher, and there were no funds for a redesign, so work proceeded as scheduled.[6]

Blücher was therefore arguably obsolete even before her construction started, and was rapidly surpassed by theGerman Navy′s battlecruisers, of which the first (Von der Tann) was ordered in 1907.[7] Despite this, Blücher wastypically deployed with the German battlecruiser squadron.[4] [8] The ship ultimately cost the German government28,532,000 Goldmarks.[9]

General characteristicsBlücher was 161.1 m (528 ft 7 in) long at the waterline and 161.8 m (530 ft 10 in) long overall. The ship had a beamof 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in), and with the anti-torpedo nets mounted along the sides of the ship, the beam increased to25.62 m (84 ft 1 in). Blücher had a draft of 8.84 m (29 ft 0 in) forward, but slightly less aft, at 8.56 m (28 ft 1 in).The ship displaced unknown operator: u','unknown operator: u','unknown operator: u',' (unknown operator:u',' long tons) at her designed weight, and up to 17500 t (17200 long tons) at maximum displacement. Her hull wasconstructed with both transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and she had 13 watertight compartments and a doublebottom that ran for approximately 65% of the length of the hull.[9]

Documents from the German naval archives generally indicate satisfaction with Blücher′s minor pitch and gentlemotion at sea.[9] However, she suffered from severe roll, and with the rudder hard over, she heeled over up to 10°from the vertical and lost up to 55% of her speed. Blücher′s metacentric height was 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in). The ship had astandard crew of 41 officers and 812 enlisted men, with an additional 14 officers and 62 sailors when she served as asquadron flagship. She carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, three barges, two launches,two yawls, and one dinghy.[9]

PropulsionBlücher was equipped with three vertical 4-cylinder triple expansion engines. Each engine drove a propeller, thecenter screw being 5.3 m (17 ft 5 in) in diameter, while the outer two screws were slightly larger, at 5.6 m (18 ft 4 in)in diameter. The ship had a single rudder with which to steer. The three engines were segregated in individual enginerooms. With six marine-type double boilers per room, the ship contained a total of 18 coal-fired boilers. The ship hada designed maximum speed of 24.5 kn (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph), but during her trials, she achieved 25.4 kn (47.0 km/h;29.2 mph). At a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph), Blücher could steam for 6600 nmi (12200 km; 7600 mi).At a speed of 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph), her range was cut down to 3250 nmi (6020 km; 3740 mi). The ship wasdesigned to carry 900 t (890 long tons) of coal, though voids in the hull could be used to expand the fuel supply to upto 2510 t (2470 long tons) of coal. Electrical power for the ship was supplied by six turbo-generators that providedup to 1,000 kilowatts, rated at 225 volts.[9] The highest power ever achieved by a reciprocating engine warship wasthe 43886 ihp (32726 kW) produced by Blücher on her trials in 1909.[10]

ArmamentBlücher was equipped with twelve 21 cm SK L/45[11] quick-firing guns in six twin turrets, one pair fore and one pairaft, and two pairs in wing turrets on either side of the superstructure. The guns were supplied with a total of 1,020shells, or 85 rounds per gun.[9] Each shell weighed 108 kg (240 lb), and was 61 cm (24 in) in length.[12] The gunscould be depressed to -5° and elevated to 30°, providing a maximum range of 19100 m (20900 yd).[9] Their rate offire was 4-5 rounds per minute.[12] [13]

The ship had a secondary battery of eight 15 cm SK L/45 quick-firing guns mounted in MPL C/06 casemates,[14] [15]

four centered amidships on either side of the vessel.[9] These guns could engage targets out to 13500 m (14800 yd).[13] They were supplied with 1320 rounds, for 165 shells per gun, and had a sustained rate of fire of 5-7 rounds per minute.[14] The shells were 45.3 kg (99.9 lb),[15] and were loaded with a 13.7 kg (30.2 lb) RPC/12 propellant charge in a brass cartridge.[14] The guns fired at a muzzle velocity of 835 m (2740 ft) per second,[13] and

Page 66: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 64

were expected to fire around 1,400 shells before they needed to be replaced.[14]

Blücher was also armed with sixteen 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK L/45 quick-firing guns, placed in both casemates and pivotmounts. Four of these guns were mounted in casemates near the bridge, four in casemates in the bow, another four incasemates at the stern, and the remaining four were mounted in pivot mounts in the rear superstructure. They weresupplied with a total of 3,200 rounds, or 200 shells per gun,[9] and could fire at a rate of 15 shells per minute. Theirhigh explosive shells weighed 10 kg (22 lb),[15] and were loaded with a 3 kg (6.6 lb) RPC/12 propellant charge.These guns had a life expectancy of around 7,000 rounds.[14] The guns had a maximum range of 10700 m(11700 yd).[15]

Blücher was also equipped with four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes. One was placed in the bow, one in the stern, andthe other two were placed on the broadside, all below the waterline. The ship carried a total of 11 torpedoes.[9] Thetorpedoes carried a 110 kg (240 lb) warhead and had two speed settings, which affected the range. At 32 kn(59 km/h; 37 mph), the weapon had a range of 2000 m (2200 yd) and at 36 kn (67 km/h; 41 mph), the range wasreduced to 1500 m (1600 yd).[15]

ArmorAs with other German capital ships of the period, Blücher was equipped with Krupp cemented armor. The armoreddeck was between 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) in thickness; more important areas of the ship were protected with thickerarmor, while less critical portions of the deck used the thinner armor.[9] The armored belt was 18 cm (7.1 in) thick inthe central portion of the ship where machinery, ammunition magazines, and other vitals were located, and tapered to8 cm (3.1 in) in less important areas of the hull. The belt tapered down to zero at either end of the ship. Behind theentire length of the belt armor was an additional 3 cm (1.2 in) of teak. The armored belt was supplemented by a3.5 cm (1.4 in) torpedo bulkhead,[9] though this only ran between the forward and rear centerline gun turrets.[16]

The forward conning tower was the most heavily armored part of the ship. Its sides were 25 cm (9.8 in) thick and ithad a roof that was 8 cm thick. The rear conning tower was significantly less well armored, with a roof that was 3 cmthick and sides that were only 14 cm (5.5 in) thick. The central citadel of the ship was protected by 16 cm (6.3 in)armor. The main battery turrets were 8 cm thick in their roofs, and had 18 cm sides. The 15 cm turret casemates wereprotected by 14c cm of armor.[9]

Service history

SMS Blücher pre-war, circa 1913–1914

Blücher was launched on 11 April 1908 and commissioned into thefleet on 1 October 1909. She served as a training ship for navalgunners starting in 1911. In 1914, she was transferred to the I ScoutingGroup along with the newer battlecruisers Von der Tann, Moltke, andthe flagship Seydlitz.[9]

Sweep in the Baltic

The first operation in which Blücher took part was an inconclusivesweep into the Baltic Sea against Russian forces. On 3 September1914, Blücher, along with seven pre-dreadnought battleships of the IVSquadron, five cruisers, and 24 destroyers sailed into the Baltic in an attempt to draw out a portion of the Russianfleet and destroy it. The light cruiser Augsburg encountered the armored cruisers Bayan and Pallada north of Dagö(now Hiiumaa) island. The German cruiser attempted to lure the Russian ships back towards Blücher so that shecould destroy them, but the Russians refused to take the bait and instead withdrew to the Gulf of Finland. On 9September, the operation was terminated without any major engagements between the two fleets.[17]

Page 67: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 65

Bombardment of YarmouthOn 2 November 1914, Blücher—along with the battlecruisers Moltke, Von der Tann, and Seydlitz, and accompaniedby four light cruisers, left the Jade Estuary and steamed towards the English coast.[18] The flotilla arrived off GreatYarmouth at daybreak the following morning and bombarded the port, while the light cruiser Stralsund laid aminefield. The British submarine HMS D5 responded to the bombardment, but struck one of the mines laid byStralsund and sank. Shortly thereafter, Hipper ordered his ships to turn back to German waters. On the way, a heavyfog covered the Heligoland Bight, so the ships were ordered to halt until visibility improved and they could safelynavigate the defensive minefields. The armored cruiser Yorck made a navigational error that led her into one of theGerman minefields. She struck two mines and quickly sank; only 127 men out of the crew of 629 were rescued.[18]

Bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and WhitbyAdmiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, commander of the German High Seas Fleet, decided that another raid on theEnglish coast should be carried out in the hopes of luring a portion of the Grand Fleet into combat where it could bedestroyed.[18] At 03:20, CET on 15 December 1914, Blücher, Moltke, Von der Tann, the new battlecruiserDerfflinger, and Seydlitz, along with the light cruisers Kolberg, Strassburg, Stralsund, Graudenz, and two squadronsof torpedo boats left the Jade estuary.[19] The ships sailed north past the island of Heligoland, until they reached theHorns Reef lighthouse, at which point the ships turned west towards Scarborough. Twelve hours after Hipper left theJade, the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 14 dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts and a screening force of twoarmored cruisers, seven light cruisers, and 54 torpedo boats, departed to provide distant cover for the bombardmentforce.[19]

On 26 August 1914, the German light cruiser Magdeburg had run aground in the Gulf of Finland; the wreck wascaptured by the Russian navy, which found code books used by the German navy, along with navigational charts forthe North Sea. These documents were then passed on to the Royal Navy. Room 40 began decrypting German signals,and on 14 December, intercepted messages relating to the plan to bombard Scarborough.[19] The exact details of theplan were unknown, and it was assumed that the High Seas Fleet would remain safely in port, as in the previousbombardment. Vice Admiral Beatty′s four battlecruisers, supported by the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and the 1st LightCruiser Squadron, along with the 2nd Battle Squadron′s six dreadnoughts, were to ambush Hipper′sbattlecruisers.[20]

On the night of 15/16 December, the main body of the High Seas Fleet encountered British destroyers. Fearing theprospect of a nighttime torpedo attack, Admiral Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat.[20] Hipper was unaware ofIngenohl′s reversal, and so he continued with the bombardment. Upon reaching the British coast, Hipper′sbattlecruisers split into two groups. Seydlitz, Moltke, and Blücher went north to shell Hartlepool, while Von der Tannand Derfflinger went south to shell Scarborough and Whitby. Of the three towns, only Hartlepool was defended bycoastal artillery batteries.[21] During the bombardment of Hartlepool, Seydlitz was hit three times and Blücher was hitsix times by the coastal battery. Blücher suffered minimal damage, but nine men were killed and another three werewounded.[21] By 09:45 on the 16th, the two groups had reassembled, and they began to retreat eastward.[22]

Page 68: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 66

The High Seas Fleet′s disposition on the morning of 16 December

By this time, Beatty′s battlecruisers were inposition to block Hipper′s chosen egressroute, while other forces were en route tocomplete the encirclement. At 12:25, thelight cruisers of the II Scouting Group beganto pass through the British forces searchingfor Hipper.[23] One of the cruisers in the 2ndLight Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsundand signaled a report to Beatty. At 12:30,Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards theGerman ships. Beatty presumed that theGerman cruisers were the advance screenfor Hipper′s ships, but the battlecruiserswere some 50 km (27 nmi; 31 mi) ahead.[23]

The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty′s ships, detached to pursue the Germancruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions.[24]

This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape and alerted Hipper to the location of the Britishbattlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good theirescape.[23]

Both the British and the Germans were disappointed that they failed to effectively engage their opponents. AdmiralIngenohl′s reputation suffered greatly as a result of his timidity. The captain of Moltke was furious; he stated thatIngenohl had turned back "because he was afraid of eleven British destroyers which could have been eliminated ...Under the present leadership we will accomplish nothing."[25] The official German history criticized Ingenohl forfailing to use his light forces to determine the size of the British fleet, stating: "He decided on a measure which notonly seriously jeopardized his advance forces off the English coast but also deprived the German Fleet of a signaland certain victory."[25]

Battle of Dogger Bank

Blücher underway

In early January 1915, it became known to the German naval commandthat British ships were conducting reconnaissance in the Dogger Bankarea. Admiral Ingenohl was initially reluctant to attempt to destroythese forces, because the I Scouting Group was temporarily weakenedwhile Von der Tann was in drydock for periodic maintenance. RearAdmiral (German: Konteradmiral) Richard Eckermann—the Chief ofStaff of the High Seas Fleet—insisted on the operation, and soIngenohl relented and ordered Hipper to take his battlecruisers to theDogger Bank.[26]

On 23 January, Hipper sortied, with Seydlitz in the lead, followed by Moltke, Derfflinger, and Blücher, along withthe light cruisers Graudenz, Rostock, Stralsund, and Kolberg and 19 torpedo boats from V Flotilla and II and XVIIIHalf-Flotillas. Graudenz and Stralsund were assigned to the forward screen, while Kolberg and Rostock wereassigned to the starboard and port, respectively. Each light cruiser had a half-flotilla of torpedo boats attached.[26]

Again, interception and decryption of German wireless signals played an important role. Although they were unaware of the exact plans, the cryptographers of Room 40 were able to deduce that Hipper would be conducting an operation in the Dogger Bank area.[26] To counter it, Beatty′s 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral Gordon Moore′s 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron and Commodore William Goodenough′s 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron were to

Page 69: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 67

rendezvous with Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt′s Harwich Force at 08:00 on 24 January, approximately 30 nmi(56 km; 35 mi) north of the Dogger Bank.[26]

At 08:14, Kolberg spotted the light cruiser Aurora and several destroyers from the Harwich Force.[27] Aurorachallenged Kolberg with a searchlight, at which point Kolberg attacked Aurora and scored two hits. Aurora returnedfire and scored two hits on Kolberg in retaliation. Hipper immediately turned his battlecruisers towards the gunfire,when, almost simultaneously, Stralsund spotted a large amount of smoke to the northwest of her position. This wasidentified as a number of large British warships steaming toward Hipper′s ships.[27] Hipper later remarked:

The presence of such a large force indicated the proximity of further sections of the British Fleet,especially as wireless intercepts revealed the approach of 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron ... They were alsoreported by Blücher at the rear of the German line, which had opened fire on a light cruiser and severaldestroyers coming up from astern ... The battlecruisers under my command found themselves, in view ofthe prevailing [East-North-East] wind, in the windward position and so in an unfavourable situationfrom the outset ...[27]

Hipper turned south to flee, but was limited to 23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph), which was Blücher′s maximum speed at thetime.[28] The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph), and quickly caught up to theGerman ships. At 09:52, Lion opened fire on Blücher from a range of approximately 20,000 yards (18,000 m);shortly after, Queen Mary and Tiger began firing as well.[27] At 10:09, the British guns made their first hit onBlücher. Two minutes later, the German ships began returning fire, primarily concentrating on Lion, from a range of18000 yd (16000 m). At 10:28, Lion was struck on the waterline, which tore a hole in the side of the ship andflooded a coal bunker.[29] At around this time, Blücher scored a hit with a 21 cm shell on Lion′s forward turret. Theshell failed to penetrate the armor, but had concussion effect and temporarily disabled the left gun.[30] At 10:30, NewZealand—the fourth ship in Beatty′s line—came within range of Blücher and opened fire. By 10:35, the range hadclosed to 17500 yd (16000 m), at which point the entire German line was within the effective range of the Britishships. Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to engage their German counterparts.[31]

By 11:00, Blücher had been severely damaged after having been pounded by numerous heavy shells from the Britishbattlecruisers. However, the three leading German battlecruisers, Seydlitz, Derfflinger, and Moltke, had concentratedtheir fire on Lion and scored several hits; two of her three dynamos were disabled and the port side engine room hadbeen flooded.[32] At 11:48, Indomitable arrived on the scene, and was directed by Beatty to destroy the batteredBlücher. She was already on fire and listing heavily to port; one of the ship′s survivors recounted the destruction thatwas being wrought:

The shells ... bore their way even to the stokehold. The coal in the bunkers was set on fire. Since thebunkers were half empty, the fire burned merrily. In the engine room a shell licked up the oil andsprayed it around in flames of blue and green ... The terrific air pressure resulting from [an] explosion ina confined space ... roar[ed] through every opening and [tore] its way through every weak spot ... Menwere picked up by that terrific air pressure and tossed to a horrible death among the machinery.[32]

The sinking Blücher rolls over on her side

However, this was interrupted due to reports of U-boats ahead of theBritish ships; Beatty quickly ordered evasive maneuvers, whichallowed the German ships to increase the distance from theirpursuers.[33] At this time, Lion′s last operational dynamo failed, whichreduced her speed to 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph). Beatty, in the strickenLion, ordered the remaining battlecruisers to "Engage the enemy'srear", but signal confusion caused the ships to target Blücher alone.[34]

She continued to resist stubbornly; Blücher repulsed attacks by the fourcruisers of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron and four destroyers.

Page 70: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 68

However, the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron flagship, Aurora, hit Blücher twice with torpedoes. By this time, everymain battery gun turret except the rear mount had been silenced. A volley of seven more torpedoes were launched atpoint-blank range; these hits caused the ship to capsize at 13:13. In the course of the engagement, Blücher had beenhit by 70-100 large-caliber shells and several torpedoes.[35]

As the ship was sinking, British destroyers steamed towards her in an attempt to rescue survivors from the water.However, the German zeppelin L5 mistook the sinking Blücher for a British battlecruiser, and tried to bomb thedestroyers. The destroyers were forced to withdraw.[34] Figures vary on the number of casualties. PaulSchmalenbach reported 6 officers of a total of 29 and 275 enlisted men of a complement of 999 were pulled from thewater, for a total of 747 men killed.[35] The official German sources examined by Erich Gröner stated that 792 mendied when Blücher sank,[9] while James Goldrick referred to British documents, which reported only 234 mensurvived from a crew of at least 1,200.[36] Among those who had been rescued was Captain at Sea (Kapitan zur See)Erdmann, the commanding officer of Blücher. He later died of pneumonia while in British captivity.[34] A furthertwenty men would also die as prisoners of war.[35]

The concentration on Blücher allowed Moltke, Seydlitz, and Derfflinger to escape.[37] Admiral Hipper had originallyintended to use his three battlecruisers to turn about and flank the British ships, in order to relieve the batteredBlücher, but when he learned of the severe damage to his flagship, he decided to abandon the armored cruiser.[34]

Hipper later recounted his decision:In order to help the Blücher it was decided to try for a flanking move ... But as I was informed that inmy flagship turrets C and D were out of action, we were full of water aft, and that she had only 200rounds of heavy shell left, I dismissed any further thought of supporting the Blücher. Any such course,now that no intervention from our Main Fleet was to be counted on, was likely to lead to further heavylosses. The support of the Blücher by the flanking move would have brought my formation between theBritish battlecruisers and the battle squadrons which were probably behind.[34]

By the time Beatty regained control over his ships, after having boarded Princess Royal, the German ships had toogreat a lead for the British to catch them; at 13:50, he broke off the chase.[34] Kaiser Wilhelm II was enraged by thedestruction of Blücher and the near sinking of Seydlitz, and ordered the High Seas Fleet to remain in harbor. RearAdmiral Eckermann was removed from his post and Admiral Ingenohl was forced to resign. He was replaced byAdmiral Hugo von Pohl.[38]

Notes[1] Staff, p. 3[2] Gardiner & Gray, p. 142[3] Gardiner & Gray, p. 134[4] Herwig, p. 45[5] Gröner, p. 52[6] Staff, pp. 3, 4[7] Staff, p. 4[8] Contemporary German naval doctrine called for a scouting group to be made up with at least four large ships, or half a squadron.Philbin, p.

119Scheer, p. 13 As the largest non-capital warship in the fleet, Blücher was frequently employed as the fourth.[9] Gröner, p. 53[10] Friedman, p. 91[11] In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/45 denotes the

length of the gun. In this case, the L/45 gun is 45 calibers, meaning that the gun is 45 times as long as the diameter of its bore.[12] DiGiulian, Tony (29 February 2008). "German 21 cm/45 (8.27") SK L/45" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/

WNGER_827-45_skc05. htm). Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 29 June 2009.[13] Gardiner & Gray, p. 140[14] DiGiulian, Tony (6 July 2007). "German 15 cm/45 (5.9") SK L/45" (http:/ / www. navweaps. com/ Weapons/ WNGER_59-45_skc16. htm).

Navweaps.com. . Retrieved 29 June 2009.[15] Staff, p. 6[16] Gardiner & Gray, p. 151

Page 71: Armored Cruisers of Germany

SMS Blücher 69

[17] Halpern, p. 185[18] Tarrant, p. 30[19] Tarrant, p. 31[20] Tarrant, p. 32[21] Tarrant, p. 33[22] Scheer, p. 70[23] Tarrant, p. 34[24] Beatty had intended to retain only the two rearmost light cruisers from Goodenough′s squadron, but Nottingham′s signalman misinterpreted

the signal, thinking that it was intended for the whole squadron, and thus transmitted it to Goodenough, who ordered his ships back into theirscreening positions ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers.

[25] Tarrant, p. 35[26] Tarrant, p. 36[27] Tarrant, p. 38[28] Throughout the war, the German Navy suffered from a chronic shortage of high-quality coal. As a result, the ships′ engines could not

operate at maximum performance. For example, at the Battle of Jutland, the battlecruiser Von der Tann, which had a maximum speed of27.5 kn (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph), was limited to 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) for a significant length of time due to this problem. See: Philbin, pp.56-57

[29] Tarrant, p. 39[30] Goldrick, p. 263[31] Thus, Lion on Seydlitz, Tiger on Moltke, Princess Royal on Derfflinger, and New Zealand on Blücher.[32] Tarrant, p. 40[33] Tarrant, pp. 40–41[34] Tarrant, p. 42[35] Schmalenbach, p. 180[36] Goldrick, p. 279[37] Tarrant, p. 41[38] Tarrant, p. 43

Citations

References• Friedman, Norman (1978). Battleship Design and Development, 1905–1945. New York City: Mayflower Books,

Inc. ISBN 0-8317-0700-3.• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis:

Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.• Goldrick, James (1984). The King's Ships Were at Sea: The War in the North Sea, August 1914–February 1915.

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-334-2. OCLC 10323116.• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.

OCLC 22101769.• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-352-4.• Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity

Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.• Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral Hipper:The Inconvenient Hero. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

ISBN 90-6032-200-2.• Schmalenbach, Paul (1971). "SMS Blücher". Warship International (Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club, Inc.)

VIII (2): 171–181.• Scheer, Reinhard (1920). Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War. London, New York, etc.: Cassell and

Company Ltd.• Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. Annapolis: Cassell Military Paperbacks.

ISBN 0-304-35848-7.

Page 72: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Article Sources and Contributors 70

Article Sources and ContributorsArmored cruisers of Germany  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=458150992  Contributors: AvicAWB, Courcelles, Dank, Gimmetoo, Hugo999, Ian Rose, MisterBee1966,Parsecboy, The Bushranger

SMS Fürst Bismarck  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=460511878  Contributors: Aldis90, Auntieruth55, Bellhalla, Brianhe, Carlwev, DNJH, Eurocopter, FJS15, Ian Rose,Koavf, Lightmouse, Manxruler, Maralia, Orpy15, Parsecboy, Portuguese Man o' War, Sturmvogel 66, Winky Bill, 11 anonymous edits

SMS Prinz Heinrich  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=454588200  Contributors: Aldis90, Bellhalla, ChrisHodgesUK, Cplakidas, Demiurge1000, Eurocopter, FJS15, GeneNygaard, Gscshoyru, Hello32020, Lightmouse, Manxruler, Nav-wiki, Parsecboy, Pleasedonttell, Primergrey, Shimgray, TimBentley, Winky Bill, 5 anonymous edits

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=432346096  Contributors: Bellhalla, Denniss, Djmaschek, FJS15, Gscshoyru, Haus, Lightmouse,Nav-wiki, Orpy15, Parsecboy, R'n'B, Rcbutcher, Rosiestep, Takashi kurita, Teunisvosch, Tungsten, WeeWillieWiki, Welsh, 6 anonymous edits

SMS Prinz Adalbert  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=432036703  Contributors: Addd wiki, Aldis90, Bellhalla, Bonewah, Cla68, Cosal, Dravecky, Drutt, Eurocopter, FJS15,Gscshoyru, Iancaddy, Jaraalbe, JohnInDC, Kablammo, Leofric1, Lightmouse, Manxruler, Maralia, Orpy15, Parsecboy, Schwede66, Silesianus, The Bushranger, Thewellman, Winky Bill, 6anonymous edits

Friedrich Carl  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=447849954  Contributors: 4twenty42o, Addd wiki, Aldis90, Audiosmurf, Bellhalla, Bonewah, DagosNavy, Denniss,Dravecky, Eurocopter, FJS15, Jaraalbe, Lightmouse, Maralia, Orpy15, Parsecboy, R'n'B, Silesianus, Takashi kurita, Tungsten, WeeWillieWiki, Winky Bill, Woohookitty, 6 anonymous edits

Roon class armored cruiser  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=462390559  Contributors: Aldis90, Archibalddouglas, Balmung0731, Bellhalla, Brad101, Colonies Chris, Drutt,FJS15, Gaius Cornelius, Gene Nygaard, Gscshoyru, Haus, Jackyd101, Koavf, Lightmouse, Nav-wiki, Orpy15, Parsecboy, Seki1949, WeeWillieWiki, Yoenit, 9 anonymous edits

SMS Roon  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=460667566  Contributors: Ala.foum, Aldis90, Audiosmurf, Bellhalla, Brad101, Cla68, Eurocopter, FJS15, JustSomePics,Kablammo, Koavf, Lightmouse, MBK004, Manxruler, Maralia, Orpy15, Parsecboy, R'n'B, Sandpiper, Silesianus, Stephan Schulz, The ed17, Ulric1313, Winky Bill, 6 anonymous edits

SMS Yorck  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=442591728  Contributors: Aldis90, Audiosmurf, Bellhalla, Bonewah, Chaosdruid, Denniss, Eurocopter, FJS15, Gene Nygaard,GraemeLeggett, Jackyd101, KrzysM99, LarRan, Lightmouse, Manxruler, Maralia, Orpy15, Parsecboy, PatGallacher, Sandpiper, SpellingGuru, Spudinator, WeeWillieWiki, Winky Bill, 24anonymous edits

Scharnhorst class armored cruiser  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=454588121  Contributors: Bellhalla, Binksternet, Charlesdrakew, ChrisHodgesUK, Dili, Dormskirk,Eingangskontrolle, Eurocopter, Ewulp, FJS15, Gaius Cornelius, Giraffedata, Gscshoyru, Haus, Hellno2, Koavf, Lightmouse, Maralia, Matthead, Parsecboy, Portuguese Man o' War, Rcbutcher,Roger Davies, Scott5114, Sturmvogel 66, TimBentley, Winky Bill, Zscout370, 11 anonymous edits

SMS Scharnhorst  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=450238453  Contributors: Aj4444, Aldis90, Andres, Arwel Parry, Attilios, BB-PB, Beetstra, Bellhalla, Bobblewik,Bonewah, CanisRufus, Conscious, Cosal, DagosNavy, Dili, DocWatson42, Duffman, DuncanHill, FJS15, Gaius Cornelius, Gscshoyru, Hajor, HarveyHenkelmann, Jackyd101, Joshbaumgartner,Joshmaul, Kerville, Kjetil r, Koavf, Leslie Mateus, Levg, Lightmouse, MBK004, Michael Pocock, MoRsE, Parsecboy, Pibwl, Polarlys, Portuguese Man o' War, Prof .Woodruff, R-41, R.D.H.(Ghost In The Machine), RottweilerCS, Sandpiper, Sebastiankessel, Socrates2008, SpookyMulder, Sprnkt, Stan Shebs, Sturmvogel 66, Takashi kurita, TomTheHand, Tttom, 棗, 25 anonymousedits

SMS Gneisenau  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=462229795  Contributors: Aj4444, Ala.foum, Aldis90, Alureiter, Arwel Parry, Attilios, Bellhalla, Bobblewik, Bonewah,CanisRufus, Conscious, Cosal, DagosNavy, Davidlwilliamson, FJS15, Gdr, GreatWhiteNortherner, Hue White, Jackyd101, Joshbaumgartner, Joshmaul, Jpfagerback, Lightmouse, Mark83,MisterBee1966, Niceguyedc, Parsecboy, Portuguese Man o' War, Pratyeka, Prof .Woodruff, R-41, Rigadoun, Sandius, Sebastian scha., Stan Shebs, Tedernst, TomTheHand, Wik, 棗, 18anonymous edits

SMS Blücher  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=462630314  Contributors: A. B., A2Kafir, Alai, Alandeus, Aldis90, AnOddName, Beetstra, Bellhalla, Benea, Blackeagle,Brad101, CarolGray, Cheng-temp, Choess, ChrisHodgesUK, CommonsDelinker, Cosal, Danceswithzerglings, Dank, Dfconway, Dht, Diderot, Dormskirk, Edward, Emijrp, FJS15, Fernvale,Fuhghettaboutit, Gene Nygaard, Grand-Duc, Ian Rose, JimmyTheOne, Joshbaumgartner, Keallu, Kjetil r, Koavf, Laser brain, Lightmouse, Ling.Nut, Lisatwo, Lord Mountbatten, Magus732,Manxruler, Mark83, Mcintyre949, Michael Devore, Muskelkater, Naddy, Nvinen, Orpy15, Parsecboy, Pavel Vozenilek, Pen of bushido, Peter Isotalo, Pibwl, R-41, RJHall, Rcbutcher, RichFarmbrough, Sandpiper, Scoop100, Simon Harley, Socrates2008, SpookyMulder, Stephan Schulz, Sturmvogel 66, The Land, The ed17, TheParanoidOne, TnoWatanabe, TomTheHand, Tony1,Tpbradbury, Waiguoren, WereSpielChequers, 棗, 24 anonymous edits

Page 73: Armored Cruisers of Germany

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 71

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:SMS Fürst Bismarck USA.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Fürst_Bismarck_USA.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Bain News ServiceFile:SMS Furst Bismarck.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Furst_Bismarck.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Hohum, Mariaflores1955, Parsecboy, 1anonymous editsFile:SMS Prinz Heinrich.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Prinz_Heinrich.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: US ArmyFile:SMS Prinz Adalbert Bain picture.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Prinz_Adalbert_Bain_picture.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Bain NewsService, New YorkFile:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-82, Panzerkreuzer "SMS Gneisenau".jpg  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-82,_Panzerkreuzer_"SMS_Gneisenau".jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany Contributors: Balcer, Cobatfor, Denniss, Parsecboy, Rcbutcher, 1 anonymous editsFile:SMS Scharnhorst by Arthur Renard.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Scharnhorst_by_Arthur_Renard.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors:Maxrossomachin, PolarlysFile:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-11, Linienschiff "SMS Thüringen".jpg  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-11,_Linienschiff_"SMS_Thüringen".jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany Contributors: Denniss, Felix Stember, Milgesch, Parsecboy, Rcbutcher, Sandpiper, WerWilImage:SMS Furst Bismarck.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Furst_Bismarck.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Hohum, Mariaflores1955, Parsecboy,1 anonymous editsFile:War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:War_Ensign_of_Germany_1903-1918.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Originaluploader was R-41 at en.wikipediaFile:Furst Bismarck in Manila.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Furst_Bismarck_in_Manila.PNG  License: unknown  Contributors: Original uploader wasParsecboy at en.wikipediaFile:SMS Prinz Heinrich coaling.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Prinz_Heinrich_coaling.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:SMS Prinz Heinrich underway.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Prinz_Heinrich_underway.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: Materialscientist,ParsecboyFile:SMS Prinz Adalbert linedrawing.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Prinz_Adalbert_linedrawing.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:FriedrichCarlMiniatureDM.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FriedrichCarlMiniatureDM.jpg  License: Creative Commons Zero  Contributors: TungstenFile:Roon linedrawing.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roon_linedrawing.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:SMS Roon.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Roon.PNG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: unk.Image:SMS Roon.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Roon.PNG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: unk.File:SMS Roon LOC ggbain 28287.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Roon_LOC_ggbain_28287.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: JustSomePicsImage:Scheer's illustration of I SG disposition 16 Dec. 1916 en.SVG  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scheer's_illustration_of_I_SG_disposition_16_Dec._1916_en.SVG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: File:Scheer's illustration of I SGdisposition 16 Dec. 1916.SVG - User:Demoeconomistw:File:Scheer's illustration of I SG disposition 16 Dec. 1916.JPG - User:ParsecboyOriginal - Reinhard ScheerImage:AdmiralMakarov1916.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:AdmiralMakarov1916.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Неизвестен.File:SMS Yorck, Kaiser Wilhelm Canal.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Yorck,_Kaiser_Wilhelm_Canal.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:ParsecboyFile:Scharnhorst class cruiser diagrams Janes 1914.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scharnhorst_class_cruiser_diagrams_Janes_1914.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: Unknown employee of Jane's. Throughout the book, no names are given for those who produced diagrams such as this.File:Gws scharnhorst 01.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gws_scharnhorst_01.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Makthorpe, Parsecboy, RcbutcherFile:HMS Inflexible rescuing survivors after Falkland.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HMS_Inflexible_rescuing_survivors_after_Falkland.PNG  License: PublicDomain  Contributors: ParsecboyImage:SMS Scharnhorst by Arthur Renard.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Scharnhorst_by_Arthur_Renard.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors:Maxrossomachin, PolarlysImage:Gws scharnhorst 01.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Gws_scharnhorst_01.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Makthorpe, Parsecboy, RcbutcherFile:Scharnhorst.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scharnhorst.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:Scharnhorst2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scharnhorst2.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:Scharnhorst Gneisenau at the Falklands.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scharnhorst_Gneisenau_at_the_Falklands.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors:ParsecboyFile:SMS Gneisenau.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Gneisenau.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyFile:Scharnhorst class Brassey's.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Scharnhorst_class_Brassey's.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: unkownFile:Falklandschlacht.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Falklandschlacht.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Eduard RothertFile:SMS Blucher.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Blucher.PNG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Unknown, likely a German photographerFile:SMS Blucher2.PNG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SMS_Blucher2.PNG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: ParsecboyImage:Bluecher sinkend.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bluecher_sinkend.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: This photo was taken from the deck of theBritish cruiser HMS Arethusa. International Film Service.

Page 74: Armored Cruisers of Germany

License 72

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/