German cruiser Seydlitz
Seydlitz in May 1942, before conversion work began
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | Seydlitz |
Namesake | Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz |
Builder | Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau, Bremen |
Laid down | 29 December 1936 |
Launched | 19 January 1939 |
Fate | Scuttled incomplete, 29 January 1945 |
General characteristics (as cruiser) | |
Class and type | Admiral Hipper-class cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 210 m (689 ft 0 in) overall |
Beam | 21.80 m (71 ft 6 in) |
Draft | Full load: 7.90 m (25.9 ft) |
Installed power | 132,000 kW ) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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Aircraft carried | 3 aircraft |
Aviation facilities | 1 catapult |
General characteristics (as aircraft carrier) | |
Displacement | Design: 17,139 t (16,868 long tons; 18,893 short tons) |
Length | 216 m (708 ft 8 in) overall |
Draft | Full load: 6.65 m (21.8 ft) |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 20 aircraft |
Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, fourth in the Admiral Hipper class, but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II slowed her construction and fitting-out work was finally stopped in the summer of 1940 when she was approximately 95 percent complete. The unfinished ship remained pier-side in the shipyard until March 1942, when the Kriegsmarine decided to pursue aircraft carriers over surface combatants. Seydlitz was among the vessels chosen for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers.
Renamed Weser, the ship was to have had a complement of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 divebombers. Work lasted from 1942 to 1943, but was not completed, and the incomplete vessel was towed to Königsberg in early 1944. She was eventually scuttled there in 1945 as the Soviet Red Army approached the city. The wreck was seized by the Soviets and was briefly considered for cannibalization for spare parts to complete her sistership Lützow for the Soviet Navy. This plan was also abandoned, and the ship was broken up for scrap.
Design
The
Seydlitz was 210 meters (690 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.80 m (71.5 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.90 m (25.9 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 17,600 t (17,300 long tons; 19,400 short tons) and a full load displacement of 19,800 long tons (20,100 t). Seydlitz was powered by three sets of geared steam turbines, which were supplied with steam by twelve ultra-high pressure oil-fired boilers. The ship's top speed was 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph), at 132,000 shaft horsepower (98,000 kW).[3] As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men.[4]
Seydlitz's primary armament was eight
Construction and conversion
Seydlitz was ordered by the Kriegsmarine from the
Following the loss of the battleship Bismarck in May 1941, during which British aircraft carriers proved instrumental, and the near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz in March 1942, the Kriegsmarine became convinced of the necessity of acquiring aircraft carriers.[11] Work on the purpose-built carrier Graf Zeppelin, which had been halted in April 1940, was resumed in March 1942.[12] The Kriegsmarine also decided to convert a number of vessels into auxiliary aircraft carriers. Seydlitz was among the ships selected for conversion, along with several passenger liners.[11] These included Europa, Potsdam, and Gneisenau. The unfinished French cruiser De Grasse was also to be converted. As the design staff examined the existing ships, they determined that Europa and Gneisenau were too slow, and Potsdam would only be suitable as a training carrier, so only Seydlitz and De Grasse would be completed as front-line carriers. The navy envisioned operating the carriers from northern Norway to interdict the supply convoys to the Soviet Union.[13]
At the same time as construction of Graf Zeppelin resumed, conversion work began on Seydlitz.[14] The majority of the superstructure was cut away, with the exception of the funnel, to prepare for the installation of a flight deck and an aircraft hangar.[6] In total, approximately 2,400 t (2,400 long tons; 2,600 short tons) of material from the ship was removed.[15] The ship was renamed Weser, but work was ceased in June 1943, before the conversion was completed.[15] By that time, her superstructure had been entirely razed to the upper deck, apart from her funnel.[16]
As British and American air raids increased in intensity through 1943, the Germans decided to move the ship to
Specifications
The conversion work would have slightly increased the ship's length to 216 m (708 ft 8 in) long overall, but decreased her draft to 6.65 m (21 ft 10 in) at full load. Her propulsion system, which had already been installed, would remain the same, as would her expected performance. A large island was to be installed on the
The flight deck was to have been 200 m (660 ft) long and 30 m (98 ft) wide. The hangar was 137.50 m (451.1 ft) long and 17 m (56 ft) wide forward and 12 m (39 ft) wide amidships and aft.
Armament
Her armament was reduced to a medium-caliber anti-aircraft battery of ten 10.5 cm L/65 guns in twin mounts, two forward of the conning tower and three aft.[15] All of these would have been in line with the island, in a superfiring arrangement.[18] The LC/31 mounting was triaxially stabilized and capable of elevating to 80°. This enabled the guns to engage targets up to a ceiling of 12,500 m (41,000 ft). Against surface targets, the guns had a maximum range of 17,700 m (58,100 ft). The guns fired fixed ammunition weighing 15.1 kg (33 lb); the guns could fire HE and HE incendiary rounds, as well as illumination shells.[21]
These would have been supported by a battery of light anti-aircraft guns consisting of ten 3.7 cm guns in dual mounts and twenty-four 2 cm guns in quadruple mounts.[15] These were distributed along the sides of the ship, generally on platforms that overhung the sides of the ship. Four of the 3.7 cm mounts were on the sides of the ship and the fifth mount was on the extreme bow. Two of the 2 cm mounts were to be placed on the island, with the remainder in the side platforms.[18] The mounts were the Dopp LC/31 type, originally designed for earlier 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK C/31 guns. The 3.7 cm gun was a single-shot gun, with a rate of fire of around 30 rounds per minute. At its maximum elevation of 85°, the gun had a ceiling of 6,800 m (22,300 ft).[22] The 2 cm gun was a magazine-fed automatic weapon, firing at up to 500 rounds per minute. Twenty and forty-round magazines were supplied for the guns;[23]
Footnotes
Notes
Citations
- ^ Williamson, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 65.
- ^ a b c Gröner, p. 66.
- ^ Williamson, p. 42.
- ^ a b c Gröner, p. 67.
- ^ Evans, p. 13.
- ^ a b Koop & Schmolke, p. 189.
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, pp. 189–191.
- ^ Whitley, p. 48.
- ^ a b Garzke & Dulin, p. 296.
- ^ Gröner, p. 72.
- ^ Schenk, pp. 144, 149.
- ^ Fontenoy, p. 75.
- ^ a b c d e Gröner, p. 76.
- ^ a b Whitley, pp. 48–49.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 75.
- ^ a b c Schenk, p. 148.
- ^ Caldwell & Muller, p. 80.
- ^ Kay & Couper, p. 157.
- ^ Campbell, pp. 247–248.
- ^ Campbell, p. 256.
- ^ Campbell, p. 258.
References
- Caldwell, Donald & ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- Evans, Mark (1999). Great World War II Battles in the Arctic. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30892-5.
- Fontenoy, Paul E. (2006). Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-573-5.
- Garzke, William H. & Dulin, Robert O. (1985). Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-101-0.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Kay, Antony K. & Couper, Paul (2004). Junkers Aircraft and Engines, 1913–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-985-0.
- Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2014). Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 9781848321953.
- Schenk, Peter (2008). "German Aircraft Carrier Developments". Warship International. 45 (2). Toledo: International Naval Research Organization: 129–158. OCLC 1647131.
- Whitley, M. J. (1987). German Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-217-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-502-0.