List of battlecruisers of Germany
The
Six of the seven battlecruisers completed before or during World War I saw relatively heavy combat, primarily in the
The eventual successor to the Kaiserliche Marine, the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany, considered building three O-class battlecruisers before World War II as part of the Plan Z buildup of the navy. The outbreak of war in 1939 caused the plans to be shelved, and none of these ships were built.[a]
Main guns | The number and type of the main battery guns |
---|---|
Displacement | Ship displacement at full combat load |
Propulsion | Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated |
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 |
Kaiserliche Marine
SMS Von der Tann
SMS Von der Tann was the first German
Upon entering service, Von der Tann joined the fleet's main reconnaissance unit,
Ship | Armament[5] | Displacement[6] | Propulsion[5] | Service[5][7] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
SMS Von der Tann | 8 × 28 cm (11 in) SK L/45 guns | 21,300 t (21,000 long tons) | 4 (51.39 km/h; 31.93 mph) | 21 March 1908 | 1 September 1910 | Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930s and scrapped, 1931–1934 |
Moltke class
Moltke and Goeben, improvements over the preceding Von der Tann, were ordered in 1908 and 1909, respectively. While their design was not as contentious as with the Von der Tann, there were still disagreements between Tirpitz and elements of the German naval administration over whether the main battery guns should be increased in number or caliber. Tirpitz and the Construction Office favored the increase to ten guns, while the General Office preferred repeating Von der Tann but with eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns, to mirror the development from the contemporary
Moltke joined Von der Tann in the battlecruiser squadron upon her commissioning, and saw action against the British in the North Sea, including the
Ship | Armament[5] | Displacement[5] | Propulsion[5] | Service[11][12] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
SMS Moltke | 10 × 28 cm SK L/50 guns | 25,400 t (25,000 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28.4 kn (52.6 km/h; 32.7 mph) | 7 December 1908 | 30 August 1911 | Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1927 and scrapped |
SMS Goeben | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) | 28 August 1909 | 2 July 1912 | Transferred to the Ottoman Empire on 16 August 1914, scrapped in 1973 |
SMS Seydlitz
Seydlitz represented an incremental improvement over the Moltke class; the limited nature of the improvements was in large part dictated by the Reichstag (Imperial Diet), which rejected the possibility of any increase in cost for the next battlecruiser. Improvements to the Moltke design were secured only through pressure Tirpitz was able to place on steel suppliers and the ship's builder for discounts, which provided the necessary budgetary room to alter the design. Tirpitz still pressed for a British-style battlecruiser with light armor and larger guns, but his views were again rejected. Seydlitz was slightly larger than the two previous ships, carried slightly thicker belt armor, and had a taller forecastle to improve seakeeping in bad weather. Seydlitz mounted the same ten 28 cm guns as in the Moltke class in the same arrangement.[13]
Upon commissioning into the fleet, Seydlitz became the flagship of Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper, the commander of I Scouting Group. The ship took part in most of the major fleet operations during the war. At the Battle of Dogger Bank, Seydlitz was hit in her after turrets by two or three 34.4 cm (13.5 in) shells from HMS Lion; the shells burned out the turrets and nearly destroyed the ship. By April 1916, she had been replaced as Hipper's flagship by the new battlecruiser Lützow.[14] At Jutland, Seydlitz and Derfflinger inflicted fatal damage on the British battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary early in the action. Seydlitz was badly mauled in later parts of the battle, receiving 21 large-caliber hits, suffering more than 150 casualties, and taking in over 5,300 t (5,200 long tons; 5,800 short tons) of water. Despite the immense damage, Seydlitz was able to make the trip back to Wilhelmshaven, where she was repaired.[15][16] As with Von der Tann and Moltke, Seydlitz was interned and eventually scuttled in Scapa Flow.[17]
Ship | Armament[18] | Displacement[12] | Propulsion[18] | Service[18][19] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
SMS Seydlitz | 10 × 28 cm SK L/50 guns | 28,550 t (28,100 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28.1 kn (52.0 km/h; 32.3 mph) | 4 February 1911 | 22 May 1913 | Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1928 and scrapped |
Derfflinger class
The three Derfflinger-class ships were the last battlecruisers completed for the German navy. The ships' primary armament was radically modified compared to the older ships. The number of guns was reduced to eight, but their diameter was increased to 30.5 cm (12 in). They were also placed in two
Ship | Armament[23] | Displacement[18] | Propulsion[24] | Service[21][23] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
SMS Derfflinger | 8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns | 31,200 t (30,700 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 26.5 kn (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) | 30 March 1912 | 1 September 1914 | Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946 |
SMS Lützow | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 26.4 kn (48.9 km/h; 30.4 mph) | May 1912 | 8 August 1915 | Scuttled after severe damage at the Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916 | ||
SMS Hindenburg | 31,500 t (31,000 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 26.6 kn (49.3 km/h; 30.6 mph) | 1 October 1913 | 10 May 1917 | Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930, scrapped 1930–1932 |
Mackensen class
Following the realization in February 1915 that the war would not be won quickly, the Navy department decided to replace the six armored cruisers that had been lost thus far.[25] The ships were improved versions of the Derfflinger class; the primary alterations being the adoption of the 35 cm (13.8 in) gun for the main battery, along with a full-length forecastle deck. Four ships were ordered and laid down, but only two of them, Mackensen and Graf Spee, were launched.[26] None of the ships were completed, as work had been diverted to U-boat construction.[27] All four ships were broken up in Germany between 1921 and 1924.[26]
Ship | Armament[28] | Displacement[28] | Propulsion[28] | Service[28] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
SMS Mackensen | 8 × 35 cm (13.8 in) SK L/45 guns | 35,300 t (34,700 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph) | 1914 | — | Broken up, 1922 |
SMS Graf Spee | 1915 | Broken up, 1921–1922 | ||||
SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich | Broken up, 1921 | |||||
SMS Fürst Bismarck | Broken up, 1922 |
Ersatz Yorck class
The three ships of the Ersatz Yorck class were originally ordered as Mackensen-class ships, but the design was modified in January 1917 to increase the armament to eight 38 cm (15 in) guns. The Ersatz Yorcks were otherwise similar to the Mackensens, with the exception of the funnels. The Ersatz Yorck-class ships were modified to trunk the two smoke uptakes of the previous design into one large funnel. Only the lead ship was laid down, and work did not proceed far; only about 1,000 metric tons of steel had been assembled by the time work ceased. The other two ships were assigned to shipyards, but work never began.[29]
Ship | Armament[30] | Displacement[30] | Propulsion[30] | Service[30][31] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
Ersatz Yorck | 8 × 38 cm (15 in) SK L/45 guns | 38,000 t (37,400 long tons) | 4 screws, Parsons steam turbines, 27.3 kn (50.6 km/h; 31.4 mph) | June 1916 | — | Broken up on the slipway |
Ersatz Gneisenau | — | |||||
Ersatz Scharnhorst |
Kriegsmarine
O class
The O-class battlecruisers were designed in 1937 to supplement the P-class cruisers then planned for the new German fleet. The three ships were armed with six 38 cm guns in three twin turrets, similar to the arrangement of the main battery of the Scharnhorst-class battleships. They were intended for use as long-range commerce raiders, with the goal of forcing Great Britain to disperse its battleships as convoy escorts. The ships were never laid down due to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.[32]
Ship | Armament[33] | Displacement[33] | Propulsion[33] | Service[33] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laid down | Commissioned | Fate | ||||
O | 6 × 38 cm SK C/34 guns | 35,400 long tons (36,000 t)[b] | 3 screws, 8 × diesel engines, 1 × steam turbine, 35 kn (65 km/h; 40 mph) | — | — | Canceled after the outbreak of World War II |
P | ||||||
Q |
Footnotes
Notes
- ^ The two Scharnhorst-class warships have been referred to as battlecruisers, especially in British works. The Kriegsmarine classified them as battleships, and a significant majority of scholarly works refer to them as such; hence, they are not included in this list.
- ^ Figures here are reversed intentionally; following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, the use of long tons to calculate ship displacement was standardized.
Citations
- ^ Staff 2006, pp. 3–5.
- ^ Dodson, pp. 77–80.
- ^ a b Staff 2006, pp. 9–11.
- ^ Tarrant, pp. 97–102, 119.
- ^ a b c d e f Gröner, p. 54.
- ^ Gröner, p. 53.
- ^ Staff 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Staff 2006, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Dodson, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Staff 2006, pp. 16–20.
- ^ Staff 2006, p. 12.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 55.
- ^ Staff 2006, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Staff 2006, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Tarrant, pp. 100–101, 113, 118–119, 126, 137, 296, 298.
- ^ Staff 2006, p. 33.
- ^ Herwig, p. 256.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 56.
- ^ Staff 2006, p. 21.
- ^ Staff 2006, p. 34.
- ^ a b Staff 2006, p. 35.
- ^ Hore, p. 73.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 57.
- ^ Sturton, p. 37.
- ^ Herwig, p. 200.
- ^ a b Campbell & Sieche, p. 155.
- ^ Weir, p. 179.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 58.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 156.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 59.
- ^ Staff 2014, p. 324.
- ^ Sturton, p. 49.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 68.
References
- Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
- Hore, Peter (2006). Battleships of World War I. London: Southwater Books. ISBN 978-1-84476-377-1.
- Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.
- Staff, Gary (2014). German Battlecruisers of World War One: Their Design, Construction and Operations. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-213-4.
- Sturton, Ian, ed. (1987). Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the Present. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-448-0.
- Tarrant, V. E. (2001) [1995]. Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9.
- Weir, Gary (1992). Building the Kaiser's Navy. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-929-1.
Further reading
- Breyer, Siegfried (1997). Die Kaiserliche Marine und ihre Großen Kreuzer [The Imperial Navy and its Large Cruisers] (in German). Wölfersheim: Podzun-Pallas Verlag. ISBN 3-7909-0603-4.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1978). Battle Cruisers. Warship Special. Vol. 1. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-130-4.
- Dodson, Aidan; Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4198-1.