SMS Gneisenau
SMS Gneisenau
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History | |
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German Empire | |
Name | Gneisenau |
Namesake | SMS Gneisenau |
Ordered | 8 June 1904 |
Builder | AG Weser, Bremen |
Laid down | 28 December 1904 |
Launched | 14 June 1906 |
Commissioned | 6 March 1908 |
Fate | Sunk, Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Scharnhorst-class armored cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 144.6 m (474 ft 5 in) |
Beam | 21.6 m (70 ft 10 in) |
Draft | 8.37 m (27 ft 6 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 22.5 knots (42 km/h) |
Range | 4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Crew |
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Armament |
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Armor |
SMS Gneisenau
Accordingly, Gneisenau was assigned to the German
After arriving off the coast of Chile, the East Asia Squadron encountered and defeated a British squadron at the
Design
The two Scharnhorst-class cruisers were ordered as part of the naval construction program laid out in the Second Naval Law of 1900, which called for a force of fourteen armored cruisers. The ships marked a significant increase in combat power over their predecessors, the Roon class, being more heavily armed and armored. These improvements were made to allow for Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to fight in the line of battle should the need arise, a capability requested by the General Department.[1]
Gneisenau was 144.6 meters (474 ft 5 in)
Gneisenau's
The ship was protected by a 15 cm
Service history
Gneisenau was the first member of the class to be ordered, on 8 June 1904; she was
While serving in I Scouting Group, Gneisenau participated in the normal peacetime training routine with the fleet. She took part in a major fleet cruise in the Atlantic Ocean in company with the battleship squadrons of the High Seas Fleet immediately after completing trials.
The year 1909 followed a similar pattern, with two more Atlantic cruises, the first in February and March and the second in July and August. The latter voyage included a visit to Spain. Later in the year, Gneisenau and the
East Asia Squadron
On 10 November, Gneisenau departed Wilhelmshaven, bound for Germany's
In September, Krosigk shifted his flag to Gneisenau while Scharnhorst was in dry dock for periodic maintenance. On 10 October, the
Gneisenau went into dry dock in Qingdao for annual repairs in the first quarter of 1912. On 13 April, the ships embarked on a month-long cruise to Japanese waters, returning to Qingdao on 13 May. In June, KzS
In April 1913, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst went to Japan so Spee and the ships' commanders could meet with the new emperor,
In June 1914, KzS Julius Maerker took command of the ship.[11] Shortly thereafter, Spee embarked on a cruise to German New Guinea; Gneisenau rendezvoused with Scharnhorst in Nagasaki, Japan, where they received a full supply of coal. They then sailed south, arriving in Truk in early July where they restocked their coal supplies. While en route, they received news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary.[12] On 17 July, the East Asia Squadron arrived in Ponape in the Caroline Islands. Here, Spee had access to the German radio network, where he learned of the Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia and the Russian mobilization. On 31 July, word came that the German ultimatum, which demanded the demobilization of Russia's armies, was set to expire. Spee ordered his ships be stripped for war.[c] On 2 August, Wilhelm II ordered German mobilization against France and Russia.[13]
World War I
When
All available colliers, supply ships, and passenger liners were ordered to meet the East Asia Squadron in Pagan
To keep the German high command informed, on 8 September Spee detached Nürnberg to
By 12 October, Gneisenau and the rest of the squadron had reached Easter Island. There they were joined by the light cruisers Dresden and Leipzig, which had sailed from American waters, on 12 and 14 October, respectively. Leipzig also brought three more colliers with her.[24] After a week in the area, the ships departed for Chile.[26] On the evening of 26 October, Gneisenau and the rest of the squadron steamed out of Mas a Fuera, Chile and headed eastward, arriving in Valparaíso on 30 October. On 1 November, Spee learned from Prinz Eitel Friedrich that the British light cruiser HMS Glasgow had been anchored in Coronel the previous day, so he turned towards the port to try to catch her alone.[27][28]
Battle of Coronel
The British had scant resources to oppose the German squadron off the coast of South America. Rear Admiral
The East Asia Squadron arrived off Coronel on the afternoon of 1 November; to Spee's surprise, he encountered Good Hope, Monmouth, and Otranto in addition to Glasgow. Canopus was still some 300 nmi (560 km; 350 mi) behind, with the British colliers.[30] At 16:17, Glasgow spotted the German ships. Cradock formed a line of battle with Good Hope in the lead, followed by Monmouth, Glasgow, and Otranto in the rear. Spee decided to hold off engaging until the sun had set more, at which point the British ships would be silhouetted by the sun, while his own ships would be obscured against the coast behind them. Spee turned his ships on a course nearly parallel to Cradock's ships, slowly closing the range. Cradock realized the uselessness of Otranto in the line of battle and detached her. Heavy seas made working the casemate guns in both sides' armored cruisers difficult.[31][32]
By 18:07, the distance between the two squadrons had fallen to 13,500 m (44,300 ft) and at 18:37 Spee ordered his ships to open fire, by which time the range had dropped to 10,400 m (34,100 ft). Each ship engaged their opposite in the British line, Gneisenau's target being Monmouth. Gneisenau struck Monmouth with her third salvo, one shell hitting her forward turret, blowing the roof off, and starting a fire. Gneisenau fired primarily
At the same time, Nürnberg closed to point-blank range of Monmouth and poured shells into her.[34] At 19:23, Good Hope's guns fell silent following two large explosions; the German gunners ceased fire shortly thereafter. Good Hope disappeared into the darkness. Spee ordered his light cruisers to close with his battered opponents and finish them off with torpedoes, while he took Scharnhorst and Gneisenau further south to get out of the way. Glasgow was forced to abandon Monmouth after 19:20 when the German light cruisers approached, before fleeing south and meeting with Canopus. A squall prevented the Germans from discovering Monmouth, but she eventually capsized and sank at 20:18.[35][36] More than 1,600 men were killed in the sinking of the two armored cruisers, including Cradock. German losses were negligible; Gneisenau had been hit four times but was not significantly damaged and suffered only two crewmen lightly injured. However, the German ships had expended over 40 percent of their ammunition supply.[31][37]
Voyage to the Falklands
After the battle, Spee took his ships north to Valparaiso. Since Chile was neutral, only three ships could enter the port at a time; Spee took Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Nürnberg in first on the morning of 3 November, leaving Dresden and Leipzig with the colliers at Mas a Fuera. In Valparaiso, Spee's ships could take on coal while he conferred with the Admiralty Staff in Germany to determine the strength of remaining British forces in the region. The ships remained in the port for only 24 hours, in accordance with the neutrality restrictions, and arrived at Mas a Fuera on 6 November, where they took on more coal from captured British and French steamers. On 10 November, Dresden and Leipzig were detached for a stop in Valparaiso, and five days later, Spee took the rest of the squadron south to St. Quentin Bay in the Gulf of Penas. On 18 November, Dresden and Leipzig met Spee while en route and the squadron reached St. Quentin Bay three days later. There, they took on more coal, since the voyage around Cape Horn would be a long one and it was unclear when they would have another opportunity to coal.[38]
Once word of the defeat reached London, the Royal Navy set to organizing a force to hunt down and destroy the East Asia Squadron. To this end, the powerful battlecruisers Invincible and Inflexible were detached from the Grand Fleet and placed under the command of Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee.[39] The two ships left Devonport on 10 November. En route to the Falkland Islands, they were joined by the armored cruisers Carnarvon, Kent, and Cornwall, the light cruisers Bristol and Glasgow, and Otranto; the force of eight ships reached the Falklands by 7 December, where they immediately coaled.[40]
In the meantime, Spee's ships departed St. Quentin Bay on 26 November and rounded Cape Horn on 2 December. They captured the Canadian
Battle of the Falkland Islands
Gneisenau and Nürnberg were delegated for the attack; they approached the Falklands the following morning, with the intention of destroying the wireless transmitter there. Observers aboard Gneisenau spotted smoke rising from
Spee realized his armored cruisers could not escape the much faster battlecruisers and ordered the three light cruisers to attempt to break away while he turned about and allowed the British battlecruisers to engage the outgunned Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Meanwhile, Sturdee detached his cruisers to pursue the German light cruisers.[45] Invincible opened fire at Scharnhorst while Inflexible attacked Gneisenau and Spee ordered his two armored cruisers to similarly engage their opposites. Spee had taken the lee position; the wind kept his ships swept of smoke, which improved visibility for his gunners. This forced Sturdee into the windward position and its corresponding worse visibility. Gneisenau quickly scored two hits on her opponent. In response to these hits, Sturdee attempted to widen the distance by turning two points to the north. This would place his ships beyond the effective range of the German guns, but keep his opponents within range of his own. Both sides checked their fire for the time being; Gneisenau had been hit twice during this stage of the battle, the first shell striking the aft funnel, killing and wounding several men with shell splinters. The second shell damaged some of the ship's cutters and penetrated into some cabins amidships. Shell fragments from a near miss penetrated into one of the magazines for the 8.8 cm guns, forcing it to be flooded to prevent a fire.[46]
Spee countered Sturdee's maneuver by turning rapidly to the south, which significantly widened the range and temporarily raised the possibility of escaping by nightfall. The maneuver forced Sturdee to turn south as well and pursue at high speed. Given the speed advantage and the clear weather, the German hope to escape proved to be short-lived. Nevertheless, the maneuver allowed Spee to turn back north, bringing Scharnhorst and Gneisenau close enough to engage with their secondary 15 cm guns; their shooting was so effective that it forced the British to haul away a second time. After resuming the battle, the British gunfire became more accurate, and as the British were firing at very long range, the shells approached plunging fire, which allowed them to penetrate the thin deck armor rather than the thicker belt. Gneisenau took several hits during this phase, including a pair of underwater hits that began to flood boiler rooms 1 and 3.[47]
Sturdee then turned to port in an attempt to take the leeward position, but Spee countered the turn to retain his favorable position; the maneuvering did, however, reverse the order of the ships, so Gneisenau now engaged Invincible.[48] During the reversal, Gneisenau became temporarily obscured by smoke, so the British ships concentrated their fire on Scharnhorst, which suffered severe damage during this phase of the action. Spee and Maerker exchanged a series of signals to determine the state of each other's vessels; Spee concluded the exchange with a signal noting that Maerker was correct to have opposed the attack on the Falklands. At 15:30, Gneisenau received a major hit that penetrated to her starboard engine room and disabled that engine, leaving her with just two operational screws. Another hit at 15:45 knocked over her forward funnel, and at 16:00 her number 4 boiler room was disabled.[49]
At 16:00, Spee ordered Gneisenau to attempt to escape while he reversed course and attempted to launch torpedoes at his pursuers. Damage to the ship's engine and boiler rooms had reduced her speed to 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph), however, and so the ship continued to fight on. Gneisenau nevertheless could not evade British fire, and at around the same time her bridge was hit. Two more hits followed at 16:15, one passing completely through the ship without detonating and the other exploding in the main
During the final phase of the battle, Gneisenau ran out of ammunition and resorted to firing inert training rounds; one of these struck Invincible. Three more shells struck Gneisenau at around 17:15, two of them underwater on the starboard side and the other on a starboard casemate. The former hits caused serious flooding, but the third had little effect, as the gun crew had already been killed by an earlier hit and the casemate was already on fire. Several more hits followed, and by 17:30, Gneisenau was a burning wreck; she had a severe list to starboard and smoke poured from the ship, which came to a stop. At 17:35, Maerker ordered the crew to set scuttling charges and gather on the deck, as the ship was unable to continue fighting. The forward gun turret fired a final shell despite Maerker's instructions, prompting a return shot from Inflexible that struck the forward dressing station, killing many wounded men there. At 17:42, the scuttling charges detonated and the forward torpedo crew launched a torpedo to clear the tube and hasten the flooding.[51][52]
The ship slowly rolled over and sank, but not before allowing some 270 to 300 of the survivors time to escape. Of these men, many died quickly from exposure in the 4 °C (39 °F) water.[53] A total of 598 men of her crew were killed in the engagement,[2] though boats from Invincible and Inflexible picked up 187 men from Gneisenau, including her executive officer, Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Hans Pochhammer, the highest ranking German officer to survive and the source of German records of the battle.[54][55] Leipzig and Nürnberg were also sunk. Only Dresden managed to escape, but she was eventually tracked to the Juan Fernandez Islands and sunk. The complete destruction of the squadron killed some 2,200 German sailors and officers, including Spee and two of his sons.[56]
Notes
Footnotes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff" (English: His Majesty's Ship).
- ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick loading, 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 as long as it is in bore diameter.[3]
- ^ This meant the removal of all non-essential items, to include dress uniforms, tapestries, furniture, and other flammable objects.[57]
- ^ Japan, though still neutral, was allied with Britain and would soon enter the war against Germany.[18]
Citations
- ^ Dodson, pp. 58–59, 67.
- ^ a b c d e Gröner, p. 52.
- ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
- ^ Dodson, p. 206.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3, pp. 211–212.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2, p. 238.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3, p. 212.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 108–109.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3, pp. 211–213.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3, p. 211.
- ^ Hough, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Hough, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Halpern, p. 66.
- ^ a b c Staff, p. 29.
- ^ a b Halpern, p. 71.
- ^ Hough, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 71–74.
- ^ Hough, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Hough, p. 5.
- ^ Hough, pp. 23, 33.
- ^ Strachan, p. 471.
- ^ Staff, pp. 29–30.
- ^ a b Staff, p. 30.
- ^ Halpern, p. 89.
- ^ Hawkins, p. 34.
- ^ a b Halpern, p. 92.
- ^ Staff, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Herwig, p. 156.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 92–93.
- ^ a b Halpern, p. 93.
- ^ Staff, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Staff, pp. 33–35.
- ^ Herwig, p. 157.
- ^ Staff, p. 36.
- ^ Strachan, p. 36.
- ^ Staff, p. 39.
- ^ Staff, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Strachan, p. 41.
- ^ a b c Strachan, p. 47.
- ^ Staff, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Staff, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Staff, p. 64.
- ^ Bennett, p. 115.
- ^ Bennett, p. 117.
- ^ Staff, p. 66.
- ^ Staff, pp. 66–67.
- ^ Bennett, p. 118.
- ^ Staff, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Staff, pp. 69–71.
- ^ Bennett, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Staff, p. 71.
- ^ Bennett, p. 120.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 3, p. 213.
- ^ Hough, p. 152.
- ^ Herwig, p. 158.
- ^ Hough, p. 17.
References
- ISBN 978-1-84415-300-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-229-5.
- Grießmer, Axel (1999). Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine: 1906–1918; Konstruktionen zwischen Rüstungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz [The Battleships of the Imperial Navy: 1906–1918; Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5985-9.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
- Hawkins, Nigel (2002). Starvation Blockade: The Naval Blockades of WWI. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-85052-908-1.
- Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 2. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0210-7.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 3. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0211-4.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 7. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0267-1.
- Hough, Richard (1980). Falklands 1914: The Pursuit of Admiral Von Spee. Penzance: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904381-12-9.
- Staff, Gary (2011). Battle on the Seven Seas: German Cruiser Battles, 1914–1918. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84884-182-6.
- Strachan, Hew (2001). The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-926191-8.