SMS Hindenburg
 Hindenburg at anchor at Scapa Flow
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | Hindenburg |
| Namesake | Paul von Hindenburg |
| Ordered | 1912–1913 Naval Program |
| Builder | Kaiserliche Werft, Wilhelmshaven |
| Laid down | 1 October 1913 |
| Launched | 1 August 1915 |
| Commissioned | 10 May 1917 |
| Fate | Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1930, scrapped 1930–1932 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Derfflinger-class battlecruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 212.8 m (698 ft) |
| Beam | 29 m (95 ft) |
| Draft | 9.57 m (31.4 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Range | 6,100 nmi (11,300 km; 7,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 44 officers and 1,068 men, 1,390 in wartime |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
SMS Hindenburg
Hindenburg was commissioned late in the war and as a result had a brief service career. The ship took part in a handful of short fleet operations as the
Design
The Derfflinger class was authorized for the 1911 fiscal year as part of the 1906
Hindenburg was slightly longer than her two
Hindenburg's primary armament was eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in four twin turrets, the same as in her two sisters.[3] However, the gun turrets were Drh LC/1913 mounts, which were an improved version the Drh LC/1912 type mounts on Derfflinger and Lützow—the gun houses on Hindenburg allowed gun elevation to 16°,[4] as opposed to 13.5° in the earlier model. This gave the guns mounted in the Drh LC/1913 turrets a range advantage of some 2,000 m (2,200 yd) over those in the older turret.[5][b][c] Like her sister ship, Lützow, she was armed with a secondary battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns and four 60 cm (23.6 in) torpedo tubes instead of the standard twelve 15 cm guns and four 50 cm (19.7 in) tubes mounted on Derfflinger.[2]
Hindenburg was protected by an armor belt that was 300 mm (12 in) thick in the central citadel of the ship where it protected the ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. Her deck was 30 to 80 mm (1.2 to 3.1 in) thick, with the thicker armor sloping down at the sides to connect to the lower edge of the belt. Her main battery turrets had 270 mm (11 in) thick faces. Her secondary casemates received 150 mm (5.9 in) of armor protection. The forward conning tower, where the ship's commander controlled the vessel, had 300 mm walls.[2]
Service history
Built by the
Hindenburg was the last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy, and as such had a very short career. She was fully operational by 20 October 1917, but this was too late to see any major operation in World War I. On 17 November, Hindenburg and Moltke, along with the light cruisers of II Scouting Group, were acting as distant support for German minesweepers off the German coast when the minesweepers were attacked by British warships. The British raiders included the new battlecruisers Repulse, Courageous, and Glorious.[9] However, the raid was brief; by the time Hindenburg and Moltke arrived on the scene, the British ships had broken off the attack and withdrawn. On 23 November, Hindenburg replaced Seydlitz as flagship of I Scouting Group.[8][d]
Advance of 23 April 1918
In late 1917, light forces of the
At 05:00 on 23 April 1918, the German fleet, with Hindenburg in the lead, departed from the Schillig roadstead. Hipper ordered wireless transmissions be kept to a minimum, to prevent British intelligence from receiving radio intercepts.[12] At 06:10 the German battlecruisers had reached a position approximately 60 kilometers southwest of Bergen, when Moltke lost her inner starboard propeller. Without resistance from the water, the propeller-less shaft began spinning faster and faster, until one of the engine gears flew apart. Shrapnel from the broken machinery damaged several boilers and tore a hole in the hull; the ship was dead in the water.[13] The ship's crew effected temporary repairs, which allowed the ship to steam at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). However, it was decided to take the ship under tow by the battleship Oldenburg. Despite this setback, Hipper continued northward. By 14:00, Hipper's force had crossed the convoy route several times but had found nothing. At 14:10, Hipper turned his ships southward. By 18:37, the German fleet had made it back to the defensive minefields surrounding their bases. It was later discovered that the convoy had left port a day later than expected by the German planning staff.[12]
Later planned operations
On 11 August 1918, Hipper was promoted to Admiral and given command of the entire High Seas Fleet.
Hindenburg was to have taken part in what would have amounted to the
On 24 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on several battleships
Fate
Under the terms of the Armistice between Germany and the Allies that ended World War I, the majority of the German fleet was to be interned at Scapa Flow; this included Hindenburg and the rest of the battlecruisers. On 21 November 1918, the ships to be interned—14 capital ships, seven light cruisers, and 50 of the most modern torpedo boats—departed German waters for what would prove to be the last time.[18] Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha made clear to Reuter, who was given command of the ships to be interned, that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions.[19] The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser Cardiff, which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow. The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British, American, and French warships.[20]
The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations in Versailles that ultimately produced the
Notes
Footnotes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.
- ^ The angle of fire and range of the projectile are directly related; see trajectory for more information.
- ^ The Drh CL/1912 mounts were modified in 1916 to increase their maximum elevation to 16°. See: Staff, p. 36.
- ^ Seydlitz had been squadron flagship since the loss of Lützow at Jutland.
- ^ Britain had promised to ship 250,000 short tons (230,000 t) of coal to Norway every month. See: Massie, p. 747.
- ^ By this time, the Armistice had been extended to 23 June, though there is some contention as to whether Reuter was aware of this. Admiral Sydney Fremantle stated that he informed Reuter on the evening of the 20th, though Reuter claims he was unaware of the development. For Fremantle's claim, see Bennett, p. 307. For Reuter's statement, see Herwig, p. 256.
Citations
- ^ Dodson, pp. 91–92.
- ^ a b c Gröner, pp. 56–57.
- ^ Gröner, p. 56.
- ^ Campbell, p. 57.
- ^ Staff, p. 36.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 57.
- ^ Campbell, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Staff, p. 42.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 40.
- ^ Massie, p. 747.
- ^ Massie, pp. 747–748.
- ^ a b c Massie, p. 748.
- ^ Staff, p. 17.
- ^ Tarrant, pp. 280–281.
- ^ Massie, p. 774.
- ^ a b Massie, p. 775.
- ^ Tarrant, pp. 281–282.
- ^ Herwig, p. 254.
- ^ a b Herwig, p. 256.
- ^ Herwig, pp. 254–255.
- ^ Van der Vat, p. 177.
References
- ISBN 978-1-84415-300-8.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1978). Battle Cruisers: The Design and Development of British and German Battlecruisers of the First World War Era. Warship Special. Vol. 1. Greenwich, England: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-130-4.
- 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.
- ISBN 978-0-345-40878-5.
- Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3.
- Tarrant, V. E. (2001) [1995]. Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9.
- Van der Vat, Dan (1986). The Grand Scuttle: The Sinking of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-225-3.
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.
- Staff, Gary (2014). German Battlecruisers of World War One: Their Design, Construction and Operations. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-213-4.
- Wilkins, Harold T. (1930). Windsor, H. H. (ed.). "Raising The Hindenburg". Popular Mechanics. 54. Chicago: 995–997.
