Nazi Germany (1931) – Deutschland, Graf Spee, Scheer. While on the operation, she also made a brief foray into the Indian Ocean. In doing so, this would effectively abrogate the clauses in the Treaty of Versailles that limited Germany's naval power. [3], The Deutschland-class ships were 125.9 m (413 ft) long at the waterline and 127.6 m (419 ft) overall. Their roofs ranged in thickness from 85 to 105 mm (3.3 to 4.1 in). Dreadnought Battleships. Their metacentric height was .98 m (3.2 ft). At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 18,830 m (20,590 yd). The Deutschland(later renamed Lutzow) and her sisters Admiral Scheerand Admiral Graf Speeare an interesting class of ships. Although she damaged the British ships severely, she was herself damaged and her engines were in poor condition. The 1926 maneuvers informed the design staff that greater speed was desirable, and that year, a further two designs were submitted to Zenker. [18] Towards the end of the fleet battle on the evening of 31 May, the five Deutschland-class ships came to the aid of the mauled battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group. Despite their obsolescence, all five of these ships were present at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. Certain elements not to scale. The armored deck was improved as well, and some places had up to 70 mm thickness. Her keel was laid there in 1905. At a range of 12,000 m (13,000 yd), the AP shells could penetrate armor plating up to 160 mm (6.3 in) thick. [30] By 1939, both ships had been replaced in front-line service by newer ships, and were instead relegated to training duties. [27], After Hitler had given the order in late January 1943 for the two remaining ships to be scrapped, the possibility of instead converting them into aircraft carriers was discussed. SMS Schleswig-Holstein Deutschland-class battleship 1939 with metal gun barrels Armo 1:700 [29], Deutschland saw significant action with the Kriegsmarine, including several non-intervention patrols, during which she was attacked by Republican bombers. Design studies were considered starting in 1920, with two basic options: the Navy could build a heavily armored, slow, and small warship similar to a monitor, or a large, fast, and lightly armored vessel similar to a cruiser. Work began under construction number 219. By mid 1906 work on the ship was finished. Pommern was forced briefly to haul out of line. While serving as a squadron flagship, an additional 17 officers and 85 enlisted men augmented the crew. Schleswig – Holstein Battleship 1908 Trumpeter 1:350 05355 . [3], Schlesien transiting the Panama Canal in 1938, Following the German defeat in World War I, three of the Deutschland-class battleships were allowed to be retained in the German Navy, which was reorganized as the Reichsmarine: Hannover, Schleswig-Holstein and Schlesien, along with several of the Braunschweig-class battleships. Schleswig-Holstein was attacked by RAF bombers in December 1944, and although she was sunk in shallow water, her weapons could still be used. Of the first two designs, "I/10" was a 32-knot (59 km/h; 37 mph) cruiser armed with eight 20.5 cm (8.1 in) guns while "II/10" was a 22-knot (41 km/h; 25 mph), heavily armored ship armed with four 38 cm (15 in) guns. Deutschland-class Battleship : 4" 0.75" SMS Schleswig-Holstein was the last of the five Deutschland-class battleships built by the German Kaiserliche Marine. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40. The Treaty of Versailles permitted Germany to retain several old battleships for coastal defense, including the four Deutschland-class ships. [17], The five ships participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 under the command of Admiral von Mauve. In 1937, Admiral Graf Spee represented Germany at the Coronation Review for Britain's King George VI. Lützow was raised and sunk as a target by the Soviet Navy and Admiral Scheer was partially broken up in situ, with the remainder of the hulk buried beneath rubble. On Admiral Graf Spee, it was extended one deck higher. Nevertheless, the design staff prepared another set of designs, "I/35", a heavily armored ship with a single triple turret forward, and "VIII/30", a more lightly-armored ship with a pair of twin turrets. The Deutschland class, heavy cruisers of the Kriegsmarine are today's subject. They were similar to the preceding Braunschweig-class ships—Deutschland was nearly identical, though the design was modified slightly after the lead ship was laid down. The Deutschland class was a series of three Panzerschiffe (armored ships), a form of heavily armed cruiser, built by the Reichsmarine officially in accordance … [44] After returning to Germany at the end of 1942, the ship served as a training ship until the end of 1944, when she was used to support ground operations against the Soviet Army. [27] One of the most significant changes visually was the trunking of the two forward funnels into a single larger smoke stack. There were ideas to rebuilt her as a target ship especially for aircraft, although this never occurred. The main battery turrets had 140 mm (5.5 in) thick faces and 85 mm (3.3 in) thick sides. This included the installation of the ship's armament, completion of the interior compartments, and the finishing of the superstructure. She then returned to Germany where she was renamed Lützow. Admiral Scheer remained in port for periodic maintenance. The two outer propellers were three-bladed, and 4.8 m (5.24 yd) in diameter. [14] The guns were initially supplied with a total 630 rounds of ammunition, and this was later increased to 720 shells. [11] She was launched on 29 September 1905 and commissioned on 1 October 1907. She was eventually broken up in 1944–1946. This ship served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. 2018 | New tool + Actions Stash. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute. [10], Deutschland was ordered for the German fleet under the contract designation "N."[lower-alpha 5] She was laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in 1903, under construction number 109. In Deutschland, the citadel armor was 160 mm (6.3 in) thick, while on the other four ships the armor was 170 mm thick. Admiral Scheer had been rearmed by 1945 with six 4 cm (1.6 in) guns, eight 3.7 cm guns, and thirty-three 2 cm guns. Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, http://books.google.com/books?id=V2r_TBjR2TYC&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=bJBMBvyQ83EC&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=geQ6-XpW5fEC&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=-EfYyhrtOq8C&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=9WGAexVXyHwC&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=CzOsAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover, http://books.google.com/books?id=z-3w7JSYHD4C&printsec=frontcover, http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_11-40_skc04.htm, http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_675-40_skc04.htm, http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_88mm-35_skc00.htm, List of ships of the Imperial German Navy, German naval ship classes of World War II, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Deutschland-class_battleship?oldid=2830179, Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls, 4,800 nautical miles (8,900 km; 5,500 mi); 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). These were the last pre-Dreadnoughts built in Germany, and like many similar ships in other navies they were obsolete by the time they were completed because of the incredibly rapid building of HMS Dreadnought. In 1938 Jane's Fighting Ships stated the Deutschland-class "[a]re officially rated as 'Armoured Ships' (Panzerschiffe) and popularly referred to as 'Pocket Battleships'. They were her last pre-dreadnought ships. [19] Due to their heavy armament of six 28 cm (11 in) guns, high speed and long cruising range, the class was more capable of high seas operation than the old pre-dreadnought battleships they replaced;[20] for this reason, they were referred to as "pocket battleships", particularly in the British press. Admiral Graf Spee's draft was 5.80 m (19 ft 0 in) and 7.34 m (24 ft 1 in), respectively. WW1 Warships. The low stern was wet in a stern sea, and equipment stored there was frequently lost overboard. 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