The Deutschland-class battleship was a class of pre-dreadnought era battleships used by the German Kriegsmarine during World War II.
Description[]
The Deutschland-class battleships were similar in design to the earlier Braunschweig-class battleships, and had general dimensions of 127.6 meters long, 22.2 meters beam, and 8.21 meters draught. The ships weighed in at 13,200 tons standard, and 14,218 tons under full load. Machinery comprised of twelve marine-type boilers powering three triple expansion steam engines, which turned three shafts attached to two three-bladed 4.8 meter screw propellers. The center screw had four blades and measured 4.5 meters in diameter.[1] The propulsion system generated up to 17,000 horsepower.
The maximum designed speed for the Deutschland-class ships was 18.5 knots, though all ships in class exceeded this figure on trials.[2] The designed maximum fuel capacity was 700 tons, though up to 1,540 tons could be carried in additional storage spaces, giving the ships a maximum operational range was 4,800 nautical miles. Electrical power was generated by four turbo generators, producing up to 260 kilowatts.[3]
The Deutschland-class ships armament, modified from the original configuration in 1939, comprised of four 280 mm quick-firing guns mounted in two dual Drh.L. C/01 turrets, one afore and one abaft of the superstructure. The secondary armament comprised of two 88 mm guns, four 37 mm guns in dual mounts, and twenty-two 20 mm guns.
The Deutschland-class ships were equipped with Krupp cemented armor plating,[3] measuring 100 to 240 mm around the main belt, 280 mm on the main turrets and 40 mm on the main deck. The barbettes had 250 mm steel plating, as did the casemates, measuring 35 mm thick. The main conning towers were fitted with 300 mm steel plating on the sides, and the rear conning towers were fitted with 140 mm steel plating.[4]
History[]
Of the five Deutschland-class ships, only three actually saw service in World War II. Pommern was sunk by torpedoes during the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and Deutschland was broken up for scrap in 1922. The three remaining vessels were retained under the Treaty of Versailles, and were operated by the reorganized Reichsmarine. In the 1920s, the ships were modernized, and new weaponry was fitted. By 1939, Hannover and Schlesien had been removed from front line service and replaced by newer vessels.
Schleswig-Holstein remained in active service as a combat vessel, and fired the first shots of World War II at Westerplatte fortress at the start of the Polish campaign. During this time, Schlesien was serving as a training vessel, as well as an ice breaker for U-Boat units in the Baltic. Both Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein took part in the invasions of Denmark and Norway as well. After this, Schlesien resumed her ice breaking duties, and escorted minelayers in the Baltic. She then became a barracks ship and mostly operated around Gotenhafen after this operation. Both vessels then saw considerably less service until the end of the war. Schleswig-Holstein was severely damaged by RAF bombers in 1944, and was scuttled. Schlesien remained in service until May 1945, when she struck a mine near Zinnowitz in shallow water, and was scuttled.
Hannover survived the war, only to be broken up for scrap in 1946.
Known ships[]
- Deutschland
- Hannover
- Pommern
- Schlesien
- Schleswig-Holstein