Deutschland class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Deutschland class was a group of five pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine
. The class comprised , , , , and . Built between 1903 and 1908, the ships closely resembled those of the preceding , though they had stronger armor protection. They were made obsolete before they were even completed by the launch of the revolutionary Royal Navy
battleship in 1906. As a result, they were the last ships of that type built for the German Navy. They were followed by the s, Germany's first dreadnought battleships.
With the commissioning of the Deutschland class, the fleet had enough battleships to form two full battle squadrons; the fleet was then reorganized into the High Seas Fleet
, which saw combat during World War I
. Despite their obsolescence, all five of these ships were present at the Battle of Jutland
on 31 May – 1 June 1916. In the confused night actions, Pommern was torpedoed and sunk. After the battle, the four surviving ships were removed from the front-line fleet and employed in secondary tasks. The Treaty of Versailles
permitted Germany to retain several old battleships for coastal defense, including the four Deutschland-class ships.
However, instead of being used as a coastal defense ship, Deutschland was broken up in 1920–1922. Hannover was to be converted into a target vessel, although this was never done. She was eventually broken up in 1944–1946. Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein were the only two vessels of the class to see continued front-line service in the Reichsmarine
and later the Kriegsmarine
. Both ships saw limited duty during World War II
, which was inaugurated by the firing of Schleswig-Holsteins main guns at the Polish fortress at Westerplatte
. Near the end of the war the two ships were both sunk.
s in the hull. The ships were built despite rumors of the capabilities of the revolutionary then under construction. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
insisted on their construction, since larger ships would have necessitated widening the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
. This would have put a prohibitive strain on the naval budget for the year.
of 22.2 m (72.8 ft) and a draft
of 8.21 m (26.9 ft) forward. The ships were designed to displace
13191 tonnes (12,983 LT) with a standard load, and displaced up to 14218 tonnes (13,993 LT) at full load. The Deutschland-class ships' hulls were built with transverse and longitudinal steel frames. Steel hull plates were riveted to the structure created by the frames. The hull was split into twelve watertight compartments, although Pommern had thirteen compartments. The hull included a double bottom
that ran for 84 percent of the length of the ship.
The ships handled less easily than the preceding Braunschweig class ships, though they suffered less marked weather helm
. Their metacentric height
was 0.98 m (3.2 ft). The ships' crews numbered 35 officers and 708 enlisted men. When one of them was a squadron flagship
, the crew was augmented by 13 officers and 66 enlisted men; while serving as a second command ship, 2 officers and 23 enlisted men were added to her standard crew. After she became a training ship in 1935, Schlesiens crew consisted of 29 officers and 559 enlisted men, plus up to 214 cadets. Schleswig-Holstein differed somewhat; her crew as a training ship numbered 31 officers and 565 men and up to 175 cadets. Deutschland and her sisters carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, one admiral's barge, two launches
, one pinnace
, two cutters, two yawl
s, and two dinghies
.
The ships were designed to carry 700 tonnes (688.9 LT) of coal, though additional spaces could be utilized as fuel storage, which increased fuel capacity to 1540 tonnes (1,515.7 LT). This provided a maximum range of 4800 nautical miles (8,889.6 km) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (5.4 m/s). Electrical power was supplied four turbo-generators that supplied 260 kW each at 110 volts.
The armament of the Deutschland class was nearly identical to that of the preceding Braunschweig class, although it was rearranged slightly and increased in number. The primary armament consisted of four 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40
gunsIn 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 long as it is in diameter. quick-firing guns in two twin turrets
, one forward and one to the rear of the main superstructure. The turrets were the Drh.L. C/01 model, which allowed elevation to 30° and depression to −5°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 18830 m (20,592.7 yd). The guns fired 240 kg (529.1 lb) shells in both high-explosive and armor-piercing
(AP) types. Muzzle velocity
for both types of shells was 820 m/s (2,690 f/s). At a range of 12000 m (13,123.4 yd), the AP shells could penetrate armor plating up to 160 mm (6.3 in) thick.
The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 17 cm (6.7 in) guns mounted in casemate
s amidships. Five were emplaced in the top deck and two one deck higher in the superstructure on either side. The casemates allowed elevation to 22° and depression to −5°. At 22°, the guns could engage targets 14500 m (15,857.4 yd). Each gun was supplied with 130 armor-piercing shells, and fired at a rate
of approximately 5 per minute. The guns had an arc of train of 160°.
The ships were armed with twenty-two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) quick-firing guns in single mounts, which were manually operated. The guns fired 14.8 kg (32.6 lb) high-explosive shells at up to 12 rounds per minute. They were supplied with 140 shells each. The guns could hit targets out to 11000 m (12,029.7 yd).
and the citadel in the superstructure. Deutschlands belt was 225 mm (8.9 in) at the waterline and tapered to 140 mm (5.5 in) on the lower edge. Her sister ships' belts was increased in thickness to 240 mm (9.4 in) at the waterline and down to 170 mm (6.7 in) on the bottom edge. In Deutschland, the citadel armor was 160 mm (6.3 in) thick, while on the other four ships the armor was 170 mm thick. All five ships had an armored deck that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick.
The main battery gun turrets had armored sides that were 280 mm (11 in) thick and roofs that were 50 mm (2 in) thick. The barbette
s that held the turrets were armored with 250 mm (9.8 in) thick steel. The casemate guns were protected by 35 mm (1.4 in) thick armor plating. Their forward conning tower
s were protected by 300 mm (11.8 in) on the sides, while the rear conning towers had 140 mm (5.5 in) worth of armor.
(name of the ship to be replaced)". She was laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in 1903, under construction number 109. She was launched on 20 November 1904; once she left the stocks fitting out work commenced. This included the installation of the ship's armament, completion of the interior compartments, and the finishing of the superstructure. By mid 1906 work on the ship was finished. Deutschland was commissioned into the fleet on 3 August of that year. Hannover was ordered as "O" and laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
in 1904. She was launched on 29 September 1905 and commissioned on 1 October 1907.
Pommern was laid down at the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin under the provisional name "P" in 1904. She was launched on 2 December 1905 and commissioned in to the fleet on 1 October 1907. In 1904, Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke
in Danzig under the provisional name "R." She was launched on 28 May 1906 and commissioned on 5 May 1908. Schleswig-Holstein was ordered from the Germaniawerft dockyard under the contract name "Q." Her keel was laid there in 1905. Launched on 17 December 1906, Schleswig-Holstein was completed by July 1908 and commissioned on the 6th, the last ship of the five to join the fleet.
(High Seas Fleet). The five ships conducted several training cruises and fleet maneuvers every year until 1914; these included cruises into the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea and annual tours of Norway. In 1913, Deutschland was replaced as fleet flagship by the new dreadnought . The five ships were in Norway for the annual fleet visit in July 1914. The threat of war forced the cruise to be cut short, and all of the ships were back in German ports by the end of the month.
The ships of the Deutschland class continued to serve in the II Battle Squadron during World War I
. The ships conducted patrols in the mouth of the Elbe River in the first weeks of the war while the rest of the fleet was still being mobilized. They also took part in most of the major fleet actions in the first two years of the war. This primarily included acting as a support force for the battlecruisers that bombarded the English coast in the hopes of luring out a portion of the British fleet.
The five ships participated in the Battle of Jutland
on 31 May – 1 June 1916 under the command of Admiral von Mauve. 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
. The Deutschlands intervened and prevented the British battlecruisers under Admiral David Beatty
from pursuing the German ships. In the darkness, the Germans had difficulty making out their targets and failed to score any hits; the British, however, managed to hit three of the Deutschlands. Pommern was forced briefly to haul out of line. During the night actions, Pommern was torpedoed. The torpedo detonated an ammunition magazine and destroyed the ship, killing all hands onboard. The German fleet reached Wilhelmshaven by mid-day of 1 June, where the undamaged dreadnoughts of the and es took up defensive positions.
By the end of 1916, the four remaining ships were withdrawn from service with the fleet. They were placed into reserve on 15 August 1917. Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein became barracks ships in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, respectively. Hannover was used as a guard ship in the Danish belt
, and Schlesien became a training ship in Kiel.
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. Deutschland was instead scrapped in 1922. The three remaining pre-dreadnought battleships were modernized in the 1920s, which included the replacement of the ships' 17 cm guns with 15 cm (5.9 in) pieces.
Hannover was the first of all the old battleships to come in service with the Reichsmarine in February 1921 as fleet flagship in the Baltic. Her first homeport was Swinemünde but she was transferred to Kiel in 1922. In 1923 the German Navy adopted a new command structure and became flagship of the Fleet. In October 1925, Hannover was moved to the North Sea station. She was decommissioned in March 1927 when Schlesien returned to active service. With newly built masts but still three funnels she entered service again replacing Elsass in February 1930 until September 1931.
In 1932, Schleswig-Holstein was re-boilered and converted into a cadet training ship. One of the most significant changes visually was the trunking of the two forward funnels into a single larger smoke stack. Schlesien was made the flagship of the battleship squadron in January 1933. In May 1935, the Reichsmarine was again reorganized as the Kriegsmarine
. By this time, only Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein were still operating as warships; the four Braunschweig class ships had been disposed of or converted into auxiliary ships.
Hannover was struck from the navy list in 1936 and destined for the scrapyard. There were ideas to rebuilt her as a target ship especially for aircraft, although this never occurred. Schlesien was re-boilered and converted into a training ship as well in 1936. The following year, Schlesien toured South America, including a stop in Argentina in December. By 1939, both ships had been replaced in front-line service by newer ships, and were instead relegated to training duties.The German navy began a construction program under the Nazi regime which included the s and the and culminated in the . These ships were all built to replace the old pre-dreadnoughts in German service. See: Williamson, p. 6 and Gröner, pp. 31, 33, and 60
In August 1939, Schleswig-Holstein conducted what was purported to be a ceremonial tour of the Baltic to commemorate the sinking of the light cruiser in August 1914. At the conclusion of the tour, the ship was towed into the port of Danzig opposite the Polish military depot at Westerplatte
. At 04:47 on 1 September, Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots of World War II
, when she opened fire on the base in Westerplatte
. A detachment of marines then stormed the fortress, which resisted for seven days. Throughout the battle
, Schleswig-Holstein provided artillery support. During the operation Schlesien remained in her training ship role, though she briefly acted as an icebreaker
for U-boat
s.
Schleswig-Holstein and Schlesien then participated in the occupation of Denmark
and invasion of Norway, respectively, in April 1940. Afterward, Schleswig-Holstein was again removed from front-line service and used as a training ship, while Schlesien resumed her ice-breaking duties. In March 1941, Schlesien escorted mine-layers in the Baltic. After returning from this operation, she became a barracks ship in Gotenhafen.
In mid-1944, Schlesiens and Schleswig-Holsteins anti-aircraft armament was considerably strengthened to allow them to be used as an air defense ships in the port of Gotenhafen. Schleswig-Holstein was attacked by RAF bombers in December 1944, and although she was sunk in shallow water, her weapons could still be used. After a fire permanently disabled the ship, her crew was sent ashore to assist in the defense of Marienburg
. Starting in 1944, Hannover was broken up for scrap; work lasted until 1945. Schlesien provided fire support for German troops in the vicinity of Gotenhafen between 15 and 21 March 1945. In April, Schlesien was moved to Swinemünde to restock her ammunition supply as well as evacuate 1,000 wounded soldiers from the front. On 3 May she struck a mine outside Swinemünde; the following day she was scuttled by her crew in shallow water. Both ships were broken up in situ after the war.
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
. The class comprised , , , , and . Built between 1903 and 1908, the ships closely resembled those of the preceding , though they had stronger armor protection. They were made obsolete before they were even completed by the launch of the revolutionary Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
battleship in 1906. As a result, they were the last ships of that type built for the German Navy. They were followed by the s, Germany's first dreadnought battleships.
With the commissioning of the Deutschland class, the fleet had enough battleships to form two full battle squadrons; the fleet was then reorganized into the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
, which saw combat during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Despite their obsolescence, all five of these ships were present at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
on 31 May – 1 June 1916. In the confused night actions, Pommern was torpedoed and sunk. After the battle, the four surviving ships were removed from the front-line fleet and employed in secondary tasks. The Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
permitted Germany to retain several old battleships for coastal defense, including the four Deutschland-class ships.
However, instead of being used as a coastal defense ship, Deutschland was broken up in 1920–1922. Hannover was to be converted into a target vessel, although this was never done. She was eventually broken up in 1944–1946. Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein were the only two vessels of the class to see continued front-line service in the Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
and later the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
. Both ships saw limited duty during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, which was inaugurated by the firing of Schleswig-Holsteins main guns at the Polish fortress at Westerplatte
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
. Near the end of the war the two ships were both sunk.
Design
The five Deutschland-class battleships were the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the German Navy. 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 four subsequent ships had a somewhat different boiler arrangement and slightly thicker armor compared to the Braunschweig-class ships. All five vessels of the Deutschland class dispensed with the turret mountings for the secondary 17 centimetres (6.7 in) guns; all of these guns were mounted in casemateCasemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s in the hull. The ships were built despite rumors of the capabilities of the revolutionary then under construction. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871...
insisted on their construction, since larger ships would have necessitated widening the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal , known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula....
. This would have put a prohibitive strain on the naval budget for the year.
General characteristics
The Deutschland class ships were 125.9 m (413.1 ft) long at the waterline and 127.6 m (418.6 ft) overall. They had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 22.2 m (72.8 ft) and a draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 8.21 m (26.9 ft) forward. The ships were designed to displace
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
13191 tonnes (12,983 LT) with a standard load, and displaced up to 14218 tonnes (13,993 LT) at full load. The Deutschland-class ships' hulls were built with transverse and longitudinal steel frames. Steel hull plates were riveted to the structure created by the frames. The hull was split into twelve watertight compartments, although Pommern had thirteen compartments. The hull included a double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
that ran for 84 percent of the length of the ship.
The ships handled less easily than the preceding Braunschweig class ships, though they suffered less marked weather helm
Weather helm
Weather helm is the tendency of sailing vessels to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced helm that requires pulling the tiller to windward in order to counteract the effect. Weather helm is the opposite of Lee Helm....
. Their metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
was 0.98 m (3.2 ft). The ships' crews numbered 35 officers and 708 enlisted men. When one of them was a squadron flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, the crew was augmented by 13 officers and 66 enlisted men; while serving as a second command ship, 2 officers and 23 enlisted men were added to her standard crew. After she became a training ship in 1935, Schlesiens crew consisted of 29 officers and 559 enlisted men, plus up to 214 cadets. Schleswig-Holstein differed somewhat; her crew as a training ship numbered 31 officers and 565 men and up to 175 cadets. Deutschland and her sisters carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, one admiral's barge, two launches
Launch (boat)
A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
, one pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
, two cutters, two yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
s, and two dinghies
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
.
Machinery
Deutschland and her sisters were equipped with three-shaft triple expansion steam engines. The ships had a single rudder and three screw propellers. The two outer propellers were three-bladed, and 4.8 m (5.24 yd) in diameter. The center screw had four blades and was 4.5 m (4.92 yd) in diameter. Steam was supplied to the engines by twelve marine-type boilers, four for each engine, with the exception of Deutschland. This ship was boilered as in Braunschwieg, with eight marine-type boilers and six cylindrical boilers. Deutschlands engines were rated at 16000 ihp, while the other four ships' engines were rated at 17000 ihp. The design speed for all of the ships was 18 knots (9.8 m/s), though on trials all five ships exceeded the figure.The ships were designed to carry 700 tonnes (688.9 LT) of coal, though additional spaces could be utilized as fuel storage, which increased fuel capacity to 1540 tonnes (1,515.7 LT). This provided a maximum range of 4800 nautical miles (8,889.6 km) at a cruising speed of 10 kn (5.4 m/s). Electrical power was supplied four turbo-generators that supplied 260 kW each at 110 volts.
Armament
28 cm SK L/40 gun
The 28 cm SK L/40 was a German naval gun that was used in World War I and World War II by all German pre-dreadnought battleships...
gunsIn 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 long as it is in diameter. quick-firing guns in two twin turrets
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
, one forward and one to the rear of the main superstructure. The turrets were the Drh.L. C/01 model, which allowed elevation to 30° and depression to −5°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 18830 m (20,592.7 yd). The guns fired 240 kg (529.1 lb) shells in both high-explosive and armor-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
(AP) types. Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
for both types of shells was 820 m/s (2,690 f/s). At a range of 12000 m (13,123.4 yd), the AP shells could penetrate armor plating up to 160 mm (6.3 in) thick.
The secondary battery consisted of fourteen 17 cm (6.7 in) guns mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s amidships. Five were emplaced in the top deck and two one deck higher in the superstructure on either side. The casemates allowed elevation to 22° and depression to −5°. At 22°, the guns could engage targets 14500 m (15,857.4 yd). Each gun was supplied with 130 armor-piercing shells, and fired at a rate
Rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...
of approximately 5 per minute. The guns had an arc of train of 160°.
The ships were armed with twenty-two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) quick-firing guns in single mounts, which were manually operated. The guns fired 14.8 kg (32.6 lb) high-explosive shells at up to 12 rounds per minute. They were supplied with 140 shells each. The guns could hit targets out to 11000 m (12,029.7 yd).
Armor
The Deutschland-class ships were equipped with Krupp cemented armor. Deutschland had a slightly different arrangement in the belt armorBelt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
and the citadel in the superstructure. Deutschlands belt was 225 mm (8.9 in) at the waterline and tapered to 140 mm (5.5 in) on the lower edge. Her sister ships' belts was increased in thickness to 240 mm (9.4 in) at the waterline and down to 170 mm (6.7 in) on the bottom edge. In Deutschland, the citadel armor was 160 mm (6.3 in) thick, while on the other four ships the armor was 170 mm thick. All five ships had an armored deck that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick.
The main battery gun turrets had armored sides that were 280 mm (11 in) thick and roofs that were 50 mm (2 in) thick. The barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s that held the turrets were armored with 250 mm (9.8 in) thick steel. The casemate guns were protected by 35 mm (1.4 in) thick armor plating. Their forward conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
s were protected by 300 mm (11.8 in) on the sides, while the rear conning towers had 140 mm (5.5 in) worth of armor.
Construction
Deutschland was ordered for the German fleet under the contract designation "N."German warships were ordered under provisional names; new additions to the fleet were given letter designations, while those that were intended to replace older vessels were given "ErsatzErsatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
(name of the ship to be replaced)". She was laid down at the Germaniawerft dockyard in 1903, under construction number 109. She was launched on 20 November 1904; once she left the stocks fitting out work commenced. This included the installation of the ship's armament, completion of the interior compartments, and the finishing of the superstructure. By mid 1906 work on the ship was finished. Deutschland was commissioned into the fleet on 3 August of that year. Hannover was ordered as "O" and laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover. It was founded in 1853, first as Königliche Werft Wilhelmshaven but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
in 1904. She was launched on 29 September 1905 and commissioned on 1 October 1907.
Pommern was laid down at the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin under the provisional name "P" in 1904. She was launched on 2 December 1905 and commissioned in to the fleet on 1 October 1907. In 1904, Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
in Danzig under the provisional name "R." She was launched on 28 May 1906 and commissioned on 5 May 1908. Schleswig-Holstein was ordered from the Germaniawerft dockyard under the contract name "Q." Her keel was laid there in 1905. Launched on 17 December 1906, Schleswig-Holstein was completed by July 1908 and commissioned on the 6th, the last ship of the five to join the fleet.
Service history
Following their commissioning beginning in 1906, the ships joined the II Battle Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet), which also included the Braunschweig class ships. Deutschland replaced as the flagship of the fleet. Once the II Battle Squadron was complete, the fleet was reorganized as the HochseeflotteHigh Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
(High Seas Fleet). The five ships conducted several training cruises and fleet maneuvers every year until 1914; these included cruises into the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea and annual tours of Norway. In 1913, Deutschland was replaced as fleet flagship by the new dreadnought . The five ships were in Norway for the annual fleet visit in July 1914. The threat of war forced the cruise to be cut short, and all of the ships were back in German ports by the end of the month.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The ships conducted patrols in the mouth of the Elbe River in the first weeks of the war while the rest of the fleet was still being mobilized. They also took part in most of the major fleet actions in the first two years of the war. This primarily included acting as a support force for the battlecruisers that bombarded the English coast in the hopes of luring out a portion of the British fleet.
The five ships participated in the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
on 31 May – 1 June 1916 under the command of Admiral von Mauve. 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
I Scouting Group
The I Scouting Group was a special reconnaissance unit within the German Kaiserliche Marine. The unit was famously commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper during World War I. The I Scouting Group was one of the most active formations in the High Seas Fleet during the war; the unit took part in every...
. The Deutschlands intervened and prevented the British battlecruisers under Admiral David Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
from pursuing the German ships. In the darkness, the Germans had difficulty making out their targets and failed to score any hits; the British, however, managed to hit three of the Deutschlands. Pommern was forced briefly to haul out of line. During the night actions, Pommern was torpedoed. The torpedo detonated an ammunition magazine and destroyed the ship, killing all hands onboard. The German fleet reached Wilhelmshaven by mid-day of 1 June, where the undamaged dreadnoughts of the and es took up defensive positions.
By the end of 1916, the four remaining ships were withdrawn from service with the fleet. They were placed into reserve on 15 August 1917. Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein became barracks ships in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel, respectively. Hannover was used as a guard ship in the Danish belt
Danish straits
The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. They transect Denmark, and are not to be confused with the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland...
, and Schlesien became a training ship in Kiel.
Inter-war years
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
: Hannover, Schleswig-Holstein and Schlesien, along with several of the Braunschweig class battleships. Deutschland was instead scrapped in 1922. The three remaining pre-dreadnought battleships were modernized in the 1920s, which included the replacement of the ships' 17 cm guns with 15 cm (5.9 in) pieces.
Hannover was the first of all the old battleships to come in service with the Reichsmarine in February 1921 as fleet flagship in the Baltic. Her first homeport was Swinemünde but she was transferred to Kiel in 1922. In 1923 the German Navy adopted a new command structure and became flagship of the Fleet. In October 1925, Hannover was moved to the North Sea station. She was decommissioned in March 1927 when Schlesien returned to active service. With newly built masts but still three funnels she entered service again replacing Elsass in February 1930 until September 1931.
In 1932, Schleswig-Holstein was re-boilered and converted into a cadet training ship. One of the most significant changes visually was the trunking of the two forward funnels into a single larger smoke stack. Schlesien was made the flagship of the battleship squadron in January 1933. In May 1935, the Reichsmarine was again reorganized as the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
. By this time, only Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein were still operating as warships; the four Braunschweig class ships had been disposed of or converted into auxiliary ships.
Hannover was struck from the navy list in 1936 and destined for the scrapyard. There were ideas to rebuilt her as a target ship especially for aircraft, although this never occurred. Schlesien was re-boilered and converted into a training ship as well in 1936. The following year, Schlesien toured South America, including a stop in Argentina in December. By 1939, both ships had been replaced in front-line service by newer ships, and were instead relegated to training duties.The German navy began a construction program under the Nazi regime which included the s and the and culminated in the . These ships were all built to replace the old pre-dreadnoughts in German service. See: Williamson, p. 6 and Gröner, pp. 31, 33, and 60
World War II
Westerplatte
Westerplatte is a peninsula in Gdańsk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea coast mouth of the Dead Vistula , in the Gdańsk harbour channel...
. At 04:47 on 1 September, Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when she opened fire on the base in Westerplatte
Battle of Westerplatte
The Battle of Westerplatte was the very first battle that took place after Germany invaded Poland and World War II began in Europe. During the first week of September 1939, a Military Transit Depot on the peninsula of Westerplatte, manned by fewer than 200 Polish soldiers, held out for seven days...
. A detachment of marines then stormed the fortress, which resisted for seven days. Throughout the battle
Battle of Westerplatte
The Battle of Westerplatte was the very first battle that took place after Germany invaded Poland and World War II began in Europe. During the first week of September 1939, a Military Transit Depot on the peninsula of Westerplatte, manned by fewer than 200 Polish soldiers, held out for seven days...
, Schleswig-Holstein provided artillery support. During the operation Schlesien remained in her training ship role, though she briefly acted as an icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
for U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s.
Schleswig-Holstein and Schlesien then participated in the occupation of Denmark
Battle of Denmark
The Battle of Denmark was the fighting that followed the German army crossing the Danish border on 9 April 1940 by land, sea and air. The German ground campaign against Denmark was the briefest on record in military history.-Motivation for invading Denmark:...
and invasion of Norway, respectively, in April 1940. Afterward, Schleswig-Holstein was again removed from front-line service and used as a training ship, while Schlesien resumed her ice-breaking duties. In March 1941, Schlesien escorted mine-layers in the Baltic. After returning from this operation, she became a barracks ship in Gotenhafen.
In mid-1944, Schlesiens and Schleswig-Holsteins anti-aircraft armament was considerably strengthened to allow them to be used as an air defense ships in the port of Gotenhafen. Schleswig-Holstein was attacked by RAF bombers in December 1944, and although she was sunk in shallow water, her weapons could still be used. After a fire permanently disabled the ship, her crew was sent ashore to assist in the defense of Marienburg
Malbork
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...
. Starting in 1944, Hannover was broken up for scrap; work lasted until 1945. Schlesien provided fire support for German troops in the vicinity of Gotenhafen between 15 and 21 March 1945. In April, Schlesien was moved to Swinemünde to restock her ammunition supply as well as evacuate 1,000 wounded soldiers from the front. On 3 May she struck a mine outside Swinemünde; the following day she was scuttled by her crew in shallow water. Both ships were broken up in situ after the war.