SMS Seydlitz

SMS "Seydlitz" was a 25,000 ton battlecruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned in May 1913. She was named after Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, a Prussian general during the reign of King Frederick the Great.

Design

The "Seydlitz" was a unique vessel, being a modified version of the previous "Moltke" class battlecruisers. As the "Moltke" was herself basically an enlarged version of Germany's first battlecruiser, "Von der Tann", the "Seydlitz" can be considered the ultimate evolution of Germany's first generation of battlecruisers.

When she was proposed the German design board seriously considered several completely new designs of ship including one armed with ten 11" guns disposed along the centreline in a similar arrangement to the "König" class battleships and another armed with eight 12" guns arranged in echelon much like the contemporary British "Indefatigable" class. However the Treasury would not authorise an increase in cost over the previous "Moltke" class ships so for some time the plan was to build a third sister to the "Moltke" and "Goeben", until Admiral Tirpitz was able to negotiate a discount on armour plate from Krupp which freed up sufficient funds to make some material improvements to the design. The principal difference between the "Seydlitz" and her predecessors was her raised forecastle, giving her greater freeboard at the bow. The intent was to improve the seakeeping qualities of the vessel as the "Moltke" Class had proven notoriously "wet" in even a relatively mild swell. "Seydlitz" was also about one knot faster, had slightly thicker armour, and a new turret design.

ervice History

At the Battle of Dogger Bank (1915), 24 January 1915, in World War I SMS "Seydlitz" was the flagship of Admiral Franz von Hipper. She was hit by a 13.5 inch shell from HMS "Lion" which penetrated the working chamber of her after turret. The resulting explosion knocked out the rear turret and, due to an open door to the adjacent turret, knocked out that one as well, with the loss of the 160 men of the two turrets’ crews. Only the prompt action of her executive officer in flooding the magazines saved "Seydlitz" from a magazine explosion that would have destroyed the ship. Supposedly the sailor Wilhelm Heidkamp saved the ship, when he desperately opened the glowing valves although he burnt his hands and his lungs. He never recovered from his severe injuries and died a few years later. The Kriegsmarine named the destroyer Z21 after him. At the Battle of Jutland, a similar situation befell "Lion".

"Seydlitz" participated in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 April 1916. In this action she struck a mine and was forced to prematurely withdraw from the raid. The mine killed 11 men and flooded her forward torpedo compartment.

At the Battle of Jutland 31 May-01 June 1916 she fought third in line in Hipper's battlecruiser squadron. Her gunfire led to the explosion of HMS "Queen Mary". "Seydlitz" was heavily damaged herself, being hit by twenty-one heavy shells and one torpedo and suffering 98 men killed and 55 injured. She shipped over 5,000 tons of water, reducing her freeboard to almost nothing, but made it back to the Jade Estuary, where she was deliberately beached.

Thereafter, "Seydlitz" was extensively lightened by removing as much equipment from her as possible, including her guns, and refloated so that she could limp into port. She was immediately taken in hand for repairs - a process that took five months to complete - and was back in service with the High Seas Fleet in November, 1916. She would serve as Hipper's flagship for most of the rest of the war.

On 4-5 November, "Seydlitz", along with other ships of the I and III Squadrons, including "Moltke" and "Bayern", sailed to Bovbjerg, on the Danish coast, in order to retrieve the beached U-boats "U20" and "U30". Staff, Gary: "German Battlecruisers: 1914-1918", page 33. Osprey Books, 2006. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3]

"Seydlitz" survived more damage that any other German capital ship during World War I, a remarkable testament to the incredibly strong basic design of German battlecruisers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she was always considered a happy ship and was one of the most popular ships of the High Seas Fleet. Her motto was "Allen Voran", or "All forward."

After the armistice she was interned at Scapa Flow where she was scuttled by her crew with the rest of the High Seas Fleet on 21 June 1919. She was salvaged in 1928 and scrapped.

References

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/germany/gersh-s/seydlitz.htm Photos of the "Seydlitz"] Accounts of the battle of Jutland:
* [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/jut01.htm by Moritz von Egidy] , captain of SMS "Seydlitz"
* [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/foeseyd.htm by Richard Foerster] , gunnery officer on the "Seydlitz"
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/battleships/seydlitz/sms_seydlitz.htm Maritimequest SMS Seydlitz Photo Gallery]