Derfflinger class battlecruiser

The three units of the Derfflinger-class battlecruisers (German:"Schlachtkreuzer") of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine were ordered for the 1912 to 1913 Naval Building Programme of the Imperial German Navy as a reply to the Royal Navy's three new "Indefatigable" class battlecruisers that were launched a few years earlier. At this time Germany and Great Britain had been engaged in a naval arms race. They reflected an improved design over the previous Moltke class and the unique battlecruiser SMS "Seydlitz", by carrying a larger main armament.

Design

The SMS "Derfflinger" and her sisters the SMS "Lützow" and the SMS "Hindenburg" were designed to complement the König class battleships. Both classes mounted their main battery in twin turrets on the centerline and both classes were outfitted with a partially oil-fired boiler arrangement. Of the three, only "Derfflinger" was constructed as a new addition to the fleet, since the other two were to be replacements for obsolete ships; "Lützow" for the corvette/cruiser SMS "Kaiserin Augusta" and "Hindenburg" for the heavy cruiser SMS "Hertha".

The "Derfflingers" were the first German battlecruisers to be armed with convert|30.5|cm|in|0|abbr=on main guns, and the first German capital ships to have a flush deck design, and the absence of secondary casement mounts in the hull itself was a preview of more modern naval designs that would not come along until the 1930s.

SMS "Derfflinger" and her newly commissioned sister-ship, SMS "Lützow", were active at the Battle of Jutland, and between them they are credited with sinking and/or assisting in the sinking of HMS|Invincible|1907|6 and HMS|Queen Mary. "Lützow" took over 24 hits, including four 15" shells, but still made it all the way back to the entrance of the Kiel Canal only to find that, with 8,000 tons of water in her she could not get over the sandbar at the entrance to the estuary, so she was abandoned and sunk by an escorting torpedo boat, G38. "Derfflinger", with 17 heavy and 4 medium hits plus 3,000 tons of water aboard, limped home while trying not to foul her propellers on the loosened anti-torpedo nets trailing along her side.

Originally fitted with straight pole masts, during repairs following Jutland the "Derfflinger" (and "Hindenburg" while she was being built) was fitted with a tripod mast in place of her foremast, and had several 8.8 cm guns removed. Also, as a result of the Jutland experience, the anti-torpedo nets were removed from all combatants.

Delayed by other construction priorities and built to a modified Derfflinger design, SMS "Hindenburg" was commissioned too late to participate at Jutland. She was the fastest of the three, coming in at 26.6 knots (combat load), but never saw combat. She holds two distinctions:

1. The last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy
2. The last ship to sink during the Grand Scuttle at Scapa Flow.

"Derfflinger" and "Hindenburg" survived the war to be interned at Scapa Flow, where they both were scuttled on June 21, 1919. Though they were the last battlecruisers completed by the German Navy, they were not the last built - that claim belongs to the Mackensen class.

Units

MS "Derfflinger"

Built by Blohm und Voss in Hamburg, the "Derfflinger" was laid down in January 1912 and launched on 1 July 1913. Commissioned on 1 September 1914 and fully operational by November 1914, she sustained 21 major hits at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, and was out of commission for repairs for four months. Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919 she sank at 1445 hrs on that day. She was raised in 1939 and scrapped in 1946.

MS "Lützow"

Built by Schichau-Werft in Danzig, the "Lützow" was laid down in May 1912 and launched on 29 November 1913. Commissioned on 8 August 1915 and fully operational by March 1916, the "Lutzow" was armed with two more of the 15 cm (5.9"/45 cal) as well as four convert|60|cm|in|1|abbr=on torpedo tubes instead of the four convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on ones in the lead ship. At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 she was hit by four 15-inch, twelve 13.5-inch and eight 12-inch shells, severely damaging and eventually dooming her. She was scuttled the next day, 1 June 1916. At the time of her scuttling the waterline had reached the top of the #2 barbette. The "Lützow" is presently preserved as a war grave by Germany.

MS "Hindenburg"

Built by Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven in Wilhelmshaven, the "Hindenburg" was the last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy. She was laid down 30 June 1913 and launched on 1 August 1915. Commissioned 10 May 1917, she was fully operational by 20 October 1917, too late to see any action in World War I. Like the "Lützow" she was armed with two more of the 15 cm (5.9"/45 cal) and four convert|60|cm|in|1|abbr=on torpedo tubes instead of the four convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on ones in the "Derfflinger". She was scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, and finally sank at 1700 hrs. An attempt to raise her was done in 1926 which proved unsuccessful, and she sank again. On 23 July 1930 another attempt was made to raise her, this time successfully. From 1930 to 1932 she was scrapped at Rosyth.

External Links & References

* [http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/battleships/ Haze Gray and Underway World Battleship Lists - German dreadnoughts.] (HTML) Accessed 15 August 2007.
* [http://german-navy.tripod.com/ Imperial German Navy In World War I - Derfflinger Class] (HTML) Accessed 15 August 2007.
*Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter. "Vom Original zum Modell: Die Großen Kreuzer Von der Tann, Moltke-Klasse, Seydlitz, Derfflinger-Klasse." Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1998. ISBN 3-7637-5673-5