SMS Hindenburg

SMS "Hindenburg" was a battlecruiser of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine and the third ship of the "Derfflinger" class. She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul Ludwig Hans von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the Masurian Lakes, as well as Supreme Commander of the German armies from 1916.

Construction

Built by the Kaiserliche Werft at their shipyards in Wilhelmshaven, the "Hindenburg" was the third and final ship of her class, her sister ships being the SMS "Derfflinger" and the SMS "Lützow".

Built as a replacement for the cruiser "Hertha", the keel of the "Hindenburg" was laid down on 30 June 1913 and she was launched on 1 August 1915. Owing to construction priorities in time of war, she was not completed until 10 May 1917 and became fully operational only on 20 October 1917, by which time it was too late for her to see any action in World War I.

Like her sister-ship the "Lützow", she was armed with two more of the 15-cm (5.9"/45 cal) and four 60 cm (23.6") torpedo tubes instead of the four 50 cm (19.7") tubes in the "Derfflinger". While larger than her sisters, the "Hindenburg" was also faster, capable of doing 26.6 knots during trials.

ervice

SMS "Hindenburg" only sortied twice after being commissioned, the first time on 17 November 1917 in a relief sortie to the Western North Sea, and the second time on 23 April 1918 up the Norwegian coast.

Under the terms of the Armistice between Germany and the Allies that ended World War I, the "Hindenburg" was interned at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys on 24 November 1918 along with four other battlecruisers, eleven battleships, eight cruisers and forty-eight destroyers of the German High Seas Fleet.

On 21 June 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the order to scuttle all the interned German ships to prevent their falling into British hands. Fifty-three ships sank, and the "Hindenburg" holds the distinction of being the last one to do so.

alvage

After sinking, the SMS "Hindenburg" came to rest on an even keel with the superstructure remaining above the water.

The salvage of the SMS "Hindenburg" remains one of the most complicated examples of marine salvage undertaken. The Cox & Danks Shipbreaking Co. twice attempted to salvage the "Hindenburg" in 1923 and 1924. The first method involved sealing the ship and patching holes with concrete and tallow, after which water was pumped out to return buoyancy to the hull. This attempt failed as the water did not displace evenly, resulting in the bow rising faster than the stern. A second attempt was made, in which the ship came dangerously close to capsizing. A tackle system was devised to hold the ship upright while pumping operations were resumed. This attempt failed when the lines parted under the strain, and the salvage was put on hold for several years.

In 1930 it was tried again. As the bottom of Scapa Flow was too firm to allow the hull to dig in and stabilize itself, blocks were made from the hulls of salvaged German destroyers and filled with concrete to allow the ship more stability. The ship's superstructure and several of the gun turrets were cut away to reduce topside weight. The wreck was finally raised on 22 July 1930 after 11 years on the bottom of Scapa Flow. At approximately 30,000 tonnes, the SMS "Hindenburg" remains one of the largest acts of marine salvage undertaken, and certainly one of the most difficult. From preliminary attempts until the successful salvage, seven years were required to raise the ship. SMS "Hindenburg" was the only large warship of the High Seas Fleet to be raised upright at Scapa Flow.

From approximately 1930 to 1932, the "Hindenburg" was broken up for scrap at Rosyth.

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/battleships/hindenburg/sms_hindenburg.htm Maritimequest SMS Hindenburg Photo Gallery]

References

* [http://www.german-navy.de/hochseeflotte/ships/battlecruiser/hindenburg/tech.html http://www.german-navy.de]
*Bowman, Gerald. "The Man Who Bought A Navy". London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1965.
*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

ee also

*List of ship launches in 1915