German cruiser Seydlitz
Encyclopedia
Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser
of the German Kriegsmarine
, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak of World War II
interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent. The unfinished ship remained inactive until March 1942, when the Kriegsmarine decided to pursue aircraft carriers over surface combatants. Seydlitz was among the vessels chosen for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers.
Renamed Weser, the ship was to have had a complement of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 divebombers. Work was not completed, however, and the incomplete vessel was towed to Königsberg
where she was eventually scuttled. The ship was seized by the advancing Soviet Army
and was briefly considered for cannibalization for spare parts to complete her sistership Lützow for the Soviet Navy
. This plan was also abandoned, and the ship was broken up for scrap.
. Seydlitz was originally designed as a light cruiser
version of the heavy cruiser
s, armed with twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) guns instead of the Admiral Hippers eight 20.3 cm (8 in) guns. The Kriegsmarine decided, however, to complete the ship identically to Admiral Hipper on 14 November 1936. Her keel was laid on 29 December 1936, under construction number 940. The ship was launched on 19 January 1939, but after the outbreak of World War II
in September 1939, work was halted when the ship was approximately 95 percent complete.
Seydlitz was 210 metres (689 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.8 m (71.5 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.9 m (25.9 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 17600 MT (17,322 LT) and a full load displacement of 19800 LT. Seydlitz was powered by three sets of geared steam turbine
s, which were supplied with steam by twelve ultra-high pressure oil-fired boiler
s. The ship's top speed was 32 knots (17.4 m/s), at 132000 shp. As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men.
Seydlitzs primary armament was eight 20.3 cm (8 in) SK L/60
guns mounted in four twin gun turret
s, placed in superfiring pairs
forward and aft."L/60" denotes the length of the gun in terms of calibers
. The length of 60 caliber gun is 60 times greater than it is wide in diameter Her anti-aircraft battery consisted of twelve 10.5 cm (4.1 in) L/65 guns, twelve 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns, and eight 2 cm (0.78740157480315 in) guns. The ship also carried a pair of triple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo launchers abreast of the rear superstructure. The ship was equipped with three Arado Ar 196
seaplanes and one catapult. Seydlitzs armored belt
was 70 millimetre thick; her upper deck was 12 millimetre thick while the main armored deck was 20 millimetre thick. The main battery turrets had 105 mm (4.1 in) thick faces and 70 mm thick sides.
in May 1941, during which British aircraft carriers proved instrumental, and the near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz
in March 1942, the Kriegsmarine became convinced of the necessity of acquiring aircraft carriers. Work on the purpose-built carrier Graf Zeppelin
, which had been halted in April 1940, was resumed in March 1942. The Kriegsmarine also decided to convert a number of vessels into auxiliary aircraft carriers. Seydlitz was among the ships selected for conversion, along with several passenger liners.
At the same time as construction of Graf Zeppelin resumed, conversion work began on Seydlitz. The majority of the superstructure
was cut away, with the exception of the funnel, to prepare for the installation of a flight deck
and an aircraft hangar. In total, approximately 2400 MT (2,362.1 LT) of material from the ship was removed. The flight deck was to have been 200 m (656.2 ft) long and 30 m (98.4 ft) wide. The hangar was 137.5 m (451.1 ft) long and 17 m (55.8 ft) wide forward and 12 m (39.4 ft) wide amidships and aft. Her armament was reduced to an anti-aircraft battery of ten 10.5 cm L/65 guns in twin mounts, two forward of the conning tower
and three aft, ten 3.7 cm guns in dual mounts, and twenty-four 2 cm guns in quadruple mounts.
Seydlitzs air complement was to have consisted of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 Stuka divebombers. The Bf 109 fighters were a navalized version of the "E" model, designated as Bf 109T. Their wings were longer than the land-based model to allow for shorter take-off. The Ju 87s were to have been the "E" variant, which was a navalized version of the Ju 87D, and were modified for catapult
launches and were equipped with arresting gear
.
The ship was renamed Weser, but work was ceased in June 1943, before the conversion was completed. The unfinished vessel was then transferred to Königsberg
, where she remained for the rest of the war. On 29 January 1945, the ship was scuttled before the advancing Soviet Red Army
could seize her. The Soviet Navy
nevertheless considered using the wreck for parts to complete the cruiser Lützow, a sister-ship of Seydlitz the Soviets had purchased before the outbreak of war. This was not carried out, however, and the ship was broken up for scrap.
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
of the German 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...
, fourth in the , but was never completed. The ship was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939, but the outbreak 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...
interrupted her completion at approximately 95 percent. The unfinished ship remained inactive until March 1942, when the Kriegsmarine decided to pursue aircraft carriers over surface combatants. Seydlitz was among the vessels chosen for conversion into auxiliary aircraft carriers.
Renamed Weser, the ship was to have had a complement of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 divebombers. Work was not completed, however, and the incomplete vessel was towed to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
where she was eventually scuttled. The ship was seized by the advancing Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
and was briefly considered for cannibalization for spare parts to complete her sistership Lützow for the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
. This plan was also abandoned, and the ship was broken up for scrap.
Construction
Seydlitz was ordered by the Kriegsmarine from the Deschimag shipyard in BremenBremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
. Seydlitz was originally designed as a light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
version of the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s, armed with twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) guns instead of the Admiral Hippers eight 20.3 cm (8 in) guns. The Kriegsmarine decided, however, to complete the ship identically to Admiral Hipper on 14 November 1936. Her keel was laid on 29 December 1936, under construction number 940. The ship was launched on 19 January 1939, but after the outbreak 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...
in September 1939, work was halted when the ship was approximately 95 percent complete.
Seydlitz was 210 metres (689 ft) long overall and had a beam of 21.8 m (71.5 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.9 m (25.9 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 17600 MT (17,322 LT) and a full load displacement of 19800 LT. Seydlitz was powered by three sets of geared steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, which were supplied with steam by twelve ultra-high pressure oil-fired boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s. The ship's top speed was 32 knots (17.4 m/s), at 132000 shp. As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men.
Seydlitzs primary armament was eight 20.3 cm (8 in) SK L/60
20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun
The 20.3 cm SK C/34 naval gun was the main battery gun used on all German World War II heavy cruisers.-Description:These built-up guns consisted of a rifled tube encased within an inner and outer jacket with a horizontal sliding breech block. The breech was sealed with an 18 kg brass case...
guns mounted in four twin gun turret
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...
s, placed in superfiring pairs
Superfire
The idea of superfire is to locate two turrets in a row, one behind the other, but with the second turret located above the one in front so that the second turret could fire over the first...
forward and aft."L/60" denotes the length of the gun in terms of calibers
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
. The length of 60 caliber gun is 60 times greater than it is wide in diameter Her anti-aircraft battery consisted of twelve 10.5 cm (4.1 in) L/65 guns, twelve 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns, and eight 2 cm (0.78740157480315 in) guns. The ship also carried a pair of triple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo launchers abreast of the rear superstructure. The ship was equipped with three Arado Ar 196
Arado Ar 196
-See also:-Bibliography:* Dabrowski, Hans-Peter and Koos, Volker. Arado Ar 196, Germany's Multi-Purpose Seaplane. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 1993. ISBN 0-88740-481-2....
seaplanes and one catapult. Seydlitzs armored belt
Belt 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....
was 70 millimetre thick; her upper deck was 12 millimetre thick while the main armored deck was 20 millimetre thick. The main battery turrets had 105 mm (4.1 in) thick faces and 70 mm thick sides.
Conversion
Following the loss of the battleship BismarckGerman battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
in May 1941, during which British aircraft carriers proved instrumental, and the near torpedoing of her sistership Tirpitz
German battleship Tirpitz
Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
in March 1942, the Kriegsmarine became convinced of the necessity of acquiring aircraft carriers. Work on the purpose-built carrier Graf Zeppelin
German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin
German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was the lead ship in a class of two carriers ordered by the Kriegsmarine. She was the only aircraft carrier launched by Germany during World War II and represented part of the Kriegsmarine's attempt to create a well-balanced oceangoing fleet, capable of...
, which had been halted in April 1940, was resumed in March 1942. The Kriegsmarine also decided to convert a number of vessels into auxiliary aircraft carriers. Seydlitz was among the ships selected for conversion, along with several passenger liners.
At the same time as construction of Graf Zeppelin resumed, conversion work began on Seydlitz. The majority of the superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
was cut away, with the exception of the funnel, to prepare for the installation of a flight deck
Flight deck
The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...
and an aircraft hangar. In total, approximately 2400 MT (2,362.1 LT) of material from the ship was removed. The flight deck was to have been 200 m (656.2 ft) long and 30 m (98.4 ft) wide. The hangar was 137.5 m (451.1 ft) long and 17 m (55.8 ft) wide forward and 12 m (39.4 ft) wide amidships and aft. Her armament was reduced to an anti-aircraft battery of ten 10.5 cm L/65 guns in twin mounts, two forward of the 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....
and three aft, ten 3.7 cm guns in dual mounts, and twenty-four 2 cm guns in quadruple mounts.
Seydlitzs air complement was to have consisted of ten Bf 109 fighters and ten Ju 87 Stuka divebombers. The Bf 109 fighters were a navalized version of the "E" model, designated as Bf 109T. Their wings were longer than the land-based model to allow for shorter take-off. The Ju 87s were to have been the "E" variant, which was a navalized version of the Ju 87D, and were modified for catapult
Aircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
launches and were equipped with arresting gear
Arresting gear
Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is the name used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems...
.
The ship was renamed Weser, but work was ceased in June 1943, before the conversion was completed. The unfinished vessel was then transferred to Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, where she remained for the rest of the war. On 29 January 1945, the ship was scuttled before the advancing Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
could seize her. The Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
nevertheless considered using the wreck for parts to complete the cruiser Lützow, a sister-ship of Seydlitz the Soviets had purchased before the outbreak of war. This was not carried out, however, and the ship was broken up for scrap.