Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Add your posts about the German Navy in this section
designeraccd
Posts: 2905
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:08 pm

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by designeraccd »

That pic is BADLY mislabeled! It was taken after her modernization... Note Kriegsmarine K class CL behind her; not a 1910 era cruiser!! ;) Ergo...1930s pic!!

AS built they had 3 funnels, 2 after mid-late 20s refit changed look to 2 funnels. DFO
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Brian James
Posts: 8764
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deustchland Class

Unread post by Brian James »

Deustchland Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Schlesien pictured during her Reichsmarine service.
Built for the German Kaiserliche Marine between 1904 and 1906.Schlesien was laid down at the Schichau-Werke Shipyards at Danzig on November 19th 1904, launched on May 28th 1906, and commissioned on May 5th 1908. She was armed with a battery of four 11 in guns and had a top speed of 18 knots. The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered service, as they were inferior in size, armor, firepower, and speed to the revolutionary new British Battleship HMS Dreadnought.
After commissioning, Schlesien was assigned to I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, later being transferred to II Battle Squadron. She was primarily occupied with training cruises and fleet maneuvers in her early career. She served with the fleet throughout the first two years of World War I, seeing action at the Battle of Jutland on May 31st – June 1st 1916, where she was briefly actively engaged in combat. After Jutland, the Imperial Navy relegated Schlesien to guard duties before withdrawing her altogether in 1917, when she became a Training Ship. The Treaty of Versailles permitted the German navy to keep eight obsolete Battleships, including Schlesien, to defend the German coast. Initially kept in reserve, she was modernized in the mid-1920s and saw extensive service with the reorganized Reichsmarine.
Schlesien saw limited combat during World War II, briefly bombarding Polish forces during the invasion of Poland in September 1939. She escorted Minesweepers during Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway and Denmark in April 1940. After the operation, she was given secondary duties, primarily serving as a Training Ship and Icebreaker. She ended her career providing fire support in the Baltic coast. While off Swinemünde on May 3rd 1945, she struck a mine and was towed into Swinemünde, where she was sunk by her crew in shallow water, though much of her superstructure, including her main battery, remained above water. In the remaining days of the war, Schlesien used her Anti-Aircraft guns to defend the city from air attack. After the end of the war, she was broken up, though some parts of the ship remained visible until the 1970s.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
designeraccd
Posts: 2905
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:08 pm

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by designeraccd »

From March '45...........oopz...... :o DFO
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Brian James
Posts: 8764
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by Brian James »

Deutschland Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Schleswig Holstein pictured at Oslo in 1934... She was laid down at Germaniawerft Dockyard in Kiel in August 1905 and commissioned into the fleet nearly three years later. The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered service, being inferior in size, armour, firepower and speed to the new generation of Dreadnought Battleships.
Schleswig-Holstein fought in both World Wars. During World War I, she saw front-line service in II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, culminating in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. Schleswig-Holstein saw action during the engagement, and was hit by one large-calibre shell. After the battle, Schleswig-Holstein was relegated to guard duty in the mouth of the Elbe River before being decommissioned in late 1917. As one of the few Battleships permitted for Germany by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Schleswig-Holstein was again pressed into fleet service in the 1920s. In 1935, the old Battleship was converted into a Training Ship for naval cadets...Schleswig-Holstein fired the first shots of World War II when she bombarded the Polish base at Danzig's Westerplatte in the early morning hours of September 1st 1939. She was used as a Training Vessel for the majority of the war, and was sunk by British bombers in Gotenhafen in December 1944. Schleswig-Holstein was subsequently salvaged and then beached for use by the Soviet Navy as a target. As of 1990, the ship's bell was on display in the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
designeraccd
Posts: 2905
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:08 pm

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by designeraccd »

Here is the SCHLESIEN helping to start WW2, what a accomplishment for a totally obsolete battleship. Also, 2 other views showing each of them off Poland in 1939.

NOTE that these 2 obsolete units survived and fired longer than the mighty TIRPITZ!! :o DFO
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
designeraccd
Posts: 2905
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:08 pm

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by designeraccd »

Here is the hulk of the SCHLESIG-HOLSTIEN post war; she survived longer than any other German battleship despite being obsolete. ;) DFO
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Brian James
Posts: 8764
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by Brian James »

Deutschland Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship SMS Hannover pictured at Bergen, Norway in 1905...Hannover was laid down at Kaiserliche Werft Shipyards, Wilhelmshaven in November 1904, launched in May 1905, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in October 1907. She was armed with a battery of four 11 inch guns and had a top speed of 18 knots. The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered service, being inferior in size, armour, firepower, and speed to the revolutionary new British Battleship HMS Dreadnought...Hannover and her sister ships saw extensive service with the fleet. She took part in all major training maneuvers until World War I broke out in July 1914. Hannover and her sisters were immediately pressed into guard duties at the mouth of the Elbe River while the rest of the fleet mobilized. The ship took part in several fleet advances, which culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. During the battle, Hannover served as the flagship for IV Division of II Battle Squadron; she was not heavily engaged during the battle, nor was she damaged by enemy fire. After the battle, which exposed the weakness of Pre-Dreadnoughts like Hannover, she and her three surviving sisters were removed from active duty with the fleet to serve as Guard Ships. Hannover served in this capacity for the remainder of the war, first in the Elbe and, starting in 1917, in the Danish straits. She was decommissioned in December 1918, shortly after the end of the war..She was brought back to active service in the Reichsmarine, the post-war German navy. She served with the fleet for ten years, from 1921 to 1931, during which time she took part in several major overseas cruises to Spain and the Mediterranean Sea. Hannover was again decommissioned in September 1931; the navy planned to convert her into a radio-controlled Target Ship, but this was never carried out and she was instead used in explosive tests. Hannover was ultimately broken up for scrap between 1944 and 1946 in Bremerhaven.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Brian James
Posts: 8764
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by Brian James »

Deutschland Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleships SMS Schlesien and SMS Hannover pictured at Bergen, Norway c1908.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Brian James
Posts: 8764
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 am

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by Brian James »

Deutschland Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Schleswig-Holstein pictured as she enters Danzig on August 25th, 1939.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
designeraccd
Posts: 2905
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:08 pm

Re: Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Deutschland Class

Unread post by designeraccd »

No 5.9s by the time of this photo; some sources claim they armed the raiders like ATLANTIS......?? DFO
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “German Navy”