SMS Derfflinger
![SMS Derfflinger [1]](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:SMS_Derfflinger.PNG) SMS Derfflinger
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SMS Derfflinger was a large cruiser ( battle cruiser ) of the German Imperial Navy , named after the Brandenburg General Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger . She gave the Derfflinger class its name and belonged to the I. Reconnaissance Group under Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper .
construction
The Derfflinger was the type ship of the Derfflinger class , which consisted of three units and followed the single ship SMS Seydlitz .
The construction of the Seydlitz was a continuation of the older battle cruisers of the Imperial Navy, but the Derfflinger was a completely new design. The main difference to the predecessor ships lay in the increase in the caliber of the main artillery from 280 mm to 305 mm. This was still below the caliber of comparable British battlecruisers, but the German shells were of better quality and their penetration power was on a par with their British counterparts, as the German guns had a higher muzzle velocity. Another redesign was the arrangement of the main artillery in the center ship line. The towers were arranged one behind the other at the bow and stern so that the inner towers could overshoot the outer ones. The predecessor ships had an asymmetrical arrangement in the central nave with laterally offset "wing towers".
The Derfflinger was also the first battle cruiser in smooth deck construction . All previous ships had a decreasing number of decks from bow to stern. She and her sisters were the only capital ship in the Imperial Navy that was put into service with this innovation. This construction method was made possible by significantly lengthening the ship compared to its predecessors and thus achieving a long forecastle , which could protect the guns from overcoming water. At the same time, the bow was also redesigned: it was laid out completely vertically above the waterline. The ships of the Derfflinger class were elegantly cut and were regarded as the most beautiful capital ships of the imperial navy.
In the course of repairs after the Battle of the Skagerrak , the front narrow tubular mast was removed and reinserted as the aft (rear) mast rotated by 180 degrees, while a new three-legged mast was used in the front, like the latest German capital ships of the Bayern class , around an artillery command post and record an observation stand.
The battles at Doggerbank and in the Skagerrak had proven the steadfastness of the Derfflingers and at the same time showed the British disparity between armor on the one hand and main artillery and machinery on the other. The ship was severely damaged in both battles, but was able to return home under its own steam and was fully operational again after a brief overhaul. Later reviews came to the conclusion that the Derfflinger was on a par, if not superior, to its British counterparts.
This advantageous relationship between armor, speed and main armament could not be affected by some weaknesses, such as the lower speed and the bullet weight of a broadside compared to British ships of the same age.
One shortcoming of the Derfflinger-class ships was the torpedo room in the bow, which was to be the undoing of the sister ship SMS Lützow in the Battle of the Skagerrak.
history
When it was launched on June 14, 1913, a breakdown occurred: the ship got stuck after a few centimeters and was stuck. It was not until July 12 that the ship was finally launched. The godfather and speaker was General August von Mackensen .
First World War
The Derfflinger was first used on December 16, 1914 when attacking the British coast near Scarborough and Whitby . On January 25, 1915, the Derfflinger was involved in the battle on the Dogger Bank, where the ship was hit.
On May 31, 1916, Derfflinger took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak . There she contributed to the sinking of the British battle cruisers HMS Queen Mary and HMS Invincible , but suffered seventeen heavy hits in battle. During the battle, the ship had to stop completely to clear the torpedo protection nets that threatened to get caught in the screws. In this battle they fired the largest number of large-caliber shells of all German ships, namely 385 pieces 30.5 cm and 235 pieces 15 cm. Four of the heavy guns were unusable because both aft twin turrets C and D burned out after a direct hit. Only one of the two tower crews survived the disaster. The ship became famous for the so-called death voyage of the German battlecruisers , when after the second turn of the battle under the leadership of their captain zS Hartog, the remaining German battlecruisers (the flagship Lützow and with her Vice Admiral Hipper had failed) in execution of Vice Admiral Scheer's order “Battle cruiser ran to the enemy! - full use! ”Despite heavy hits headed first directly and then diagonally towards the tip of the British battle line in order to facilitate the third turnaround of the German main body, which wanted to break away from the enemy. As a result of this episode, the British sailors gave her the nickname "Iron dog" in the imagination of a bulldog that bites onto its opponent. Badly damaged and with 157 dead crew members, the Derfflinger reached Wilhelmshaven on her own, despite the ingress of approx. 3000 t of water . The necessary repairs were carried out in Kiel by November 1916. The torpedo protection nets, which were more of a nuisance, were removed, the front thin tubular mast was reused as the aft mast (rotated 180 degrees) and a new three-legged mast was installed in front. Then a new shooting method was tried out. Until the end of the war, the Derfflinger did not take part in any major missions. She was there on the last naval advance in April 1918.
Internment and immersion
After the end of the war, the Derfflinger was interned in Scapa Flow in November 1918 together with more than seventy warships of the imperial fleet . When it was clear that the ships would not be returned, it came there on June 21, 1919 command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter to the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet , in the Derfflinger by about 14:45 came to an end.
Recovery of the wreck
The wreck was not lifted until November 1939, but the dismantling work had to be postponed until 1948 due to the outbreak of World War II , because the shipyard in Rosyth was needed for war operations. During the whole war the Derfflinger was anchored keel up in Scotland and had to be constantly pumped. She was the last warship of the German fleet, which was sunk in Scapa Flow, to be lifted. On 30 August 1965 the German naval attache the salvaged were ship's bell and the official seal of Derfflinger presented as a sign of reconciliation.
Commanders
| September 1, 1914 to September 2, 1915 | Sea captain Ludwig von Reuter |
| September 3, 1915 to April 1, 1916 | Sea captain Paul Heinrich |
| April 3, 1916 to December 3, 1917 | Sea captain Johannes Hartog |
| December 4, 1917 to November 10, 1918 | Sea captain Hans-Carl von Schlick |
| December 4, 1918 to June 21, 1919 | Corvette Captain Paul Pastuszyk |
Sister ships
Sister ships were SMS Hindenburg , which was also sunk in Scapa Flow, and SMS Lützow , which had to be abandoned on June 1, 1916 on the march back from the Skagerrakschlacht and sunk by a German torpedo boat .
photos
Derfflinger (with tubular mast), Seydlitz and Von der Tann (from left to right) in the battle of the Doggerbank
Seydlitz leads the battlecruisers for internment at Scapa Flow. (from left to right) Seydlitz , Moltke , Hindenburg and Derfflinger
Combat damage on the Derfflinger below the bridge after the Skagerrak Battle in 1916
Scheme of armor thickness distribution on Derfflinger-class ships
Others
- The first commandant, Ludwig von Reuter, gave his son, who was born on February 4, 1915, the first name Derfflinger, so that his name was Derfflinger von Reuter. This is evidenced by the family tombstone.
- The North German Lloyd had a 1908 Reichspostdampfer Derfflinger , which was used in the liner service to East Asia .
literature
- Breyer, Siegfried: Battleships and battle cruisers 1905–1970 . JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1970, ISBN 3-88199-474-2 , p. 293 f .
- Gröner, Erich / Dieter Jung / Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945 . tape 1 : Armored ships, ships of the line, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, gunboats . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4800-8 , p. 49 f .
- Hildebrand, Hans H. / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships . Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present . tape 2 : Ship biographies from Baden to Eber . Mundus Verlag, Ratingen, S. 224–227 (Approved licensed edition Koehler's publishing company, Hamburg approx. 1990).
- von Hase, Georg : Battle of the Skagerrak .
Web links
- SMS Derfflinger on deutsche-schutzgebiete.de
- Chronological lists of commanders of German capital ships (English)
- The Battle of the Skagerrak (Jutland) by Commander Georg v.Hase, First Gunnery Officer of the Derfflinger (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ With the masts moved after the Battle of the Skagerrak; probably in Scapa Flow.
- ↑ Nordwest-Zeitung : Ship rescuer becomes Seebestatter from July 24, 2009.