SMS Lützow

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Lützow
German Great Cruiser (battle cruiser) SMS LÜTZOW location and time unknown.jpg
Ship data
flag German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge) German Empire
Ship type Battle cruiser
class Derfflinger class
Shipyard F. Schichau , Danzig
Build number 885
building-costs 58,000,000 marks
Launch November 29, 1913
Commissioning August 8, 1915
Whereabouts Sunk on June 1, 1916
Ship dimensions and crew
length
210.4 m ( Lüa )
210.0 m ( KWL )
width 29.0 m
Draft Max. 9.56 m
displacement Construction: 26,741 t
Maximum: 31,200 t
 
crew 1,112 to 1,182 men
Machine system
machine 18 marine boilers
2 steam turbines
Machine
performance
63,000
Top
speed
26.5 kn (49 km / h)
propeller 4 three-leaf ⌀ 3.9 m
Armament
  • 8 × Sk 30.5 cm L / 50 (720 shots)
  • 14 × Sk 15 cm L / 45 (1,920 shots)
  • 8 × Flak 8.8 cm L / 45 (total 3,000 rounds)
  • 4 × torpedo tube ⌀ 60 cm (1 stern, 2 sides, 1 bow, under water, 12 rounds)
Armor
  • Belt: 30-300 mm
  • Deck : 30-80 mm
  • Citadel: 270 mm
  • Casemate : 150 mm
  • Towers : 110–270 mm
  • Torpedo bulkhead : 45 mm
  • front command tower: 130-300 mm
  • aft command tower: 50–200 mm

SMS Lützow was a large cruiser ( battle cruiser ) of the Imperial Navy . She was the second of three Derfflinger- class ships. The ship was named after the Prussian general Adolf Freiherr von Lützow .

history

The Lützow was only able to take up service in the fleet in March 1916 due to damage that occurred to its turbines during its test drives and from then on belonged to Admiral Franz Hippers I reconnaissance group. She served the Admiral as a flagship until she was seriously damaged in the Battle of the Skagerrak . She had her first combat mission on 24./25. April 1916 during the attack on the British coast at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth , but under the command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Boedicker , as Hipper was on convalescent leave at that time.

On May 31, 1916, the Lützow took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak and, together with her sister ship Derfflinger, contributed to the sinking of the British battle cruiser Invincible .

The Lützow was hit by at least ten heavy projectiles and received a torpedo hit, killing 115 of the crew. Due to two hits below the waterline in the forward torpedo room, large amounts of water penetrated the ship. This meant that the Lützow could barely move because of the flooded fore ship . Admiral Hipper ordered a torpedo boat to come alongside and took him to the big cruiser Moltke . From there he continued the battle and the Lützow was released to Wilhelmshaven for repairs under Captain Victor Harder .

The torpedo boats G 38 , G 39 and G 40 were assigned as escorts, supported by boats G 37 and V 45 .

During the night march back, the last thing to do was to drive over the stern in order to relieve the front transverse bulkheads . The water masses in the foredeck had meanwhile increased to up to 7,500 t, so that the Lützow was no longer maneuverable: the stern and rudder protruded from the water and the screws turned outside the water. The ship finally had to be abandoned after it had already been prepared for being towed to Wilhelmshaven, as it was not possible to tow the Lützow out of the fire area of ​​the approaching British fleet in time. The crew was taken over by the torpedo boats, and the Lützow was sunk by the G 38 with two torpedoes in the early morning of June 1, 1916 .

wreck

The wreck lies at the position of 56 ° 16 '36 "  N , 5 ° 38' 54"  O coordinates: 56 ° 16 '36 "  N , 5 ° 38' 54"  O .

reception

Ehrenfriedhof (Wilhelmshaven) , memorial for the Lützow
Color drawing by SMS Lützow

As a consequence of these fateful hits, the forward torpedo tube was removed on the sister ships and the associated room was divided into several watertight cells.

Her sister ships were the Derfflinger and the Hindenburg , both of which were sunk by their crews themselves after their internment in Scapa Flow after the end of the war , when it was clear that the ships would not be surrendered by the victorious powers.

A well-preserved model of the ship is exhibited in the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum .

literature

Web links

Commons : SMS Lützow  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files