Germany - Deutschland-class - Page 5

DG_Alpha

Post subject: Re: Germany - Deutschland-class

Posted: March 1st, 2016, 8:34 pm

Posts: 762
Joined: January 1st, 2012, 7:01 pm
Location: Germany

SMS Schleswig-Holstein
Ordered as Linienschiff Q, Schleswig-Holstein was built by Germaniwerft in Kiel. When she was launched on December 17th, 1906, she was christened by Kaiserin Augusta herself, as she was of the noble house of Schleswig-Holstein. The ceremony was also held in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Admiral Tirpitz and many others. The ship was commissioned on July 6th, 1908 and joined the II. Squadron and completed the two squadrons that had been ordered by the two fleet laws years before. Unlike her sister, she (and Schlesien as well) did not have the ornate bow decorations anymore, but just simple shields - the German Navy was in the process of phasing out the fancy decorations due to maintenance costs.

[ img ]

Like most of her sisters Schleswig-Holstein regularly participated in fleet exercises and travels to foreign ports in the Atlantic, Northern and Baltic Sea. Her crew also won a gunnery award in 1913 and raised a new record for taking over coal in 1910. The battleship also received the same modifications as her sisters with a raised funnel shroud and modified searchlight platforms.

[ img ]

Her summer cruise in 1914 was cut short due to the threat of war. During the early months and years during the war the older pre-dreadnoughts were used in guard- and mining duties or to cover the advances of the German battlecruisers, in the hopes of drawing out isolated portions of the British Grand Fleet.

In the advance towards the Battle of Jutland, Schleswig-Holstein was part of the IV. Division under Admiral Mauve and was the last battleship in the German line. This changed when the battle began and her sister Hannover, another flagship, took the place as the rearmost ship. During the multiple turns of the German Fleet during the battle, the pre-dreadnought either hampered the overall mobility of the fleet or ended up at positions too far away from the enemy.

Later that day, Mauve and his old ships could engage the British Fleet to screen the heavily damaged German battlecruiser force under Admiral Hipper. Due to poor visibility, Schleswig-Holstein did not fire her main guns, but was hit by a high-caliber round that did not penetrate the armor, but damaged the superstructure and disabled a port side casemate gun as well as killing three men and wounding nine others.

When the German fleet marched home during the night, Schleswig-Holstein was part of the rear end of the fleet, together with Hessen, Hannover, Von der Tann and Derfflinger. The night raids of the British forces also directed some their energy against Schleswig-Holstein, forcing her to evade, but scoring no hits. Eventually, she reached home with the rest of the fleet. During the Battle of Jutland, Schleswig-Holstein had only fired twnty rounds from her 170mm casemate guns.

[ img ]

The vulnerability of her class against torpedos, as tragically demonstrated by Pommern, as well as her general obsolesce led to her being removed from active duty and being used as a guard- or target ship. On May 2nd, 1917 she was decommissioned and disarmed and used as a barracks ship for U-boat crews.

_________________
My worklist
Any help and source material is always welcome.

Top

Shipbucket

Germany - Deutschland-class

Who is online