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SMS ERSATZ YORCK – Ersatz Yorck Class Battlecruiser
Ersatz Yorck – Ersatz Gneisenau – Ersatz Scharnhorst – Ersatz Friedrich Carl
33,500 tons – 227.8 m (747 ft) length – 30.4 m (99 ft) beam – 9.3 m (31 ft) draft – 27.3 knots – complement: 47 officers and 1,180 men – 8x38cm (15-in) guns – 12x15cm (5.9-in) guns – 8x8.8cm (3.5-in) guns – 3x 60cm (24-in) torpedo tubes – belt armor up to 300mm (11.8 in).
The three Ersatz Yorck Class ships were originally intended to be part of the preceding Mackensen Class battlecruisers, and were to be named after cruisers that had already been lost in action (hence the “ersatz” designation). But before the final three keels could be laid, Naval Intelligence “upset the apple cart”. Ersatz Friedrich Carl had already been laid down and construction was well advanced when reports began coming in from England, indicating the British were building two battlecruisers to be equipped with 15-inch guns – the Renown Class. Not even a month before this shocking news, word had come from the German Naval Attache in Washington D.C. regarding the US Navy. They were planning six battlecruisers of the Lexington Class – really “big bruisers” armed with 16-inch rifles. It was clear Ersatz Yorck’s 14-inch weapons would be far outclassed. The preceding Mackensen Class was already too far along to contemplate changes, so the remaining three ships of the class were redesigned to accommodate 15-inch guns and designated the Ersatz Yorck Class.
Laid down in 1915, SMS Erstaz Yorck became an “abandoned step-child” of the Kaiserliche Marine. Only the midships portion of the lower hull was completed before the changing nature of the naval war brought work to a halt. Repairs to warships damaged by gunfire, torpedoes, or mines, put increasing demands on vital resources and pushed the shipyards beyond their capacity. U-Boats became critical to the war effort and drained scarce man-hours and manufacturing skills away from warship construction. Work on Ersatz Yorck was halted, then abandoned entirely. The other two ships were never laid down, and the small portion of Ersatz Yorck on the slipway was broken up before the war ended. But on the bright side – the design work that went into Ersatz Yorck was not wasted. When design started on the KM Scharnhorst in 1928 (launched 1936), they pulled out the old plans of the Ersatz Yorck as a starting point. (For details, see IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN -- Chapter 43)
How to use
This pack contains .SC4model-files and props as .SC4desc-files. So, by installing this pack nothing will directly appear in your game. You can use the props on your own lots or convert the SC4models into buildings, as you please. Since most props are to be used on water lots and props naturally align with the surface level, they will sink to the sea floor, if you do not stick to the guidelines on how to use props on water lots. Finally you will need to follow the instructions on how to make a lot transparent. You will find the props in any Lot-Editor under the prefix A_1P_h_
As per request from the community, I have also included a version of the ship without historic flags and crew.
Please visit @Dreadnought's CJ to get detailed descriptions and the historical backgrounds to these prop packs. You will see a wonderful display of the results of our long collaboration there and can get a preview of what might be hidden in the coming prop packs or simply get some inspiration for your own harbour!
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