Chapter 07: The Last Of The Armored Cruisers
SMS Scharnhorst - 1908 – Photographed during her speed trials.
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
By: Dreadnought & AP
Chapter 07:
THE LAST OF THE
ARMORED CRUISERS
Once the Oberkommando der Marine faced the fact that Admiral Tirpitz (Secretary Of State for the Navy) was building a fleet to be used against Great Britain, the whole course of strategic thinking changed. The design for the next class of armored cruisers was well under way, when the naval architects received a directive in mid-1904. The new design should be a considerably improved version of the Roon Class that would be capable of not only parity with British cruisers, but should be able to fight with the battle line in an emergency. This was, in many respects, a giant leap for the Imperial Navy. And though they did not yet know it, the entire concept of naval design would soon outstrip anything they had ever known.
Another shot of Scharnhorst – on her second day of speed trials. Note the height of the bow wave in relation to the people on the forecastle.
SCHARNHORST CLASS ARMORED CRUISERS
The new cruisers would be the Scharnhorst Class (sister ship Gneisenau). Some naval analysts call them the last German armored cruisers. Some call them the last “traditional” class of German armored cruisers. And still other analysts make no distinction whatever. I have always thought of these ships as the last “true” German armored cruisers to be built – because what followed them was “neither fish nor foul” (to borrow a line from Shakespeare). But there will be more on that subject in the next chapter.
The new design was based on incremental improvements of the preceding classes, beginning with Prinz Heinrich, and was the final culmination of that evolutionary process. The ship was named after Generalleutnant Gerhard von Scharnhorst, a Prussian army reformer during the Napoleonic Era. Perhaps his greatest contribution was laying the groundwork for the command and control concept that would become the “Great General Staff”. Scharnhorst was laid down in march 1905 at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, and commissioned into the fleet in October of 1907.
Scharnhorst Class – Plan Profile.
The new armored cruisers displaced 12,985 tons -- about a 3,500 ton increase over the Roon Class, and roughly comparable with cruiser displacement in the Royal Navy. The bulk of the added tonnage would go to increased armament, additional armor, and an increase in speed. At 474 feet, she was nearly 25 feet longer than Roon, and the additional length was quite becoming. It displayed the long, clean lines well, and gave her a “sleek” look that bespoke speed and power. The hull was built with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, over which, the hull plating was riveted. These ships were designed with 15 watertight compartments and a double bottom over 50% of the ship’s length.
Here you see Scharnhorst at her mooring buoy in the West Loch of Cuxhaven naval base. This picture gives a good view of the “streamlined” hull form. Her “length-to-beam” ratio is about 6.5 to 1, which naval architects sometimes call the “Golden Ratio”. It is considered the optimal ratio for fast hull forms (without going to extremes). On the left, you see a Midgard Class tug passing outboard of a Jupiter Class collier (more on that one later).
The cruiser’s triple screw arrangement was driven by three 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines powered by 18 coal-fired, water-tube boilers, with 36 fire boxes. The boiler uptakes were trunked into four funnels, a bit taller than usual, to keep the bridge and fighting-tops clear of smoke in a following wind. The engine design was rated at 26,000 shp for a speed of 22.5 knots, but on trials Scharnhorst achieved 28,782 shp for a speed of 23.5 knots. Gneisenau generated 30,396 shp and managed 23.6 knots. The maximum coal bunker capacity was 2,000 tons, which provided an operating radius of 4,800 miles at 14 knots. The crew was made up of 52 officers and 788 enlisted men.
This is an excellent broadside view of the cruiser. Amidships, you see the slab-sided, pyramid-like arrangement of broadside guns. The two round, yellow-ocher, turrets are two 8.3-inch guns mounted in “turreted casemates” on either broadside. The three guns below that are 5.9-inch secondary guns mounted in casemated turrets at main deck level. Notice the searchlights in both fighting tops, and two each mounted on a broadside platform between the second and third funnels. I should also mention the paint scheme. The white hull – yellow-ocher upper works – and black funnel caps – is the standard paint scheme of the Imperial Navy on foreign duty stations.
Since Scharnhorst served most of her career as flagship of the East Asiatic Squadron, she was assigned an additional 14 officers and 62 enlisted men as the squadron commander’s staff. No one really stops to think about the requirements of squadron command. But as the only German Asian Station, the ships based at Tsingtao were responsible for an area stretching from Vladivostok, Russia, to Sydney, Australia, and from Bombay, India, to the shores of sunny California – virtually the entire, vast, Pacific Ocean. Scharnhorst did not spend a great deal of time lying at anchor off Tsingtao -- she spent much of her time at sea, even visiting the tiny Pacific island archipelagos. And having ships scattered in all directions, carrying out a multitude of duties, required a well-trained and competent staff. Whether you’re a squadron commander or a fleet commander, competent staff work could spell the difference between victory or defeat. (Royal Navy Signals Officers would prove particularly troublesome when the “big show” came in the North Sea.)
Previous scene from a different angle. The cruiser, motor launch, mooring buoy, boat boom, small boats, collier, and the cruiser in the right lower corner, are all courtesy of @AP.
The cruiser’s main battery comprised eight 8.3-inch SK-L/40 (QF) guns – double the number on the Roon Class. Four of the guns were mounted in two hydraulically operated DrL-C/01 twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the main superstructure, on the centreline. The remaining four 8.3-inch guns were mounted amidships, two on either beam, in casemated single turrets. These guns had electric training, but only manual elevation. It is worth noting these guns were positioned on the weather deck -- high enough to remain dry during high speeds or even extremely rough weather. The fore and aft turreted guns could fire a 238-lb armor-piercing shell out to 18,000 yards at a rate of 5 rounds per minute. The turreted casemate guns had a limited elevation and could only reach 13,500 yards. A total allowance of 700 shells were stored in the magazines.
This view shows a flag hoist flying from the foremast signaling “raise steam – five hours” – indicating to other ships of the squadron to prepare for departure. A motor launch has pulled alongside with final orders for the squadron, and overseas dispatches and diplomatic communications to be delivered along the way. Scharnhorst, flagship of the small squadron, is bound for Tsingtao to relieve the old flagship of the East Asiatic Squadron – Furst Bismarck.
The secondary battery was made up of six 5.9-inch SK-L/40 (QF) guns mounted amidships in turreted casemates, three on either broadside. They fired an 88-lb shell out to approximately 14,000 yards at a rate of five rounds per minute. These guns, as usual, were mounted too low in the hull and during any sort of bad weather they would be awash and virtually useless.
You must imagine a gun crew working ankle-deep in sea water – passing 88-lb shells, loading, aiming, and firing – at about ten second intervals – over, and over, and over. Now imagine the deck beneath them is rolling from side to side with the waves – and pitching up at the bow, then coming down again. And, finally – imagine the cruiser pounding into a twelve foot wave at 27 miles per hour – and the shell-handler and his shell get slammed by a solid wall of frothing water!! If you can imagine that – then you fully understand why those guns become useless in “wet” weather.
For close-in torpedo boat defense, Scharnhorst carried eighteen 3.5-inch SK-L/35 (QF) guns mounted in individual casemates in the hull and superstructure, as well as on deck in pivot mounts with shields. They fired a 15-lb shell out to 9,100 yards at the rate of 15 per minute. And, of course, the obligatory submerged 17.7-inch torpedo tubes – four each – one in the bow and stern, and one on either broadside.
There is a great deal of small boat activity alongside Scharnhorst. Hooking onto the boat boom is a cutter with green mail bags from shore – probably the last mail they will see for many weeks. A whale boat full of men have been recalled from shore – the last of the shore parties. And two more whale boats rowing in with their stern sheets full of officers. They have been called aboard the flagship to receive final sailing instructions. To get some idea of the level of detail “AP” has built into this model – at the ship’s bow you can see the individual and unique ship’s badge found on all medium to large size Imperial warships. This one is a shield of blue with a diagonal white stripe. Also, if you examine the forward turret, you can see a sailor straddling the left gun tube. He is applying a coat of oil to the barrels before sailing – it helps prevent rust on long voyages.
Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were armored with Krupp Cemented Steel, and someone in the Naval High Command had finally gotten serious about catching up to the British. A series of tests at the Navy’s firing range in Meppen, proved conclusively the 3.9 inch belt of previous cruiser classes was too thin to stop even medium caliber shells. The new cruisers would have a waterline armor belt of 5.9 inches covering the midships area from the forward conning tower to just aft of the rear control position. This was a significant increase over previous armored cruisers and matched their British counterparts. Beyond the midships armor belt, a belt of 3.1 inches extended to the bow, and a similar belt ran almost to the stern. The entire belt was backed with 2.2 inches of teak planking to reduce splinter and “spalling” effects. Spalling occurs when thick, face-hardened, armor is struck by a shell that fails to penetrate the plate. Instead of penetration, the inner side of the armor plate fractures and flakes, hurling shrapnel inboard with great force. The protective armored deck varied in thickness with 2.4 inches over critical areas (magazines, engines, boilers, steering gear) and thinning to 1.4 inches in less critical places. The sloping sides (below the waterline) were 2.2 inches and connected to the bottom of the main belt. The forward conning tower was 7.9 inches, while the aft conning tower received 2 inches. The main battery turrets had 6.7-inch sides with a 1.2-inch roof, while the main battery guns in the turreted casemates were protected with 5.9-inch gun shields. The turret barbettes were 5.5 inches thick. The secondary battery turreted casemates were protected by an armored strake 5.1 inches thick, and the guns, themselves, had 3.1-inch shields.
In this close-up of Scharnhorst’s stern, you can see a group of sailors lounging about on the fantail. Behind and in front of them are the skylights for the admiral’s quarters below decks. Both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were designed to accommodate a flag officer, either as a squadron commander, or as a foreign station commander. In this case, the admiral will be sharing his quarters with four 3.5 inch anti-torpedo boat guns (mounted in the semi-circular hull sponsons at the stern). You can see four more of these guns, in pivot mounts with gun shields, grouped around the aft military mast. This also gives you a better look at “AP’s” boat-loads of officers approaching the ship.
After commissioning in October 1907, Scharnhorst began sea trials, which were interrupted for a week in November. She escorted the Hohenzollern, with Wilhelm II aboard, to Vlissingen (Flushing), in the Netherlands, and then on to Portsmouth. Scharnhorst returned to Kiel to finish trials, but on 14 January, 1908, ran aground off Bulk Light on the Bulker Huk headland, near the entrance to the Kiel fjord. Repairs were completed on 22 February, and trials were wrapped-up on April 30. The remainder of 1908 was spent in normal peacetime routine, training exercises, and fleet maneuvers. And 1909 started well when she was appointed Flagship Scouting Forces, Hochseeflotte. But less than two months later, she received orders for the Far East, and would carry Konteradmiral Friedrich von Ingenohl to Tsingtao, to assume command of the East Asiatic Squadron. Upon completing preparations for the voyage, the big cruiser weighed anchor on 1 April, 1909, and departed Kiel. She transited the Kaiser Wilhelm I Canal, steamed out of the Elbe, and set course for the English Channel. This was always a poignant moment for the officers and men of a warship. They watched as the shores of the Vaterland dropped astern – and none could know when they would see home again.
SMS GNEISENAU
SMS Gneisenau – circa 1909 – photographed possibly in Kiel.
SMS Gneisenau was ordered in June 1904, under the provisions of the Second Naval Law of 1900, and was named in honor of Generalfeldmarshall Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau, a major player in the defeat and abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her keel was laid at AG Weser Shipyard, Bremen, in December. A lengthy shipyard strike seriously delayed her launch until June 1906. At the ceremony, she was christened by Generalfeldmarschall Alfred von Schlieffen, Chief of the Great General Staff. The ship was then moved to Wilhelmshaven for the arduous fitting-out process and was finally commissioned into the fleet in March, 1908. Overlooking minor differences, and the odd ton of displacement, Gneisenau was, in all specifications, an identical twin to Scharnhorst. Sea trials began in late March and finished in mid-July, when Gneisenau was assigned to the 1st Scouting Group of the Hochseeflotte. Her first commanding officer was Kapitan zur See Franz von Hipper.
Gneisenau spent just 14 months with 1st Scouting Group, sailing on the 1908 annual Atlantic cruise within days of her assignment. Two Scouting Groups and the battleship squadrons of the Hochseeflotte departed Kiel on 17 July, transited the Kaiser Wilhelm I Canal, crossed the North Sea, and on into the Atlantic. The warships practiced formation maneuvers (Often called “evolutions” rather than exercises.) -- battle tactics – and tested wireless communications over long distances. The fleet returned on 13 August, took on coal and provisions, and departed on 27 August for the Autumn maneuvers. The following year was spent in much the same way, two Atlantic cruises – February thru March -- and again in July thru August, with port calls in Spain on the Fall cruise. Later in the year, Gneisenau escorted the Kaiser’s yacht, Hohenzollern, to a location off the coast of Finland for a meeting with Tsar Nicholas II. And after one more fleet cruise to Norway, Gneisenau was given sailing orders for the Far East.
SMS Gneisenau lies moored to a buoy astern of Scharnhorst in Cuxhaven’s West Loch. Pursuant to orders, she has joined the squadron bound for Tsingtao, and has been taking aboard stores and provisions for the journey. A crane barge is transferring stores from a cargo barge alongside. Having just come off the Norway cruise, the larders need filling and there is precious little time to do it. Kapitan zur See Trummler would have liked to get his engines overhauled before the long trip. But there were no docks or basins available, so the engineers will have to make do.
Much of yesterday was spent in the Cuxhaven roadsted at the coaling docks. All hands (save the engineering section) were “turned to” and spent a back-breaking day shifting just over 1,400 tons of coal into the bunkers. Afterwards, the crew washed down the decks and superstructure to remove the thick film of coal dust, while the ship returned to her moorings in the West Loch. The engineers have been giving the engines a thorough examination -- adjusting drive links, tightening the odd bolt, checking for signs of wear, and lubricating everything. In the top right, you see the coastal freighter “Albatross” making it’s way through the busy harbor. And on the bottom right you see the paddle tug “Helena” towing a lighter full of various ship’s stores. The white harbor tug is from “WolfZe”, and it should be noted the paddle tug Helena and her lighter tow are “diagonal” models.
Even as cargo continues to come aboard, the crew has started hoisting in the ship’s boats. You can see the ship’s crane ready to swing one inboard and secure it for sea. An Esmeralda Class paddle tug is standing by, and if you look at the tug’s masts, you can see the emergency sail rig furled along a yardarm and gaff. The cruiser, tug, and sailors are by “AP”, while the barge crane and cargo barge are borrowed from PEG’s Seaport series -- “Bubba’s Bulk Barge”.
This is a close-up of the cruiser’s bow. Again, all the stays and rigging have been put in just as they would have been. And “AP” took great pains to make sure the rigging would display appropriately at various zoom levels. You see an excellent stern view of the paddle tug Esmeralda. And a nice view of two small boats approaching. They had been standing by at a nearby landing, awaiting two officers returning from leave, as well as picking up petty officers that had gone ashore on errands.
In this port side view, you can see a small dingy has been hoisted and secured at its’ davits – two crewmen are unloading boxes and bags. On the stern, cargo is being hoisted aboard, broken down to smaller lots, and carried below decks. The stern companionway hatch is also open – no doubt the Kapitan’s steward has arranged for a few delicacies to grace his master’s table. Gneisenau has also brought aboard several hundred gallons of paint. She had been painted in the “foreign station colors” back in May, when she was expected to sail for China. But the Naval High Command suspended the sailing orders, feeling it would look better to foreign observers if the new cruiser was present through the training season. Consequently, she spent many days at sea in rough weather and her hull and upper-works show severe weathering. That means the squadron commander will have to find a quite little bay along the route where they can anchor and slap on some paint. (One simply does not arrive at a new duty station looking like a worn-out tramp steamer!)
In this view of Gneisenau’s stern, you can see sailors on the fantail hauling boxes from the pile near the turret, down to the aft companion ladder to go below decks.
This is a close-up of the replenishment operation. The white steam tug is courtesy of “WolfZe”, and is actually a bit of a “classic”. It’s patterned after harbor tugs common to many ports, but especially New York harbor in 1900 up through the 1940’s. The paddle tug on the left is a Sophia Class and the one on the right is an Esmeralda Class, both by “AP”, and both patterned after the British paddle tug “Carleton Hall”. This particular tug was launched in 1914 for use in the “Tyneside” coaling trade, but the basic form of the steam-powered paddlewheel tugboat first appeared around 1814, with the last working boats being retired around 1964. These are beautiful little boats -- colorful, historically accurate, and superbly modeled. I would have built a whole harbor just to showcase these little beauties!
Another view of the offshore replenishment. The barges are by “PEG” and can be found in their “Bubba’s Bulk Barge” download (STEX). But I caution you – working with them is a real headache. They were originally modeled for use with a pier attached to land – which meant they could be “anchored” to the shore portion of the pier, and did not have to “float”. The result is that they were rendered with a hefty “offset” and can be very difficult to use. But they were exactly what I needed to create this scene – so I decided to “bite the bullet” and MAKE them work. The sailors wandering around atop the cargo on the barge are, of course, by “AP”.
The following four shots are close-up views of the SS Albatross, a small coastal freighter much like hundreds of others that go about their business in the shallow coastal waters of every continent in the World. They are especially prevalent in Europe because so much shipping traffic is generated by the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and London.
This is one of the first models scratch-built by @AP. He has a bit of history with the maritime world and has gone to great lengths to provide the “every day” details of a ship as well as ensuring they are as authentic as possible.
If you look carefully, you will see an enormous amount of detail packed into such a small model, and for those of you interested in models without crew, there are only four crewmen on deck. It is worth noting that Albatross is flying the Imperial German merchant flag of 1889 from her stern.
Albatross could be identified as any number of coastal vessels, but she is, in fact, a composite of features taken from photos of several different ships. These small coastal freighters are found everywhere, and work the English Channel, North Sea, and Baltic Sea much like today’s local delivery trucks.
The next three pictures are close-ups of the Sophia Class steam paddle tug. As mentioned previously these tugs were based on the British tug Carleton Hall, and every detail has been faithfully reproduced. Sophia portrays an era when steam paddle tugs were the workhorses of the World’s harbors. Their near universal employment could be attributed to their low operating costs and simple paddle propulsion. “AP” and I are very proud of these beautiful little models. The warships in the upper left are US Navy destroyers of the Clemson Class (more on them later).
Here you have another view of the tug, and especially the “lighter” carrying a variety of ship’s stores. Lighters have been in use, in one form or another, for hundreds of years. A lighter is, basically, a small, towed barge, shaped similar to a ship, used to carry a wide range of “cargo” from place to place, or to a ship anchored offshore. This may be necessary because not all ports have docks of suitable size to accommodate large ships, or because certain ports may be too shallow for large ships. Again, our lighters are based on period photos from 1880 to the 1930’s.
I should mention in this view, the destroyers on the left are “ortho” models, while Sophia and her lighter are two, separate, diagonal models – just two of many to come. It has long been a problem in “seagoing SC4” that there were few diagonal ships to choose from. We intend to provide many of our ships in “diagonal” to make your harbors more realistic.
At this point, you might be wondering what the Imperial Naval High Command was thinking. They finally produced a pair of “state-of-the-art” armored cruisers that were – in all probability – superior to any British armored cruiser. And – though the Hochseeflotte armored cruisers were seriously outnumbered – in 1909, the High Command chose to assign their best and most modern cruisers to the Far East. What could have brought about a decision that defies all logic?
The answer lies in a convoluted series of random events, eccentric personalities, deception, and faulty espionage -- all set in motion as far back as 1903…...
NEXT TIME……
THE ITALIAN, THE FIRST LORD, DREADNOUGHT, & THE UNEXPECTED.
MANY, MANY. MANY. THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his generosity, patience, and talent – in providing so many beautiful and highly detailed warships.
AGAIN, MY VERY SPECIAL THANKS to @AP for volunteering his very considerable talents, valuable time, and vivid imagination in creating so many props that have added so much variety and originality to the dockyards. The Cuxhaven Series would be impossible without his “Herculean” efforts.
If you enjoyed anything you saw – please punch the “like” button so I will know. A comment would be even more informative.
Comments and critiques requested and gratefully accepted. All questions answered promptly to the best of my ability.
THANK YOU for your visit!
You may wish to visit these CJ’s as well……
SERIES I:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: WILHELMSHAVEN
SERIES II:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
Appearing – Work In Publication
SERIES III:
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: BREMERHAVEN
Appearing -- ???
And please feel free to drop in at…
THE SIMTROPOLIS SHIPYARD
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