Chapter 10: Neither Fish Nor Fowl
SMS Deutschland riding at anchor in the Kieler Hafen – circa 1910 – 13,191 tons – 19.1 knots – 4x11-inch guns – 14x6.7-inch guns – 22x3.5-inch guns – 6x17.7-inch torpedo tubes – belt armor 9.4 inches. This was the last class of pre-dreadnought battleships commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
By: Dreadnought & AP
Chapter 10:
NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL
With the appearance of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, the entire face of naval architecture changed over night. Admiral Tirpitz (Secretary Of State for the Navy) was confronted with the ugly fact that five ships of the new Deutschland Class pre-dreadnought battleships, (four of them still fitting-out) were now obsolete. And, for all practical purposes, no longer fit to lie in the line of battle. In fact, the Kaiserliche Marine had no battleships capable of standing against a “dreadnought”. They were simply too small, too slow, too lightly armored, and too under-gunned to have any practical combat value in what had become -- the “Dreadnought Era”. Besides wondering which Gods he had offended, Tirpitz must have wondered how it had come to this…
His Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and Emperor of the German Empire – In his Grand Admiral’s uniform.
Kaiser Wilhelm II had always been envious of his “Uncle Bertie’s” fleet (King Edward VII of Great Britain). And during the early decades of his life, Wilhelm had been a political pawn, pushed and pulled between his English mother (the former British Princess Royal) and the anti-English machinations of Chancellor Prince Otto von Bismarck. This created a curious (but predictable) love / hate relationship with his English relatives (Queen Victoria was his grandmother) that would endure throughout his lifetime. Wilhelm spent his years on the throne knowing he had the finest army in Europe, but always feeling “second best” to Edward’s navy.
Kapitan zur See Alfred von Tirpitz had approached the Kaiser early in his reign (early 1890’s) with a plan that might allow Wilhelm to compete with England at sea. An idea that immediately found Royal favor. In 1897, now an Admiral, von Tirpitz was appointed State Secretary for the Navy (with the Kaiser’s enthusiastic support) to put his plans into motion. Tirpitz was not fool enough to think German shipyards could out-build the English. But they could build a fleet strong enough to pose a threat. With a fleet of respectable size, Germany could move into the realm of world politics (Weltpolitik) as a major player alongside Britain, France, and Russia – but most especially Britain. The Kaiser wanted Germany to have her “place in the sun” – and -- he could get a bit of his own back on “Uncle Bertie”.
Gross Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz – Secretary of State for the Navy – and creator of the Hochseeflotte.
What Tirpitz proposed was, in actuality, the principle of “the fleet in being”. It would become both an instrument of war and an instrument of diplomacy. The fleet did not have to be the largest one, it just had to be big enough to provoke serious thought. With a fleet of sufficient size and quality, that strength could be used to influence other powers. France, for example, might have an army sufficient to stand against Germany – but their mobilization plans relied heavily on reinforcements from various colonies. If a strong German navy could interdict troop convoys from North Africa, the French position might become precarious. In the case of Britain, it was possible a strong German navy might influence her to remain neutral in a European land war. Simply put – a strong navy might stop other powers from interfering with German diplomacy -- or other, more martial, endeavors.
HMS Dreadnought threw the entire “fleet in being” plan out of gear. Tirpitz had spent years and millions of Marks (Gold Marks) building a fleet of 20 pre-dreadnought battleships, and suddenly it had all been for nothing. A rather grim debate ensued within the Reichsmarineamt regarding whether to abandon the “fleet in being” principle, or to “double-down” and go to the Reichstag for more money to build the larger dreadnoughts. Tirpitz had worked too hard making the Kaiserliche Marine a competitive fighting force to simply throw up his hands and retire. And worst of all, to give up would be an insult to the Imperial Navy’s Royal patron.
In May 1906, Tirpitz went back to the Reichstag with a supplemental request to the Second Naval Law. Approved on 19 May, the “Novelle of 1906” allowed for the addition of six large cruisers and forty-eight destroyers. (The term “destroyer” was coined by Jackie Fisher when he added deck guns to Royal Navy torpedo boats. The new name was short for – “torpedo-boat-destroyer”.) At the same time, the Kaiserliche Marine’s budget rose from 206.5 million Marks (1904) to 290.8 million by 1907.
SMS Nassau – name ship of a class of four -- the first dreadnought battleships built for the Kaiserliche Marine. Nassau, Westfalen, Rheinland, and Posen were laid down in 1907 and commissioned between 1909 and 1910. The ships displaced 18,873 tons, were 479 feet long, and capable of 20.2 knots. They were armed with 12x11-inch main battery guns and 12x5.9-inch secondary guns. Roughly comparable to HMS Dreadnought, they had the edge with better armor arrangements, but their triple expansion engines were a throw-back to old-fashioned technology.
The Reichstag’s cash infusion allowed Tirpitz to counter HMS Dreadnought with four dreadnought battleships of the Nassau Class – on the theory the battle fleet was paramount and had to be strengthened first. The next problem to be dealt with were the new armored cruisers the British were known to be building. But there was still much discussion inside the Reichsmarineamt and Oberkommando der Marine (Naval High Command) about what direction the development of the armored cruiser (Panzerkreuzer) should take. And much of the discussion was driven by Wilhelm II, himself – starting as far back as 1904.
The monarch’s considerable interest was not limited to dashing off doodles of ship designs on the back of envelopes and telegrams. Wilhelm constantly sent rambling memorandum to the State Secretary’s office, tactical and strategic advice to the Oberkommando and, of course, “sketch designs” to the naval architects. It is reasonably certain he was familiar with Cuniberti’s “big gun” article of 1903, and may have formed his own theory on big guns, speed, and battleships. He was also an avid reader of the “Marine-Rundschau”, a magazine started-up around the turn of the century by a group of industrialists. The publication’s specific purpose was to increase the general public’s interest in naval affairs. The public, in turn, would apply an added degree of pressure to the Reichstag for naval funding. Wilhelm II went as far as writing an article (under the pen-name “L”) for the January, 1904 issue. The article theorized that armored cruiser displacement was fast approaching that of battleships, and warned their size and expense would soon surpass battleships. Therefore, why not simply build battleships?
SMS Nassau as she would have looked at her commissioning in 1909. She is tied-up at mooring dolphins outside the Coaling Basin. Inside the basin are several tugs and lighters waiting to unload their coal at the docks. Left to right – one Midgard Class is shoving a lighter into position, while another stands by. To the right is an Odin Class with two lighters lashed along side. And above that is an old Goliath Class tug (the towed lighters didn’t make it into the picture). Nassau and Goliath are courtesy of @Barroco Hispano – breakwaters by “Uki” – and everything else is by @AP.
Another view of SMS Nassau. Her hull form was a bit short, and “stubby” – which was indicative of her low, 20-knot speed. A longer hull form would have made her much more “streamlined”, and would have provided room for additional boilers to increase speed. But, as Germany’s first dreadnoughts, Tirpitz chose to build them small, and as cheaply as possible, to avoid further conflict with the Reichstag. Nonetheless – they were capable battleships and served throughout The Great War.
The Kaiser had long been an advocate of the “fast battleship” – a fusion of the two types. But in his scenario, the “Grosse Kreuzer” (large cruiser) would be cheaper than a battleship, three or four knots faster, have a large operating radius, would be capable of reconnaissance, and could fall back on the fleet and stand in the line of battle. In order to fulfill these roles, the cruiser’s armament would have to be a 9.4-inch or 10-inch main battery, with a 5.9-inch secondary battery. And, of course, it should have armor sufficient to withstand a 10 inch shell. But then, Wilhelm was an amateur, and his article was written in 1904. The technology to successfully pull this off did not yet exist. When Wilhelm II cited the article by “L” in a memorandum, Grossadmiral Tirpitz diplomatically rejected the idea on the grounds that such a vessel was financially undesirable as well as technically impossible. So, the discussion was “tabled” – for the time being.
By early 1905, bits and pieces of information about HMS Dreadnought had begun to leak out, and even some “wild” rumors about powerful British cruisers. The “fast battleship” concept was raised again within the Reichsmarineamt – but was rejected again – due to cost and technical feasibility. But the rumors had made it clear -- a “Grosse Kreuzer” was certainly needed. During these discussions, the name “Grosse Kreuzer” was chosen as the official nomenclature – mainly because it sounded like a bigger armored cruiser – less likely to upset the Reichstag.
Nassau from the stern. Note the layout of the main battery turrets – one fore and aft – and two “wing turrets” on either beam. At this stage of naval design evolution, wing turrets were considered acceptable – especially if you wanted as many guns as possible on a battleship. Though this gave her two more guns than HMS Dreadnought (extra redundancy in case of battle damage), Nassau was only able to bring eight guns to bear in broadside – the same as Dreadnought.
Here is a close-up of Nassau, so you can examine all the beautiful detail in Barroco Hispano’s model. The stern alone is a wealth of detail – the stowage of the stern anchors – the anti-torpedo-boat guns in their casemates with the shields open. Each model’s detail can answer a lot of questions you may have about battleships. BTW – you can download and blow-up these hi-res pictures – it helps understand the ships better.
Meanwhile, the British had shifted the focus of their armored cruisers from commerce protection to the role of a squadron-sized “fast wing” for the battle fleet. But Tirpitz stuck to the traditional reconnaissance role: defeating enemy cruiser screens to obtain information about the enemy battle fleet – protecting their own light forces – and pursuing damaged enemy ships. The Kaiser, however, kept returning to the idea that they should be able to fight in the battle line. Tirpitz, rather delicately, kept finding reasons why this would not work. The facts, however, were simple. Putting them in the battle line meant thicker armor -- armor increased weight -- weight meant more boilers to maintain speed – and more boilers meant a longer hull. And that was the irrefutable problem. German warships, at this time, were limited in length by the size of the harbor locks at Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelm’s fast, heavily armored cruiser would be too long for the locks. (The large #III entrance locks at Wilhelmshaven would not open until 1910.)
On 4 March 1905, the specifications for “Grosse Kreuzer 1906” were formally submitted to the design office and the planning work began. From that point, everybody had a say in the matter. The Naval High Command pointed out several large warships were sent to the bottom during the Russo-Japanese War due to damage from floating mines and torpedo attacks. So a torpedo bulkhead was added inboard of the armor belt. All seemed to agree an increase of between 3,000 to 5,000 tons displacement over the Scharnhorst Class would be good. One design was done with six main battery guns -- and another with eight. Then the Naval High Command, in favor of battle line capability, insisted on twelve main battery guns. They also wanted to put 11-inch guns on the new “Grosse Kreuzer”, but Tirpitz bluntly refused -- the bigger guns were much too expensive. Privately, he was afraid it would set a bad precedent for future ships, running up the costs and displeasing the Reichstag. He was equally afraid the larger guns would encourage captains to seek a place in the battle line rather than taking care of their “cruiser” duties. At one point, steam turbines were proposed for the propulsion system. But triple-expansion engines had already been ordered and drawn into the “master set” of plans. Turbines, on the other hand, were untested in large German warships, and – worst of all – that bit of re-design work would take at least three months. So the idea was dropped – a decision that would come back to haunt them in 1915.
And so it went – change after change – until 22 May 1906, when the final meeting was held and the design was officially “set”. The construction department took over the sketch plans to create the mechanical drafting sheets and blueprints. This department was also responsible for the final appearance of the ship, and they promptly reduced the number of funnels from four to two. The final drawings would take some weeks to complete, but on 26 May, the Reichstag approved the Naval Estimates – including a budget of 27 million Marks for “Grosse Kreuzer 1906”.
HMS Minotaur – armored cruiser – 14,600 tons – 23 knots – 4x9.2-inch guns – 10x7.5-inch guns –5x18-inch torpedo tubes – belt armor 6 inches.
Note the main battery 9.2-inch twin turrets fore and aft – and if you look carefully, you can see the 7.5 inch guns in single turrets, five on either beam, between the superstructure blocks. They were fast, and well-armed with cruiser-sized guns, but their armor belts were pathetically weak. The idea with the numerous heavy guns was to “smother” the target and destroy it. There is, however, reasonable doubt that poor Royal Navy gunnery could have destroyed another armored cruiser before their own ship was riddled like a colander.
The new cruiser, or “E” as it was designated, had been designed based on the sketchy intelligence gathered on the British armored cruisers – specifically, that they were improved versions of the Minotaur Class. The Reichsmarineamt expected these ships to be armed with six or possibly eight 9.4-inch guns and of slightly increased displacement over the Minotaur’s. “Cruiser E” would mount twelve 8.3-inch guns in six twin turrets – a significant increase over the Scharnhorst Class, and an equally significant increase over the expected British cruisers.
However – just five days after funding had been approved, and “Cruiser E” was ordered from the builder’s yard -- the rules of the game were changed yet again. The German naval attache in London finally obtained details of the new British armored cruisers. They were the Invincible Class – and they were not even remotely similar to the Minotaur Class. Their displacement of just over 18,000 tons was comparable to HMS Dreadnought and significantly larger than either the Scharnhorst Class armored cruisers or the Deutschland Class pre-dreadnought battleships. Their armament of eight 12-inch guns far surpassed the German standard of 8.3-inch cruiser guns. And their speed of 25 knots was not only phenomenal, but exceeded “Cruiser E” by nearly 2 knots. Jackie Fisher’s campaign of secrecy and disinformation had fooled the Germans more completely than he had ever imagined possible.
HMS Invincible just after launch of the hull at Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd on “Tyneside” – 13 April, 1907. Notice how the largely empty hull rides very high in the water. The steam paddle tugs have gotten lines on the hull and are preparing to tow her to the “Fitting Out” docks. There are three steam tugs visible in the picture and all of them are “paddlers” – very similar to “AP’s” beautiful tug models.
HMS Invincible moored off the Coaling Basin. You can see the obvious differences between the average armored cruiser and the new British “dreadnought cruisers”. Invincible is longer, larger, and mounts eight of the more powerful 12-inch guns. The decks have been cleared of all the “clutter” found on the old armored cruisers.
This is a close-up of Invincible. The detail on this model is fantastic. For example, the circular objects on top of the main battery turrets are actually pedestal gun mounts. As originally designed, two 4 inch torpedo boat defense guns were mounted atop each turret. Not only was this a ridiculous place to mount quick-firing guns that required large amounts of ammunition, but it was found the guns could not be worked when the main battery was in action. In addition, it was found that 4 inch guns were unable to stop modern torpedo boats and destroyers – so they were removed during the first refit. The battlecruiser is courtesy of @Barroco Hispano.
Tirpitz immediately concluded the Invincible’s were a completely new type of warship that was neither an armored cruiser, nor a battleship – and it would be 1911 before the British officially reclassified them as battlecruisers. But that was just a matter of semantics. Tirpitz’ problem was much more real. The news could not have come at a conceivably worse moment for the Imperial Navy – and especially for Tirpitz. The need to make the leap to the “all-big-gun” battleship (Nassau) had entailed an enormous cost increase, and the State Secretary was still trying to incorporate this into the Naval Estimates in a manner palatable to the Reichstag. Suddenly, this process was going to be repeated for the “Grosse Kreuzer” type. It should be remembered – Scharnhorst was already at the upper end of those limits. The Reichstag did approve an increase for the “1906 Novelle” – but with restrictions. Battleship limits were “fixed” at 32 million Marks, and the “Grosse Kreuzer” limited to 27 million Marks. And that amount was just barely sufficient to cover the cost of a 15,500 ton cruiser. Tirpitz knew there was no hope of more money from the Reichstag – “Grosse Kreuzer E” had reached its’ budget limit. There simply was no more money to be begged, borrowed, or stolen.
On June 21 1906, the Kaiser dutifully signed-off on the building order, even though his preferred fast battleship might have come closer to meeting the crisis. Then, on 12 July, the London naval attache confirmed his previous information (at the request of the Reichsmarineamt). The confirmation forced Tirpitz to face the cold, hard, facts. His naval architects had designed an armored cruiser to defeat another armored cruiser – and what he wound up with, was a big armored cruiser that didn’t stand a chance against a battlecruiser. The department heads were called together once again, and though the discussions lasted five hours, the facts were unalterable.
An increase in gun caliber to 10 inches had already been ruled out due to budgetary limits, and additional speed could not be obtained because of the limits of the Wilhelmshaven locks, and the lengthy delay steam turbines would entail, was unacceptable. Armor sufficient to resist 12-inch shells was equally impossible under the budget restraints. And regardless of any other considerations, the armament had already been ordered from Krupp, building materials had already been assembled at the shipyard, and pre-construction fabrication was in progress. To delay until the following year – even with the possibility of additional funding – was out of the question. The Kaiserliche Marine could not afford to lose a year in their race against Great Britain. So the only option was to go ahead with construction as designed.
A redesign of “Grosse Kreuzer E” is an attractive thought, and has always appealed to the “what if” school of historians, but it does not hold up under scrutiny. In order to fight on equal terms with the Invincible Class battlecruisers, the first thing needed would be bigger guns. The standard German 11-inch gun, especially in it’s high velocity version, was every bit as good as the British 12-inch weapon (though the later German 12-inch gun packed a bigger punch). And as standard weapons, the 11-inch guns would have been readily available. (Germany had not yet finished testing and development of a 12-inch naval rifle.) But an increase in gun caliber meant the barbettes would have to be enlarged. This would mean moving adjacent powder magazines, shell storage magazines, and shell handling rooms. This, in turn, would involve more “adjustments” in the shape and size of compartments surrounding the barbettes and various magazines. The work on the blueprints alone could have taken months.
The speed issue is even more complicated. The Invincible Class was powered by Parson Steam Turbines and achieved just over 25 knots on trials. (Steam turbines -- think of an aircraft jet engine – or the jet fuel turbine in an Abrams main battle tank.) Turbines were lower and could be placed below the waterline, whereas triple expansion engines were taller than a house and would be exposed above the protective armored deck. Turbines produced more power with fewer boilers and operated more smoothly at high speeds. Triple expansion engines, largely due to their operating mechanics, could cause severe vibration at high speed, and they did have an upper limit -- and it was dangerously unwise to push them. Critically – the Kaiserliche Marine had not yet tested steam turbines in a large warship. So -- with four-cylinder triple expansion engines as a given, to increase “Kreuzer E’s” speed just 2 knots might require up to eight additional boilers (possibly more) – which means additional boiler rooms and a longer hull to accommodate them. And that meant more armor.
The question of armor is in a class all by itself. “Grosse Kreuzer E” had been armored to withstand the fire of “standard” British armored cruisers -- usually 9.2-inch rifles. And though the new cruiser’s armor was “scaled-up” over the Scharnhorst Class -- it was still woefully inadequate against the 12-inch guns of the Invincible Class battlecruisers. The vital areas of the ship – engines, boilers, and magazines – would need three or four more inches of armor on the waterline belt, and one to two additional inches on the protected armor deck. The secondary batteries above the armor belt would require two or more inches added to the armored strake. The main battery turrets, the secondary battery casemated turrets, and the conning towers would all require serious armor up-grades. The reason the armor could not be sufficiently up-graded was because that much added weight would reduce the cruiser’s speed well below the required 25 knots – thus bringing us full circle to the original speed deficit.
And these are just the most obvious problems with an attempted redesign. The final – and insurmountable problem – was the money. The Reichstag had already authorized millions of Marks in naval spending – their generosity was not unending. (Just thought I’d answer the re-design question before anyone asked…)
So “Grosse Kreuzer E” was, as they say – “A day late and a dollar short”. She had been created to dominate opposing armored cruisers – a ship type that had suddenly been superseded by the battlecruiser. And she was, in her turn, dominated by the battlecruiser. What HMS Dreadnought had done to the pre-dreadnought battleship – HMS Invincible did to the armored cruiser. And there was such a vast difference between Invincible and “Kreuzer E”, that it could be said she was obsolete even before her keel was laid. And you would be right. The Oberkommando der Marine ordered their first battlecruiser the very next year, if further proof is needed.
Obsolete or not, “Grosse Kreuzer E” was an over-sized armored cruiser and an under-sized battlecruiser – “neither fish nor fowl” – neither one thing nor the other. But, for the Kaiserliche Marine, she was the “Missing Link”. For decades, anthropologists searched for the “Missing Link” between cavemen and modern man. Jackie Fisher had made the jump from armored cruisers to battlecruisers in one great leap – and caught the rest of the naval world napping. For Germany, “Grosse Kreuzer E” was the reluctant and unfortunate bridge between the two.
But it would be left to “Grosse Kreuzer F – 1907” to be designed and built as a counter to the newly evolved British battlecruiser.
POSTSCRIPT:
In recent years, many “revisionist” historians have taken the approach that “Fisher’s Great Deception” was not responsible for the faulty design parameters of SMS Blucher. Some have even gone as far as to say no contemporary documentation exists to support the story. It is true no German documents have yet been discovered in which the German staff or designers admit to having been “duped” by the English. But the substance of their design discussions have survived in bits and pieces of various inter-office memorandum and a few personal diaries – all of which indicate Blucher’s design was directly influenced by intelligence gathered in Britain by Embassy intelligence officers and the naval attache. Tirpitz and his staff were led to believe the English would build nothing larger than an “improved” Minotaur Class armored cruiser – and that is exactly what they had believed from the beginning. They had discounted rumors of great speed and big guns because, in their logical and analytical minds, they could not grasp the massive technological leap Fisher had taken with his “dreadnought cruisers”. Only after they had seen HMS Invincible on display at Spithead did they begin to understand the “dreadnought concept” and the full extent of its application. By then it was simply too late to save Blucher.
NEXT TIME……
THE HYBRID CRUISER
And there is a bit more for you……
This time we are going to take a tour of Cuxhaven’s coaling facilities and docks. Coal can be taken aboard a warship from a lighter, anywhere – a bay, an inlet, at a mooring point, or alongside a repair dock. Especially on an overseas voyage, you can coal ship anywhere there is room enough to bring a lighter alongside. But when you’re ship is in a major naval base – you go to the coaling docks.
This is an overview of the coaling facilities. The receiving, storage, and distribution dumps are the large concrete pads in the bottom center, and they are connected by rail to the coaling docks at the top of the picture. In the lower left, you can see the north end of the West Loch, and north along the coast is Battery Scharnhorst. The roadsted and main harbor of Cuxhaven is out of the picture to the right.
This is a closer view of the receiving, storage, and distribution system. The coal is brought in by rail from the main track to the right. The loaded cars are backed onto the dumping ramp and the doors in the bottom of the coal gondolas are opened. The coal slides down the concrete slope and onto the waiting piles at the bottom. The facility is set up to unload as many as four trains at one time.
From the delivery chute, the coal is loaded into dump trucks and moved across the lot to the distribution pad. The piles on the left of the picture are waiting to be loaded onto rail cars to be sent out. As you can see, there is a wide variety of structures and equipment that have been used to portray the operation. Anyone familiar with industrial lots in SC4 will recognize them immediately. They have all been re-purposed to move coal to the warships in the harbor. I confess I have used some modern elements that were not available in 1910. Trucks – absolutely necessary to a functioning naval base – were primitive in those days, and there are, of course, no such props in SC4. So the bases will always be a strange mix of “early” and “later” 20th Century furnishings – my apologies.
This is the distribution point where the coal is loaded into gondolas and shipped to the coaling docks.
This is a close-up of the east side distribution point. The coaling lot was arranged in this manner so that two trains could be loaded at the same time – thereby ensuring a steady flow of coal to both sides of the coaling docks. While these two trains are loading, two more trains are out on the docks dumping their load. When they are empty, they return via the center track and wait below the switches. When the loaded trains have departed for the docks, the two waiting trains take their place. In this manner, a continuous supply of coal can be shuttled to the docks.
These are the Cuxhaven coaling docks. They are laid out in a manner inspired by a 1930’s picture of coaling docks in Cardiff, Wales. The docks can accommodate four ships at a time. The elevated rail line runs down the center of the dock space and uses the same gravity dumping system as the storage area. The large warships and the oil tanker in the picture are courtesy of Barroco Hispano. All other ships, tugs, lighters, small craft, and mooring dolphins are crafted by AP. Everything else in the picture has been constructed by re-lotting or re-purposing lots and props already in-game.
The battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger taking on coal. The elegant model is courtesy of Barroco Hispano.
This is a close-up of the paddle tug Sophia towing two empty lighters out of the crowded coaling basin. Note the fine detail modeled into the paddle tug and the lighters. Moored along the seawall is an elderly Nordwind Class tug. Notice the open bridge – a common feature of early tug boats. Astern of her is a more modern Passat Class – an improved “second generation” of Nordwind. The Passat’s had more horsepower and could handle heavy seas more easily. Tugs, lighters, and mooring dolphins are the excellent work of “AP”.
This is the Motor-Lighter Ajax. She is a unique vessel used to transport large or heavy pieces of equipment from shipyard factories or assembly sheds to dry docks or construction slipways. Her bridge is placed forward of the cargo area and elevated to give a good view ahead as well as being able to see over large cargoes carried amidships. Steering commands are passed by hand-set or speaking tubes to the wheelhouse atop the aft superstructure. Her twin funnels are placed side-by-side – an uncommon feature even in the early 1900’s – but the machinery spaces are comparatively small so it was necessary. On a good day, she can make all of 8 knots, and she is shallow draft and rides low in the water. Ajax was never meant to go beyond a harbor, estuary, or shallow coastal waters. On her midships cargo deck are a pair of massive three-cylinder, triple-expansion, steam engines. They are destined to be installed in “Grosse Kreuzer E”. The engines are just one of the many historically accurate props “AP” has provided to enhance the realism in SC4. And each new prop opens up a whole world that can be investigated and portrayed in the game. Motor-Lighter Ajax by “AP”.
This is a close-up of a Thor Class tug standing-by to take two coal lighters under tow. This should give you a good idea of the high quality of the models and the great amount of detail worked into them by “AP”. Thor looks every bit the “worn-out harbor work-horse” she is meant to be. You can almost see the individual lumps of coal in the lighters. And even the empty lighters moored along the near side of the basin are pure perfection. Thor will shortly move the lighters out to the roadsted and the waiting warships.
This is SS Gotha, a Norddeutscher Line collier leased by the Kaiserliche Marine to accompany a squadron of ships on their journey to the Far East. Germany and Great Britain possessed fairly large fleets of commercial colliers and preferred “leasing” over building naval colliers. Only the United States chose to build Fleet Auxiliary Colliers rather than trust commercial vessels. During wartime, foreign colliers were often unavailable for “political reasons” – even neutral vessels could not be relied upon. This gorgeous model by @AP is an absolute “work of art”.
Here we see a Thor Class tug attempting to maneuver a full coal lighter into a mooring. SS Gotha will be casting off soon and room will be needed to move the collier out of the basin. Coaling basins are often crowded with tugs standing-by to undertake tows, and numerous empty and full lighters. Some small boats have tied up alongside the lighters and crewmen are “working the coal” – possibly leveling it out to “stabilize the tow” – or even raking through it for foreign debris and “klinkers”. Here again, you can see the wonderful high-def models in all their detailed glory. Even the mooring dolphins are superb.
This is the battlecruiser SMS Mackensen as she would have appeared at her planned commissioning in 1919. A much improved version of the Derfflinger Class, Mackensen would have had a much greater displacement and a larger caliber main battery armament. The first ships were laid down in January 1915 and some were actually launched. But none would ever see service. (More on this class in later chapters.) This magnificent model is courtesy of Barroco Hispano.
AND – we have TWO prop packs for you this time……
MANY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his generosity in providing so many beautiful and highly detailed warships.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to my collaborating partner -- @AP -- for volunteering his considerable talents, valuable time, and vivid imagination in creating so many beautiful models and props from the Great War Era. The Cuxhaven Series would be utterly impossible without him.
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 and the COMMENTS many of you have been kind enough to make!
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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