Chapter 14: Birth Of The Imperial German Battlecruiser
Palmer’s Shipbuilding & Iron Company, Ltd. -- Jarrow, Scotland – circa 1905. It is difficult to see much through the smoke, and steam, and early morning gloom. But this would have been a common sight along the River Tyne (“Tyneside”) in the early decades of the 20th Century. Highly visible are the unmistakable funnels and tripod masts of a pre-dreadnought battleship. Note the “spotting tops” on both masts. Just one of many British shipyards.
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS: CUXHAVEN
By: Dreadnought & AP
Chapter 14:
BIRTH OF THE IMPERIAL GERMAN
BATTLECRUISER
First -- let me clarify the “terms” used in previous chapters when referring to various warships.
In the Royal Navy, the last armored cruisers were the Warrior Class of 1908-1909. These ships were followed in the evolutionary process by the revolutionary Invincible Class of 1908-1909. The Invincible’s were variously referred to as “dreadnought cruisers” or “large cruisers” until 1911, when they were officially reclassified as “battlecruisers”.
In the Kaiserliche Marine, the last armored cruiser built was, arguably, SMS Blucher, and I have referred to her as an “armored cruiser” or a “Grosse Kreuzer” (large cruiser). Blucher was, in realty, evolved from the Scharnhorst Class armored cruisers, but she was such a significant advance on armored cruisers that it could be said she no longer belonged to that classification.
I have tried to avoid attaching the term “battlecruiser” to German warships prior to the appearance of SMS Von der Tann in the narrative, because she was the first of this unique ship type built for the Imperial Navy. Not only was she “first”, but she was the beginning of an entirely new evolutionary track decades ahead of other navies. In the previous chapter, Von der Tann, Moltke, and Derfflinger, were referred to as “Panzerkreuzer”, (literally, armored cruiser) – but they were developed far beyond the armored cruiser concept. They were, in fact, battlecruisers – but in Germany, that term was not used until after World War I. Official documents of the Imperial Era called them “Grosse Kreuzer” (large cruiser). But the men who sailed and fought them, used the term “Panzerkreuzer”. And official reports of Admiral Hipper’s 1st Scouting Group used that term as well. Beginning with this chapter, you will see “Panzerkreuzer” and “battlecruiser” used interchangeably.
THE ORIGINS OF “GROSSE KREUZER F - 1907”
It should come as no surprise that the origin of the next new cruiser – “Grosse Kreuzer-F-1907” – though complicated and convoluted, would begin with Kaiser Wilhelm II. Wilhelm remained obstinate in his belief Germany should build “fast battleships” – thereby eliminating the need to build both costly large cruisers and battleships. A few weeks before the information about HMS Invincible came to light, in May 1906 – in a surprise move – the Kaiser announced a competition among German shipyards for a “fast battleship” type. Wilhelm stipulated the ships should form a “special purpose” squadron and be capable of both reconnaissance work and battle line duty. His Imperial Majesty further specified the ships should be 3 knots faster than foreign contemporaries and mount a main battery of no less than four 11-inch guns. He suggested the new Nassau Class dreadnoughts (already in blueprint stage) should be used as the basis for the new type.
State Secretary von Tirpitz was, of course, opposed to the competition – on several different levels. First and foremost, he feared the cost of another new ship type would anger the Reichstag. And a new ship could strain an overworked design department, and over burden the Imperial Dockyards. Though the competition might have been an embarrassing surprise to Tirpitz, it showed Wilhelm clearly understood the trend in ship type development. Unlike Jackie Fisher, the Kaiser had taken the “dreadnought theory” to its’ logical conclusion. History would show the Kaiser had, for once, been remarkably farsighted.
In Britain, Fisher had forced the revolutionary design of the Invincible Class through the Admiralty by sheer force of will – his will. And he had become fixated on a big-gun cruiser of remarkable speed. Being determined, but practical, when the designers told him he could not have guns, armor, and speed – Fisher sacrificed the armor. In theory, the 12-inch guns would overwhelm an enemy – and if they could not, then speed would carry his cruiser out of harm’s way. No need for anything more than minimal armor.
In Germany, the Reichsmarineamt was constantly forced to impose limitations on ship designs due to financial constraints. The Kaiserliche Marine was not free to build numbers of “experimental” ships – nor could they take risks with new technologies. If Tirpitz went to the Reichstag for millions of Marks to build a ship, he had to be sure it was going to be a solid addition to the strength of the Hochseeflotte. Consequently, the Naval High Command and the Design Bureau always sought the safer, more reliable balance between guns, armor, and speed.
Around the end of June 1906, the General Navy Department sent a memorandum to Tirpitz regarding the “Grosse Kreuzer 1907” and follow-on ships. In their opinion, Germany was only building “large cruisers” because they were outnumbered by the British large cruisers – and the British would only continue to out-build them. After the true proportions of the Invincible’s became public knowledge, those 12-inch guns, and news the Japanese were building a similar Tsukuba Class meant “...we must build our “Grossen Kreuzer” as “fast battleships”. The memorandum theorized the armored cruisers of the Kaiserliche Marine had been, for years, inferior to the British and could not have performed their reconnaissance function, trade protection, or cruiser warfare functions. For the same reasons, the armored cruisers (including the new Blucher) could not act as a “fast wing’ of the battle fleet because they did not have the displacement, gun power, or armor protection for that type of work. And – the Naval High Command was certain confrontation between enemy battleships and their armored cruisers was inevitable.
Attached to the General Navy Department memorandum was a “specification sheet” calling for a ship with six to eight 11-inch high velocity guns in various configurations, with eight 5.9-inch secondary guns in casemates or twin turrets, twenty 3.5-inch anti-torpedo-boat guns, 4 torpedo tubes, armor just 20% less than the Ersatz Bayern Class battleships (in early planning stage), and a speed of not less than 23 knots. Tirpitz, for his part, stubbornly insisted the proper operational employment of “large cruisers” was against other cruisers. Tirpitz did not seem to understand that sea battles are like knife fights – there are no rules. The Naval High Command had expressed singular insight – which would be proven correct.
Still in the early stages, the discussion continued. An article appeared in the July 1906 issue of “Marine Rundschau” – in opposition to the “fast battleship”. The author pointed out Invincible was a very powerful cruiser – but had no armor to defend against a battleship – and it was an illusion to think speed AND armor could coexist in a fast battleship. He also made it clear battleships should fight battleships – cruisers should fight cruisers – and the armored cruiser should never be placed in the battle line. In conclusion, he stated – unequivocally – “...the cruiser type was incapable of developing it’s armor capacity – and the battleship incapable of increasing its’ speed – to the point where the two types could merge”. Having been written by a Naval officer in the Reichsmarineamt, one must either accept the article as “official policy” – or – Tirpitz was turning the tables on Jackie Fisher and spreading a bit of disinformation of his own. No one will ever know.
It is worth remembering Admiral Fisher had once considered “fast battleships”, but was distracted by his mania for speed. This “fetish” for speed produced heavily armed and extremely fast cruisers. But they had so little armor, the Royal Navy captains considered them little more than “deathtraps”. (That particular opinion would change as British battlecruisers grew in size and gun-power.) Fisher’s “speed equals armor” theory would eventually be carried to such ridiculous extremes that he fell from grace and was removed from the Admiralty. (Some of his last battlecruiser designs were so combat-ineffective they would be converted to high-speed aircraft carriers under the terms of the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty.)
HMS Courageous as completed in 1916, moored at Scapa Flow. At 19,180 tons she had a low displacement, but at 786 feet she was very long (lots of boilers). Equipped with 4x15-inch guns in two turrets – her guns had longer range – but packed only half the firepower of other warships. With only four guns, it would have been more difficult to hit her target with one of those big shells – while her target might be able to close the range and wreak havoc on her flimsy 3 inch armor belt. Fisher believed her 32 knot speed would prevent such a disaster. (Her hull was so thin parts of the bow plating and decks buckled when she steamed at high speed into heavy seas!) Superb model courtesy of @Barroco Hispano.
HMS Glorious as she might have looked in 1919, when she was taken out of service and “laid-up in ordinary”. Extremely long at nearly 800 feet, with an 81-foot beam -- almost the entire midships third of her hull was devoted to boiler rooms generating her impressive speed of 32 knots. Her unacceptably thin armor protection was the end result of taking Fisher’s battlecruiser concept to its ultimate limits. Her 15-inch guns were lethal, but her lack of protection made her unfit for combat with anything larger than a light cruiser. Even a 5.9-inch shell could cause serious damage to her thin-skinned hull. Here you see her moored to buoys just off an old pier in the “mothball anchorage”. This is where the old and obsolete ships go to wait for their trip to the breaker’s yard. (More on the “mothball anchorage” in later chapters.)
HMS Furious as completed in 1917. Courageous, Glorious, and Furious were of the same class, but Furious was redesigned at the last minute to accommodate two gigantic 18 inch guns in two single turrets. The three ships were meant to spearhead one of Fishers favorite hair-brained ideas. In his mind, World War I could be ended in a fortnight by sending a large Royal Navy squadron into the Baltic Sea, landing a British expeditionary force on the Pomeranian coast, and marching on Berlin. The Baltic is notoriously shallow in coastal waters, so these battlecruisers were specially designed with a shallow draft to work close inshore and provide bombardment support for the troop landings.
Stern 18-inch gun turret of Furious. This is the biggest gun ever mounted in a Royal Navy warship. It was capable of firing a 3,320 lb shell out to a maximum of 40,500 yards (effective range was only 31,400 yards). The shells were so huge and hard to handle, the rate of fire was only one round per minute. Royal Navy captains declared it useless against other ships because it took so long to load – fall of shot corrections would be worthless with the target ship moving far beyond the last shell splash. It might have been useful bombarding the Pomeranian beaches. However, it’s more likely rooted in a comment by Fisher – “We must have the biggest gun on the fastest ship!” All three ships were “laid up in ordinary” in 1919, and converted into aircraft carriers in the 1920’s.
As if in support of the “disinformation” notion, Tirpitz appears to have realized something must be done to catch-up to the British. In July 1906, from his summer home in St. Blasien, he sent a memorandum ordering an increase in size and gun caliber on the 1907 ships – the new battleship and “Grosse Kreuzer F”. He also wanted designs prepared as soon as possible – the battleship with twelve 12-inch guns and the cruiser with eight 12-inch. Considering the British ships, it was logical, but von Tirpitz was compromising between the Reichstag’s financial considerations, public opinion, and naval requirements. As fate would have it, the cruiser proposal was soon abandoned – while the battleship project produced the four ships of the Helgoland Class (1910-1911).
SMS Helgoland. Laid down at the Howaldtswerke, Kiel, in November 1908 – launched September 1909 – commissioned August 1911. She was the name ship of a class of four – the second generation of dreadnoughts built for the Kaiserliche Marine. She is moored, fore and aft, to “battleship buoys” laying offshore of a boat landing. The “rickety” pier is from the “PEG Cannery” lot. The landing office/tower and the large warehouse are by “Historic Harbors”, while the small warehouse is from “Nob’s 1905 Japanese Naval Series”. The sea walls are by NBVC and the pavement is Paeng’s Grunge Concrete set. Some of the small props on the landing are randomly selected from the “prop box”, but the vast majority are by "AP" -- as are the “battleship buoys”. The excellent battleship model is courtesy of Barroco Hispano.
This shot shows the layout of the main battery armament. Though Helgoland is longer than the Nassau Class, they have retained the turret pattern, with twin turrets fore and aft, and two “wing turrets” on either beam amidships. An interesting point -- unlike other battleships of the period, Helgoland has her three funnels concentrated in a single group between the wing turrets. Another point of interest -- this class made the jump to 12-inch guns, rather than the standard 11-inch gun. Helgoland was 22,808 tons – 20.5 knots – 12x12-inch guns – 14x5.9-inch guns – 14x3.5-inch guns – 6x20-inch torpedo tubes – belt armor 11.8 inches.
From this view, you can see the large areas of uncluttered deck space, providing wide firing arcs on either broadside. The superstructure, spartan though it is, has been concentrated along the centreline of the ship – out of the way of the big guns.
This bow view demonstrates how “minimalist” the bridge structure was on the early German dreadnoughts – a tiny navigation bridge, the oval-shaped armored conning tower with rangefinder, and two banks of searchlights stepped against the foremast. The three forward turrets were grouped in this configuration with the intention of providing “ahead fire” by six guns. In reality, firing the two turrets abaft the bridge would have caused severe blast damage to the forward superstructure as well as ripping up the teak deck planking. Firing a battleship’s main armament anywhere but on the broadside was not recommended.
This shot gives a better view of the small navigation bridge between the forward turret and the conning tower. It was small and cramped, but adequate for habitation during rough weather. You can also see the torpedo nets and booms collapsed against the hull. Just above them are the 5.9-inch secondary guns in turreted casemates at main deck level – seven on each beam. During rough seas, they would be awash. Amidships, around the funnels, the sloped sides at the base of the funnels cover the “armored funnel uptakes” (exhaust ducts for the boilers). Damage to the funnel uptakes could effect the operating pressure of the boilers – reducing speed – even though the boilers are usually operated under “forced-air draft”. Toward the stern, right behind the aft conning tower (with rangefinder on top), you can see a raised, tower-like, platform – a compass platform. A dreadnought is one gigantic mass of steel, and it tends to interfere with magnetic fields. The wooden platform raised above the deck lessens the compass distortion and can be used if the main compass on the bridge is destroyed or fails.
A view of Helgoland’s stern. The stern anchor is tucked-in between two anti-torpedo-boat guns in hull casemates, with the shields open. On the starboard side, to the right of the main gun turret, you can see two of the 5.9-inch turreted casemate guns. The row of objects down the center of the fantail are skylights allowing sunlight into the officer’s accommodations below decks, and can be propped open to circulate air as well. Again, the three turrets grouped aft are intended to fire “dead astern” – not recommended. In all, she could present an eight-gun broadside.
September 1906 saw Tirpitz opting for a new cruiser design of 19,000 tons, 8x11-inch, 8x5.9-inch, less expensive than Helgoland, speed 24 knots, stronger armor layout, and best of all -- steam turbines. The Admiral had stepped down from the larger gun, which could be considered unwise. But with turbines producing an acceptable speed, and a lighter propulsion plant, the weight saved by fewer turrets and guns could be converted into armor. Tirpitz had begun to think “outside the box”, and this was a clear indication the “Grosse Kreuzer” was moving toward the displacement, cost, and offensive/defensive capabilities of a battleship.
A new “departmental” meeting was held the same month, and Tirpitz indicated the political climate favored the Kaiserliche Marine at the moment, and “the public” was of the opinion the British Invincible’s should be countered – the “Grosse Kreuzer-1907” must be equal, or better. The 11-inch, high velocity, rifle was agreed upon as being suitable to engage the enemy battle line – while saving weight. There was further discussion on underwater protection against large caliber shells, mines, and torpedoes – and the Design Department presented five studies. Three of the designs were rejected immediately because the 5.9-inch secondary guns were mounted in four twin turrets. Of the remaining two designs, Project I was rated at 23 knots with twin turrets fore and aft, and two single turrets on each beam. Project II reached 24 knots with twin turrets fore and aft and one on each beam.
From that point the decision making process degenerated into a somewhat confused exercise in moving turrets around, changing from single to double turrets, placing the midships turrets in various locations, calculating costs and weight with each new configuration, and making endless numbers of sketch plans. A “base plan” was arrived at in October 1906, with twin turrets fore and aft and two twin “wing turrets” amidships, arranged in a diagonal echelon (“lozenge”) pattern – starboard wing turret forward.
A November Construction Department memorandum outlined new developments. Parsons steam turbines had been added on four shafts, positioned, and the weights calculated. The bow armor was increased in coverage, and after initial towing tests, the length and beam were altered to obtain the best speed. The displacement had climbed to 19,200 tons. More changes occurred in February 1907, with the torpedo bulkhead and wing turrets moved inboard for better placement of the ammunition hoists and a faster rate of fire. Magazine space was increased as well. Finally, on 22 June 1907, Kaiser Wilhelm II signed off on the building order and tenders were invited for “Grosse Kreuzer-F”.
Since the first memorandum from the General Navy Department, von Tirpitz had gradually – if grudgingly – come around to the prevailing opinions of the staff. It would be a gross over-simplification to say “Grosse Kreuzer-F” was merely a speedy version of the Helgoland Class battleships. The only thing they really had in common was a shared armor suite – though the cruiser’s armor belt was an inch thinner than the battleships – but she was 4 knots faster. “Grosse Cruiser-F 1907” was a sleek and striking design, and she would prove to be an excellent fighting ship.
And, just in case you were wondering, the winner of the “Royal Fast Battleship Competition” was announced on 27 March 1907 – A.G. Weser Dockyards, Bremen. Their entry was “Polemos” – and her particulars were amazingly similar to the Design Department’s F2c plan. Within a percentage point here and there, the only real difference was “Polemos” had triple expansion engines and the armor on “Polemos” was less comprehensive. The Kaiser had wanted a “fast battleship” design – and A.G. Weser had designed one for him. And His Majesty was delighted – because Admiral von Tirpitz had designed a better one. (Tirpitz, however, would have preferred to be shot at dawn, rather than admit to designing a fast-battleship.)
At this point the whole situation becomes a bit blurred. The Germans were obviously in a competitive ship building race with the British. But they were also in a developmental race. The Kaiserliche Marine privately acknowledged they could not out-build the British, but in order to remain competitive they had to build a warship superior to the British. Invincible’s high speed and monstrous 12-inch guns could be deadly to any existing cruiser. The Naval High Command had understood the dilemma perfectly well when they recommended...”we must build our Grossen Kreuzer as fast battleships.”
Jackie Fisher had envisioned the Invincible Class as the ultimate “big cruiser” – fast, so she could scout in advance of the fleet and catch any enemy cruiser – and heavily gunned so she could destroy them. And that was fine – as far as it went. While Fisher’s battlecruisers might be able to avoid heavily gunned and armored battleships – with a bit of luck – what were they to do if confronted with an enemy battlecruiser equal in speed and comparable in firepower? Fisher had given them only a 6-inch armor belt, and that was totally inadequate to resist 11-inch and 12-inch gunfire. The German Naval High Command had found the flaw in Fisher’s logic. The British battlecruisers were awesome and terrible giants on offense, but they had an “Achilles’ Heel” on defense – little or no armor.
The High Command further reasoned, if you could not build more ships than your enemy – build better ships. The process of designing a ship to counter the British was complicated -- with many twists and turns -- and would eventually have many fine technical details built into her. Nonetheless – the concept was reasonably straightforward. They took from Fisher’s battlecruiser concept the speed and guns – and added a full suite of carefully planned and arranged armor. Combine this with weight-saving technical advances in the propulsion plant, and the technologically advanced Krupp armor, and you had a single “Grosse Kreuzer” that was roughly equal to two Invincible’s. And in the process – either unwittingly, or intentionally – the Kaiserliche Marine had turned the mythical “fast battleship” into a reality. German designers were fully thirty years ahead of their time. Curiously enough, the Kaiserliche Marine preferred to call them “Grosse Kreuzer”, and the British do not seem to have caught-on to the difference.
SIDEBAR ONE:
“Langer Heinrich” under tow through the “swing bridge” at Wilhelmshaven dockyard – circa 1916.
THE GROSSER SCHWIMMKRAN
"LANGER HEINRICH”
In the years leading up to the outbreak of war in 1914, the Kaiserliche Marine found itself building increasing numbers of large capital ships. They were also faced with rising political tensions in Europe and looking for ways to speed-up the building process. While the Imperial dockyards had built expensive cantilever cranes to handle the heavy lifting and fitting-out tasks, many of the private shipyards could not. The Reichsmarineamt decided the solution to the problem was a “Grosser Schwimmkran” -- a large floating crane capable of performing the heaviest work, while self-propelled and able to move around inside a dockyard – or from one dockyard to another on demand. Thus was born the concept of “Langer Heinrich” (loosely translated – “Long Henry”).
Langer Heinrich from a side profile – circa 1917.
Ordered in 1913, the crane structure was designed and built by Demag Fabrik in Duisburg and the hull, or “pontoon”, was constructed by AG Weser in Bremen. When completed in 1915, she was the largest floating crane in the world – even larger than the “Ajax” crane built to install the lock gates on the Panama Canal. The rectangular pontoon hull was 165 feet in length, 101 feet across, and drew 10 feet of water. The massive steel girder crane structure had a deadweight of 2,400 tons and rose 267 feet above the deck. Displacing 3,900 tons, Langer Heinrich was equipped with dual rudders behind twin propellers driven by two triple-expansion engines rated at 1,000shp each. The engines were fed steam by two large boilers housed in an aft deck house with a single funnel. Not built for any sort of speed, she was capable of only 4 knots. The hull pontoon was composed of 41 compartments – four containing pumping stations designed to flood other compartments to counterbalance the lift load. Certain compartments could also be “flooded-down” to steady the crane during sea movements. The crane structure could be rotated through a full circle and the jib boom had three smaller hoists of 10, 20, and 50 tons -- while the main hoist had two 125 ton lifting units that could be coupled together for a maximum capacity lift of 250 tons. (One of the main hoists would be sufficient to lift a 12-inch gun tube – about 110 tons – while both coupled units could lift an assembled gun house and it’s upper working chamber -- or “basket”.)
Langer Heinrich was delivered to the Imperial Dockyards Wilhelmshaven in 1915 and saw extensive service in the fitting-out basin as well as repairing heavy war damage to the battleships and battlecruisers of the Hochseeflotte. As wartime demands rose, she was occasionally moved to Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel, and even the Schichau Yards in Danzig. After the Armistice in 1918, Great Britain claimed Langer Heinrich as “war reparations” – but Royal Navy officers deemed it impractical to move her across the North Sea. Instead, it was demanded similar cranes be built in Portsmouth (1920) and Brest (1935) at German expense. In 1928, when the German ocean liner SS Bremen was under construction, Langer Heinrich lifted the boiler plant into the hull. In 1933, the massive crane was used in the construction of the KM Admiral Graf Spee, and again in 1940 for the KM Tirpitz. By 1944, Langer Heinrich had been moved to Bremen to work in U-Boat construction. Her enormous lifting capacity allowed her to lift and place large prefabricated sections of submarine hulls -- and even completed smaller craft.
Langer Heinrich raising a scuttled Type XVII-B submarine from Bremerhaven harbor – circa 1945.
From 1945 to 1985, the crane was commandeered by the US Army and US Navy to clear wrecks out of German harbors and even unloaded complete steam locomotives to replace destroyed German rolling stock. In 1956 she was overhauled and modernized – mostly replacing her triple-expansion engines with new M.A.N. diesels. In 1985, Langer Heinrich was returned to the Federal Republic Of Germany and was sold later that year to an Italian company. In 2002 she was declared a “Monument To Industrial Archaeology” and work was undertaken to return her to her 1915 appearance. The crane passed her 100th birthday in 2015 and can still be seen on display in Genoa, Italy. In her day, Langer Heinrich was as famous as any of the Imperial warships and was featured on both German bank notes and collector cards.
Here we have a selection of in-game pictures of “Langer Heinrich” in action…...
Moored at her permanent berth in the dockyard. The model is, of course, the intricate work of our resident genius -- @AP – MANY THANKS.
Though self-propelled, her engines were very low horsepower and she was usually towed from one job to another. The steam tug Goliath (Courtesy Barroco Hispano) is towing the giant crane, while a harbor tug (Thor) follows with a “brake” hawser attached.
In this picture, Heinrich is hoisting a gun tube into SMS Seydlitz’ forward turret, while the steam paddle tug Esmeralda stands by the work barge. All models by “AP”.
Always busy, the floating crane is assisting with some work on SMS Moltke’s turbines. Goliath stands by a machinist’s barge lashed alongside, while Nordwind and a harbor tug mind the turbine transport barge. Below is a detailed shot. All models courtesy of “AP”.
Here we have two views of “Langer Heinrich” handling two sets of massive triple expansion engines for SMS Furst Bismarck. Her heavy lift capacity made Heinrich an invaluable dockyard asset and not only the largest crane in the world, but the most versatile. (Models by “AP”.)
The amazingly detailed model of “Langer Heinrich” can be found in @AP “HISTORIC HARBORS 1900 Series – Volume 15”.
SIDEBAR TWO:
This short article is in reply to a question asked in the comments section of the last chapter. Being familiar with the fire control systems used during the 1905 Battle of Tsushima, the reader was curious about what systems came into use between 1905 and 1918. I gave him the short answer at the time, but promised a more informative answer here. This one’s for you @TheMurderousCricket. I hope it answers your questions – and I hope the lengthy and, sometimes complicated, details will not bore you. Again, I am happy to field any questions you may have. If there is an interest in a subject – as much information as possible should be made available. “Curiosity is the mark of intelligence – through it, knowledge is acquired.”
DIRECTOR FIRE CONTROL SYSTEMS
Throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries, most naval combat took place between wooden sailing ships mounting the bulk of their guns in broadside. And, once the maneuvering for position was over, the fight usually degenerated into a slugging match at considerably less than 300 yards. Nelson’s triumph at Trafalgar was won with opposing ships-of-the-line grinding their hulls against one another. At that range – it was impossible to miss the target – and very little shooting skill was required. Some 66 years later, in 1871, HMS Devastation was launched – the first ironclad turret ship – and the ancestor of the modern battleship. Their main battery armament typically consisted of four 12-inch rifled, muzzle-loading, 38-ton guns in two revolving turrets. Produced in the Royal Arsenal, at Woolwich, in southeast London, the gun fired a 706-lb “Palliser” shell to a maximum range of 6,500 yards. Muzzle loaders proved problematic, and slow to load in combat (causing gunnery problems) – and were eventually phased-out in favor of breech-loaders.
These guns were absolute monsters by comparison to the 32-pounder smoothbores aboard HMS Victory. And their 6,500-yard range was an enormous leap in gun range – resulting in an immense number of problems for capital ship gunnery, in general. In those days, gun turrets were operated under “Local Control”. A Turret Captain (with his gun crew) supervised the overall operation of the turret. “Loaders” handled the ponderous shells and rammed them into the breech, while a “spotter” in the forward part of the turret operated a sighting telescope with a crude aiming and ranging sight (not much different than the sights on an infantryman’s carbine). Following instructions from the “spotter”, the “gun-layer” trained the turret for “azimuth” and “laid it for elevation”. When all was ready, the Turret Captain gave the order to fire. “Local Control” meant each turret aimed and fired independent of the other turrets on the ship. This led to erratic and wildly differing results – meaning -- gunnery was still pretty much a “By guess and by God” proposition. It was clear the continual advancement of bigger guns with longer ranges could not be fully exploited without better technology for ranging and firing them. And that’s where Captain Percy Scott, Royal Navy, comes onto the scene.
Percy Scott had a brilliant analytical mind, backed by boundless nervous energy – but found himself trapped in the waning years of a sedentary Victorian Navy. For over a decade, he had been working on improving the Royal Navy’s gunnery through the use of modern science. Scott realized the average gun-layer was incapable of accurately estimating the range to target, nor could he calculate the relative movement of his own ship and that of the target. He also knew turrets firing independently were not fully applying the power of the guns against the target. His fertile brain devised a series of hand-cranked mechanical computers that could take the estimated range, speed, and course of the target – and project an aiming point ahead of the target. He then linked these primitive computer systems to the gun turrets so they could be controlled and fired together. This was the crude beginnings of “Director Control”. Refined versions of his inventions eventually became the basis of Royal Navy fire control systems. But having invented it – he had to “sell” it to the Admiralty – and they weren’t buying.
While Captain Scott was doing all this “secret” improvisation (meaning he did not have permission), he was in command of the cruiser HMS Scylla in the Mediterranean Fleet. He put his system to the test in the 1897 Fleet gunnery trials and raised his old score of 32% hits to 80%! Some envious brother officers (most of them senior to Scott) accused him of cheating. When the gossip got back to the Lords of Admiralty in London, they promptly relieved him of his command and landed him on the beach at half-pay! This was the sort of “hide-bound”, reactionary attitude he struggled against. In the Mediterranean Fleet, the ship’s Captains spent a goodly portion of their pay buying extra paint to keep their ships “sparkling” at all times, while gunnery training was ignored – firing practice left powder stains on the paint work. But modern technology inexorably moved forward whether their Lordships at the Admiralty liked it or not. (Fortunately, when Jackie Fisher became First Sea Lord, in 1904, he rescued Scott and officially backed his crusade to modernize gunnery in the Royal Navy.)
In 1899, optical rangefinders began to appear in the major fleets, which solved the problem of getting an accurate range to the target. The Royal Navy adopted the Barr & Stroud, FQ2-type, 9-foot, coincidence rangefinder – which produced two images of the target that had to be cranked together until a single, sharp picture emerged – then you could read the range from a digital dial. The B&S worked quite well at shorter ranges, proved somewhat unreliable at long range, and was virtually useless in conditions of haze or mist. The Kaiserliche Marine chose the Zeiss, 9-foot, stereoscopic rangefinder – widely accepted as the finest optical instrument on the market. It was simple, but elegant, with a target marker that was centered amidships on the target, and the view adjusted for a sharp image. The Zeiss units required operators with excellent eyesight, but were remarkably good at finding the initial range, and were less effected by ship vibration or smoke. Their ease of operation allowed the Chief Gunnery Officer to keep track of the often rapid changes in course and speed of the target – thereby delivering a sustained fire on the enemy.
With the range problem solved, it remained to calculate the speed of the opposing ship, adjust the aim ahead of the target (deflection), allow for the time of flight of the shells, and the pitch and roll of the firing ship. In 1902 a new device came into use – the Dumaresq – a manually-operated computing device. Information was fed into the device (own ship’s speed and course and speed of enemy) and the range to the target was updated, while a firing point ahead of the target (deflection) was provided. The Dumaresq was linked to a second new computing device – the Vicker’s Range Clock – which was a wind-up, clockwork, analogue computer for tracking continuous range to target. (The Vicker’s Range Clock was Scott’s brainchild, but was developed in conjunction with Vickers, Ltd. and manufactured by them.) Then, in 1911, Captain F.C. Dreyer (later Fleet Flag Captain to Jellicoe) devised the “Dreyer Table”, which maintained a continual plotted range to target and rate of change. The Dreyer Table also incorporated a primitive gyroscope to allow for the “yaw” of the firing ship. A system similar to the Dreyer Table was under development by Arthur Pollen about the same time, and competitive tests were run by two battleships equipped with the different systems. After extensive testing in 1905 and 1906, the Royal Navy found the Dreyer System to be more reliable. Finally, the necessary mechanical computers had been invented that would make “Director Fire Control” a reality, and modern gunnery came into its’ own. At least – that’s what one would think. But the Admiralty had other ideas.
In the past, authors and analysts have mercilessly criticized the Admiralty as being stubborn, tyrannically dictatorial, and thoroughly resistant to modern change -- in an age that was characterized by the shocking swiftness of changes in guns, armor, and engines – and capital ship design, in general. Quite literally, today’s newly commissioned battleship could be tomorrow’s obsolete beast. And, curiously enough, recent authors have tried to revise history by portraying their Lordships as progressive and fully open to change – which, they were NOT. At the turn of the 20th Century, Britain possessed the largest battle fleet on Earth, and they stubbornly refused any technological advance that threatened their primacy. Their Lordships knew the Royal Navy was “superior”, and there was no need to make changes to the system – hence, battleship admirals that preferred sparkling paint work to gunnery practice.
For thirty years, the Lords of Admiralty flatly refused to see the need for changes in the science of gunnery. They fought Percy Scott’s reforms “tooth and nail” and toe-to-toe. Even when Scott and his fellow officers managed to invent the necessary systems and prove them in testing, the Admiralty would not embrace the much needed innovations. By the end of 1911, only HMS Thunderer and Neptune had been fitted with the full system. When war broke out in 1914, only eight ships had been equipped with the, then current, system. By the Battle of Jutland, in 1916, only six capital ships were fully fitted for both main battery and secondary battery systems – and NONE of the cruisers. In essence, Britain went to war with the largest fleet of modern dreadnoughts the world would ever know – of which, very few could hit “a bull in the butt with a base fiddle”. (Thank you, Admiral Halsey, for the colorful quote.)
The Kaiserliche Marine used a similar operational form of Director Fire Control, but it differed somewhat in that the German devices were streamlined and more adaptable to quick changes in the target’s course and speed. Almost the same, there was a German version of the Dumaresq, a range clock, and the E-U Anzeiger unit – basically, a German evolution of the Dreyer Table. The system was, according to the British, inferior to their Dreyer Table arrangement – but the superior German gunnery at Jutland belied that opinion. When the Hochseeflotte went to war in 1914, ALL of their capital ships, and nearly all of their cruisers, were fitted with the latest in fire control equipment.
This is “Gunnery Central” (transmitting station) aboard HMS Belfast. The light cruiser was commissioned in 1939, and her chief claim to fame is having played a significant part in the 1943 Battle of North Cape, and the sinking of the battlecruiser KM Scharnhorst. She is currently anchored in “The Pool” of London, on the Thames, below Tower Bridge and across from The Tower of London. (Where I last saw her.) The “Director Control” equipment in the picture is a more modern version developed by the Admiralty in 1927 – but it is essentially the same “basic concept” in use during WW I. This is the analogue computer table used to generate firing solutions for the main guns. The disc-shaped device on the wall in the corner of the compartment is a Dumaresq. Adjacent to it, with the long silver bar, is a refined version of the Dreyer Table. The surface of the 8-foot long computer box has numerous “clock-type” displays as well as digital repeaters, while you can see some of the numerous hand-cranks used to enter information. When all the gears stop turning, the computer displays a firing solution and sends it to the turrets. This model was advanced enough in 1927 to control the simultaneous training and elevation of the turret guns. (I was unable to find this sort of illustration for the WW I era – but – you get the picture.)
The actual “Director Fire Control” aboard a Royal Navy warship started in the “spotting top”. Typically, the spotting top was perched high above the forward bridge on a tripod foremast. Some warships used “pole masts” rather than tripods, and spotting tops were often fitted to the mainmast, as well. The position evolved from a simple “crow’s nest” to a spacious housing with as many as two or three levels. The ship’s Chief Gunnery Officer and his “topside team” were stationed here, along with the rangefinder, range clock, and Dumaresq. The spotting top team was charged with ranging to the target, observing and estimating the enemy’s course and speed and, most important -- reporting the “fall of shot” (where the shells landed on or around the target). There was a constant stream of visual information entered into these devices and sent through communication cables to the “transmitting station” (or – Gunnery Central). The “fall of shot” and resulting aiming corrections were called directly to the turret gunlayers by the Chief Gunnery Officer via handset telephone. His primary job was to directly supervise and coordinate the firing of the main battery guns. His skill and training could make a critical difference in battle. (In the Kaiserliche Marine, a Chief Gunnery Officer could only be appointed after completing a lengthy “Master Gunner’s” course and qualifying on a ship’s gunnery range. Only then could he be promoted to the coveted assignment of “Schutze Meister”.)
The communication cables from the spotting top led down into the bowels of the ship to a “transmitting station” – or “Gunnery Central” (“Artillerie Zentral” if you sprechienzie.) There may be more than one transmitting station aboard, and their exact location differed from ship to ship and navy to navy. Usually, they were placed in the safest possible location – amidships beneath the Protective Armored Deck. Inside “Gunnery Central”, a “fire-solution” team receives the information from the spotting top and feeds it into the Dreyer Table – a crank-operated analogue computer. As information is fed into the machine (by using hand cranks to adjust various digital displays), it continually updates and displays a “firing solution” for the guns – which is then sent to the gun turrets via more communication cables.
Inside the gun house, the information is flashed-up on the gunlayer’s electro-mechanical, digital display and he proceeds to train the turret for azimuth (lateral position) and lays the gun for elevation (range). When the gun is properly positioned he informs the Turret Captain, who then pushes a green button – which signals the turret guns are loaded, aimed, and ready to fire.
Back in the spotting top, the Chief Gunnery Officer’s position has a series of lights and buttons on an electrical panel. Each gun turret is represented by a red light, green light, and the red firing button. Once the gun is loaded and properly aimed, the Turret Captain activates the green light on the Gunnery Officer’s panel. The Chief Gunnery Officer can then fire a single turret or any combination of turrets he deems appropriate. He sets a selector switch to those he intends to fire, presses a “firing alarm” button that sounds a klaxon in the turret – then hits the firing button. The operator of the “shot clock” activates the timer and the “spotter” waits for the shell splashes. If the course and speed of the target remains relative, corrections for the next salvo may be called directly to the gunlayer in the turret. Some gunnery officers wait for corrections to be applied by the gunlayer, then shoot again, while others wait for a new firing solution from “Gunnery Central”. (For the record: A later form of “Director Control” actually allowed the Chief Gunnery Officer to control the training and elevation of the guns from his position -- but that system did not come into common use until the late 1920’s.)
In the Kaiserliche Marine, the equipment and layout was pretty much the same, with the exception of the spotting top. The Germans initially started with a spotting top on the fore and aft pole masts. But beginning with SMS Von der Tann’s design, spotting tops were restricted to ranging and spotting the fall of shot, while the Chief Gunnery Officer and his control panels were moved into the top two floors of the heavily armored forward and aft conning towers – allowing “Director Control” from two locations. All four positions were equipped with the Zeiss 9-foot rangefinder, in addition to two more mounted in the upper works of the superstructure (the location varied from ship to ship). During combat, all rangefinders that would bear on the target sent data to “Artillerie Zentral”, thus ensuring the most accurate range estimates possible.
During the conflict in the North Sea, the Imperial warships proved uncommonly adept at quickly acquiring the initial range – usually “straddling” or hitting the target on the third salvo (one and a half minutes) -- a fact frequently noted in British battle reports. On the other hand, Royal Navy warships often took up to eight full minutes to land their first “straddle”. Over years of intensive gunnery training and practice, the Hochseeflotte developed a “salvo-fire” system that produced excellent results. The Chief Gunnery Officers were trained to fire “two-turret-salvos” – four forward guns, followed at an interval by four aft guns. This saved ammunition that would have been wasted in an eight-gun-salvo, reduced the amount of powder smoke fouling their aim, and gave a tighter and more visible grouping of shells around the target – thereby improving the “spotting” information.
Another, most effective, means of quickly acquiring the range to target was what the Germans called “ladder fire”. The first two-turret-salvo was aimed and fired carefully, but if it went “over” the target, ALL turrets were given a “down 400” correction, then the aft two turrets were fired. If the second salvo still fell “over” – another “down 400” correction was made – and so on. By making small, identical, corrections – like climbing up or down a ladder – the target could be acquired quickly and “rapid salvo fire” ordered. If nothing else, this particular system plainly demonstrates the value of Director Fire Control.
And it should be remembered – Kaiser Wilhelm II had always been a staunch advocate of superior gunnery skills – awarding medals to the crews, and his “Schutze Trophy” to the winning ship. He often threw in extra gifts of Schnapps and fine foods to the mess decks for a celebratory party. Despite his frequently feckless behavior, His Imperial Majesty – in his own way – understood just having a lot of guns wasn’t enough. You had to be able to hit something with them!
NEXT TIME……
ANATOMY OF A
BATTLECRUISER
In the meantime, let’s talk about…...
IMPERIAL DOCKYARDS
Again, I have probably bored you with technical details – which I find fascinating – but you may not. So let us take a break from ship design and building, and take a look at the “Imperial Dockyard: Cuxhaven”. That way I can get some in-game pictures into this chapter.
Strictly speaking, there were only three Imperial Dockyards (Kaiserwerft) within the Empire – Kaiserwerft Wilhelmshaven, Kaiserwerft Kiel, and Kaiserwerft Danzig. These establishments were not just naval anchorages. They provided docking facilities for large and small warships – piers, quays, and offshore mooring points. They had various coaling arrangements – from large coaling quays to smaller, and more primitive transfer systems. There was, usually, a small oil fuel pier since “oil-firing boilers” were coming into service. A complete facility for ammunition storage and replenishment was always present. There were, in some of them, “Fitting-Out Basins” (heavy work to complete the building process) and “Re-fit Basins” for not-so-heavy “modernization”. Dry docks were always available (anywhere from one to five each) for major repair work, simple bottom scraping and painting, or sometimes for ship construction. And both Wilhelmshaven and Kiel were equipped with a variety of floating docks, some capable of handling the largest warships. Nestled in among all of this was a variety of workshops, warehouses, foundries, and machine shops necessary to provide the mechanical support to keep the fleet battle-ready. And all Imperial Dockyards were equipped with building slips for large warships – usually four or five. It was Reichsmarineamt policy that at least one capital ship be under constructing at all times in each of the three dockyards. Technically speaking, “Cuxhaven” is not an “Imperial Dockyard” because there are no building slips. The thought has crossed our minds – and “AP” and I will undoubtedly throw one together – once we’ve worked out all the bugs.
This, and the following two pictures, show the warehouses and workshops in the West Loch. Being older and smaller than Cuxhaven Roadsted, the West Loch industrial buildings are less numerous and were retained during the expansion at the turn of the century. The long warehouses are from the “PEG Seaports Series”, while other buildings were taken from the Maxis industrial props. The buildings in the center are the “Ropewalk”, where hawsers for the ships are stored. The two buildings are taken from “Nob’s 1905 Naval Series”. The following two pictures are of the workshops and foundries where repair parts are cast and machined and custom repair materials are made. In the early years of the 20th Century, repair parts were not ordered from a supply chain – they were often “made-to-order” on site – cast, hammered, and machined to fit individual requirements. Factory assembly lines (at least in Europe) were still a thing of the future. Since the repair facilities in the West Loch are smaller, less “specialized”, and less modern, the ships berthed here have to go around the headland to the Cuxhaven Roadsted for major work.
The four central buildings of the West Loch complex are all re-purposed from various in-game industrial lots. The red brick is from Morgenkirk’s Organworks, and the other three are by “Simmer2”.
In this view, you see the adjacent dock areas of the West Loch – the railhead, the warehouses, and the dockside. If you look closely, you will see the whole area is alive with activity and people. It has always been my personal opinion that SC4 needed more people engaged in some sort of activity. Just like any dockside in any harbor – there is cargo in motion and people milling about in all directions. This concept is part of our “busy harbor” philosophy and helps bring the setting to life.
Below is a shot of the industrial area behind the Mooring Basins in the Cuxhaven main anchorage. The landscape is a combination of hills and sand dunes, with a mix of clear terrain and thickly forested areas. Along the roads and rail lines are a series of 1x1 custom “Tree Filler” lots, some with lighting – some without – specifically created as borders along transportation routes. The heavy forest is a combination of 1x1 custom “Forest Tree Filler” lots designed to blend in with MMP work. Again, I use landscape MMP’s to “paint” the scenery and recommend @Girafe highly. Along the top end of the mooring basins, you see a cluster of industrial lots. On the left are a mixed batch taken mostly from the Maxis industrial base lots – a foundry and a blast furnace. In the center is a 7x6 “Gun Tube Storage” lot. Cuxhaven does not have the industrial equipment to cast, turn, and line gun barrels, so new gun tubes are brought in by rail and stored here until needed. Old worn-out gun tubes (a bit rusty) are kept here waiting to be sent out to get the tube liners replaced. (Old gun tubes never die – they just get relined.) The warehouses on the lot are from “Nob’s 1905 Japanese Naval Series”. On the right are the boiler works.
This is a close-up of the Gun Tube Storage lot. Note the two flatbed rail cars with gun tubes on them. You can find pictures from the period that look just like them. A small blue switch engine is being used to shuttle the tubes on the rail line, as well as in and out of the storage depot warehouse. Beside the switch engines, in front of the warehouse, are two gun tubes with work details cleaning them, servicing the breech mechanisms, and preparing them to be sent out. Notice the two “100 ton” cranes moving the gun tubes around. In case you’re wondering, the gun tubes have two wooden transportation cradles attached to them. At the bottom of the picture, “WolZe’s” steam tug is standing by as preparations are made to lift two gun tubes out of a lighter. The base texture of the lot is Paeng’s Grunge Concrete. The large workshop and old warehouse are from “Nob”. The sailors, gun tubes, “100 ton” cranes, rail cars, rope coils, and lighter are all by “AP’.
This is, actually, the front view of the Boiler Works – but all the activity is in the back by the rail line. Here, boilers are built and shipped to the Dry Dock, repair docks, or even to other shipyards or naval bases, as needed. The work barge and crane tied-up in the basin are by “AP”. The dark brick workshop is borrowed from “SM2”. I cannot, for the life of me, remember where the large brick factory building comes from (it’s been in the game forever). I modified both lots to add more industrial smoke. Dockyard pictures from around 1910 always had a smokey haze. I have used various 1x1 custom-made lots to fill in around the buildings.
This shot is an overview of all the activity at the rail siding behind the Boiler Works.
In this close-up, a work detail prepares to load a third boiler onto a rail car and secure it. Another detail of sailors is preparing to hook up a hoist to the boiler on the left. On the right, another crew of workmen are making repairs to another pair of boilers. You will note there are two types of boilers visible – the standard, circular type – and a new type with angular sides. The boilers developed by Blohm & Voss, and installed in “Grosse Kreuzer F” closely resembled the angular type. The circular boilers were patterned after those aboard RMS Titanic. Sailors, rope coils, and boilers are by “AP”.
This is the Cuxhaven “Machinen Werk” (Engine Works). The building on the right is where the engine parts are cast and forged before being moved to the building on the left. The building on the left is where the parts are machined, drilled, and punched before being hand fitted as they construct the engines from full size templates. A triple-expansion engine had hundreds of bolted or riveted pieces that had to be fitted with hundreds of other moving parts that were precision machined before fitting. The construction of battleship engines could take months of hard, intricate work, and even a bit of trial and error. Heavy industry had already come to Germany, and they excelled at it. But much of the advanced machine technology of the day was accompanied by a lot of manual labor.
This is a rear view of the engine works. On the left is “Prairie Star Foods” with “Dead Forest Paper” on the right – repurposed for use as industrial buildings. I used a lot of in-game 1x1 lots to fill in around the buildings. Some filler lots are from the T-Wrecks “IRM Industrial Set”, while others are custom-made from random props found in the Maxis Editor.
In this close-up, you see the finished product of the Machinen Werk – several three cylinder, triple-expansion steam engines. Two of the engines have been lifted onto flat cars and crews stand by to shackle them down. Some sailors have climbed on top of the big engines to help secure the retaining cables over the top. Another flat car has a cluster of men waiting for an engine to be swung aboard. The rail-side crane is preparing to lower the hook so it can be attached to the engine below. To the left of the loading pad, you can see heavy crankshafts in traveling cradles that will soon be loaded-out. The crane on the left has been lifting the heavy parts to test-assemble the large, three cylinder triple-expansion engine beneath it. Once all the parts have been properly fitted, and a manual operation test done, the engine will be disassembled and shipped out to its’ destination. At that time, interchangeable parts were a thing of the future, and each engine had to be hand assembled. The large engine on the left is a propulsion unit for a capital ship, while the smaller engines could be used in smaller ships, or as auxiliary engines aboard the big ships (steering engines, dynamo engines, pump engines, etc.). There are two different sized engines – but notice the size of the engines in relation to the sailors nearby. “AP’s” sailors, engines, and ships are all carefully crafted to be “in scale”. This gives you a really good idea how huge these old engines were. The sailors, rope coils, crankshafts, condensers, and beautifully detailed engines are by “AP”. (His engines are just one “first” among many unique creations.)
At the head of the Mooring Basin behind the Engine Works, we find a small group of sailing vessels tied-up at mooring dolphins. The large one is a schooner. Known in Europe since the 16th Century, they were small, fast, boats used to carry passengers or perishable goods – such as fruits and vegetables. They were valued in European coastal waters for their speed and easy maneuverability in confined waters. Larger versions were bulk carriers – mostly coal and timber. With a small crew, they were more economical to operate and generated higher profits per voyage. The smaller boats are sloops – even faster than schooners, they were once prized by Buccaneers for the ease with which they ran down their treasure-laden victims. Sailing ships were common in early 20th Century harbors the world over. Sailing vessels were dependent upon the vagaries of the wind, but compared to a coal-burning steamer, they were usually faster, and vastly less expensive to operate. Shipping companies continued to use them until the end of WW II, when surplus “Liberty Ships” could be purchased for a pittance. “AP” enjoyed making these models. They are a part of the “Romance of the Sea” and they were a bit of an “exploration” for him. We hope you like them.
AS ALWAYS -- MANY THANKS to @Barroco Hispano for his many beautiful and highly detailed warships.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to my collaborating partner @AP for volunteering his talent, time, and vivid imagination in creating so many beautiful and wonderfully detailed models. I am in awe of his talent and envy his skills.
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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