Deutschland Class Pocket Battleship

A Deutschland class pocket battleship was one of three thickly armored heavy cruisers, which were in service with the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II. Since they were smaller in size than a conventional battleship, they were referred to as pocket battleships. The reason for their reduced hull length and weight was that the Treaty of Versailles, signed right after WW1, forced Germany to limit their fleet tonnage. Although, technically speaking, they were heavy cruisers, they were fitted with much thicker armor than these type of ships, hence their name in German Panzerschiff.

The three Deutschland class pocket battleships were: 1) Deutschland, which was laid and built by the Deutsche Werke on Kiel's shipyards, Schleswig-Holstein, being commissioned in 1933; 2) Admiral Scheer, which was produced by the Reichsmarinewerft on the Wilhelmshaven's Imperial shipyards, entering service in 1934; 3) Admiral Graf Spee, which was also built on the Wilhelmshaven's Imperial Shipyards, as it was commissioned in 1936. In German, all three were known as Panzerschiffe.

Renamed Lützow, the Deutschland took part in several military operations in both North and Baltic Sea during the war; it was sunk on April 16, 1945, by British bombers during a RAF raid while she was moored at Swinemünde naval base. Admiral Scheer, on the other hand, would spend most of the war in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, attacking and sinking Allied convoy merchant ships; it was serious damaged on April 9, 1945, by Allied dive bombers. Admiral Graf Spee lived a short life as she would be scuttled by her crew on Rio de La Plata River, off the coast of Uruguay in December 1939.

Armament

The Deutschland class pocket battleships were fitted with six 280-mm naval guns set up in two triplet turrets; eight 150-mm guns in single turrets; and eight 53-mm torpedo tubes.

Specifications

Type: Heavy Cruiser

Length: 186 m

Beam: 21,34 m

Displacement: 15,180 tons (full load)

Draft: 7.25 m

Power Plant: eight MAN Diesel Engines, with two propellers, delivering 54,000 HP.

Speed: 28.3 knots

Range: 16,900 km (9,100 nautical miles)

Crew: 1,000 sailors and officers

Below, Admiral Scheer in the Summer of 1939 in the Baltic Sea.

Admiral Graf Spee in late 1937.