Germany (1911-1914) König, Grosser Kurfurst, Markgraf, Kronprinz The four battleships of the König class were an evolution of the previous Kaiser, as their main innovation laid in the purely axial arrangement of their five turrets, of which with one was amidship and the others superimposed, as done in Great Britain and France. But still, it … Read more
German Empire – Irene, Prinzess Wilhelm The first German protected cruisers: Irene and Prinzessin Wilhelm (Prince William) were built respectively at Vulcan (Stettin) and Germaniawerft. They were the first cruisers (“Kreuzer”) in the German Navy. And the first protected cruisers in Germany. Still second class as they appeared, they were quite an improvement over the … Read more
Germany (1885-1918) 71 cruisers SMS Hertha in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania). German cruisers – The Kaiserliches Marine’s cavalry: When the great war broke out, the situation of the Kaiserliches Marine was such that there were relatively few cruisers compared to battleships, and a part of them was far from home, in Asia, Egypt, or South … Read more
Germany – Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, König Albert, Prinzregent Luitpold Kaiser class: A brave leap forward The second “Kaiser class” (the first dated back from 1899) was designed as an attempt to use turbine engines and superfiring turrets. However, they stuck with the 12-in caliber of the last class, already inferior to the British … Read more
Germany (1890-1919) 17 dreadnoughts, 20 pre-dreadnoughts ww1 german battleships in a nutshell In 1890, there was little concern for the German Navy, let alone for German battleships. There were only a few coastal vessels and old ironclads. However the situation changed dramatically in little more than 15 years, more than just raising eyebrows in the … Read more
Germany (1871-1918) – 177 TBs prewar, 96 WW1 (112 planned) Total: 273 TBs at the heart of a transition: From a coastal to a blue water navy – Until the Hochseetorpedoboats (see the earlier article) which were destroyer in all but name, German Torpedo-boats had the responsibility of defending territorial waters of Germany. They were … Read more
Moltke class Battlecruisers Germany (1910) Battlecruisers – SMS Moltke, SMS Goeben Development and Design A May 1907 conference already defined the path that would lead to the decision of building two ‘all big guns capital ships’ when the German Naval Office decided make a follow-up of the Von der Tann, with an enlarged design and … Read more
Germany (1907-1917) Von der Tann, Molkte, Goeben, Seydlitz, Derrflinger, Lützow, Hindenburg Foreword: German battlecruisers: The German Empire was the second country after the British Empire to massively invest in battlecruisers. Neither the US, caught late by the war, France, which naval plan of 1912 was halted, Italy, which preferred to focus on dreadnoughts missed the … Read more
Germany (1911) Magdeburg, Breslau, Strassburg, Stralsund A brand new league in German cruiser design: The Magdeburg class marked a new milestone in the design of German cruisers. Significantly larger than the Kolberg (5600 tons against 4900 fully loaded), they focused also on a range of significant improvements. These four ships (Magdeburg, Breslau, Strassburg, Stralsund) were … Read more
German Empire, Light Cruiser One of the oldest German cruisers in 1914: SMS Gefion was the second oldest German cruiser in service when the first world war broke out (After SMS Kaiserin Augusta (1892)). She was planned in 1890 as an unprotected cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine, intended for colonial duties and scouting. She … Read more
