German Capital Ships of the Second World War: The Ultimate Photograph Album

By Siegfried Breyer and Miroslaw Skwiot

“Outstanding . . . covers the major units starting with the Deutschland Class, through the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, to the Bismarck and Tirpitz.” —WW2 Cruisers
 
The Kriegsmarine’s capital ships—Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Bismarck, and Tirpitz—continue to generate intense interest among warship enthusiasts, despite the fact that no new source of information has been unearthed in decades. What has come to light, however, is a growing number of photographs, many from private albums and some that lay forgotten in obscure archives. These include many close-ups and onboard shots of great value to modelmakers, as well as rare action photos taken during wartime operations.
 
This book is a careful selection of the best of these, but on a grand scale, with around one hundred images devoted to each ship, allowing in-depth coverage of its whole career, from launching and fitting out to whatever fate the war had waiting for it. For sake of completeness, there are even sections reproducing the various design studies that led to each class, while an appendix covers the uncompleted Graf Zeppelin, Germany’s only attempt to build an aircraft carrier, the vessel which clearly displaced the battleship as the capital ship of the world’s navies during the war.
 
Essays on technical backgrounds and design origins by the well-known expert Siegfried Breyer and explanatory captions by Miroslaw Skwiot draw out the full significance of this magnificent collection of photos.
 
“Highly recommended for those who wish to admire seven of the most magnificent warships built anywhere in the twentieth century. We will certainly never see their like again.” —Journal of the Australian Naval Institute

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781473814608

Book preview

coverpage

GERMAN

CAPITAL

SHIPS of the

SECOND WORLD WAR

FRONTISPIECE:

Gneisenau at the A10 mooring buoy in the Heikendorf roadstead off Kiel.

This picture was probably taken in September 1938 and shows the detail of

the bow before modification.

ADM

GERMAN

CAPITAL

SHIPS    of the

SECOND WORLD WAR

SIEGFRIED BREYER,

MIROSŁAW SKWIOT

Seaforth

PUBLISHING

© Seaforth Publishing 2012

Text translated from Polish by Jarosław Głodek © Seaforth Publishing 2012

This edition first published in Great Britain in 2012 by

Seaforth Publishing

An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street, Barnsley

S Yorkshire S70 2AS

www.seaforthpublishing.com

Email [e-mail]

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP data record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84832 143 4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval

system, without prior permission in writing of both the copyright owner

and the above publisher.

The right of Siegfried Breyer and Mirosław Skwiot to be identified as the

authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,

Designs and Patents Act 1988

Typeset and designed by Roger Daniels

Printed and bound in China by 1010 Printing International Limited

Contents

The Authors

Siegfried Breyer

Mirosław Skwiot

Preface

1.

Battleships of the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine

2.

Reconstruction of the Reichsmarine: The First Battleship Concepts

Deutschland/Lützow

ADOLF VON LÜTZOW

Admiral Scheer

REINHARD SCHEER

Admiral Graf Spee

MAXIMILIAN JOHANNES GRAF VON SPEE

3.

The Evolution of Battleships D and E

Scharnhorst

GERHARD JOHANN DAVID VON SCHARNHORST

Gneisenau

AUGUST WILHELM ANTON NEIDHARDT VON GNEISENAU

4.

The Evolution of Battleships F and G

Bismarck

OTTO VON BISMARCK

Tirpitz

ALFRED VON TIRPITZ

Appendix: The Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin

The Authors

SIEGFRIED BREYER

Siegfried Breyer was born in 1926 and was associated with the Kriegsmarine from the age of 12. In 1941, while still of school age, he had a chance to enter the naval NCO school, as the Kriegsmarine followed the Wehrmacht and opened their own NCO schools for juniors. He left school and enlisted. After two years of education his first active posting was to a destroyer, and then on other small warships.

During his school years Germany was at war with the Allies both in the West and in the East. After the Kriegsmarine was destroyed, in the last months of the war Breyer found his way to the marine infantry fighting the British in the West. He was captured a few days before the war ended but managed to escape from the POW camp in France in autumn 1945. Hidden under the load on a coal train, he returned to his devastated homeland. In 1947 he joined the civil service where he worked until his retirement in 1980.

From early postwar days he contributed to naval publications where he was able to use his drawing skills. He drew several hundred silhouette drawings for the annual Weyers Flottentaschenbuch, and from 1958 he wrote for Soldat und Technik, the armed forces journal, and published several hundred articles on naval subjects. He specialised in the Soviet Navy and over the years he became one of the most renowned experts on Russian naval forces. His articles appeared in both the German and foreign press: in Marinerundschau, Die Seekiste, Wehr und Wissenschaft, Atlantische Welt, the French Revue Maritime, Internationale Wehrrevue, and Leinen Los.

He also published many books, and became one of the best-selling naval and maritime authors. In 1963 J F Lehmanns Verlag in Munich published his first book, Die Seerüstung der Sowjetunion (Naval Armament of the Soviet Union). In 1969 he wrote the classic Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905–1970, which was reprinted four times, and also published in English in 1973 by MacDonald & Janes as Battleships and Battlecruisers 1905–1970. Then Bernard & Graefe published his three-volume illustrated Großkampfschiffe 1905–1970, which was also soon published in Britain as Battleships of the World 1905–1970. In 1978 another of Breyer’s book was co-written with his wartime friend Gerhard Koop: it was a two-volume history of German major warships called Von der Emden zur Tirpitz (From Emden to Tirpitz). In 1981 he collaborated with Koop on another book, Die Schiffe und Fahrzeuge der deutschen Bundesmarine (Ships and Vessels of the German Federal Navy), reprinted in 2000. His next books were co-written with a Swiss historian, Jürg Meister (Die Marine der Volksrepublik China – The Navy of the People’s Republic of China), and with Dr Peter Lapp, (Die Volksmarine der DDR – People’s Navy of the GDR). In the years 1987–1993 Koehlers Verlag of Herford published the three-volume Enzyklopädie des sowjetischen Kriegsschiffbaus (Encyclopedia of Soviet Warships); the first two volumes were published in English by Conway Maritime Press. In the years 1986–1991 Podzun-Pallas Verlag published his seven-volume series on Die deutsche Kriegsmarine 1935–1945 (The German Navy 1935–1945), in 1997 Stapelläufe auf deutschen Schiffswerften (Ships Launched in German Yards), in 1998 Flottenparaden und Präsentationen der Marine 1925–1940 (Fleet Parades and Reviews 1925–1940), in 1995 a collaboration with several other authors produced the Handbuch für Ubootkommandanten (U-Boat Commanders’ Manual), and in 1992 and 1993 a two-volume illustrated book Schlachtschiffe 1905–1992 (Battleships 1905–1992). Some of the most popular of Breyer’s works were the ‘Marine-Arsenal’ series published by Podzun-Pallas (more than 70 booklets since 1986). Also the Handbuch der Warschauer Paktflotten (Manual of Warsaw Pact Fleets) series, published by Bernard & Graefe Verlag of Bonn in the years 1982–1996, proved very successful (with 29 updates released).

Breyer has also co-written several serious scientific works. In 1970 J F Lehmanns published Prof Friedrich Forstmeier’s Deutsche Großkampfschiffe 1915–18 (German Capital Ships 1915–18), now available in a new edition; Breyer wrote the second part of the book. In early 2002 Breyer planned to retire from writing with his final magnum opus, entitled Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1921–1997 (Battleships and Battlecruisers 1921–1997). However, bowing to pressure from Mirosław Skwiot, he decided to prepare one last work – a photo album on German capital ships in the Second World War, co-written with his younger Polish friend.

Unfortunately Siegfried Breyer did not live to see this work published. He died after a prolonged illness on 22 March 2010.

MIROSŁAW SKWIOT

Mirosław Skwiot was born in 1964, in Gdynia, Poland. German warships first came to his notice at the age of 6 or 7, when he heard a mysterious conversation between his father and his brothers in which the name of a Kriegsmarine battleship was mentioned, a ship which had docked in Gdynia (then called the Gotenhafen) more than once during the war. Young Mirek was hooked, and the mighty battleship became his obsession. In the following years his knowledge of history broadened and facts replaced many myths. His second contact with the Kriegsmarine did not come until 1979, when he travelled outside the Eastern bloc for the first time, to Austria. It was a great adventure for Mirek, who witnessed the culture-clash between East and West. But he was more interested in maritime books and magazines and these he saw in almost all of the larger bookstores, even though Austria has no access to the sea. He spent all of his pocket money on a copy of the Marine-Arsenal volume on Tirpitz and the then current issue of Marine Rundschau. That was all he could afford. But buying these publications was the easy part – now he had to smuggle his ‘contraband’ across the Czechoslovak and Polish borders. Dreading the loss of such valuable treasures, he somehow managed to pass the border controls for both intervening countries. Now he could rejoice over his discoveries at home in Gdańsk.

Since then his interest in warships has focused on several thematic groups. His greatest passion are still the Third Rate sailing warships of the 1740–1815 era. Second place is occupied by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the third – his childhood hobby – Axis battleships of the Second World War.

Since 1979 Skwiot has been expanding his knowledge of historic sailing ships as an assistant to Lech Nowicz, chief of the Underwater Exploration Team at the Central Maritime Museum in Gdansk. In 1980 he completed a scuba diving course and since then he has been a regular member of the underwater exploration team working in the Bay of Gdańsk and the Baltic Sea aboard the MS Wodnik, the museum’s own ship. His tasks include exploring the wrecks, but he is also responsible for drawing the visual documentation of each of the sites. As he says, ‘Drawing in 27 metres of water, and to scale at that, is not an easy task.’ The expeditions allowed him test many of the common assumptions about the construction of wooden sailing ships. The current CMM Director, Jerzy Litwin, had a strong influence on what Skwiot is doing now: it was he who put him in touch with the Modelarz (Modeller) magazine that drew him into the world of modelmaking. Skwiot’s first work in that field was a reconstruction of the British 74-gun ship HMS Hero.

In 1986–87 he served his compulsory military service in the Polish Navy, and then returned to the Museum, to their new ship, the MS Kaszubski Brzeg.

In 1990 Adam Jarski set up a publishing business to fulfil his ambition of producing an aviation magazine. During one of numerous meetings with interested parties, it was decided to widen the scope of AJ-Press and include a series on warships. Thus the Monografie Morskie series was launched.

‘Neither of us had any doubts,’ Skwiot recollects, ‘the first issue just had to be devoted to Bismarck.’ Then came a volume on the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi. Another change in his life came with Elżbieta T Prusinowska, with whom he wrote several other monographs. Their first joint work was the monograph on the battleship Nagato, for which they translated the Japanese texts needed to prepare this book together. Later they wrote books on Pearl Harbor, on Operation Rheinübung, a Tirpitz monograph and a book devoted to the Battle of the Coral Sea, after which their paths separated.

During the following years Skwiot published new editions of the monographs on Bismarck and Tirpitz, Nagato and Akagi, but his next work was devoted to German naval artillery, which was also published in English. In the last twenty years the contacts he maintains with other naval historians from various countries has allowed him to build up a collection of unpublished documents, photographs and other visual material devoted to the warships of the Kriegsmarine and the Imperial Japanese Navy.

During his work on the Tirpitz monograph, Skwiot began corresponding with Siegfried Breyer. As a result of this co-operation, he received a lot of original material that fundamentally changed his position on the history and perfomance of the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War. In the course of this fascinating voyage of discovery, he put up the idea of collaborating on a jointly-written book on German battleships. After much discussion, and a digression into publishing a Bismarck monograph, both agreed that a photo album would be the ideal approach to the subject. And so, after many years spent on their shared hobby, they managed to assemble a unique collection of photographs depicting German capital ships of the Second World War.

This book is the final fruition of that project.

The newly completed Bismarck in the river Elbe on 15

September 1940, escorted by a tug belonging to Blohm & Voss.

Blohm & Voss, via Jörg Schmiedeskamp

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE CREDITS

Preface

No warships of any era have been given as much press coverage as the German battleships of the Second World War era.

There were not many of these – only four ships worthy of the term were built between 1935 and 1941. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were ready before the war broke out, the Bismarck and Tirpitz shortly thereafter. These four ships were the greatest success of the German Navy rearmament program driven by Adolf Hitler.

Earlier there were three ships built to replace the elderly pre-dreadnought battleships that Germany was allowed to retain under terms of the Treaty of Versailles. These new ships were radically different from traditional categories and were simply called panzerschiffe (literally ‘armoured ships’) by the Germans, but they were soon dubbed ‘pocket battleships’ by the foreign press. As battleship replacements, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee have a historical claim to be regarded as capital ships, but they were reclassed as heavy cruisers at the beginning of war, which was closer to their true role.

The four genuine battleships were in service together for only a quarter of a year or so – to be precise, from late February until late May 1941. During that time the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were in the French port of Brest, the Bismarck was prepared for the Atlantic commerce-raiding mission, and Tirpitz was finishing her sea trials awaiting commissioning into active service. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had already successfully operated on British sea lanes, but by remaining in western France they were risking air attack. After the initial triumph of sinking the Hood, the Bismarck was herself sunk, before she had a chance to start the commerce-raiding mission against British convoys. The aftermath of this disaster was even worse, in that the British managed to destroy the entire German supply network in the Atlantic. Thereafter German heavy ships were unable to operate in distant waters due to lack of fuel and stores. The Allied grip on the Atlantic grew ever tighter, and because of this the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau had to force their way back to Germany through the British-controlled English Channel. This daring plan succeeded, proving a great tactical success, but in the longer term it was a strategic defeat. Hitler, fearing an Allied invasion of Norway, then ordered all German capital ships redeployed to the north, to bolster Norwegian defences. Before this order could be executed, Gneisenau was bombed and so badly damaged that she was never able to return to action during the remainder of the war.

This left the Scharnhorst and Tirpitz as the only serviceable capital ships that could be transferred to Norway. There they hid in the fjords as a ‘fleet in being’, but were continually harassed by lack of fuel and petty air raids. After the disastrous Operation Regenbogen of July 1942, Hitler pronounced them unfit for operational service and even wanted them decommissioned. This debacle brought down Grand Admiral Raeder, the Kriegsmarine C-in-C, to be replaced by the commander of the U-boat arm, Admiral Dönitz. The latter resisted Hitler’s orders and managed to retain the operational status of the battleships, but fortune had deserted the German capital ships for good.

Only twice were they able to leave their Norwegian hideouts to take part in any major naval actions. In September 1943 Tirpitz and Scharnhorst bombarded the Allied base on Spitsbergen, and then in December the Scharnhorst had to undertake her last mission alone, because Tirpitz had been damaged in a British midget submarine attack. The damage was not critical, nor were the injuries sustained in carrier-launched air attacks. However, the British were focused on destroying the only remaining German capital ship. Three times they tried with four-engined heavy bombers, twice failing to accomplish their goal. Then, on the fatal third time, on 12 November 1944, they dropped the 5-ton Tallboy bombs on her and finally sealed her fate. A direct hit with a Tallboy set off the ammunition magazines under C turret, and the Tirpitz capsized. The last of the Kriegsmarine battleships was gone. It was clear that the reign of the battleship was over, because they were unable to defend themselves against air attack. And thus the history of German battleships came to an end.

The Second World War at sea demonstrated that the battleship had been superseded by the aircraft carrier as the capital ship in the world’s major navies. Germany made only one serious attempt to build a carrier – the uncompleted Graf Zeppelin – and this book concludes with pictorial coverage of the project.

SIEGFRIED BREYER, Hanau, 2002

Battleship Friedrich der Grosse, flagship of Rear Admiral Reuter, commander of the German fleet interned in Scapa Flow.

Photograph by Drüppel, from the collection of A Jarski

THE KAISER’S NAVY, at the time the second largest battle fleet in the world, met its end on 21 June 1919 when Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, commander of the interned remnant of the High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte) decided to scuttle all ships. On the following day, a fleet consisting of eleven battleships, five battlecruisers, eight light cruisers and fifty destroyers sank in the Scapa Flow anchorage. As the rear admiral made his decision to scuttle the fleet, the Reichstag decided to accept the terms of the Versailles Treaty, which brought the war to a definitive end. These provisions also formed the basis for the creation of the new German navy – the Reichsmarine. Its composition was to be very limited, so that it would no longer pose a threat to any European country. In practice its tasks were limited to patrolling borders, police operations to maintain peace at sea and the protection of fisheries. The largest ships the Germans were entitled to keep were six very old battleships built at the beginning of the century and two similar ships in reserve; six light cruisers, twelve destroyers and twelve torpedo boats completed the composition