Written by
James Davies

The Admiral Scheer attacking convoy HX84 on the evening of Nov. 5,  1940. Despite a spirited defence by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, the Admiral Scheer managed to sink five ships and severely damaged three more before night fell, taking a toll of 47,535 GRT in this action alone. The Admiral Scheer spent nearly six months at sea on this cruise before safely returning to Germany.

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Overview

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles restricted Germany to a collection of vessels that was barely adequate for coastal defence: six obsolete battleships; six light cruisers; 12 destroyers; and 12 torpedo boats. The treaty permitted the replacement of the battleships and cruisers 20 years after launch (i.e. in the 1920s), although replacement “battleships” were limited to a maximum of 10,000 long tons (10,200 tonnes) displacement, which matched the tonnage of cruisers (as defined in the inter-war naval treaties). 

Faced with treaty limitations on the number of ships and with potential threats from Russia, Poland, and France, Germany had great difficulty deciding on an appropriate design of ship to replace the old pre-dreadnought era battleships. The severe tonnage limitation made it impossible to build a ship that was both heavily armed and heavily armoured. Germany rejected slow, short-range, heavily armoured ships useful for coastal defence as she wanted to retain an ocean-going navy to project political influence worldwide, and rejected typical cruiser-type vessels due to a desire to make use of her ability to mount heavy guns on a small hull, which treaty limits prevented other nations from doing. Germany eventually decided to build a ship that was well armed but relatively lightly armoured (to remain close to the treaty limitations), with sufficient speed to outrun any superior ship.

The main guns were to be six 280-mm (11.0-in) guns in two turrets, one forward and one aft. Larger guns were considered but discounted due to weight limitations and possible adverse political consequences. Secondary armament consisted of eight 150-mm (5.9-in) guns, fitted in shielded single mounts, four to port and four to starboard. Three World War I vintage 88-mm (3.5 in) guns (one on either side of the funnel and one on the centreline aft), eight 37-mm (1.46-in) guns in twin mounts, and four single 20-mm (0.79-in) machine guns provided anti-aircraft defence. Eight torpedo tubes perched aft of the stern turret, four on either side of the ship. Before the start of the World War II, the single 88-mm guns were replaced with twin mounts, and further modifications to the light guns were made throughout the war.

The armour arrangement was designed to save weight wherever possible, with reduced thickness inside the armoured longitudinals and tapering forward and aft. The main belt was 80-mm (3.1-in) thick, with deck armour of 45 mm (1.8 in) outside the longitudinal armour and 30 mm (1.2 in) inside. The turrets had 140-mm (5.5-in) fronts, 80-mm (3.1-in) sides, and 105-mm (4.1-in) roofs. The conning tower had 140-mm (5.5-in) protection.

Diesel engines, in contrast to the steam turbines fitted in ships of other navies, were chosen to power the class in the hope of saving weight. Eight engines provided 56,800 shp (42,373 kW) to the two propeller shafts, giving a maximum speed of 28 kt (52 km/h). Fuel capacity of 3,347 cu m (118,198 cu ft) was sufficient to allow ranges of 18,650 nm (34,540 km) at 15 kt (28 km/h), or 7,149 nm (13,240 km) at 26 kt (48 km/h).

Initially designed for one aircraft and without a catapult, the first ship, the Deutschland, was outfitted with a catapult and a second aircraft before the start of World War II. At the outbreak of war, the aircraft was the Arado Ar 196 two-seat floatplane.

There was some dissatisfaction with the ships’ sea-keeping qualities, with the night-action control positions in the final two ships of the class unusable due to spray. To address this, attempts were made to reduce weight, and a plan was put in place to lengthen and widen the ships, although the refit, which had been expected to take a year, did not take place.

Although limited by treaty to a displacement of 10,000 long tons, the vessels actually displaced over 11,500 long tons (11,700 tonnes) standard and over 15,000 tons (15,200 tonnes) full load. However, the class was a creditable effort to keep within the limits while still providing a useful warship. The battleship-type gun arrangement in combination with a relatively tiny hull, led the rest of the world to call the Deutschland a “pocket battleship”. Two other warships followed, the Admiral Scheer and the Admiral Graf Spee. These ships differed in detail to the original and to each other, but none of the fundamental design elements was altered.

The pocket battleships had eventful careers in the Kreigsmarine. All saw action in the Spanish Civil War, where the Deutschland was bombed and suffering her first action casualties. All made raiding sorties into the Atlantic, and all saw action with surface forces. Despite some seakeeping problems, the ships performed well in action and showed the wisdom of the design choices.

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Units

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Specifications

Note 1: These values are uncertain, and will be refined as more references become available.

Note 2: Later increased to ten 20-mm guns, and 105 mm guns replaced 88-mm guns.

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