Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: ealgeone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Scharnhorst

Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine.

Armament:

9 × 28 cm/54.5 (11 inch) SK C/34
12 × 15 cm/55 (5.9”) SK C/28
14 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/33
16 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30
10 (later 16) × 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 or C/38
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes

Armor:
Belt: 350 mm (13.8 in)
Deck: 50 mm (2.0 in)
Turrets: 200 to 360 mm (7.9 to 14.2 in)
Conning tower: 350 mm[4]


4 posted on 12/26/2017 5:51:22 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Psephomancers for Hillary!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies ]


To: Lonesome in Massachussets
Main guns are on the lower end for a battleship of those times considering the main guns of the following classes:

KGV class had 14"

Iowa 16"

Bismark 15"

Yamato" 18.1"

Sounds more like a battlecruiser.

5 posted on 12/26/2017 6:15:17 AM PST by ealgeone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Battleship design usually involved some tradeoffs among four competing factors; speed, range, survivability and artillery. In the Panzerschiff series (what we called pocket battleships) the Germans sought long range for commerce raiding, plus enough firepower to defeat their likely opponents: Royal Navy cruisers. So they were fairly lightly armored. They were never intended to stand in a battle line against British battleships. The one time such a ship had an engagement in the circumstances it was intended, was the Battle of the River Plate where Graf Spee fought three British cruisers. The Spee had the tactical advantage, but was too far from any base to deal with the damage she suffered.

The next ships, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, were more of a compromise. They were also intended for long-range commerce raiding, but not as long as the pocket battleships, and were also intended to be able to withstand a pounding if they faced British battleships. Thus, they had high marks for speed, range and survivability. The pounding Scharnhorst took at the North Cape was proof of her survivability. But they sacrificed artillery by only having 11 inch guns. There were plans to upgrade the ships to 15” guns, but it never happened.

The last German battleships, Bismarck and Tirpitz, were essentially improvements over the World War 1 Bayern class, but had good attributes in all four areas.

The epitome of battleship design was the American Iowa class. Despite the armor and armament of the Japanese Yamato, the Iowas had better speed, maneuverability, rate of fire and “sea-keeping,” which made them more stable gun platforms, and therefore provided more accurate fire. American firecontrol was also generally better than the Japanese. In a matchup between two Iowas and the two Yamatos, the odds were not so lopsided in favor of the Japanese, although there is always the chance of the “lucky hit” for either side.


8 posted on 12/26/2017 9:12:18 AM PST by henkster
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson