Hitler's high seas fleet

German Kriegsmarine 1935-1945.
nebelwerferXXX

Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

Kreigsmarine- The Fuhrer's Navy
1) 11,700 tons.............DEUTSCHLAND

The 1933 Program:
2) 32,000 tons.............SCHARNHORST
3) 6,000 tons...............8 U-boats

The 1934 Program:
4) 32,000 tons.............GNEISENAU
5) 21,000 tons.............28 U-boats

'Z' Plan:
6) 210,000 tons...........6 battleships
7) 80,000 tons.............8 heavy cruisers
8) 170,000 tons...........17 light cruisers
9) 92,000 tons.............4 aircraft carriers
10) 167,250 tons..........223 U-boats

11) 41,700 tons............BISMARCK

The tonnages are estimate only @ nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10.
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

German 'Z-Plan'
(a) Six battleships of 56,000 tons;
(b) Two battleships (Bismarck and Tirpitz) of 42,000 tons;
(c) Three pocket-battleships of 31,000 tons, mounting 15-inch guns, with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau
converted from 11-inch to 15-inch;
(d) Three pocket-battleships (Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, Graf Spee);
(e) Two aircraft-carriers (Graf Zeppelin, launched in 1938, plus one other);
(f) Five heavy cruisers (Hipper, Blucher, Prinz Eugen, Seydlitz, Lutzow);
(g) Forty-four light cruisers (of which six were already completed);
(h) Sixty-eight destroyers and ninety torpedo-boats;
(i) Some 249 U-boats-coastal, sea-going, and ocean-going.

source:
Hitler's high sea fleet...Richard Humble
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

Research on Comparative German 'Z-Plan'

Battleships 1919-77
6 battleships to be ready by 1944
8 heavy cruisers, 4 by 1943 plus 4 by 1944
4 aircraft carriers, 2 by 1941 plus 2 by 1947
223 submarines, 128 by 1943 plus 95 by 1947

German Weapons of World War II
8 battleships
5 battle-cruisers
4 aircraft carriers
8 heavy cruisers
68 destroyers
249 submarines

Encyclopedia of World War II
6 battleships
8 heavy cruisers
17 light cruisers
4 aircraft carriers
223 U-boats
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

Strength of the German Navy in 1939
2 old battleships
2 battle cruisers
3 armored cruisers
3 heavy cruisers
6 light cruisers
22 destroyers
20 torpedo boats/small destroyers
59 submarines
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

SCHLACHTSCHIFF ENTWURF (Battleship Project)

1942: one Bismarck-Class battleship
1943: one Bismarck-Class battleship
1944: one Bismarck-Class battleship

Hitler's constructors labored arduously
throughout the war to avoid the Eastern Front by
producing ever more colossal designs. The steel
alone would have equalled a years Tiger tank production.
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

GRAF ZEPPELIN
After World War I Germany was denied any opportunity of developing a carrier force as a result of restrictions imposed upon them in 1919. By 1933 Wilhelm Hadelar had prepared a basic design for a full deck carrier able to operate 40 aircraft, but lack of construction experience delayed the project. In 1935 work began, but GRAF ZEPPELIN's completion was delayed to make way for the U-boat programme. The incomplete carrier was scuttled a few months before the end of World War II. She was raised by the Soviet Union, but sank on her way to Leningrad. GRAF ZEPPELIN was originally intended to carry an air group of 12 Ju 87D dive-bombers and 30 Me 109F fighters; this was later amended to 28 Ju 87Ds and 12 Me 109s. Half of a sister ship was also completed; it was speculated that this vessel would be named PETER STRASSER, after the commander of the German Naval Airship Division in World War I.

original air group:
---12 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---30 Me 109F fighters

amended air group:
---28 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---12 Me 109F fighters
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

Disguised merchant raiders:
1) Atlantis...sank 145,697 tons
2) Pinguin...sank 136,551 tons
3) Thor...sank 83,000 tons
4) Komet...sank 42,959 tons
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

U-Boats or Battleships?
Combat efficiency versus national pride

U-47
This Type VIIB U-Boat was commanded by
K/Lt Gunther Prien. Apart from his other suc-
cesses, which made him an ‘ace’. Prien is re-
membered for his daring attack on Scapa Flow
in October 1939, when he torpedoed the British
Battleship ROYAL OAK. He was finally sunk on
7 March 1941 in the North Atlantic by the cor-
vettes ARBUSTUS and CAMELLIA.

Scharnhorst
Launched in 1936, SCHARNHORST and her sister GNEISENAU were designed as fast commerce raiders. Though outgunned by the 400mm (16in) weapons of British battleships, plans existed to improve the main armament to 380mm (15in). War intervened and proposed turrets for bigger guns went to the BISMARCK. SCHARNHORST took part in the invasion of Norway in April 1940 where she was damaged. Despite this, she sank the carrier GLORIOUS the following month. Considered a deadly threat, she was attacked for the next two years by surface ships, aircraft and mini-submarines, but remained operational. In February 1942 she escaped from the French port of Brest, to make a famous dash through the English Channel. She was mined and damaged en route. SHARNHORST was finally sunk in December 1943 by DUKE OF YORK and three cruisers on her way to attack an Arctic convoy.
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

STEEL PRODUCTION IN GERMANY:

4th Quarter 1939:
Heer...306,000 tons
Navy...125,000 tons

1st Quarter 1940:
Heer...342,000 tons
Navy...140,000 tons

2nd Quarter 1940:
Heer...348,000 tons
Navy...122,000 tons

3rd Quarter 1940:
Heer...305,000 tons
Navy..140,000 tons

4th Quarter 1940:
Heer...351,000 tons
Navy...155,000 tons
lwd
Enthusiast
Posts: 475
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:35 am

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by lwd »

This is a prime example of why sources are important. The airgroup for the GZ varies tremendously from source to source. So while the below states:
nebelwerferXXX wrote:.... GRAF ZEPPELIN was originally intended to carry an air group of 12 Ju 87D dive-bombers and 30 Me 109F fighters; this was later amended to 28 Ju 87Ds and 12 Me 109s. ...

original air group:
---12 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---30 Me 109F fighters

amended air group:
---28 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---12 Me 109F fighters
Wiki at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_air ... f_Zeppelin states:
her initial planned air group reflected that emphasis: twenty Fieseler Fi 167 biplanes for scouting and torpedo attack, ten Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, and thirteen Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers.[3] This was later changed to thirty Bf 109 fighters and twelve Ju 87 dive-bombers
http://www.damninteresting.com/the-only ... ft-carrier only states:
she was to hangar forty aircraft
While http://www.bobhenneman.info/grafzeppelin.htm states:
...
The aircraft compliment was to be 13 fixed wing or 19 folding wing seaplanes and 10 wheeled aircraft. ...
Compliment of 50-60 aircraft ...
Hitler considered the issue with the Naval High Command at his headquarters on April 19, 1942. The Luftwaffe stated that they were prepared to complete 10 fighters and 22 dive bombers for the carrier. ...
the air compliment was increased to 40, consisting of 28 JU-87 dive bombers and 12 BF-109 fighters, ...
The ship was designed with a compliment of 43 aircraft in mind, though this compliment was reduced as larger aircraft were selected for the ship.

Original plans called for a multi-purpose aircraft for scouting and torpedo bombing. These were the heart of the air wing, as scouting and torpedo attack were considered to be the aircraft's main mission. Specifications were sent out to Fieseler and Arado, and each delivered test aircraft as early as 1937-38. Both were biplanes, the Fieseler 167 and the Arado 195 ...
The ultimate selection of the ME 109 and JU 87 gave the ship a decent air group by 1939-40 standards, but both aircraft types would have been obsolete and outclassed by Allied naval aircraft by the time the ship was completed.
http://wapedia.mobi/en/German_aircraft_ ... f_Zeppelin goes back to 50 as follows:
Aircraft carried: Complement of 50
10 × Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters
20 × Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers
20 × Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bombers
Quite a bit of variation.
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

The Total 1940 Steel Production in Germany:
Heer: 1,346,000 tons
Navy: 557,000 tons. Example only, To convert this total, are equivalent to...
---4 x 35,000-ton battleship
---14 x 10,000-ton heavy cruiser
---55 x 2,500-ton destroyer
---186 x 750-ton U-boat
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

nebelwerferXXX wrote:GRAF ZEPPELIN
After World War I Germany was denied any opportunity of developing a carrier force as a result of restrictions imposed upon them in 1919. By 1933 Wilhelm Hadelar had prepared a basic design for a full deck carrier able to operate 40 aircraft, but lack of construction experience delayed the project. In 1935 work began, but GRAF ZEPPELIN's completion was delayed to make way for the U-boat programme. The incomplete carrier was scuttled a few months before the end of World War II. She was raised by the Soviet Union, but sank on her way to Leningrad. GRAF ZEPPELIN was originally intended to carry an air group of 12 Ju 87D dive-bombers and 30 Me 109F fighters; this was later amended to 28 Ju 87Ds and 12 Me 109s. Half of a sister ship was also completed; it was speculated that this vessel would be named PETER STRASSER, after the commander of the German Naval Airship Division in World War I.

original air group:
---12 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---30 Me 109F fighters

amended air group:
---28 Ju 87D dive-bombers
---12 Me 109F fighters
Complement:
1,720 crew and 306 flight personnel

Armament:
16 × 15 cm SK C/28 guns
12 × Flak (10.5 cm)
22 × 3.7 cm SK C/30 (AA)
28 × Flak (2.0 cm)

Aircraft carried: Complement of 50
---10 × Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters
---20 × Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers
---20 × Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bombers
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

Core of the German 'Z-Plan'
(a) Six battleships of 56,000 tons...336,000 tons
(b) Two battleships (Bismarck and Tirpitz) of 42,000 tons...84,000 tons
(c) Three pocket-battleships (Scharnhorst and Gneisenau) of 31,000 tons...62,000 tons
__________________
Total: 11 ships...482,000 tons (the steel: equivalent to 8,607 Tiger tanks)
lwd
Enthusiast
Posts: 475
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:35 am

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by lwd »

nebelwerferXXX wrote:...(c) Three pocket-battleships (Scharnhorst and Gneisenau) of 31,000 tons...62,000 tons
...
The twins were battleships although some have made a case for them being battlecruisers. They certainly weren't "pocket-battleships" indeed that designation has never appeared on any navies list of ships being a creation of the British press to describe the Deutchland class cruisers.
nebelwerferXXX

Re: Hitler's high seas fleet

Post by nebelwerferXXX »

German Navy Victories:
---3 battleships
---7 carriers
---9 cruisers
---63 destroyers
______________
Total: 82 warships
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