The famous battleship of the German fleet Gneisenau was commissioned in 1938 on the eve of World War II. The design of this ship became one of the most ambitious for its time. The battleship served until 1943, when in the next battle received serious damage. He was sent for repair, but in the end they decided to mothball. In 1945, shortly before the defeat of Germany, the ship was sunk. In history, he remained famous not only for his military exploits, but also for outstanding characteristics.
Construction history
The German battleship Gneisenau is one of the most famous ships of the Second World War. Its history began in 1933, when in the Third Reich it was decided to build two ships of a new type, the Scharnhorst. The project was implemented in an atmosphere of complete secrecy. Officially, the battleship Gneisenau was issued for the next ship of the Deutschland type. However, there was a significant difference between the public fiction and this ship.
Gneisenau was distinguished by a colossal mass of 19 thousand tons, and its capacity was 161 thousand horsepower. The crew of the battleship consisted of 1669 troops. For all its characteristics, the ship was conceived as a grandiose weapon - the pearl of the German fleet. And this was not surprising, because the leadership of the Third Reich loved to initiate amazing and expensive projects, one of which, without a doubt, was Gneisenau. The battleship was created as a response to the British and French Navy (primarily French ships of the Dunkirk type). Its main differences from other models were a marked increase in armor and weapons.
In 1935, the ship even had to be reloaded due to the appearance of a new, even bolder, from the point of view of design, design. The launch was on December 8, 1936. One of the load-bearing chains burst that day, because of which the ship accelerated and flew ashore. The trouble turned into damage to the stern.
Guns
The ship Gneisenau (battleship) was named after the armored cruiser, famous during the First World War, that belonged to the squadron of Admiral Spee. The sign was chosen not by chance. Gneisenau was the first battleship of the German fleet, built in the interwar period. The years of humiliation and sanctions following the Versailles Peace are over. But due to the fact that the German fleet remained numerically weak, in the 30s it was supposed to make the Gneisenau a ship intended exclusively for raids. In the Third Reich, they expected success from the new ship, similar to those that the predecessor of the same name became famous for.
In the interwar period, Germany began production of 283 mm guns manufactured specifically for the Gneisenau. The battleship received guns similar to those installed on the Dunkirks. Moreover, the defensive and offensive elements of the German ship were tested just with an eye to the expected confrontation with French ships of this type. The 283 mm guns were superior in performance to the Deutschland guns. Their firing range and firepower were huge for their caliber. The successes of the new weapons could not but arouse approval in Berlin.
To control the firing on ships, Gneisenau received a set of devices that had previously proven themselves in battleships of the Bismarck type and cruisers of the Hipper type. Arthogon was regulated from posts located in the turrets of directors. They were equipped with telescopes, which were used by officers responsible for the shooting, as well as gunners. The turrets stabilized using gyroscopes.
At the post was the most modern technology at the time. For example, a ballistic computer recorded speed, bearing, change in distance to the target, and even took into account the weather. Complex calculations were performed in special blocks with devices. The artillery fire control system regulated three towers. At the same time, they could fire at once at several targets (or concentrate on one and the same).
Shells
At Gneisenau, the Germans used several types of shells. Firstly, armor-piercing. They were used against well-defended targets. They had a bottom fuse and a small explosive charge. Secondly, it was semi-armor-piercing shells. According to the British classification, they were also often called “common”. They received a little more explosives and had a greater fragmentation effect. Used against targets with not too thick armor.
Finally, thirdly, Gneisenau received high-explosive shells. They had a head fuse and were used against unarmored targets (destroyers, anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, undefended manpower, etc.). These rules for the use of shells did not change in the German fleet throughout the war. Semi-armor-piercing and high-explosive shells had an initial speed of 900 meters per second and were less weighted (with some weighing more than 100 kilograms). They were charged using a special hydraulic drive.
At first, shells were fed by means of grippers and suspension rails. Then from the ring roller tables they fell into the lift. The main charges were distinguished by brass sleeves. For their transportation special trays were provided. Minor shells were fed manually. The ammunition of the ship consisted of 1800 charges (1350 main and 450 secondary).
Appearance
Most of all, the Gneisenau resembled its twin brother Scharnhorst. Nevertheless, some external differences between them were present. The anchors, anti-aircraft guns, and the main mast were located in different ways. After construction, Gneisenau was painted in light gray. Coats of arms depicted on both sides of the stem remained the only noticeable spots.
In February 1940, it was decided to put red squares with a black swastika on the case. This was done for identification from the air. The problem was that the Luftwaffe aircraft in one month alone accidentally sank two German destroyers. In the autumn of 1940, during post-repair tests in the Baltic Sea, Gneisenau received camouflage.
Displacement
In the course of design studies, it became clear that the designers will not be able to meet the displacement of 26 thousand tons. Initially, it was assumed that these numbers would correspond to Gneisenau. The battleship, however, came out more massive, which in 1936 clearly showed weight control. The shipyard sounded the alarm. Specialists had concerns that the ship would become less stable, and its seaworthiness would decline. In addition, I had to reduce the height of the freeboard. This design maneuver narrowed the stability range.
The problem of increased displacement was discovered at a time when it was too late to change the basic characteristics of the Gneisenau. The battleship, whose design turned out to be the cornerstone of the entire project, was saved by increasing the width of the hull. As a result, the displacement increased to 33 thousand tons.
Power plant
A lot of controversy among the designers caused the power plant. It turned out to be the most controversial element of the entire Gneisenau project. The battleship, whose characteristics were distinguished by unprecedented numbers, was made through trial and error. With all this, none of the responsible persons wanted to slow down the construction of the ship again and again.
At the initial stage of design, turbo gear units were chosen as the power plant. With their help, it was planned to kill two birds with one stone: to guarantee the high speed of the vessel and speed up the time of its delivery. Units worked for a couple. It was decided to abandon the diesel engine, since for such a large ship, no engine of this type was found. The risky choice was made by Admiral Erich Raeder. He understood that the range of the ship would be much less than when using a diesel engine. However, the fleet did not have time to wait for its development and production.
Housing
The body of the battleship had a longitudinal design. They made it from steel. It was decided to use light alloys - so it was possible to reduce weight. The main keel of the ship was waterproof. The whole building was divided into 21 compartments. 7 of them were occupied by a power plant.
It is curious that during the construction of the capital ship, electric arc welding was used for the first time at each stage of production precisely in the case of Gneisenau. The battleship, the design description of which is a curious monument of the era, has become advanced not only in its characteristics, but also in the manufacturing technique.
Welded cases began to replace case. At the same time, the new manufacturing technique was draft. Its results had many flaws characteristic of the “pen test”. In June 1940, Gneisenau suffered serious damage, which showed that specialists would have to rack their brains over how to improve the quality of welds. They were distinguished by their vulnerability to bombing and torpedo hits. Nevertheless, the use of welding turned out to be a serious progress that set the direction for the development of the whole industry.
One of the most notable features of the battleship hull was the nasal frames, which were distinguished by a small collapse. At the same time, anchors remained traditional. They were located in the gaps - one on the starboard side, two on the port side. Compared to foreign models, the freeboard height was small, and during the completion and redrawing of the project, it became even smaller. Sometimes this design feature led to the formation of powerful splashes in the open sea, due to which the ship had to be controlled exclusively from the conning tower.
Bow and side parts
The famous battleship Gneisenau, whose photo was equally often featured in reports of enemy intelligence and German newspapers, survived several modifications of its “face” - the bow. After the battle against the Rawalpindi, side anchors were removed. Mooring devices are installed in the upper part of the stem.
In December 1940, another incident in the service made adjustments to the Gneisenau design. The battleship, the main characteristics of which helped him in battle, became useless during the storm. In December 1940, a storm in the North Sea seriously damaged the ship. After this episode, Gneisenau received reinforced bow decks and breakwaters. It is characteristic that innovations appeared during the operation immediately after the next problems arose. The next design decision could not completely solve the problems of "sputum" decks, but reduced its scale to an acceptable limit.
There was another noticeable flaw, from which the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau suffered. These two ships of the same type were distinguished by unimportant seaworthiness. A solution to the problem could be an increase in the height of the sides. However, such a modification would naturally lead to an increase in the weight of the armor, which was also impractical. The Germans throughout the operation of both ships treated this dilemma the same way - they sacrificed seaworthiness.
Armor
By tradition, all major German warships had powerful armor. Gneisenau was no exception. The battleship, the description of which is an example of a well-protected vessel, received specially distributed vertical and horizontal armor. They helped each other protect the battleship from damage in vital parts of the hull. If the shell hit the side, he must have met reinforced armored deck.
Many of the solutions used in this project were tested for the first time. This feature once again emphasizes how advanced and unique the Gneisenau (battleship) was. The First World War gave the German designers a wealth of experience. Deprived of work during the years of the Weimar Republic, they took up their work with redoubled energy during the construction of the Third Reich fleet.
Stability
The principle of dividing the ship into compartments proved itself during the First World War. It was also used in the design of Gneisenau. Battleship, cruiser and any other vessel had any value only until the moment of its flooding. Therefore, the problem of stability and keeping the ship afloat always faced German specialists in one of the first places.
The Gneisenau construction was designed in such a way that flooding of two adjacent compartments could not lead to flooding of the deck. The authors of the project implemented several more important and practical ideas. So, all the compartments, except for the narrow and located at the tip, were divided into several waterproof spaces.
Compared to their predecessors, both Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were distinguished by a much larger number of transverse and longitudinal bulkheads. They began to be used on dreadnoughts. Thanks to these details, even in the most difficult battles, it was possible to maintain the waterproofness of the cellars and machine-boiler rooms. Thus, the risk of getting a dangerous roll was significantly reduced.