The pocket battleship Lützow and her crew were in the middle of an intense combat scenario.
In typical German naval fashion, their surprise attack on convoy JW 51B had
gone wrong, and the Kriegsmarine was outmanned, outgunned, and outnumbered.
Still, true to their combat mentality, Lützow and
the rest of the German ships engaged the British with everything they had.
Lützow kept firing her 28-centimeter guns at point blank range under heavy fog that
severely limited visibility, but as the minutes passed,
it became clear that there would be no victor if these reckless encounters continued.
One side had to bail out. It was either the British or the Germans. Or maybe both…
Pocket Battleships
In the aftermath of World War 1, Germany was forbidden from having a proper army,
air force, and navy. Still, by the 1920s, the Washington Naval Treaty and its severe
limitations finally allowed Germany to get rid of its few pre-Dreadnought ships
and begin developing new vessels that did not exceed 10,000 tons.
Although the victors could still build vessels of up to
35,000 tons, the Germans and their Reichsmarine were not willing to let anyone intimidate them.
German officers soon began working on an ambitious warship design that would
allow the Reichsmarine to develop powerful vessels that would not break the naval treaty.
Their preliminary studies had one objective: to come up with a surface vessel that could
be light enough to not exceed the tonnage limit of the 1922 Naval Treaty but also
armed to the teeth to destroy enemy warships that were heavier and larger.
After meticulous designs and negotiations with Britain,
France, and the US, the Germans finally came up with their Deutschland-class warship in 1928.
This class was classified as a Panzerschiffe or armored cruiser by
the Reichsmarine, and three vessels were built. Their weight and dimensions varied according to
several modifications to improve the design. Still, their purpose would remain the same:
to outgun any hostile ship fast enough to approach them, or stay away from it if outgunned.
German Cruiser Deutschland
The lead ship of the Deutschland-class cruisers, or Panzerschiffs, was 186 meters long.
Deutschland had a beam of 20.70 meters, a maximum draft of 7.25 meters, and a displacement
of almost 16,200 tons under full load. More importantly, it was officially stated that
the vessel fell within the limits of the Treaty of Versailles and the Washington Naval Treaty.
The ship was powered by eight MAN 9-cylinder diesel engines that delivered over 56,000
sea horsepower to two shafts, translating into a top speed of 52 kilometers per hour.
She could steam for almost 20,000 kilometers at a cruising speed of 37 kilometers per hour,
and her maximum range at lower speeds could reach up to 16,500 kilometers.
Before the war broke out between France and the United Kingdom, the ship had a crew of
586 sailors and 33 officers, but as the war approached, it was increased to 1,040 servicemen.
Deutschland's armored belt was 60 to 80 millimeters thick,
while her main deck went from 17 to 45, and her upper deck measured 17 millimeters.
In addition, the front of the main guns was 140 millimeters thick, while their sides were 80.
Deutschland was also equipped with two Arado Ar 196 seaplanes and one catapult to launch them.
These reconnaissance low-wing monoplanes were used by the ship's crew for reconnaissance
missions and attacking small vessels, and they were armed with one MG81 machine gun
and two 20-millimeter MG FF/M cannons that could carry two 50-kilogram bombs.
Moreover, the Panzerschiff also carried a pair of quadruple deck-mounted torpedo tubes on her stern.
Powerful Naval Guns
Deutschland’s primary armament comprised six 28-centimeter SK/C 28 guns mounted in two
triple gun turrets on the ship's superstructure. The arrangement was standard. One gun turret was
located forward, and the other one aft. These powerful guns, designed in 1928,
had a weight of over 47 tons and a barrel length of almost 14 meters.
The SK C/28 gun had an approximate muzzle velocity of 910 meters per second
and a maximum firing range of 36,475 meters. Muzzle velocity and range varied according to
the angle at which the gun was fired and the type of shell used, such as armor-piercing, semi-armor
piercing, and igniting shells. Still, the 28-centimeter gun was a powerful adversary at sea,
especially when fitted with a fast and agile vessel such as the pocket battleship.
Secondary armament comprised eight 15-centimeter SK C/28 guns mounted in
single turrets located amidships. Such guns were also mounted on the Scharnhorst-class,
Bismarck-class, and Graf Zeppelin-class ships. The guns, designed by Rheinmetall in the early
1930s, had a weight of 20,000 pounds and a barrel length of 7.8 meters,
with a muzzle velocity of over 875 meters per second and a maximum range of 23,000 meters.
Surplus SK C/28 guns were also used as coast defense guns by the Heer during the war,
and some were even used during the postwar until the end of the Cold War.
Initially, Deutschland was equipped with three 8.8-centimeter L/45 anti-aircraft guns,
but she was then upgraded with six 8.8-centimeter L/78 or C/31guns.
These guns had a superior range of over 17,000 meters and a muzzle velocity of 1,060 meters per
second, and could effectively fire high-explosive and illumination rounds with tracer ammunition.
However, because of their short barrel life expectancy of little
more than 1,500 full charges, they were replaced by ten 2-centimeter,
six 10.5-centimeter L/65, and four 3.7-centimeter anti-aircraft guns.
Pre-War Service
Deutschland was ordered by the Reichsmarine from the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel
in February of 1929, and she was launched two years later.
The first of the three pocket battleships was christened by German President von Hindenburg
and Chancellor Heinrich Brüning. It is said that during her launching,
Deutschland began sliding down the slipway while the Chancellor was addressing the public,
creating an awkward moment for all. Sea trials began in 1932, and after a
successful series of tests, Deutschland was commissioned in April of 1933.
She completed more tests during the following year and visited numerous foreign ports in Europe.
When the crew returned in April of 1934, they were surprised by Adolf Hitler himself,
who decided to tour the ship and spend some time with the sailors.
During the following months, Deutschland made several visits to ports across the Atlantic,
going to the Caribbean and several South American countries. Afterward,
the ship returned to Germany for maintenance and got her aircraft catapult installed.
In early 1936, she joined her sister ship Admiral Scheer to visit Madeira and the
Atlantic, but this voyage was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
In July, the two pocket battleships were deployed to the Spanish coasts
to conduct non-intervention patrols and prevent Soviet and British forces from
supplying the Republicans with weapons and other armaments.
Germany had decided to support Francisco Franco and the Nationalists and began to
help them with intelligence and supplies. As such, Deutschland was attacked by Republican
aircraft in May of 1937 while she was moored at Ibiza. Although the ship’s anti-aircraft fire
drove the hostile aircraft away, two Soviet SB2 bombers were able to drop two bombs on top of her.
One bomb hit one of her starboard guns, leading to relentless fires that cost several lives,
while the second bomb hit the deck near the bridge and exploded above
the armored deck, wounding dozens of men. While Deutschland returned to Germany to be
repaired and bury the fallen sailors, Admiral Scheer avenged and bombed the port of Almeria.
Lützow Rises
Deutschland left Wilhelmshaven one week before the German invasion of
Poland in September of 1939 and made way for Greenland to attack merchant vessels.
The crew was ordered to follow prize rules, which meant that Deutschland had to stop merchant ships,
inspect them, take in their crew, and then sink the vessels once everyone was safe.
Her first prey was the British transport ship Stonegate, which sank on October 5, 1939.
The ship then encountered the American ship City of Flint, which was taken to Norway for
additional inspection on October 9. The third prey came on October 14,
when the pocket battleship sank the Norwegian transport Lorentz W Hansen.
Then, as British and French ships began to track her down, Deutschland was called
to the Denmark Strait, where she was anchored at Gotenhafen and overhauled.
The Fuhrer then decided it would be a good idea to rename the ship.
Hitler and his top officials realized that it would be demoralizing if a ship
bearing the name of the Fatherland was lost at the hands of the enemy.
Consequently, Panzerschiff Deutschland was renamed Lützow after the renowned
Prussian Lieutenant General Adolf von Lützow. Moreover, Admiral Erich Raeder hoped that changing
the ship's name would confuse the Allied forces with the Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Lützow.
The renewed pocket battleship immediately joined Group 5 of Konteradmiral Oskar Kummetz,
tasked with capturing Oslo as part of Operation Weserübung.
However, Lützow’s group was attacked by Norwegian coastal batteries while she was
carrying over 400 soldiers. The ship was severely damaged by 15-centimeter rounds,
forcing her to withdraw from the fjord after firing her few working guns.
Lützow then sailed to Germany for repairs and was recommissioned in March of 1941.
Hunting Convoys
Shortly after her recommission, Lützow left port and was attacked
by British torpedo bombers near Egersund on June 12, 1942, forcing her to return.
It was until May of 1942 that she was commissioned again after being dispatched to Bogen Bay.
She then became the flagship of Vizeadmiral Kummetz and part of Operation Rösselsprung,
whose objective was to destroy the Allied convoy PQ17.
This group comprised 35 transport ships that were bound for the Soviet Union.
On July 3, Kummetz’s task force left Norway to intercept the enemy convoy,
but heavy fog significantly limited operations. Lützow then ran aground with other ships,
suffering substantial damage without ever making contact with the enemy.
Still, the Luftwaffe and U-boats successfully destroyed 24 of the
35 hostile vessels after Kummetz’s force retreated.
By December of 1942, she was back just in time for Operation Regenbogen, a crucial Arctic
Ocean sortie to get rid of Allied convoy JW 51B. Kummetz split his forces for this operation but
was overwhelmed by the enemy during the Battle of the Barents Sea. The British cruisers outnumbered
and outgunned the Germans, forcing them to turn tail before getting sunk, but not without a fight.
During the operation, Lützow steamed directly into the enemy convoy while other ships lured
the escort away from the merchant vessels. Despite the limited visibility and the harsh
weather conditions, Lützow opened fire for over 20 minutes, but failed to score any hits.
Lützow then steamed to support Admiral Hipper, as she was being surrounded by HMS Jamaica and
Sheffield. Soon, she engaged both ships, but neither was damaged.
Unable to harm the enemy, and fearful of being outnumbered, Kummetz withdrew to avoid any losses.
A Sitting Duck Hitler was furious and ordered all
Kriegsmarine ships to be grounded. As such, Lützow was transferred to Altafjord and then to Kiel.
Then, on April 13, 1945, over 20 Royal Air Force Lancasters attacked Lützow and Prinz Eugen
near the Piast Canal in the Baltic. A second attack damaged Lützow with one Tallboy bomb.
The ship began sinking at the canal, but her main deck remained two meters above the water.
This allowed the crew to use some guns to fend off enemy attacks.
Lützow repelled wave after wave of hostile forces until she ran out of ammunition one month later.
The crew then decided to scuttle the ship before Soviet forces approached and seized her.
Unfortunately, the Soviets managed to raise the vessel and took it to the Soviet Union
for inspection, where she was finally sunk during a weapons test in July of 1947 near Świnoujście,
Poland, ending a fruitful career as a stalwart of the German forces.
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