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New Navy Pictures
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Deutschland or Lützow972 viewsDeutschland, later re-named Lützow, was the first German large armoured ship built after World War I.
Its keel was laid down in February 1929, at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel, and launched in May 1931. It completed fitting out in late 1932 and took its maiden voyage in May 1932.
Its size and characteristics where severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles, which limited Germany to ships of no more than 10,000 tons displacement. A number of technical innovations (including large scale use of welding to make the hull lighter) used by the Germans to build a formidable warship within this restricted weight. Even so, the Deutschland was 600 tons overweight, although for political reasons its announced displacement was always given as the 10,000 tons of the treaty limit.
Two other very similar (but not identical) ships were built in its class, the Admiral Graf Spee and the Admiral Scheer. The class was termed Panzerschiff ("armoured ship"); they were designated "pocket battleships" by the British because of their characteristics: their guns (6 x 28 cm in two turrets) were substantially bigger than those of the heavy cruisers of her time, but they were much smaller (and much less armoured), but faster than the standard battleships.
After the start of World War II, she was renamed Lützow in November 1939 because Adolf Hitler feared that the loss a ship with the name "Germany" would have a significant negative psychological and propaganda effect.
In February 1940 she and her sisterships were re-classified as heavy cruisers, and in April of that year she participated in the invasion of Norway. Lützow was then to return to Germany to refit for an extended raiding cruise into the Atlantic, but was torpedoed by the British submarine Spearfish in the Skagerrak north of Jutland. The hit nearly tore off the entire stern of the ship and repairs were not finished until late 1941.
She participated in various minor events during the next years, but her only other significant service came starting in September 1944 in the Baltic Sea when she fired on land targets in support of the retreating German army, a service she would continue to provide in the subsequent months.
The ship was badly damaged by three 6-ton Tallboy bombs dropped by the Royal Air Force in April 1945 as it lay off Swinemünde, and it came to rest on the bottom. It was repaired, and then did further support of the army; it was finally scuttled by its crew on 4 May 1945.
After the war, the SovieOct 10, 2007
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IJN Ibuki 1904704 viewsThe Japanese cruiser Ibuki was a late-generation that was almost a Dreadnought-type battleship in stature, it was the lead ship in the Ibuki class of 1st class heavy cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The Ibuki had one sister ship, the IJN Kurama. The Ibuki is named after Mount Ibuki located between Gifu prefecture and Shiga prefecture in Honshu. The class was planned during the Russo-Japanese War and was authorized under the 1904 Supplemental Naval Budget, at the same time has the IJN Tsukuba, but with heavier guns and with the new geared turbine engines which promised more power and hence, more speed. However, problems with the turbine engines delayed the construction of the Ibuki, and in the end, construction began almost two years later than her sister ship, the Kurama, which used standard reciprocating engines.
Shortly after commissioning, the Ibuki was sent on a voyage to Thailand for the coronation ceremony of the Thai king Rama VI.
On 28 August 1912, the Tsukuba was re-classified as a battlecruiser by the Japanese navy.
It subsequently played an important role in World War I, in protecting British merchant shipping in the South Pacific and in the Indian Ocean, and participating in the hunt for the German East Asiatic Squadron and the SMS Emden. After the war, it felt victim to the Washington Naval Treaty and was scrapped after a short service life of only 15 years.
Afterwards, its guns were salvaged, and used in the shore batteries at Hakodate in Hokkaido and along the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshu and Hokkaido.. Oct 08, 2007
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HMS Agincourt 1913713 viewsHMS Agincourt was a Dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.
She was a unique vessel, laid down by Armstrongs at Newcastle upon Tyne as the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro in September 1911. The chief designer of Armstrongs, Eustace d'Eyncourt, produced her outline design in his hotel bedroom in Brazil during the negotiations. Brazil cancelled the order in 1912, but sold the subsequently modified vessel to the Turkish navy for £2,750,000 in January 1914. Renamed the Sultan Osman I, she underwent trials in July 1914 and was completed in August, just as the First World War began.
Agincourt was an unusual ship in having seven main turrets. She had poor armour in comparison with her armament, having just 9 inches (229 mm) maximum belt thickness compared with the 12 inches (305 mm) or more appropriate for her armament. She would have ranked as a battlecruiser but for her low speed. By her completion, her 12-inch (305 mm) guns had started to become obsolete - most capital ships under construction having larger calibres.
The Royal Navy made modifications before commissioning its prize: in particular they removed a flying-off deck for seaplanes. HMS Agincourt formed part of the First Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland, which she survived unscathed. She was reallocated to the Second Battle Squadron in 1918 and decommissioned in 1919. After unsuccessful attempts to sell her to the Brazilian Government she was recommissioned as a depot ship before being decommissioned again in 1921 and scrapped in 1924.Oct 08, 2007
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HMS Invincible 1907606 viewsThe fifth Invincible was a battlecruiser, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first ship of her type to be built in the world.
The ship was built at Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd on Tyneside. She was laid down in April 1906, and launched a year later on April 13th 1907, before being commissioned into the fleet on March 20th 1908.
The ship's primary armament consisted of eight 12in guns in four twin turrets, with, in addition, sixteen 4in guns also fitted.
Invincible initially served with the 1st Cruiser Squadron until 1913, when she was assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. At the beginning of the First World War, she took part in the action at Heligoland Bight, before being sent along with her sister Inflexible to the South Atlantic where she fought in the Battle of the Falkland Islands. At the Battle of Jutland, she was the flagship of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. She was hit in her 'Q' turret and blew up, breaking in two and sinking with the loss of all but five of her crew.Oct 08, 2007
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HMS Hood 1918696 viewsLaunched in August 1918, after being christened by the widow of Admiral Sir Horace Hood (a Jutland casualty and distant relative of the famous Lord Hood for whom the ship was named), and seen here about 1932, HMS Hood is reputed to be one of the most beautifully designed capital ship of its time. A battlecruiser of the Royal Navy. She was one of four Admiral-class ships ordered in mid-1916 under the Emergency War Programme, but her sisters were never completed, and Hood was to be Britain's last battlecruiser. Construction of Hood began at Clydebank, Scotland, in September 1916. Following the loss of three British battlecruisers at the Battle of Jutland, 5,000 tons of extra armour and bracing was added to Hood's design. Construction on her sister ships (Anson, Howe, and Rodney) was stopped in March 1917, but work continued on Hood.
During the Battle of Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941, she was hit by a shell fired by the Bismarck which caused the catastrophic explosion of her aft magazines. Of the 1,418 aboard, only three survived. The dramatic loss of such a well-known symbol of British naval power had a great effect on many people; some later remembered the news as the most shocking of World War II.
The wreck of Hood was discovered in 3,000 metres of water in July 2001. In 2002 the UK government designated the site a war grave.Oct 08, 2007
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SMS Westfalen 1908583 viewsSMS Westfalen, launched 1908 at AG Weser in Bremen was one of the first dreadnought battleships (ship of the line) built for the Imperial German Navy. There were three other ships in her class: SMS Nassau (launched in 1908 at the Imperial shipyards in Wilhelmshaven), SMS Posen (launched in 1908 at Germania shipyards in Kiel) and SMS Rheinland (launched 1908 at Vulcan in Stettin). The ships were armed with twelve 28 cm guns in double turrets -- one forward, one aft, and two on each side. In addition, they carried twelve 15 cm guns, sixteen 8.8 cm guns and six torpedo tubes. SMS Nassau was 146 m long, displaced 18,873 tons, carried a crew of 1008, and had a top speed of 20 knots. All four ships took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916.
Following the end of World War I, the ships were surrendered to the victorious powers as war booty. Westfalen was surrendered in 1920 to Great Britain and scrapped in 1924. The other three ships were surrendered to Japan, which sold them to a British wrecking firm which then scrapped them in Dordrecht (Netherlands).Oct 08, 2007
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1908 SMS Rheinland511 viewsLaunched in 1908 at Vulcan in Stettin, SMS Rheinland was was one of four Nassau class battleships that were the first dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial German Navy. There were three other ships in her class: SMS Nassau (launched in 1908 at the Imperial shipyards in Wilhelmshaven), SMS Posen (launched in 1908 at Germania shipyards in Kiel) and SMS Westfalen (launched 1908 at AG Weser in Bremen). The ships were armed with twelve 28 cm guns in double turrets -- one forward, one aft, and two on each side. In addition, they carried twelve 15 cm guns, sixteen 8.8 cm guns and six torpedo tubes. SMS Nassau was 146 m long, displaced 18,873 tons, carried a crew of 1008, and had a top speed of 20 knots. All four ships took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. On April 11, 1918, Rheinland ran aground, forcing the removal of the belt armor and all of the guns in order to refloat the ship; it was never repaired.Oct 08, 2007
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1912 HMS Iron Duke616 viewsHMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during World War I. She was the flagship of the Grand Fleet at the battle of Jutland. For the majority of the Great War she was based with the rest of the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow.
Iron Duke was launched on 12 October 1912 at Portsmouth, England, the first of her class. After commissioning, she joined the Home Fleet as the flagship of Admiral Sir George Callaghan. Shortly before the beginning of hostilities, Callaghan was relieved by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who made Iron Duke the flagship of the newly organized Grand Fleet. Her only major combat service during World War I came in the battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, where she served in the 2nd Battle Squadron. She later became the flagship of Admiral Sir David Beatty when he assumed command of the Grand Fleet in late 1916.
After the war, she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she again served as flagship, this time for Admiral Sir John de Robeck. She served with the Mediterranean and Atlantic Fleets until she was paid off in 1929. In the remainder of the inter-war years she served as a training vessel. During World War II she was used as a base ship at Scapa Flow, where she was forced to beach during an air attack in 1939. She was refloated and saw continued service until the conclusion of hostilities. She was sold in 1946 as scrap, and broken up in Glasgow in 1948.Oct 08, 2007
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SMS Seydlitz 1912722 viewsSMS Seydlitz was a 25,000 ton battlecruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned in May 1913.
At the battle of Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915, in World War I she was the flagship of Admiral Franz von Hipper. In heavy fighting two gun turrets were destroyed and 160 sailors were killed.
At the battle of Jutland she fought in Hipper's battlecruiser squadron where she destroyed HMS Queen Mary with her accurate shellfire. In the battle she was heavily damaged, being hit by twenty-one heavy shells and one torpedo, and suffering 98 men killed and 55 injured. Four turrets were destroyed and she shipped 5,000 tons of water, reducing her freeboard almost to nothing. She made it back to port with great difficulty. After the armistice she was escorted to Scapa Flow where she was scuttled with the rest of the High Seas Fleet on 21 June 1919. She was salvaged in 1928 and scrapped.
Oct 05, 2007
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SMS Blucher 1909574 viewsSMS Blücher was the last armoured cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine and was considered an intermediate stage toward the future German battlecruiser.
This ship was constructed in the Kiel dockyard, between 1907 and 1909, being completed in October of that year.
During World War I, on January 24, 1915, the obsolete SMS Blücher was sunk during the Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) by more modern British battlecruisers.
The World War II German heavy cruiser Blucher was named after her.Oct 05, 2007
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Viribus Unitis in 1912538 viewsSMS Viribus Unitis was an Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship of the Viribus Unitis class.
Viribus Unitis was built at Stabilmento Tecnico Tristino yard, Trieste.
After Austria-Hungary was defeated in World War I, and it became apparent that the coastal areas will be controlled by the newly-formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Austrian government decided to give the ship, along with much of the fleet, to the Croatians.
Viribus Unitis and the rest of the former Austrian fleet was soon targetted by the Italians. She was sunk at anchor at Pola on 1 November 1918 by a mignatta carried by an Italian human torpedo.Oct 05, 2007
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1906 HMS Dreadnought634 viewsThis was the sixth HMS Dreadnought of the British Royal Navy and was the first battleship to have a uniform main battery, rather than having secondary smaller guns. She was also the first large warship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest warship of her size. So advanced was Dreadnought that her name became a generic term for modern battleships; whilst the ships she made obsolete were known as "pre-dreadnoughts".Oct 05, 2007
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