S.M.S. Blücher (1908)
| S.M.S. Blücher (1908) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft Kiel[1] |
| Laid down: | 21 Feb, 1907[2] |
| Launched: | 11 Apr, 1908[3] |
| Commissioned: | 24 Mar, 1910[4] |
| Sunk: | 24 Jan, 1915[5] |
Blücher was the last Armoured Cruiser built by Germany. Compared to her predecessors, she was a modern-looking design incorporating a main armament of twelve 21-cm guns in turrets arranged in a lozenge pattern. While she did not possess turbine machinery, her speed of over 25 knots made her almost three knots faster than the previous Scharnhorst class vessels.
Construction and Trials
On trials in 1909 Blücher achieved the highest power ever made by a reciprocating-engined warship, 43,886 ihp,[6] equivalent to 127 r.p.m. and 25.86 knots.[7]
Service History
In 1914, she was assigned to I Aufklärungsgruppe (Scouting Group).
Scarborough Raid
- Main article: Scarborough Raid
Blücher was involved in the mid-December night raid on the east coast of Britain which struck the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. She attacked Hartlepool along with the battlecruiser S.M.S. Moltke, and was hit six times by the three 6-in guns in the town's shore batteries, suffering nine men killed.
Dogger Bank
- Main article: Battle of Dogger Bank
Blücher was lost in the battle, after she had been slowed by hits to her machinery which left her unable to keep pace with the battlecruisers as they fled from superior British forces.
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 150.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 150.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 150.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 150.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 150.
- ↑ Friedman. Battleship Design and Development. p. 91.
- ↑ Anderson, R. "Letters to the Editor" (31 December 1971). Warship International 4. p. 326.
Bibliography
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