german cruiser blücher

Three days later, on 8 April, Blücher left port, bound for Norway; she was the flagship for the force that was to seize Oslo, the Norwegian capital, Group 5 of the invasion force,[15] She was accompanied by the heavy cruiser Lützow, the light cruiser Emden, and several smaller escorts. The Germans successfully evaded the torpedoes, however, and proceeded with the mission. German warships were ordered under provisional names. [34] Admiral Hipper had originally intended to use his three battlecruisers to turn about and flank the British ships, in order to relieve the battered Blücher, but when he learned of the severe damage to his flagship, he decided to abandon the armored cruiser. The Admiral Hipper class of heavy cruisers was ordered in the context of German naval rearmament after the Nazi Party came to power in 1933 and repudiated the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. Rear Admiral Eckermann was removed from his post and Admiral Ingenohl was forced to resign. As the fire spread, it detonated explosives carried for the infantry, hindering firefighting efforts. The ground troops were landed on the eastern side of the fjord; they proceeded inland and captured the Oscarborg Fortress by 09:00 on 10 April. After being run through a cleaning process, the oil was sold. Fjeld, Odd T; Tor Jørgen Melien, Jan Egil Fjørtoft, Tor Georg Monsen, Reidar Lauritz Godø, Robert Eichinger (1999) (in Norwegian). The ship led the flotilla of warships into the Oslofjord on the night of 8 April, to seize Oslo, the capital of Norway. For example, at the, raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, "German 8.8 cm/45 (3.46") SK L/45, 8.8 cm/45 (3.46") Tbts KL/45, 8.8 cm/45 (3.46") Flak L/45", List of ships of the Imperial German Navy, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1915, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SMS_Blücher&oldid=982949483, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 3,350 nmi (6,200 km; 3,860 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), This page was last edited on 11 October 2020, at 10:22. While steaming through the Kattegat and Skagerrak, the British submarine Triton spotted the convoy and fired a spread of torpedoes. [1] The Admiral Hippers were nominally within the 10,000-ton limit, though they significantly exceeded the figure. The commander got her back on track by using the side shafts, but she lost speed. [7] Blücher was therefore arguably obsolete even before her construction started, and was rapidly surpassed by the German Navy's battlecruisers, the first of which (Von der Tann) was ordered in 1907. The ship also would have carried a pair of triple 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo launchers abreast of the rear superstructure. [16], The forward conning tower was the most heavily armored part of the ship. [17] Five minutes later, the guns at the Rauøy battery fired four rounds at the approaching Germans, but visibility was poor and no hits were scored. SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. Her hull was constructed with both transverse and longitudinal steel frames and she had thirteen watertight compartments and a double bottom that ran for approximately 65 percent of the length of the hull. The commander got her back on track by using the side shafts, but she lost speed. They then moved on to attack the capital. [2] As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men. [12], On 5 April 1940, Konteradmiral Oskar Kummetz came aboard the ship while it was in Swinemünde. The second 28 cm hit caused serious damage: it hit near the aircraft hangar and started a major fire. Fearing the prospect of a nighttime torpedo attack, Admiral Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat. [4] The ship was launched on 8 June 1937, and was completed slightly over two years later, on 20 September 1939, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet. Airborne troops captured the Fornebu Airport and completed the encirclement of the city, and by 14:00 on 10 April it was in German hands. [6][7], Blücher's armored belt was 70 to 80 mm (2.8 to 3.1 in) thick; her upper deck was 12 to 30 mm (0.47 to 1.18 in) thick while the main armored deck was 20 to 50 mm (0.79 to 1.97 in) thick. [12] Between 00:30 and 02:00, the flotilla stopped and 150 infantrymen of the landing forces were transferred to the escorts R17, R21 from Emden and R18, R19 from Blücher.[19]. Shortly after 23:00 (Norwegian time), the Norwegian patrol boat Pol III spotted the flotilla. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battlecruisers. In October 1994 the company Rockwater AS, together with deep sea divers, drilled holes in 133 fuel tanks and removed 1,000 t (980 long tons; 1,100 short tons) of oil; 47 fuel bunkers were unreachable and may still contain oil. At 10:28, Lion was struck on the waterline, which tore a hole in the side of the ship and flooded a coal bunker. [17] Shortly after midnight (Norwegian time) an order from the Commanding Admiral to extinguish all lighthouses and navigation lights was broadcast over NRK. [9] These guns could engage targets out to 13,500 m (14,800 yd). She carried a number of smaller vessels, including two picket boats, three barges, two launches, two yawls, and one dinghy. Blücher was the second of five Admiral Hipper class heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. [14] The 15 cm (5.9 in) guns on Drøbak, some 400 yd (370 m) on Blücher's starboard side, opened fire as well. "[24] The official German history criticized Ingenohl for failing to use his light forces to determine the size of the British fleet, stating: "He decided on a measure which not only seriously jeopardized his advance forces off the English coast but also deprived the German Fleet of a signal and certain victory. The delay caused by the temporary withdrawal of Blücher's task force, however, allowed the Norwegian government and royal family to escape the city. The rear conning tower was significantly less well armored, with a roof that was 3 cm thick and sides that were only 14 cm (5.5 in) thick. [24] First engineer Karl Thannemann wrote in his report that the hits from the guns on Drøbak, which were fired on the starboard side, were all between section IV and X in a length of 75 m (246 ft) amidships, between B-turret and C-turret. [2] The ship was launched on 8 June 1937, and was completed slightly over two years later, on 20 September 1939, the day she was commissioned into the German fleet. Blücher suffered minimal damage, but nine men were killed and another three were wounded. [2], Blücher spent the majority of November 1939 finishing fitting out work and finishing additional improvements. He later died of pneumonia while in British captivity. However, all damage was on the port side. On 5 April, the ship was deemed to be ready for action, and was therefore assigned to the forces participating in the invasion of Norway. [10] The commanding admiral of the Marinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Naval Station), Admiral Conrad Albrecht, gave the christening speech. Consequently, its ships′ engines could not operate at maximum performance. In October 1994 the company Rockwater AS together with deep sea divers drilled holes in 133 fuel tanks and removed 1,000 t (980 long tons; 1,100 short tons) of oil; 47 fuel bunkers were unreachable and may still contain oil. On 5 April, she was deemed to be ready for action, and was therefore assigned to the forces participating in the invasion of Norway. After a magazine explosion, the ship slowly capsized and sank, with major loss of life. The central citadel of the ship was protected by 16 cm (6.3 in) armor. Forty-one minutes later, the 28 cm (11 in) coastal guns placed at the Oscarsborg Fortress opened fire on Blücher, beginning the Battle of Drøbak Sound. Recognition drawing of an Admiral Hipper class cruiser, Blücher was ordered by the Kriegsmarine from the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel. The 15 cm turret casemates were protected by 14 cm of armor. At 04:40, Norwegian searchlights again illuminated the ship. She had four triple 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo launchers, all on the main deck next to the four range finders for the anti-aircraft guns. [22], The Germans were unable to locate the source of the gunfire. "L/60" denotes the length of the gun in terms of, Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, "Blucher" protected by law to prevent looting, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1940, Sunk by Norwegian coastal defence batteries in the. This was identified as a number of large British warships steaming toward Hipper's ships. [21] During the bombardment of Hartlepool, Seydlitz was hit three times and Blücher was hit six times by the coastal battery. The explosion also probably punched a hole in the armored deck over turbine room 1. I use WIKI 2 every day and almost forgot how the original Wikipedia looks like. [16] Shortly after midnight, Norwegian searchlights in the coastal artillery batteries on the islands of Bolærne and Rauøy illuminated the ships, though the guns held their fire. [23] One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsund and signaled a report to Beatty. The main battery turrets were 8 cm thick in their roofs, and had 18 cm sides. The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. [23], According to Kummetz's report, the first torpedo hit Boiler Room 2, just under the funnel, and the second hit Turbine Room 2/3 (the turbine room for the side shafts).

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