SMS Hindenburg

SMS Hindenburg

Hindenburg was the last capital ship of any type built for the German navy during World War I. She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg. The ship took part in a handful of short fleet operations as the flagship of I Scouting Group in 1917–18. Hindenburg was interned with the rest of the German battlecruisers at Scapa Flow in November 1918, and scuttled on 21 June 1919. The last of the ships to sink, she was raised in 1930 and broken up for scrap over the following two years.

About SMS Hindenburg in brief

Summary SMS HindenburgHindenburg was the last capital ship of any type built for the German navy during World War I. She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg. The ship took part in a handful of short fleet operations as the flagship of I Scouting Group in 1917–18, though saw no major action. Hindenburg was interned with the rest of the German battlecruisers at Scapa Flow in November 1918, and scuttled on 21 June 1919. The last of the ships to sink, she was raised in 1930 and broken up for scrap over the following two years. The Derfflinger class was authorized for the 1911 fiscal year as part of the 1906 naval law. The third and final member of the class was allocated to the 1913 construction program. Her main battery was eight 30. 5 cm guns in four twin turrets, the same as in her two sisters, but the gun turrets were Drh LC1913 mounts, which were an improved version the DrhLC1912 type mounts on Derfflinger and Lützow. The gun houses on Hindenburg allowed gun elevation to 16°, as opposed to 13.

5° in the earlier model. She displaced 26,947 tonnes normally and up to 31,500 tonnes fully laden. Her deck was 30 to 80 mm thick, with thicker armor sloping down to the lower edge of the main battery turrets. Her secondary casemates received 150 mm  thick faces, but had 300 mm walls, where the ship’s commander controlled the conning tower. Her propulsion system was rated at 72,000 metric horsepower for a top speed of 27 knots. At a cruising speed of 14 knots, she had a range of 6,100 nautical miles. She was armed with fourteen 15 cm SK L45 guns and four 60  cm torpedo tubes instead of the standard 12 15  cm guns and 4 50 cm tubes mounted on Derflinger. She had a crew of 44 officers and 1,068 men; when serving as her flagship, the ship carried an additional 14 officer and 62 men. The vessel was laid down on 30 June 1913, but was launched on 1 August 1915, due to the elderly cruiser Hertha Hindenburg’s keel, but due to her age she was launched in August 1915.