German armoured cruiser Blücher 1907-1915

Named after Von Blücher.(1) Designed as an answer to the British battle cruisers of the Invincible-class but in fact no match for the successors of the armoured cruisers. It became just after the building was ordered clear that these British battle cruisers were armed with 8-30,5 cm guns and not as earlier was believed 6/8-23cm guns. Ordered as the ‘E’ after the authorisation by the Reichstag on 26 May 1906 of the needed budget, was she laid down on 21 February 1907 at the Kaiserliche Werft at Kiel, Germany, launched on 11 April 1908 and commissioned on 1 October a year later was she sunk during the battle of Dogger Bank against British naval forces on 24 January 1915.

With a displacement of 15,592 long tons/15,842 tons (design)-17,200 long tons/17,500 tons (full load) were her dimensions 161,1 (waterline)-161,8 (over all) x 24,5-25,62 (with anti-torpedo nets) x 8,84 (forward)-8,56 (aft) metres or 528’7”-530’10”x 80’5”-84’1”x 29’0”-28’1”. Her 3-4 cylinder vertical triple expansion engines and 18 coal-fired marine-type boilers supplied during her trials in 1909 43,886 ihp and while each engine independen drive one of the three screws she had a maximum speed of 24,5 (design)-25,4 (trials) knots. The coal bunker capacity of 800 tons (design)-2,5210 tons allowed with a speed if 12 knots a range of 6,600 nautical miles and with 18 knots 3,250 nautical miles. Her crew numbered 1,026 men when she met her final fate. She was armed with 6x2-21cm (8.3”) guns, placed one turret fore and one aft and on either side of the superstructure two turrets, 8-15cm (5.9”) in casemates, 4 on each side, 16-8.8 cm (3.46”) and 4x1-45cm (18”) torpedo tubes below the waterline, one in the bow, a second one in the stern and on each side one. The armour consisted of a 6-18cm thick belt, the battery by 14cm, the barbettes by 18cm, the turrets by 6-18cm and the conning tower by 8-25cm.

Note
1. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (16 December 1742 Rostock-12 September 8191 Krieblowitz), Prussian Field Marshal during the battle at Waterloo in 1815.