Friedrich der Große

The Friedrich der Große in game represents the 1939 "Battleship H" (H-39) design, with the upgraded hull incorporating hypothetical increases in AA armament and an electronics suite that would have matched the late-war Tirpitz. The second main gun option in game are the planned 42.0 cm guns for the revised 1941 "Battleship H" (H-41) design, though the in game upgraded hull remains that of the H-39. It shares its name with the Kaiser-class battleship Friedrich der Große.

History

The earliest design studies for "Schlachtschiff H" ("Battleship H") date to 1935, and were near repeats of the early designs for the Bismarck-class ships, armed with 35-centimeter (14 in) guns. Intelligence indicating that the Soviet Navy was planning the Sovetsky Soyuz class with 38 cm (15 in) guns prompted the Germans to increase the caliber of the ship's armament to 38 cm as well on 5 October 1936. The Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) issued staff requirements at the end of October for a ship of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t) armed with eight 38 cm guns with a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). The ship's radius of action was to be at least equal that of the Deutschland-class cruisers.

Design work on the ship that came to be designated H-39 began in 1937. The design staff was instructed to improve upon the design for the preceding Bismarck class; one of the requirements was a larger-caliber main battery to match any battleship built by a potential adversary. It appeared that Japan would not ratify the Second London Naval Treaty, which would bring an escalator clause that permitted signatories to arm battleships with guns of up to 40.6 cm (16.0 in) caliber. By virtue of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, signed in 1935, Germany was considered to be a party to the other international naval arms limitation treaties. In April, Japan refused to sign the treaty; shortly thereafter, the United States Navy announced it would arm the new North Carolina-class battleships with 40.6 cm guns.

Admiral Werner Fuchs, responsible for the staff section in the OKM that determined the operating requirements for the ship, discussed the vessel's design with Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany. Hitler demanded guns larger than any possible adversary, but guns of the caliber demanded by Hitler would have required displacements of over 80,000 long tons (81,000 t) and drafts so deep as to prevent the use of Germany's ports without significant dredging. Fuchs eventually convinced Hitler that the 40.6 cm gun was the optimal choice for the H-39 design. In 1938, the OKM developed Plan Z, the projected construction program for the German navy. A force of six H-39 class battleships was the centerpiece of the fleet. Plan Z was finalized by January 1939, when Admiral Erich Raeder, the commander of the Kriegsmarine, presented it to Hitler. He approved the plan on 18 January and granted the Kriegsmarine unlimited power to bring the construction program to fruition.

Design

While the Bismarck class was a powerful class of Battleships, the most powerful that would ever be designed by the German Navy and the largest class of Battleships to be built of any European Nations, several deficiencies in the design led to the demands of an even stronger Battleship. The criticism mostly aimed at the caliber of the main battery, the depth of the main armor belt, the horizontal protection and the propulsion.

To meet these concerns the new ship would require to be larger than the Bismarck class, and the displacement was designed to be around 62,500 tons when fully loaded. The name of the Project was H-39. A total crew complement of 2,600 was planned.

The main armament of H-39 was very similar to Bismarck in layout and caliber. The main guns were improved to 406mm L/52 guns, which would fire a 1,030kg heavy projectile at ranges up to 36.8km. The designed reload of these guns was around 30 seconds, very similar to that of other guns of the same caliber. Located in four twin turrets, a superfiring pair fore and one aft, H-39 followed the design of Bismarck. The Secondaries were almost copied from the preceding class. Twelve 150mm L/50 guns in six twin turrets, three placed on each side of the ship, would be able to engage targets at ranges up to 23km firing around eight rounds per minute and gun. The 16 105mm Anti-Aircraft guns were also able to engage surface targets at ranges up to 17km with a rate of fire around 18 rounds per minute and gun. Interesting about H-39 is that she was the first German Battleship since the end of World War 1 to carry underwater Torpedo Tubes. Six Tubes in total, mounted in two groups, were placed at the sides of the ship a bit forward of Turret “Anton”.

Initial Anti-Aircraft-Armament would have consisted of 16 105mm mounted in twin turrets. Unlike all the 105mm mountings before, these were fully enclosed to protect the crew against splinters and weather, and the barrels were more spaced to allow the loaders more movement and reduced dispersion. The medium range AA was made up of the 37mm Flakzwilling 30, mounted in eight twin mounts. These were the same guns as found on the Scharnhorst and Bismarck class, which would feature good ballistics at the prize of a very low Rate of Fire. The last line of defense was planned to be a total of six of the famous Flakvierling 38, 20mm guns mounted in quadruple mounts. As H-39 was never completed, no improvements in regards to the armament could be done.

The protective scheme was fairly similar to Bismarck, but priorities were shifted a bit. In order to meet the insufficient belt depth of Bismarck's main armor belt (a shell from Prince of Wales landed short and penetrated Bismarck's hull, causing critical damage), the belt was extended deeper below the waterline. This however came with an overall reduction in the thickness, and the belt was only planned to be 300mm thick. Above the main belt the upper belt tapered down to 180mm for a bit, and then eventually to 150mm before reaching the upper deck.To compensate the lower thickness of the belt, the iconic turtleback was thickened. At the magazines it was 150mm strong, while at the machinery it was still 120mm. Behind it was a Torpedo bulkhead which would provide further protection against splinters. The horizontal protection was significantly improved. With a weather deck ranging between 50 and 80mm, and a main armor deck with 120mm over the magazines and 100mm over the machinery, they surpassed Tirpitz horizontal protection. As a means to protect the bow and stern section of the ship the armor belt extended towards the bow with 60mm, also covering the fuel cells which were hit and damaged on Bismarck. Towards the rear it was 110mm thick, and would extend until the steering gears. The barbettes for the main battery were protected by 360mm strong armor, and the turrets themselves had a 385mm face plating, 240mm thick sides and a 130mm roof. The armored conning tower had 385mm strong sides and a 240mm roof.

The machinery was a complete change from almost all preceding German Capital ships. Whereas the Scharnhorst and Bismarck class carried a conventional steam propulsion, H-39 was designed to carry a Diesel propulsion similar to the Deutschland class. In total twelve MAN Diesel engines would generate 165,000 shp on three shafts, which would drive the ship to 30kn. The calculated cruising range would exceed 19,000 nautical miles The reasoning for the usage of Diesel engines was due to multiple factors. The previous steam engines on capital ships usually required a highly qualified crew and would still demand a lot of maintenance, while being prone to breakdowns especially when one of the former requirements was not 100% met. On top of that the cruising range left a lot to be desired. On the other hand Diesel engines were a proven concept, which would not require as much attention and be more reliable, while offering long cruising ranges. Also, as the war would rage on, Diesel would be a lot easier to obtain than regular fuel oil. The only downside was that on a power per weight ratio the Diesel engines were relatively heavy.

Aircraft facilities would allow H-39 to carry up to four planes, but the location of the catapult was very unusual. Instead of having placed on the stern of the ship, or in the superstructure, it was located just behind turret “Dora”. The intention was that it would keep the middle section of the ship free for the second funnel and other equipment, while not blocking potential firing arcs towards the rear of the ship (and German ships would never in history carry catapults on the stern of the ship).

Service

Only four shipyards in Germany had slipways large enough to build the six new battleships. The OKM issued orders for construction of the first two ships, "H" and "J", on 14 April 1939. The contracts for the other four ships, "K", "L", "M", and "N", followed on 25 May. The keels for the first two ships were laid at the Blohm & Voss dockyard in Hamburg and the Deschimag shipyard in Bremen on 15 July and 1 September 1939, respectively. The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 interrupted the construction of the ships. Work on the first two was suspended and the other four were not laid down, as it was believed they would not be finished before the war was over. The keel for "H" had 800 t (790 long tons; 880 short tons) of steel installed, 3,500 t (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) of steel had been machined, out of 5,800 t (5,700 long tons; 6,400 short tons) of steel supplied to Blohm & Voss by that point. Only 40 t (39 long tons; 44 short tons) of steel had been worked into the keel for "J", out of 3,531 t (3,475 long tons; 3,892 short tons) of steel delivered. Steel for the other four ships had been ordered and partially machined for installation, though no assembly work had begun. It was expected to resume work on the ships after a German victory in the war.

The ships neither received names nor were official name proposals published. The names, which appear in several publications (Hindenburg, Friedrich der Große, Großdeutschland) are pure speculation. Especially the often mentioned Großdeutschland (= "Greater Germany") is highly unlikely, as Hitler always feared the loss of a vessel with name of Germany (compare the renaming of Deutschland to Lützow). The only hint on the names of the units were given by Hitler himself, who mentioned during documented unofficial talks, that he would propose the names Ulrich von Hutten and Götz von Berlichingen for the ships, as these names are not connected with persons of the third Reich or the country itself, so the loss would not have a significant negative psychological and propaganda effect on the German people.

Historical Inaccuracies

• No ship in the Kriegsmarine was ever named Friedrich der Große.
• The six submerged torpedo tubes cannot be used in-game.

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  An artist's interpretation of an H-class battleship by Richard Allison

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  One of the 40.6 cm guns at Batterie Lindemann

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  One of the 15 cm turrets on Bismarck, the same type as would have been mounted on the H class.