Prinz Eitel Friedrich

History

Prinz Eitel Friedrich, ordered as Ersatz Freya (a replacement for SMS Freya) was named for one of Kaiser Wilhelm II's sons, Eitel Friedrich. She was laid down on 1 May 1915 at Blohm & Voss under construction number 241. She was 21 months away from completion when she was launched to clear the slip on 13 March 1920 and was broken up at Hamburg in 1921. At the launching ceremony, dockyard workers named the ship Noske, after Reichswehr Minister Gustav Noske. Ersatz A, which might have been named Fürst Bismarck for the famous German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was laid down on 3 November 1915 at the Wilhelmshaven Imperial Shipyard under construction number 25. She was about 26 months from completion when work ended. She was never launched; instead, the vessel was broken up on the slip in 1922.

Design

Following the Derfflinger-class, a class of Battlecruisers was ordered that would maintain the protection and speed, while increasing the caliber of the main armament to either 340mm or 355mm in four twin turrets. Following long debates about whether or not Battlecruisers were actually needed, and how these should be built with what kind of priorities, a design was proposed which left most parties satisfied. As the displacement should not get too large, yet the demand for larger guns remained, sacrifices in armor had to be made to allow a ship to fulfill the speed requirement.

The hull was 223.1m long overall and 30.9m wide, with a draft of up to 9.3m. Standard displacement was projected with 31,000 tons, while a fully loaded ship would displace 35,500 tons. Standard complement would be 1186 men, of which 46 would be officers.

One of the key features of the Mackensen-class was the increased caliber for the main artillery. As a result, the main armament consisted of eight 35.5cm guns mounted in four twin turrets, arranged in a manner similar to the preceding Derfflinger-class. Firing a 600kg shell, these guns were capable of maintaining a theoretical Rate of Fire of 2.5 rounds per minute and gun. The range of the gun varied depending on the mountings that were intended. While initial plans deemed a 16° elevation to be sufficient, war experiences demanded 20° elevations which were later again raised to 28° for a maximum range of slightly above 28km. The secondary armament was planned with 14 150mm guns mounted in casemates below the deck. With a Rate of Fire of five to seven shots per minute and gun, and a maximum range of 13.5km, these guns would fire 45.3km heavy AP or HE projectiles. Anti-Aircraft-Armament consisted of eight single mounted 88mm guns, and five underwater-mounted Torpedo launchers would theoretically allow these ships to torpedo their opponents.

The armor of the Mackensen-class greatly deviated from that of preceding capital ships. Unlike the Derfflinger-class no turtleback was present, and instead the vertical protection consisted of a belt with 300mm thickness, which would thin out to 150mm for the upper belt and the lower edge. Behind that only a 50-60mm strong bulkhead would protect the machinery and magazines. Horizontal protection featured a 30mm deck over the vital areas, and a 25mm deck above. Protection of the main armament consisted of 250-290mm barbettes, while the turrets were armored with 320mm faces, a 180-190mm slope, 200-210mm strong sides and a 110mm roof. The conning tower had 300-350mm strong sides and was protected from above with a 100mm roof.

The machinery of the Mackensen-class consisted of sixteen boilers, of which four allowed the usage of both oil and coal, while the rest were purely coal-fired. They would produce the steam for four Parson-turbines for an overall rated 90,000 shp. Thisgave the Mackensen-class a theoretical top speed of 28kn. 3,940 tons of coal and 1,970 tons of oil would allow for a Cruising Range of around 8,000nm at 14kn.

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  Line-drawing of the Mackensen class

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  Unfinished battlecruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich (left) and Bayern-class battleship Württemberg in Hamburg after the war, in about 1920