Großer Kurfürst

The Großer Kurfürst in game is a hypothetical "what-if" ship by Wargaming that combines various elements from several German battleship design studies after the H-39, some of them only preliminary concepts. The gun caliber options include the 40.6 cm guns of the original H-39 design as well as the 42.0 cm guns of the revised 1941 "Battleship H" (H-41) design. The secondary armament includes a hypothetical navalized 12.8 cm FlaK gun. The ship shares its name with the König-class battleship Großer Kurfürst.

Preliminary design for 40.6cm triple turret

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 and the German-Soviet Commercial Agreement in 1940. Soviet demands from the agreement include a substantial amount of German military equipment and technology, among them the incomplete Admiral Hipper-class cruiser Lützow, the plans to the battleship Bismarck, and preliminary sketches for a 40.6 cm triple turret. The incomplete Lützow was towed to Leningrad in mid-1940 in a less complete state than the Soviets had anticipated. In response to later Soviet orders, Germany did deliver eight 38.1 cm guns and six 40.6 cm guns for which the Soviets had requested drawings in August 1940. German engineers continued to work on Lützow until the termination of the agreements in June 22, 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.

1940 Design Studies

In September 1939, only shortly after the first two ships of the 1939 "Battleship H" (H-39) design was laid down, work was suspended due to the start of World War 2. However, the Kriegsmarine continued to develop plans and design studies for new battleships. For instance, in early July 1940, Hitler ordered the navy to examine new battleship designs and how wartime experience might be incorporated. A study from this order was completed on 15 July, and contained several recommendations for the H-class ships, including increasing the freeboard and strengthening the horizontal protection. In order to maintain displacement and speed and accommodate the increased weight of the additional armor protection, the design staff drew up an informal design, known as "Scheme A" (H-40A). The design removed one of the main battery turrets to save weight; the propulsion system was also increased in power to keep the same speed as the original design. The original diesel-only system of the H-39 was replaced by a hybrid diesel and steam turbine arrangement. The staff also prepared a second design, "Scheme B" (H-40B), which retained the fourth turret and accepted a much higher displacement. This design also incorporated the mixed propulsion system. These studies were abandoned in 1941 after Hitler decided to halt further battleship construction until after the end of the war. The design staff therefore attempted to improve the armor protection for the H-class. The 1940 designs did not form part of the design chain that resulted in the H-41 through H-44 designs.

1941 "Battleship H" (H-41) Design

Bomb damage sustained by Scharnhorst in July 1941 provided the impetus for the effort to increase the horizontal protection for the H-class. The designers were confronted with a significant problem: any increase in armor could correspondingly increase the displacement and more importantly, the draft. It was necessary to maintain the full-load draft of 11.5 m of the H-39 design for operations in the relatively shallow North Sea. The only option that allowed the displacement to be maintained while armor thicknesses to be increased was to reduce the ships' fuel supplies. A 25 percent cut in range was required, which was deemed unacceptable by the German Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine, or OKM). It was eventually determined that since deep-water anchorages on the Atlantic coast were available, it would be permissible to allow the draft to increase. The initial redesign called for an increase of only 5,000 long tons (5,100 t), 40 percent of which was additional deck armor, the remainder being used for a larger-caliber main battery.

One of the most significant changes was the decision to bore out the over-sized 40.6 cm guns to 42 cm caliber for the H-41 design. The design staff determined that modifications to the ammunition hoists and loading equipment could be easily done and that the original turrets could be retained. The OKM was aware that the British had settled on a 40.6 cm gun for the proposed Lion class; the 42 cm gun would grant the H-41 design a significant advantage over these new adversaries. The ships' armament was otherwise unchanged from the H-39, apart from an increased number of 2 cm anti-aircraft guns, of which there were now to be 34.

The ships' main armor decks were substantially strengthened: the deck was increased in thickness from 120 mm (4.7 in) to 200 mm (7.9 in) and the sloped armor at the edges was thickened from 150 mm (5.9 in) to 175 mm (6.9 in). Wartime experience with the Scharnhorst class indicated that the torpedo-defense system was insufficiently strong to protect the H-39 design from underwater damage. Beam was therefore increased, with greater width added at the ends of the armored citadel to allow a greater distance between the side wall and the torpedo bulkhead. The stern section of the torpedo bulkhead was also strengthened structurally to allow it to better contain the force of an underwater explosion. A triple bottom was also included in the design, the first time a feature was used in a German warship design. The loss of Bismarck in May 1941 also influenced the design; two large skegs were added to the outboard shafts to protect them and increase support for the stern while in drydock. The rudder system was also designed with an explosive charge to detach the rudders in the event they became jammed.

The finalized design was approved by Admiral Raeder on 15 November 1941. The new design measured 282 m (925 ft) long at the waterline, had a beam of 39 m (128 ft), and a draft of up to 12.2 m (40 ft) at full load. The increase in weight, while engine power remained constant, reduced speed to 28.8 kn (53.3 km/h; 33.1 mph). The OKM planned to begin construction six to nine months after demobilization, initially at Blohm & Voss and the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel. Deschimag, which had been awarded the contract for "J", could no longer be used due to the increase in draft, which precluded travel through the shallow Weser. Following the completion of a new, larger dock at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven, work would also be done there. The increased size of the ships would have lengthened the building time from four to five years.

Further Design Studies (H-42 to H-44)

On 8 February 1942, Albert Speer became the Reichsminister for Armaments and Munitions and gained influence over the Navy's construction programs. Speer reassigned some members of the H class design staff to work on new U-boats and other tasks deemed critical to the war effort. The Schiffsneubaukommission (New Ships Construction Commission), intended to liaise with Speer and the OKM, was created and placed under the direction of Admiral Karl Topp. This group was responsible for the design work that resulted in the H-42 type, as well as the subsequent designs. The Construction Office of the OKM formally concluded their work on new battleships with the H-41 type and played no further role in battleship development. The Commission did not discuss its activities with Raeder or his successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz, or with other branches in the OKM. As the designs for the H-42, H-43, and H-44 battleships were purely conjectural, no actual work was begun. The German navy did not seriously consider construction on any of the designs, which were so large that they could not have been built in a traditional slipway. Indeed, the Construction Office of the OKM sought to disassociate itself from the projects, which they found to be of doubtful merit and unnecessary for German victory.

Historical Inaccuracies

• The dimensions of the Großer Kurfürst in-game is closest to that of the H-42 concept; however, the larger H-class studies did not appear to seriously consider the triple 40.6cm turret, which appears to be a separate development related to the German-Soviet Commercial Agreement (1940).
• The arrangement of the secondary battery is inconsistent with German battleship designs, as all H-class designs and studies had the arrangement of 6x2 15cm guns and 8x2 10.5cm AA guns.

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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.