|
The four ships of the Mackensen class were almost the last battlecruisers to be laid down in Germany during the First World War and contained the last such ships to come close to being completed. Only two of them were launched during the war, and neither of them was completed. Work on their design began in 1913, and all four were laid down in 1915. Under peace time conditions it would have taken three years for them to come into action, so both the Mackensen and the Ersatz Freya would have joined the fleet early in 1918, but under wartime conditions their construction was delayed.
The Mackensen class ships were designed to carry eight 13.8in guns, making them the most powerfully armed battlecruisers yet designed for the German Navy. They were given the most power machinery of any German capital ships that began construction – a mix of thirty two coal and oil firing boilers, providing 90,000shp.
One ship of this class was ordered under the 1914-15 programme, one under the War estimates and five in April 1915. Three of the last five were later modified to form the Ersatz Yorck Class, armed with 15in guns, but only one of these ships was ever laid down, and work stopped after only 1,000 of its 33,000 tons had been assembled.
Despite never actually entering service, the Mackensen did have an impact on British planning. In January 1918 Admiral Beatty recommended that the Grand Fleet abandon its previous strategy of attempting to bring the enemy to battle at any cost, and replace it with one of containing the German fleet in its bases. One of the reasons for this change of plan was that the British believed that the Mackensen was already in service, giving the Germans a six to three advantage in high quality battlecruisers.
Displacement (loaded) |
c.35,500t |
Top Speed |
28kts |
Range |
8,000 nautical miles at 14kts |
Armour – deck |
4.3in-1in |
- belt |
12in-4in |
- bulkheads |
10in-4in |
- battery |
6in |
- barbettes |
11.5-3.5in |
- turrets |
12.8in-4.3in |
- conning tower |
14in-4in |
Length |
731ft 8in |
Armaments |
Eight 350mm (13.8in) SK L/45 guns |
Crew complement |
1186 |
Launched |
1917 |
Not completed |
|
Ships in class |
SMS Mackensen |