Spähkreuzer was the type name of a planned class of large

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

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Design

There were three main designs proposed for this ship class, the 1938 design, the 1939 design and the 1940 design. The 1940 design was slightly larger and heavier with a more powerful power plant to keep or exceed the 1938 design performance. Both main designs, along with a few design variations, planned the main artillery layout of six 5.9-inch guns in three double turrets: one positioned on the bow and the other two on the stern. This was to allow a more offensive retreat, as these vessels were designed to scout ahead of the Plan Z battle groups. A design designated as 1939 introduced a seaplane carried in the midships area; the torpedo tubes were removed to facilitate this. The

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

was suggested to be mounted between the funnels of the design, however there never seemed to be line drawings, or blueprints that showed that.

Construction

The first 3 ships were ordered in February 1941, these were designated SP1, SP2, and SP3, and formally named Z40, Z41, and Z42. The order was placed for the Germania Shipyard in Kiel to build these vessels. In December 1941, 3 engines for SP4, SP5 and SP6 were ordered but not the ships. SP1 was the only ship for which the keel was laid down and actual construction started. During an air raid in April 1942 the ship plans were destroyed and construction was halted. The metal was scrapped and used to build submarines and regular destroyers that were already further along in their build programs.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spahkreuzer 1938 Plan Z Proposed ships of Germany