The armament consists of three old 9·4-in. and ten 21-pounder guns, with four torpedo tubes. A narrow belt of 9-in. armour protects the waterline, but elsewhere the hull has very little protection.
The complement numbers 307 officers and men.
GERMAN ARMOURED CRUISERS.
BLÜCHER.
(Completed 1909.)
The “Blücher” is the most modern of Germany’s armoured cruisers, as distinct from the battle-cruiser class. She was laid down in 1906, at Kiel, as a “reply” to the British “Invincibles,” then building.
At that date the details of the new British ships were carefully guarded, with the result that the Germans, acting on incorrect information, designed a cruiser which was far behind the “Invincible” in every respect. The Blücher displaces 15,550 tons, and is 527-ft. in length.
She has reciprocating engines of 32,000 h.p., for a designed speed of 24 knots, which was increased to 25·8 knots on trial.
The armament consists of twelve 8·2-in., eight 5·9-in., and sixteen 21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes. The 8·2-in. guns are twin-mounted in armoured turrets, so arranged that eight of these weapons bear on the broadside. The 5·9-in. guns are in an armoured battery.
A 7-in. belt protects the waterline and vitals, and there is plating of equal thickness on the turrets. The coal supply is 2,200 tons.