The complement numbers 888 officers and men. The “Blücher,” which until lately was used for gunnery training purposes, is the only German warship to be fitted with a tripod mast and a fire-control station on the British pattern.
SCHARNHORST.
GNEISENAU.
(Completed 1907-08.)
Both these armoured cruisers were launched in 1906. They displace 11,400 tons, and are 470-ft. in length. With engines designed for 28,000 h.p., the trial speed was 23 knots. The armament is very powerful for a ship of this class, and consists of eight 8·2-in., six 5·9-in., and eighteen 21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes.
Four of the big guns are mounted in twin turrets, the remaining four in broadside casemates. Six of these weapons can be fired on either broadside. The 5·9-in. guns are in an armoured battery.
Six-inch armour protects the waterline and vital parts, the same thickness being on the main gun positions. The maximum coal supply is 2,000 tons.
A complement of 764 officers and men is carried.
The “Scharnhorst” flies the flag of the admiral in command of the cruiser squadron in China, and the “Gneisenau” is also a unit of the China squadron.
YORCK.
ROON.
(Completed 1905.)
The principal details of these ships are: Displacement, 9,350 tons; length, 417-ft.; designed h.p., 19,000; speed, 21 knots. Armament consists of four 8·2-in., ten 5·9-in., and fourteen 21-pounder guns, with four submerged torpedo tubes. The 8·2-in. guns are mounted in two double turrets placed forward and aft, the 5·9-in. being in an armoured battery.
Protection is very poor. At its thickest the belt is only 4 ins., but there is 6-in. armour on the turrets. The general design of these ships is faulty, and they have not proved successful in service. The maximum coal capacity is 1,400 tons.