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148-609: Admiral Hipper may refer to: Franz von Hipper (1863–1932), German Admiral who served in World War I Admiral Hipper , a German heavy cruiser named after the World War I admiral, launched in 1937 and served in World War II Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Admiral Hipper . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

296-763: A German Imperial Naval Academy was created at Kiel for training officers, followed in May by the creation of a 'Machine Engineer Corps', and in February 1873 a 'Medical Corps'. In July 1879 a separate 'Torpedo Engineer Corps' was created dealing with torpedoes and mines. In May 1872 a ten-year building programme was instituted to modernise the fleet. This called for eight armoured frigates , six armoured corvettes , twenty light corvettes, seven monitors , two floating batteries , six avisos , eighteen gunboats and twenty-eight torpedo boats , at an estimated cost of 220 million gold marks . The building plan had to be approved by

444-596: A British submarine. A year later, a brief skirmish took place in the Helgoland Bight between British and German capital ships. On 12 August 1918, Hipper was promoted to command of the High Seas Fleet, after Scheer had been promoted to the Chief of Naval Staff. He was concurrently promoted to Admiral; Hipper took provisional control of the fleet in a ceremony held on the old battleship Kaiser Wilhelm II

592-452: A battle for the honor of the fleet in this war, even if it were a death battle, it would be the foundation for a new German fleet...such a fleet would be out of the question in the event of a dishonorable peace." The plan involved two simultaneous attacks by light cruisers and destroyers, one on Flanders and another on shipping in the Thames estuary ; the five battlecruisers were to support

740-482: A campaign to maintain a higher construction rate. Four battleships of the Helgoland class were laid down in 1909–10, with displacements of 22,800 tons, twelve 30.5 cm (12.0 in) guns in 6 turrets, reciprocating engines generating a maximum speed of 21 knots, and a price tag of 46 million marks. Again, the turret configuration was dictated by the need to use the centre of the ship for machinery, despite

888-584: A change in attitude amongst military planners that a land war in Europe was increasingly likely, and a turning away from Tirpitz's scheme for worldwide expansion using the navy. In 1912 General von Moltke commented, "I consider war to be unavoidable, and the sooner the better." The Kaiser's younger brother, Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia , considered that the cost of the navy was now too great. In Britain, Churchill announced an intention to build two capital ships for every one constructed by Germany, and reorganised

1036-505: A closer relationship with France, including naval cooperation. Tirpitz saw this once again as an opportunity to press for naval expansion and the continuation of the four capital ships per year building rate into 1912. The January 1912 elections brought a Reichstag where the Social Democrats, opposed to military expansion, became the largest party. The German army, mindful of the steadily increasing proportion of spending going to

1184-522: A dangerous position; Jellicoe had turned his fleet south and again crossed Scheer's "T." A third 16-point turn followed, which was covered by a charge by Hipper's mauled battlecruisers —though as he was in the process of transferring from Lützow to G39 , command of the squadron had temporarily fallen to Captain Hartog aboard Derfflinger . Hipper remarked, "I had to find myself another flagship because I could no longer exercise command from one which

1332-556: A depth of 50 metres (160 ft), though could go to 80 metres (260 ft). Spending on the navy increased inexorably year by year. In 1909 Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow and Treasury Secretary Reinhold von Sydow attempted to pass a new budget boosting taxes in an attempt to reduce the deficit. The Social Democratic parties refused to accept the increased taxes on goods, while the conservatives opposed increases in inheritance taxes. Bülow and Sydow resigned in defeat and Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg became Chancellor. His attempted solution

1480-472: A guaranteed proportion of expenditure for the army, but failed when army officers refused to support him publicly. Tirpitz argued for six new capital ships, and got three, together with 15,000 additional sailors in a new combined military budget passed in April 1912. The new ships, together with the existing reserve flagship and four reserve battleships were to become one new squadron for the High Seas Fleet. In all

1628-641: A letter to Adolf von Trotha , the new fleet commander, expressing his approval of the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919. After the revolution was over, Hipper moved to a house in Altona near Hamburg. Unlike his superior, Reinhard Scheer, Hipper never wrote a memoir of the war or his participation in the Imperial Navy. He briefly dabbled in conservative political movements in

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1776-679: A margin of superiority. More capital ships were stationed in British home waters. A treaty with Japan in 1902 meant that ships could be withdrawn from East Asia, while the Entente Cordiale with France in 1904 meant that Britain could concentrate on guarding Channel waters, including the French coast, while France would protect British interests in the Mediterranean . By 1906 it was considered that Britain's only likely naval enemy

1924-481: A naval artillery school was established at Sonderburg (north of Kiel). This aimed to address the difficulties with the new generation of guns, which with potentially greater range required aiming devices capable of directing them at targets at those extreme ranges. By 1914, experiments were being conducted with guns in increasing sizes up to 51 cm (20 in). Capital ships were fitted with spotting tops high up on masts with range finding equipment, while ship design

2072-579: A new naval air division was created at Johannisthal , near Berlin. However, in September 1913 L 1 was destroyed in a storm , while the following month L 2 was lost in a gas explosion . Orders for the undelivered machines were cancelled, leaving the navy with one machine, the L 3 . In 1910 Prince Heinrich had learned to fly and supported the cause of naval aviation. In 1911 experiments took place with Albatros seaplanes and in 1912 Tirpitz authorized 200,000 marks for seaplane trials. The Curtiss seaplane

2220-537: A number of light cruisers and the most modern torpedo boats, were to be interned in Scapa Flow. The fleet was placed under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter and sent to meet the Allied fleet of some 370 vessels. Hipper watched from shore as the German fleet left for Scapa Flow on 21 November 1918. He later wrote, My heart is breaking with this; my time as fleet commander has come to an inglorious end. The remaining questions of demobilization, disarmament, and

2368-580: A one-year volunteer position in the German military . After basic officer training in 1879, Hipper decided to join the navy. He went to Kiel , where he took the Pressen , courses designed to prepare officers for the naval entrance examination, which he successfully passed. On 15 April 1881, at the age of 17, Franz Hipper became an officer of the Imperial German Navy . Among the fellow cadets of

2516-627: A quick-loading design and more powerful secondary armaments. Costs rose to 21 million marks each, as had size to 11,500 tons. In 1892 Germany had launched the protected cruiser SMS  Kaiserin Augusta , the first navy ship to have triple propellers. She was succeeded by five Victoria Louise -class protected cruisers, the last 'protected', as distinct from 'armoured' cruiser class constructed by Germany. The ships, completed between 1898 and 1900, had deck armour but not side armour and were intended for overseas duties. Shortages of funding meant it

2664-653: A reliable supply of fuel oil. Two more ships of the class were later laid down, but never completed. Three light cruisers commenced construction in German yards in 1912–1913 ordered by the Russian Navy, costing around 9 million marks. The ships were seized at the outbreak of World War I becoming SMS  Regensburg , SMS  Pillau and SMS  Elbing . Two larger cruisers, SMS  Wiesbaden and SMS  Frankfurt were also commenced and entered service in 1915. More torpedo boats were constructed, with gradually increasing sizes having reached 800 tons for

2812-642: A result Tirpitz had set up a special commission to develop turbines. No reliable German design was available by 1903, so British Parsons turbines were purchased. In 1899, the Imperial Naval High Command was replaced by the German Imperial Admiralty Staff ( Admiralstab ) responsible for planning, the training of officers, and naval intelligence. In time of war it was to assume overall command, but in peace acted only advisory. Direct control of various elements of

2960-608: A shop-keeper, died when Franz was three. When Franz turned five, he began his education at a Catholic grammar school in Munich. At the age of ten, Franz attended the Gymnasium in Munich. Hipper graduated from the Gymnasium in 1879 with the degree of Obersekundareife —the rough equivalent of a high school diploma. After completing his education, Hipper signed up as a volunteer reserve officer ( Einjährig-Freiwilliger ),

3108-473: A single 13.5 in (343 mm) shell, which holed the deck and penetrated the rear barbette. The shell itself failed to enter the barbette, but the explosion flashed into the working chamber and detonated the propellant charges inside. By this time, Blücher was severely damaged after having been pounded by heavy shells. The chase ended when there were several reports of U-boats ahead of the British ships; Beatty quickly ordered evasive maneuvers, which allowed

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3256-466: A speed around 24 knots. SMS  Dresden cost 7.5 million marks, and SMS  Emden 6 million marks. Four Kolberg -class cruiser were produced between 1907 and 1911 at 4,400 tons and around 8 million marks each. These had turbines, twelve 10.5 cm guns as main armament, but were also equipped to carry and lay 100 mines. From 1907 onward, all torpedo boats were constructed using turbine engines. Despite their ultimate importance,

3404-433: A speed of 22 knots, costing 50 million marks. Guns were arranged in the same pattern as the preceding battle-cruisers, but were now increased to 38 cm (15 in) diameter. The ships had four 8.8 cm anti-aircraft and also sixteen 15 cm lighter guns, but were coal fuelled. It was considered that coal bunkers at the sides of the ship added to protection against penetrating shells, but Germany also did not have

3552-697: A torpedo specialist; he returned to Friedrich der Grosse as a torpedo officer in October 1891. In April 1892, he went to join the crew of the newly commissioned coastal defense ship Beowulf , again as a torpedo officer. He served in this position only briefly, before being reassigned as the company commander of the Second Torpedo Unit, based in Wilhelmshaven , in October 1892. Hipper then took part in torpedo boat instruction from January to February 1893. In 1894–95, Hipper served as

3700-674: A week later on the 27th. Scheer, however, attempted to have Hipper retired instead of returning after the termination of sick leave; he contacted Henning von Holtzendorff , the Chief of the Admiralty Staff, who disagreed with Scheer. Holtzendorff thought that relieving Hipper at that point would "only damage the war leadership." Hipper had meanwhile left for a spa in Bad Nenndorf , where he spent five weeks. His deputy, Friedrich Boedicker , assumed temporary command. Hipper returned to his post on 12 May 1916; he hoisted his flag aboard

3848-609: Is most famous for commanding the German battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group during World War I , particularly at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. During the war, Hipper led the German battlecruisers on several raids of the English coast, for which he was vilified in the English press as a "baby killer". His squadron clashed with the British battlecruiser squadron at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, where

3996-637: The Prinz Adalbert class were commissioned in 1904, followed by two similar Roon -class armoured cruisers commissioned in 1905 and 1906, at costs around 17 million marks each. SMS  Scharnhorst and SMS  Gneisenau followed, between 1904 and 1908, and cost an estimated for 20.3 million marks. Main armament was eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns, but with six 15 cm (5.9 in) and eighteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns for smaller targets. Eight Bremen -class light cruisers were constructed between 1902 and 1907, developed from

4144-480: The Reichstag , which controlled the allocation of funds, although one-quarter of the money came from French war reparations. In 1883 Stosch was replaced by another general, Count Leo von Caprivi . At this point the navy had seven armoured frigates and four armoured corvettes, 400 officers and 5,000 ratings. The objectives of coastal defence remained largely unchanged, but there was a new emphasis on development of

4292-752: The Baltic Sea and Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea served as the Navy's principal naval bases. The former Navy Ministry became the Imperial Admiralty on 1 February 1872, while Stosch became formally an admiral in 1875. Initially the main task of the new Imperial Navy was coastal protection, with France and Russia seen as Germany's most likely future enemies. The Imperial Navy's tasks were then to prevent any invasion force from landing and to protect coastal towns from possible bombardment. In March 1872

4440-666: The First World War ; its only major engagement, the Battle of Jutland , was a draw, but it kept the surface fleet largely in port for the rest of the war. The submarine fleet was greatly expanded and threatened the British supply system during the U-boat campaign . As part of the Armistice , the Imperial Navy's main ships were ordered to be turned over to the Allies but they were instead scuttled by their own crews. All ships of

4588-677: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 . After the revolution settled, he moved to Altona outside Hamburg. Unlike his superior, Reinhard Scheer , he never published a memoir of his service during the war. Hipper died on 25 May 1932. The Kriegsmarine commemorated him with the launching of the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in 1938. Franz Hipper was born to Anton and Anna Hipper in Weilheim in Oberbayern , some 40 miles (64 km) south of Munich , on 13 September 1863. His father,

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4736-756: The Kiel Canal was commenced in June 1887, which connected the North Sea with the Baltic through the Jutland peninsula, allowing German ships to travel between the two seas avoiding waters controlled by other countries. This shortened the journey for commercial ships, but specifically united the two areas principally of concern to the German navy, at a cost of 150 million marks. Later, the protection of German maritime trade routes became important. This soon involved

4884-475: The König class were completed between August and November 1914, and two Bayern -class battleships entered service in 1916. The battlecruisers Derfflinger , Lützow , and Hindenburg were completed in September 1914, March 1916, and May 1917, respectively. All but the latest pre-Dreadnoughts were soon decommissioned, so that their crews could be transferred to more useful vessels. The main fighting forces of

5032-549: The Moltke design, reaching a maximum speed of 29 knots. All cruisers were equipped with turbine engines from 1908 onwards. Between 1910 and 1912 four Magdeburg -class light cruisers were constructed of 4,600 tons, at around 7.4 million marks each. The ships were fitted with oil burners to improve the effectiveness of their main coal fueling. These were followed by the similar but slightly enlarged and marginally faster Karlsruhe and Graudenz -class light cruisers. In 1907

5180-748: The Pour le Mérite ; it was awarded by the Kaiser on 5 June. He was also awarded the Royal Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph , Commander's Cross. This award carried with it elevation to the nobility and the title Ritter . He was presented with several other awards, including the Royal Saxon Order, the Order of Albrecht , and all three Hanseatic Crosses from Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg. The remainder of 1916 and through 1917

5328-672: The 1881 class was Wilhelm Souchon , who went on to command the Mediterranean Division at the outbreak of World War I. After Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as a probationary sea cadet, he served on the sail-frigate SMS  Niobe from April to September 1881. He was then transferred to the Naval Cadet School in Kiel , which he attended from September 1881 to March 1882. Upon graduation, he attended

5476-458: The 1920s but never committed to any. He died on 25 May 1932; he was cremated and was buried in his hometown of Weilheim, according to his wishes. On hearing of Hipper's death, his old adversary David Beatty said, "I am very sorry. One would like to express one's regrets for the passing of a gallant officer and a great sailor." In 1938, the German navy, which had been expanded by the Nazis , launched

5624-522: The 6-week Basic Gunnery School on the training ship Mars , from April to May 1882. Following gunnery training, Hipper was assigned to the training ship Friedrich Carl for sea training, which lasted from May to September 1882. He was then transferred to the steam corvette Leipzig for a world cruise; this was begun in October 1882 and completed two years later in October 1884. Upon reaching Germany, Hipper returned to Kiel to attend Naval Officer School from November 1884 to April 1885. On 24 April, Hipper

5772-687: The Bavarian Military Service Order, and the Order of St. Stanislaus—awarded by the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Hipper was promoted to the rank of Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) on 10 June 1901. After leaving the Imperial yacht, Hipper was assigned to command of the Second Torpedo Unit on 1 October 1902. He held the command until 30 September 1905. His flagship for the first six months of his command

5920-437: The British intercepted messages relating to the plan to bombard Scarborough. Vice Admiral Beatty's four battlecruisers, supported by six dreadnoughts and several cruisers and smaller vessels, were to ambush Hipper's battlecruisers. The evening of the 15th, the main German fleet encountered the six British battleships; Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , convinced he was faced by the entire British fleet, turned in retreat. Hipper

6068-549: The British. This all contributed to growing opposition in the Reichstag to any further expansion, particularly when it was clear that Britain intended to match and exceed any German expansion program. In the fleet itself, complaints were beginning to be made in 1908 about underfunding and shortages of crews for the new ships. The State Secretary of the Treasury, Hermann von Stengel , resigned because he could see no way to resolve

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6216-558: The Deputy Flag Officer, Reconnaissance Forces. In January 1912, Rear Admiral Bachmann was promoted out of his position; on the 26th Hipper succeeded him as the deputy commander. The following day, he was promoted to rear admiral. After serving as the deputy commander for over a year and a half, Hipper again followed Admiral Bachmann. Admiral Bachmann was promoted to Chief of the Baltic Station and Hipper took over as

6364-699: The East Asia Squadron. Hipper again remained in Germany; he was given command of the First Torpedo boat Division, based in Kiel. Here he was responsible for training more than half of the torpedo boats in the entire German navy. Hipper held the position for three years, until he returned to fleet service. On 1 October 1911, Hipper took command of the armored cruiser Yorck , along with the position as chief of staff for Rear Admiral Gustav Bachmann ,

6512-639: The German fleet to a strength where it could contemplate challenging France or Russia, but would remain clearly inferior to the world's largest fleet, the Royal Navy. Following the Boxer Rebellion in China and the Boer War , a second navy bill was passed on 14 June 1900. This approximately doubled the allocated number of ships to 38 battleships, 20 armoured cruisers, 38 light cruisers. Significantly,

6660-472: The German navy declined to take up the cause of another experiment, the submarine, until 1904. The first submarine, U-1 was delivered in December 1906, built by Krupp's Germania yard in Kiel. The first submarine had 238 ton displacement on the surface and 283 tons submerged. The kerosene engine developed 10 knots on the surface with a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi). Submerged,

6808-412: The German ships to increase the distance to their pursuers. At this time, Lion ' s last operational dynamo failed, which dropped her speed to 15 knots (28 km/h). Beatty, in the stricken Lion , ordered the remaining battlecruisers to "Engage the enemy's rear," but signal confusion caused the ships to solely target Blücher , allowing Moltke , Seydlitz , and Derfflinger to escape. Blame for

6956-519: The Horns Reef lighthouse independently. Hipper's ships were to see no further combat during the return to German waters; at 03:55 Hipper reported to Scheer that Derfflinger and Von der Tann both had only two guns in operation, and that Seydlitz had been heavily damaged. Scheer replied that Hipper was to return to Wilhelmshaven while the fleet stood off Horns Reef . For his conduct in the battle, Hipper received Germany's highest military honor,

7104-572: The Howaldt engine could not be developed in time. Luitpold had a top speed of 20 knots as a result, compared to 22 knots for the other ships. The ships were larger than the preceding class at 24,700 tons, but cheaper at 45 million marks. They formed part of the third squadron of the High Seas Fleet as it was constituted for World War I. Between 1908 and 1912 two Moltke -class battlecruisers were constructed, adding an extra turret on

7252-564: The I Scouting Group, which comprised the battlecruisers Lützow , Derfflinger , Seydlitz , Moltke , and Von der Tann , five light cruisers, and 30 torpedo boats, left the Jade estuary . Scheer and the battle fleet followed an hour and a half later. The British navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation, and so sortied the Grand Fleet , totaling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers

7400-502: The Imperial Navy bore the title SMS , for Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty's Ship). The Imperial Navy achieved some important operational feats. At the Battle of Coronel , it inflicted the first major defeat on the Royal Navy in over one hundred years, although the German squadron of ships was subsequently defeated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands , only one ship escaping destruction. The Navy also emerged from

7548-414: The Imperial Navy. The German fleet in Scapa Flow, meanwhile, was scuttled by its crew on 21 June 1919. Following the German defeat in World War I, Hipper retired on 13 December 1918 from the navy and lived a quiet life; he received a full war pension. During the chaos of the German revolution of 1918–1919 , Hipper hid from radical revolutionaries by assuming a false name and moving frequently. He wrote

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7696-472: The Jade, the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 14 dreadnoughts and 8 pre-dreadnoughts and a screening force of 2 armored cruisers, 7 light cruisers, and 54 torpedo boats, departed to provide distant cover for the bombardment force. The Royal Navy had the capability to intercept and decode the German naval code, as a result of the capture of the light cruiser Magdeburg at the outbreak of the war. On 14 December,

7844-529: The Kaiser's intentions been widely known. Instead, he proceeded with a plan to expand the navy slowly, justifying enlargement step by step. In July 1888 Wilhelm II appointed Vice-Admiral Alexander von Monts as head of the admiralty. Monts oversaw the design of the Brandenburg -class battleship, four of which were constructed by 1894 at a cost of 16 million marks each and displacement of 10,000 tons. In 1889 Wilhelm II reorganised top level control of

7992-426: The Kiel canal, all of which would be enormously expensive. Estimated cost for new dreadnoughts was placed at 36.5 million marks for 19,000 tons displacement ships (larger than Dreadnought at 17,900 tons), and 27.5 million marks for battle-cruisers. 60 million mark was allocated for dredging the canal. The Reichstag was persuaded to agree to the program and passed a Novelle (a supplementary law) amending

8140-622: The Naval Defence Act of 1889, was to maintain a navy superior to Britain's two largest rivals combined. The British Admiralty estimated that the German navy would be the world's second largest by 1906. Major reforms of the Royal Navy were undertaken, particularly by Fisher as First Sea Lord from 1904 to 1909. 154 older ships, including 17 battleships, were scrapped to make way for newer vessels. Reforms in training and gunnery were introduced to make good perceived deficiencies, which in part Tirpitz had counted upon to provide his ships with

8288-459: The Royal Navy had done against the Danish navy in 1801 and 1807." Tirpitz argued that if the fleet could achieve two-thirds the number of capital ships possessed by Britain then it stood a chance of winning in a conflict. Britain had to maintain a fleet throughout the world and consider other naval powers, whereas the German fleet could be concentrated in German waters. Attempts were made to play down

8436-474: The Royal Navy, it had technological advantages, such as better shells and propellant for much of the Great War, meaning that it never lost a ship to a catastrophic magazine explosion from an above-water attack, although the elderly pre-dreadnought SMS  Pommern sank rapidly at Jutland after a magazine explosion was caused by an underwater attack. The unification of Germany under Prussian leadership

8584-679: The Thames attack while the dreadnoughts remained off Flanders. After both strikes, the fleet was to concentrate off the Dutch coast, where it would meet the Grand Fleet in battle. While the fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven, however, war-weary sailors began deserting en masse. As Von der Tann and Derfflinger passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven's inner harbor and roadstead, some 300 men from both ships climbed over

8732-561: The V-25 to V-30 craft constructed by AG Vulcan in Kiel before 1914. In 1912 Germany created a Mediterranean squadron consisting of the battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau . Naval trials of balloons began in 1891, but the results were unsatisfactory and none were purchased by the navy. In 1895 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin attempted to interest both the army and navy in his new rigid airships , but without success. The Zeppelin rigids were considered too slow and there were concerns with their reliability operating over water. In 1909

8880-492: The active and reserve units in his division. In June 1897, Hipper participated in a 17-day Admiralty staff cruise aboard the aviso Grille . After returning from the staff cruise, Hipper was promoted to serve as the commander of the Second Reserve Torpedo-boat Flotilla, a position in which he served for 15 months. Hipper was transferred to the battleship Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm on 1 October 1898, where he served as navigator. Hipper served for 11 months as navigator aboard

9028-465: The armored cruiser Blücher was lost. At the Battle of Jutland, Hipper's flagship Lützow was sunk, though his ships succeeded in sinking three British battlecruisers. In 1918, he was promoted to succeed Admiral Reinhard Scheer as commander of the High Seas Fleet . After the end of the war in 1918, Hipper retired from the Imperial Navy with a full pension. He initially lived under an alias and moved frequently to avoid radical revolutionaries during

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9176-501: The arms race by expanding the capabilities of its new battleships. The five 1912 Queen Elizabeth class of 32,000 tons would have 15 in (380 mm) guns and would be completely oil-fuelled, allowing a speed of 25 knots. For 1912–13 Germany concentrated on battlecruisers, with three Derfflinger -class ships of 27,000 tons and 26–27 knots maximum speed, costing 56–59 million marks each. These had four turrets mounting two 30.5 cm guns arranged in two turrets either end, with

9324-410: The army. Either an enormous sum now had to be found to develop the navy further, or naval expansion had to be abandoned. The decision to continue was taken by Tirpitz in September 1905 and agreed by Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow and the Kaiser, while Dreadnought was still at the planning stage. The larger ships would naturally be more expensive, but also would require enlargement of harbours, locks and

9472-403: The battleship before he was transferred to the Imperial yacht SMY  Hohenzollern on 19 September 1899. While serving on the Imperial yacht, Hipper was present for the trip to England for Queen Victoria 's funeral in 1901 and the cruise to America the following year. Hipper was awarded a number of medals during his service aboard Hohenzollern , including the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle,

9620-422: The battleship total to 45, a target which rose to 48 by 1909. Tirpitz's ultimate goal was a fleet capable of rivaling the Royal Navy . As British public opinion was turned against Germany, Admiral Sir John Fisher twice – in 1904 and 1908 – proposed using Britain's current naval superiority to ' Copenhagen ' the German fleet, that is, to launch pre-emptive strikes against the Kiel and Wilhelmshaven naval bases as

9768-413: The bill set no overall cost limit for the building program. Expenditure for the navy was too great to be met from taxation: the Reichstag had limited powers to extend taxation without entering into negotiations with the constituent German states, and this was considered politically unviable. Instead, the bill was financed by massive loans. Tirpitz, in 1899 was already exploring the possibilities for extending

9916-455: The budget deficit. The elections of 1907 had returned a Reichstag more favourable to military exploits, following the refusal of the previous parliament to grant funds to suppress uprisings in colonies in German South-West Africa . Despite the difficulties, Tirpitz persuaded the Reichstag to pass a further Novelle in March 1908. This reduced the service life for ships from 25 years to 20 years, allowing for faster modernisation, and increased

10064-476: The building rate to four capital ships per year. Tirpitz's target was a fleet of 16 battleships and 5 battlecruisers by 1914, and 38 battleships and 20 battlecruisers by 1920. There were also to be 38 light cruisers, and 144 torpedo boats. The bill contained a restriction, that building would fall to two ships per year in 1912, but Tirpitz was confident of changing this at a later date. He anticipated that German industry, now heavily involved in shipbuilding, would back

10212-400: The calibre of the large guns, while ships were increasingly divided internally into watertight compartments to make them more resistant to flooding when damaged. The design was hampered by the necessity to use reciprocating engines instead of the smaller turbines, since no sufficiently powerful design was available and acceptable to the German navy. Turrets could not be placed above the centre of

10360-404: The centre line astern, raised above the aft turret, but still using 28 cm guns. SMS  Moltke became part of the High Seas Fleet, but SMS  Goeben became part of the Mediterranean squadron and spent World War I as part of the Ottoman navy . The ships cost 42.6 and 41.6 million marks, with maximum speed of 28 knots. Seydlitz was constructed as a slightly enlarged version of

10508-522: The commanding officer of the I Scouting Group on 1 October 1913. Erich Raeder was appointed as Hipper's deputy. After World War I broke out in 1914 Hipper led his battlecruisers on several raids against the English coastal towns. The first such raid occurred on 2 November 1914. Hipper's force included the battlecruisers Moltke , Von der Tann , and Seydlitz , his flagship , and the large armored cruiser Blücher , along with four light cruisers. The flotilla arrived off Great Yarmouth at daybreak

10656-487: The day before. However, the war was all but lost by the time Hipper took command of the fleet. In October, Hipper and Scheer envisioned one last major fleet advance to attack the British Grand Fleet. Scheer intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, to achieve a better bargaining position for Germany regardless of the cost to the navy. During the planning stages, Hipper wrote "As to

10804-467: The defensive minefields. The armored cruiser Yorck made a navigational error that led her into one of the German minefields. She struck two mines and quickly sank; only 127 men out of the crew of 629 were rescued. A second operation followed on 15–16 December 1914; it targeted the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby . By this time Hipper's squadron had been augmented by the new battlecruiser Derfflinger . Twelve hours after Hipper left

10952-466: The disadvantage of the turret layout. The ships were now equipped with 50 cm (20 in) torpedoes. The Kaiser -class battleships built between 1909 and 1913 introduced a change in design as turbine engines were finally approved. The ships had ten 30.5 cm guns, losing two of the centre side turrets but gaining an additional turret astern on the centre line. As with the Von der Tann design, which

11100-458: The earlier Gazelle class . The ships had ten 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) guns and were named after German towns. SMS  Lübeck was the first German cruiser to be fitted with turbine engines , which were also trialled in torpedo boat S-125 . Turbines were faster, quieter, lighter, more reliable and more fuel efficient at high speeds. The first British experimental design (the destroyer HMS  Velox ) had been constructed in 1901 and as

11248-616: The exact plans, the cryptographers of Room 40 were able to deduce that Hipper would be conducting an operation in the Dogger Bank area. Vice Admiral Beatty was again tasked with intercepting and destroying Hipper's battlecruisers. At 08:14 on 24 January, the German cruiser Kolberg spotted the light cruiser Aurora and several destroyers from the Harwich Force , which had been attached to support Beatty's battlecruiser squadron. Hipper immediately turned his battlecruisers towards

11396-530: The first Navy Bill was passed by the Reichstag . It authorised the maintenance of a fleet of 19 battleships, 8 armoured cruisers, 12 large cruisers and 30 light cruisers to be constructed by 1 April 1904. Existing ships were counted in the total, but the bill provided for ships to be replaced every 25 years on an indefinite basis. Five million marks annually was allocated to run the navy, with a total budget of 408 million marks for shipbuilding. This would bring

11544-472: The fleet action of the Battle of Jutland having destroyed more ships than it lost, although the strategic value of both of these encounters was minimal. The Imperial Navy was the first to operate submarines successfully on a large scale in wartime, with 375 submarines commissioned by the end of the First World War , and it also operated zeppelins . Although it was never able to match the number of ships of

11692-564: The fleet to move battleships from the Mediterranean to Channel waters. A policy was introduced of promoting British naval officers by merit and ability rather than time served, which saw rapid promotions for Jellicoe and Beatty , both of whom had important roles in the forthcoming World War I. By 1913 the French and British had plans in place for joint naval action against Germany, and France moved its Atlantic fleet from Brest to Toulon , replacing British ships. Britain also escalated

11840-407: The fleet was subordinated to officers commanding those elements, accountable to the Kaiser. The reorganisations suited the Kaiser who wanted to maintain direct control of his ships. A disadvantage was that it split apart the integrated military command structure which before had balanced the importance of the navy within overall defence considerations. It suited Alfred von Tirpitz, because it removed

11988-720: The fleet were less than impressive; out of four taking part one crashed, one was unable to take off and only one succeeded in all tasks. The most successful aircraft had been the British design, and indeed experiments in Britain had been proceeding with the support of Winston Churchill, and included converting ferries and liners into seaplane carriers . By the start of the First World War, the German Imperial Navy possessed 22 pre-Dreadnoughts, 14 dreadnought battleships and 4 battle-cruisers. A further three ships of

12136-418: The fleet would have five squadrons of eight battleships, twelve large cruisers and thirty small, plus additional cruisers for overseas duties. Tirpitz intended that with the rolling program of replacements, the existing coastal defence squadron of old ships would become a sixth fleet squadron, while the eight existing battle-cruisers would be joined by eight more as replacements for the large cruisers presently in

12284-444: The fleet. German foreign policy as espoused by Otto von Bismarck had been to deflect the interest of great powers abroad while Germany consolidated her integration and military strength. Now Germany was to compete with the rest. Tirpitz started with a publicity campaign aimed at popularising the navy. He created popular magazines about the navy, arranged for Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History , which argued

12432-518: The following morning and bombarded the port , while the light cruiser Stralsund laid a minefield. The British submarine HMS  D5 responded to the bombardment, but struck one of the mines laid by Stralsund and sank. Shortly thereafter, Hipper ordered his ships to turn back to German waters. On the way, a heavy fog covered the Heligoland Bight , so the ships were ordered to halt until visibility improved and they could safely navigate

12580-532: The gunfire, when, almost simultaneously, Stralsund spotted a large amount of smoke to the northwest of her position. This was identified as a number of large British warships steaming towards Hipper's ships. Hipper later remarked: "The presence of such a large force indicated the proximity of further sections of the British Fleet, especially as wireless intercepts revealed the approach of 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron... They were also reported by Blücher at

12728-474: The head of the German line. Only Moltke and Seydlitz , however, were in condition to comply; Derfflinger and Von der Tann could make at most 18 knots, and so these ships lagged behind. An attack by British light cruisers caused the German formation to fall into disarray. In the confusion, Seydlitz lost sight of Moltke , and was no longer able to keep up with Moltke ' s 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph); Seydlitz detached herself to proceed to

12876-501: The hull intended to stop torpedoes, but these reduced maximum speed to an impractical 8 knots and were later removed. Construction began in 1910 of the first submarine powered by twin diesel engines. U-19 was twice the size of the first German submarine, had five times the range at 7,600 nautical miles (14,100 km; 8,700 mi) cruising at 8 knots, or 15 knots maximum. There were now two bow and two stern torpedo tubes, with six torpedoes carried. The ships were designed to operate at

13024-592: The importance of naval forces, to be translated into German and serialised in newspapers, arranged rallies in support and invited politicians and industrialists to naval reviews. Various pressure groups were formed to lobby politicians and spread publicity. One such organisation, the navy league or Flottenverein , was organized by principals in the steel industry ( Alfred Krupp ), ship yards and banks, gaining more than one million members. Political parties were offered concessions, such as taxes on imported grain, in exchange for their support for naval bills. On 10 April 1898

13172-499: The influence of the admiralty staff from naval planning, but left him the possibility, in wartime, to reorganise command around himself. Wilhelm II, however, never agreed to relinquish direct control of his fleet. On 3 December 1906 the Royal Navy received a new battleship, HMS  Dreadnought . She became famous as the first of a new concept in battleship design, using all big gun, single size of calibre armament. She used turbine propulsion for greater speed and less space required by

13320-416: The inner turret superfiring over the outer. SMS  Derfflinger was the first German ship to have anti-aircraft guns fitted. In 1913, Germany responded to the British challenge by laying down two Bayern class battleships. These did not enter service until after the Battle of Jutland, so failed to take part in any major naval action of the war. They had displacement of 28,600 tons, a crew of 1,100 and

13468-527: The intention of doing for the navy what his grandfather Wilhelm I had done for the army. The creation of a maritime empire to rival the British and French empires became an ambition to mark Germany as a truly global great power . Wilhelm became Grand Admiral of the German Navy, but also was awarded honorific titles from all over Europe, becoming admiral in the British, Russian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Austro-Hungarian and Greek navies. On one occasion he wore

13616-418: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Admiral_Hipper&oldid=1247920032 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Franz von Hipper He

13764-628: The loss of Blücher was not placed on Hipper, but on his superior Admiral Ingenohl, who was removed from his post on 4 February. Also on the 4th, Hipper met with the Kaiser on an inspection of the fleet in Wilhelmshaven. That same day, Hipper was awarded the Iron Cross by the Kaiser; on the 23rd he was presented with the Friedrich August Cross , First and Second Classes, by the Grand Duke of Oldenburg. Three days later, Hipper

13912-426: The machinery, and guns arranged so that three times as many could be brought to bear when firing ahead, and twice as many when firing broadside. The design was not a uniquely British concept as similar ships were being built around the world, nor was it uniquely intended as a counter to German naval expansion, but the effect was to immediately require Germany to reconsider its naval building program. The battleship design

14060-419: The magazine; the ship disappeared in a series of massive explosions. By 19:30, the Grand Fleet had arrived on the scene, and was deployed into a position that would cross Scheer's "T" from the northeast. To extricate his fleet from this precarious position, Scheer ordered a 16-point turn to the south-west. Lützow had lost speed and was unable to keep up, and so Hipper ordered his flagship to withdraw to

14208-416: The navy bills and allocating 940 million marks for a dreadnought program and the necessary infrastructure. Two dreadnoughts and one battlecruiser were to be built each year. Construction of four Nassau -class battleships began in 1907 under the greatest possible secrecy. The chief German naval designer was Hans Bürkner. A principle was introduced that the thickness of side armour on a ship would equal

14356-559: The navy by creating a Navy Cabinet ( Marine-Kabinett ) equivalent to the German Imperial Military Cabinet which had previously functioned in the same capacity for both the army and navy. The Head of the navy cabinet was responsible for promotions, appointments, administration and issuing orders to naval forces. Captain Gustav von Senden-Bibran was appointed as its first head and remained so until 1906, when he

14504-609: The navy of the Kingdom of Prussia . Article 53 of the new Empire's constitution recognised the existence of the Navy as an independent organisation, but until 1888 it was commanded by army officers and initially adopted the same regulations as the Prussian army. Supreme command was vested in the emperor, but its first appointed chief was General der Infanterie (General of the Infantry) Albrecht von Stosch . Kiel on

14652-501: The navy rejected proposals for aircraft to be launched from ships, and again in 1910 declined Zeppelin's airships. Finally in 1911, trials with aircraft began and in 1912 Tirpitz agreed to purchase the first airship for naval reconnaissance at a cost of 850,000 marks. The machine had insufficient range (1,440 km (890 mi)) to operate over Britain, but had machine guns for use against aircraft and experimental 80 kg (180 lb) bombs. The following year ten more were ordered and

14800-650: The navy, demanded an increase of 136,000 men to bring its size closer to that of France. In February 1912 the British war minister, Viscount Haldane , came to Berlin to discuss possible limits to naval expansion. Meanwhile, in Britain, the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill made a speech describing the German navy as a 'luxury', which was considered an insult when reported in Germany. The talks came to nothing, ending in recriminations over who had offered what. Bethmann Hollweg argued for

14948-475: The navy. The key leader was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz , who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy, while adopting the sea power theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan . The result was a naval arms race with Britain , as the German navy grew to become one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy . The German surface navy proved ineffective during

15096-420: The negotiations with the soldiers councils can be handled by my chief of staff; I have nothing more to do. I shall remain pro forma in command for a short time, otherwise, I am dead tired. Less than two weeks later, on 2 December, Admiral Hipper submitted his request to be placed on the inactive list. He retired on 13 December with a full pension; at the age of 55, Hipper spent almost 37 years on active duty in

15244-610: The new armored cruiser Prinz Adalbert . In April 1906, he participated in the Battleship Gunnery Course conducted aboard the battleship Schwaben . On 20 April, Hipper was given command of the light cruiser Leipzig , though his tenure as commander was short-lived. Leipzig departed for the East Asia Squadron in September 1906, at which point Hipper was transferred to command the new armored cruiser Friedrich Carl . Hipper assumed command of

15392-627: The new heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper in commemoration of its namesake. Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire , which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy ), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded

15540-450: The newly commissioned battlecruiser Lützow . Admiral Scheer planned another operation to lure out a portion of the British fleet for 17 May, but damage to the battlecruiser SMS  Seydlitz sustained during the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft the previous month, coupled with condenser trouble on several of the battleships of III Battle Squadron caused the plan to be delayed, ultimately to 31 May. That morning, at 02:00 CET ,

15688-437: The night before, in order to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet. At 16:00, the British and German battlecruiser forces encountered each other and began a running gun fight south, back towards Scheer's battle fleet. During this portion of the battle, Hipper's ships destroyed the battlecruisers Indefatigable and Queen Mary . Upon reaching the High Seas Fleet, Vice Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers turned back to

15836-624: The north to lure the Germans towards the rapidly approaching Grand Fleet, under the command of Admiral John Jellicoe . During the run to the north, Hipper's ships continued to engage both Beatty's battlecruisers and the Queen Elizabeth -class battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron . At 19:24, the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron had formed up with Beatty's remaining battlecruisers ahead of the German line. The leading British ships spotted Lützow and Derfflinger , and began firing on them. In

15984-465: The outbreak of World War I, one billion marks had been added to Germany's national debt because of naval expenditures. While each German ship was more expensive than the last, the British managed to reduce the cost of the succeeding generations of Bellerophon (3 ships) and St. Vincent (3) battleships. Successive British battlecruisers were more expensive, but less so than their German equivalents. Overall, German ships were some 30% more expensive than

16132-399: The overseas squadrons. The plan envisaged a main fleet of 100,000 men, 49 battleships and 28 battlecruisers by 1920. The Kaiser commented of the British, "... we have them up against the wall." Although Tirpitz had succeeded in getting more ships, the proportion of military expenditure on the navy declined in 1912 and thereafter, from 35% in 1911 to 33% in 1912 and 25% in 1913. This reflected

16280-446: The perceived threat to Britain, but once the German fleet reached the position of equalling the other second-rank navies, it became impossible to avoid mention of the one great fleet it was intended to challenge. Tirpitz hoped that other second-rank powers might ally with Germany, attracted by its navy. The policy of commencing what amounted to a naval arms race did not properly consider how Britain might respond. British policy, stated in

16428-403: The planned operation was abandoned. In an attempt to suppress the mutiny, the High Seas Fleet squadrons were dispersed. The situation had declined so significantly that on 9 November, Hipper personally took down his flag from the battleship Baden and went ashore. According to the terms of the Armistice , all five of Germany's battlecruisers and two of the three battle squadrons, along with

16576-434: The rear of the German line, which had opened fire on a light cruiser and several destroyers coming up from astern... The battlecruisers under my command found themselves, in view of the prevailing [East-North-East] wind, in the windward position and so in an unfavourable situation from the outset." Hipper turned south to flee, but was limited to 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph), which was Blücher 's maximum speed at

16724-639: The senior watch officer aboard the new battleship Wörth , under the command of Prince Heinrich . While aboard Wörth , Hipper was promoted to Senior Lieutenant and awarded the Bavarian National Defense Service Medal on 29 August 1895. In September 1895, Hipper was assigned as the commanding officer of the Second Torpedo-boat Reserve Division. He held this position for 21 months, during which time he alternated command of four vessels of

16872-453: The setting up of some overseas supply stations, so called Auswärtige Stationen (foreign stations) and in the 1880s the Imperial Navy played a part in helping to secure the establishment of German colonies and protectorates in Africa, Asia and Oceania. In June 1888 Wilhelm II became Emperor after the death of his father Frederick III , who ruled for only 99 days. He started his reign with

17020-641: The ship and instead had to be placed at the side, meaning two of the six turrets would always be on the wrong side of the ship when firing broadsides. Main armament was twelve 28 cm guns. The ships were all completed by 1910, over budget, averaging 37.4 million marks each. In 1910 they were transferred from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven, where two new large docks had been completed and more were under construction. The first German battlecruiser— SMS  Von der Tann —was commenced March 1908. Four Parsons turbines were used, improving speed to 27 knots and reducing weight. Four twin turrets mounted 28 cm guns; although

17168-414: The ship could manage 50 nautical miles at 5 knots using battery electric propulsion. The ships followed a design by Maxime Laubeuf first used successfully in 1897, having a double hull and flotation tanks around the outside of the main crew compartments. The submarine had just one torpedo tube at the front and a total of three torpedoes. The early engines were noisy and smoky, so that a considerable boost to

17316-576: The ship on 30 September. Under Hipper's leadership, the crew of Friedrich Carl won the Kaiser's Prize for the best shooting in the fleet in 1907. Admiral Hugo von Pohl stated in a subsequent report: "He has brought the ship to a higher degree of combat effectiveness, and the ship has won the Kaiser Prize for good shooting. One of the best captains we have in the cruisers. A good example for his officers. Recommended for battleship command and for higher independent commands." On 6 April 1907, Hipper

17464-463: The side and disappeared ashore. On 24 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on several battleships mutinied ; three ships from the III ;Squadron refused to weigh anchors, and acts of sabotage were committed on board the battleships Thüringen and Helgoland . In the face of open rebellion, the order to sail was rescinded and

17612-416: The southwest. Shortly before 20:00, Kommodore Michelson, aboard the cruiser Rostock , dispatched the torpedo boats of I Half-Flotilla to assist Lützow . G39 came alongside and took Hipper and his staff aboard, in order to transfer him to one of the other battlecruisers. At 19:55, Scheer decided to conduct another 16-point turn to launch an attack on the British fleet. This maneuver again put Scheer in

17760-406: The span of 8 minutes, the battlecruiser Invincible scored eight hits on Lützow ; these hits were mainly concentrated in the ship's bow and were the primary cause of the flooding that would eventually cause her loss. In return, both Lützow and Derfflinger concentrated their fire on Invincible , and at 19:33, Lützow ' s third salvo penetrated Invincible ' s center turret and ignited

17908-438: The time. The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and quickly caught up to the German ships. As the rearmost ship in the German line, Blücher suffered the majority of the British gunfire for the early portion of the battle. Seydlitz was struck in her forecastle at 10:25, by a 13.5 in shell from Lion , but this hit did minor damage. At 10:40, Lion hit Seydlitz with

18056-431: The torpedo, which offered the possibility of relatively small ships successfully attacking much larger ones. In October 1887 the first torpedo division was created at Wilhelmshaven and the second torpedo division based at Kiel. In 1887 Caprivi requested the construction of ten armoured frigates. Greater importance was placed at this time on development of the army, which was expected to be more important in any war. However,

18204-470: The trap without incident. As a result of the civilian casualties inflicted in these raids, the British propaganda effort vilified Hipper as a "baby killer." In early January 1915, it became known to the German naval command that British ships were conducting reconnaissance in the Dogger Bank area. Admiral Ingenohl was initially reluctant to attempt to destroy these forces, because the I Scouting Group

18352-595: The two centre turrets were still placed one either side of the ship, they were offset so could now fire either side. The design was considered a success, but the cost at 35.5 million marks was significantly above the 1906 allocation. Light cruiser development continued with the Dresden -class light cruisers, which were to become famous for their actions in the start of World War I in the Pacific. The ships were 3,300 tons, and armed with ten 10.5 cm rapid fire guns and

18500-417: The uniform of a British admiral to receive the visiting British ambassador. At this time the Imperial Navy had 534 officers and 15,480 men. The concept of expanding naval power, inevitably at the cost of not expanding other forces, was opposed by the three successive heads of the German armed forces, Waldersee , Schlieffen and Moltke between 1888 and 1914. It would also have been more widely opposed, had

18648-409: The usefulness of the submarine came with the introduction of quieter and cleaner diesel engines in 1910, which were much more difficult for an enemy to detect. German expenditure on ships was steadily rising. In 1907, 290 million marks was spent on the fleet, rising to 347 million marks or 24 percent of the national budget in 1908, with a predicted budget deficit of 500 million marks. By

18796-662: Was Germany. Five battleships of the Wittelsbach class were constructed from 1899 to 1904 at a cost of 22 million marks per ship. Five ships of the Braunschweig class were built between 1901 and 1906 for the slightly greater 24 million marks each. Technological improvements meant that rapid fire guns could be made larger, so the Braunschweig class had a main armament of 28 cm (11 in) guns. Due to torpedo improvements in range and accuracy, emphasis

18944-556: Was adopted. By 1913 there were four aeroplanes, now including a British Sopwith, and long-term plans to create six naval air stations by 1918. By 1914, the Marine-Fliegerabteilung , the naval counterpart to the well-established Fliegertruppe land-based aviation units of the Army , comprised twelve seaplanes and one landplane and disposed of a budget of 8.5 million marks. Trials in 1914 using seaplanes operating with

19092-534: Was agreed for five battleships of the Kaiser Friedrich III class , completed by 1902. The ships were innovative for their time, introducing a complex system of watertight compartments and storing coal along the sides of the ship to help absorb explosions. However, the ships went against the trend for increasingly larger main guns, having smaller diameter guns than the Brandenburg design, but with

19240-494: Was altered to place turrets on the centre line of the ship for improved accuracy. The four König -class battleships were commenced between October 1911 and May 1912 and entered service in 1914 at a cost of 45 million marks, forming the other part of the Third Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. They were 28,500 tons, with a maximum speed of 21 knots from three triple-stage Brown-Boverie-Parsons turbines. Main armament

19388-692: Was assigned as a divisional drill officer; he was tasked with training recruits for the First Naval Battalion, based in Kiel. Hipper held this position for seven months. In October 1885, Hipper went through the Executive Officer School in Kiel, which he completed on 16 December. On 4 January 1886, Hipper was assigned as a division officer for the Second Seaman's Artillery Division, Coastal Defense Artillery. He remained in this post until 3 March 1887, at which point he

19536-481: Was assigned as the watch officer aboard Friedrich Carl . This began a three-and-a-half-year stint serving as watch officer aboard several ships, including the corvettes Stosch and Stein , the armored frigate Friedrich der Grosse , and the aviso Wacht . Hipper attended the Torpedo Officer Course aboard the corvette Blücher from October 1890 to January 1891. He was then designated as

19684-416: Was complemented by the introduction of a variant with lighter armour and greater speed, which became the battlecruiser . The revolution in design, together with improvements in personnel and training severely brought into question the German assumption that a fleet of two-thirds the size of the Royal Navy would at least stand a chance in an engagement. By 1906 Germany was already spending 60% of revenue upon

19832-562: Was drawn up at a similar time, all guns could be fired either side in broadsides, meaning more guns could come to bear than with the Helgoland design, despite having fewer in total. Five ships were constructed rather than the usual four, one to act as a fleet flagship. One ship, the SMS ; Prinzregent Luitpold , was equipped with only two turbines rather than three, with the intention of having an additional diesel engine for cruising, but

19980-475: Was five double turrets housing twin 30.5 cm guns, arranged with two turrets fore and aft and one in the centre of the ship. The second turret at either end was raised higher than the outer so that it could fire over the top ( superfiring ). As with Prinzregent Luitpold , the ships were originally intended to have one diesel engine for cruising, but these were never developed and turbines were fitted instead. The ships were equipped with torpedo nets, trailed along

20128-439: Was informed that his hometown had named its main street Hipperstrasse (Hipper Street). By March 1916, Hipper suffered from severe combat fatigue; he had held command of the fleet reconnaissance forces for some 20 months, and the strain of command was beginning to take its toll. He requested sick leave on 20 March, which was approved by Admiral Reinhard Scheer —who had replaced Pohl as fleet commander in January 1916—

20276-510: Was largely uneventful for Hipper. He was placed in command of a detachment of the High Seas Fleet, composed of two battlecruisers, eleven battleships, four light cruisers, and twelve torpedo boats, sent to Denmark to retrieve a pair of stranded U-boats in November 1916. One was successfully returned to Germany, but the other had to be destroyed to prevent its capture. On the return to Germany, Kronprinz and Grosser Kurfürst were torpedoed by

20424-585: Was not possible to create several designs of cruisers specialised for long range work, or more heavily armoured for fleet work. Work commenced on an armoured cruiser design, SMS  Fürst Bismarck started in 1896 and commissioned in 1900. On 18 June 1897 Rear-Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was appointed State Secretary of the Navy, where he remained for nineteen years. Tirpitz advocated the cause of an expanded navy necessary for Germany to defend her territories abroad. He had great success in persuading parliament to pass successive Navy bills authorising expansions of

20572-455: Was placed on a secondary armament of smaller guns to defend against them. The five Deutschland -class battleships constructed between 1903 and 1908 had similar armament as the Braunschweig class, but heavier armour, for the slightly greater sum of 24.5 million marks each. Development of armoured cruisers also continued. Fürst Bismarck ' s design was improved upon in the subsequent Prinz Heinrich , completed in 1902. Two ships of

20720-411: Was promoted to Kapitän zur See (captain at sea). Nicholas II awarded Hipper another commendation, the Order of St. Andrew, that year during a meeting with Wilhelm II. During the ceremony, Hipper joined Wilhelm II as one of his "Imperial Captains." On 6 March 1908, Hipper took command of the new cruiser Gneisenau . He was tasked with conducting the shakedown cruise , after which the ship departed for

20868-644: Was replaced by the long-serving Admiral Georg Alexander von Müller . The existing Imperial admiralty was abolished and its responsibilities divided between two organisations. A new position of Chief of the Imperial Naval High Command was created, being responsible for ship deployments, strategy and tactics, an equivalent to the supreme commander of the Army. Vice admiral Max von der Goltz was appointed in 1889 and remained in post until 1895. Construction and maintenance of ships and obtaining supplies

21016-480: Was shot to pieces...A torpedo boat was called alongside and we changed under heavy fire...[I] drove my torpedoboat hoping to find an advantageous moment to board one of [the other battlecruisers]. These 1½ hours that I spent in a hail of shell and splinters aboard the torpedoboat I shall not be likely to forget." By 22:15, Hipper was finally able to transfer to Moltke ; he then ordered his ships to steam at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) to take up their station at

21164-597: Was temporarily weakened while Von der Tann was in drydock for periodic maintenance. Rear Admiral ( German : Konteradmiral ) Richard Eckermann , the Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet, insisted on the operation, and so Ingenohl relented and ordered Hipper to take his battlecruisers to the Dogger Bank. On 23 January, Hipper sortied, with Seydlitz in the lead, followed by Moltke , Derfflinger , and Blücher , along with four light cruisers and 19 torpedo boats. Again, interception and decryption of German wireless signals played an important role. Although they were unaware of

21312-484: Was the defining point for the creation of the Imperial Navy in 1871. The newly created emperor, Wilhelm I , as King of Prussia , had previously been head of state of the strongest state forming part of the new empire. The navy remained the same as that operated by the empire's predecessor organisation in the unification of Germany, the North German Confederation , which itself in 1867 had inherited

21460-574: Was the new cruiser Niobe ; he then transferred his flag to the large torpedo boat D8 . While in this command, Hipper was awarded additional commendations, including the Prussian Distinguished Service Cross and the Prussian Royal Crown Order. He was promoted to the rank of Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain) on 5 April. In January 1906, Hipper attended the 10-day Cruiser Gunnery School on

21608-538: Was the responsibility of the State Secretary of the Imperial Navy Office ( Reichsmarineamt ), responsible to the chancellor and advising the Reichstag on naval matters. The first appointee was Rear Admiral Karl Eduard Heusner , followed shortly by Rear Admiral Friedrich von Hollmann from 1890 to 1897. Each of these three heads of department reported separately to Wilhelm II. In 1895 funding

21756-605: Was to initiate negotiations with Britain for an agreed slow down in naval building. Negotiations came to nothing when in 1911 the Agadir Crisis brought France and Germany into conflict. Germany attempted to 'persuade' France to cede territory in the Middle Congo in return for giving France a free hand in Morocco. The effect was to raise concerns in Britain over Germany's expansionist aims, and encouraged Britain to form

21904-431: Was unaware of his superior's decision, and so pressed on with the bombardment. The three towns were shelled briefly before Hipper turned back to the planned rendezvous point. By this time, Beatty's battlecruisers were in position to block Hipper's chosen egress route, while other forces were en route to complete the encirclement. Errors in signaling aboard the British ships and bad weather, however, allowed Hipper to escape

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