Deutchland class cruiser

The German Deutchland class of three heavy cruisers were built in 1929 and were all completed by 1936.They were intended to be a type of battlecruiser with a main armament of 6 11inch guns that could out run or out fight any enemy ship it came up against.However, when World war 2 began their 26 knot speed was not nearly enough to get away from the newest battleships and battlecruisers,some of which had top speeds of over 30 knots!

When the war broke out two of them(one was in port) started attacking convoys and had quite a few successes,but on December 13 the Graf spee scuttled itself after a fight with three British cruisers(called the battle of the river plate) off the seaside town of Montevideo in Uruguay.the Deutschland(head of the class)kept attacking convoys until she joined the Norway operation,where she was badly damaged.While sailing out after her repairs were completed she was again badly damaged by a British torpedo bomber.

She participated in the Battle of The Barents sea where She was driven off by a lighter enemy force.She finally scuttled herself in May 1945 in the face of the Russian advance.At the outbreak of war the Admiral Scheer was in port being refitted.She didn't get out until late 1940 when she started attacking convoys.She participated in a couple of actions and served as a training ship until she was sunk by bombers in April 1945.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschland_class_cruiser
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Barents_Sea


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