Its interesting to note that the German Navy emphasised endurance with their battleships, sacrificing firepower for armour and speed. Their calibres were considerably smaller than the British and especially the Americans. Looking at the primary armament of American dreadnoughts its clear that the emphasis was overwhelmingly in firepower, more so than even the British. By 1915 American battleships significantly outgunned the Royal Navys, and hugely outgunned the Germans. The Americans were serious, it suggests their doctrine was a radical bring the enemy to action and destroy him in the Nelsonian tradition that was to an even greater degree than the English themselves. Just as an example, the German Kaiser and Helogland classes were armed with 10 12-inch guns. The later British classes King George V and Iron Duke had 10 13.5-inch guns. While the American Nevada and Pennsylvania classes had an incredible 12 14-inch guns. The weight of lead on the American ships was thus far superior to the Germans, and since the calibre was larger the Americans had superior range too. But while the Americans significantly outgunned their German and even British counterparts, one can assume they suffered structural deficiencies that would have made them vulnerable to fire themselves. The German emphasis on protection proved its worth at Jutland when the Germans did not lose a single capital ship while the British lost the Battlecruisers Invincible, Indefatigable, and most dramatically, the Queen Mary which blew apart after the fire from the German battlecruiser Derfflinger penetrated its magazines on the second (!) shot. The lesson was clear the British, and presumably the Americans, could dish it out, but they couldnt take it. Even with inferior range and inferior firepower the Germans scored a clear tactical victory over the Grand Fleet off the coast of Denmark in the summer of 1916.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 02:47:13 +0000
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