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SMS König - Guide 307
The Konig class, dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy, are today's subject.
Read more about the Konig class here:
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Pinned post for Q&A :)
@brendonbewersdorf986
Жыл бұрын
Could you do a video discussion on how to design a good ship armor layout for cruisers and battleships?
@scottmason2557
Жыл бұрын
My parents and I were watching a documentary on the ocean liner "Rex" the other night and they mention that the Italians had a liner called Giulio Cesare in service at the same time as the Battleship with the same name and it got me thinking for navies that didn't have "HMS or USS" before the ships name if their was any confusion between ships owned by the same nation with names that were the same from the navy or merchant fleet? or would it have been more of an issue for foreign navies?
@Niels_Larsen
Жыл бұрын
Did Imperial Germany actually build any battlecruisers? Germany classified them as 'Großer Kreuzer' or Large Cruisers in English. Some few have referred to them as Schlachtkreuzer, but that's about as credible as The Bismarck's pronoun is he. Also from a doctrine perspective, it does not make sense for Germany to build battlecruisers. The Battlecruiser was an answer to a specific British problem, but the germans did not have the same problem and had no need for them. However, they were fully aware of what these battlecruisers would be capable of if they were placed in a screening force. Overpower the enemy's reconnaissance force, which consisted of armoured cruisers, and leave the enemy blind. Therefore the large cruisers replaced the armoured cruisers in the german reconnaissance line. Hence, from a building perspective, the german large cruisers do not resemble the British battlecruisers. In many aspects, they resemble more beefed-up armoured cruisers. They were more heavily armoured, had less firepower, and were slower. Capable of dealing with armoured cruisers, but also to some extent deal with battlecruisers, or a least much better than an armoured cruiser. Edit: An argument I forgot was that while British battlecruisers could theoretically serve in the battleline, German großer Kreuzer could because of a lack of firepower in that they only had 280mm cannons, while contemporary battleships had 305mm. Derfflinger had 305mm cannons, the same armament as König, but her contemporary Beyern, who were delayed due to the outbreak of war and therefore missed Jutland, had 380mm cannons. It seems to me that while Britain build battlecruisers, Germany build large cruisers.
@Captain_Seafort
Жыл бұрын
When the 6th Battle Squadron joined the Grand Fleet "Their gunnery was in the beginning 'distinctly poor and disappointing,' Beatty judged, and he gave no higher marks to their signalling." (Marder, FDSF vol V, p125) You've discussed the issues with US gunnery, and the reasons for it in previous Drydocks, but what were the issues with the signalling, and why, that made it so bad that even David Beatty was complaining?
@themanformerlyknownascomme777
Жыл бұрын
had the German Naval R&D and infustructure somehow been able to continue developing without the interruptions that happened historically, would this Alternate Timelines Riechsmarine and Kreigsmarine been able to lessen or outright avoid the issues that you often point out (overweight, inefficant, and sensitive machinery) or were these flaws inevitable given Germany's resources? how much would this help their operations?
For anyone interested in the three "surviving" (I say this acknowledging all of them are underwater) Konig class ships, Markgraff, Kronprinz and the Konig all were left untouched by the works of Ernest Cox and Metal Industries ltd. - they were just too deep to bring to the surface safely during the early days of modern salvage ops. This does not mean they were left untouched until now however; all three were subjected to blast salvaging during the late 1960's through to the early 1980's - by Nundy (Marine Metals) Ltd and by the Scapa Flow Salvage company (owned by a lovely man named Dougal Campbell) For the most part these operations targeted two components: Non-ferrous metals (boiler components, torpedo tubes, etc) Pre-atomic ferrous metals (armoured plate) for use in precise radiological instances (medical, astronomical, the list goes on) - remember, all steel made post 1945 has trace quantities of radionuclides in . What would happen is a liberal amount of explosives would be used (I've heard of evidence of both torpex and C4, so I have no idea which it was) by a diver, who would scuttle back up to the surface. The charge would be detonated, blowing a massive hole in the hulls of the upturned battleships, and then a crane barge could be brought in to lift out anything worth recovering. This has lead to several changes on the wrecks. These are most evident on the Konig, which sustained large amounts of blast damage during salvage ops and has broken up a rather large amount because of this (including a beautiful swim through), but most importantly has helped weaken areas of the forward hull enough that you can see into the bruno turret base. The Kronprinz withstood little better, and large amounts of her armoured plate has been stripped away, causing widespread damage up and down the wreck. Her boiler rooms were also blasted open for that precious non-ferrous material, and is really a main attraction for her 30cm guns that are trapped beneath the wreckage. In my opinion, the Markgraff will forever remain the Queen of the High Seas Fleet wrecks. There is still large amounts of blast damage, but she is far more intact. Her bow has collapsed from the wreck, and the hull does show damage in the boiler rooms, but other than those two areas, she remains gorgeously intact. If you want to see the finest backside in Orkney, go to this wreck. If you want to see casemates, go to the Markgraff. You can easily see forward from the blasted boiler rooms into the turbine rooms and see the now ceiling stricken turbines.
@Slaktrax
Жыл бұрын
Are there any photos or videos of these three?
@Kevin_Kennelly
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your comment, Tim. I enjoyed reading it.
@shoominati23
Жыл бұрын
Apparently an outfit just purchased the 3 for $40000 US dollars.. Though I'm sure it would be for scrap purposes, not some noble attempt to build one good museum ship out of the 3
@LeCharles07
Жыл бұрын
Since the test ban, we're almost back to pre testing radio-nuclide levels. Hoping it says that way.
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
@@Slaktrax heya SPS, I'll link you to some in a moment
A few more notes on the armor scheme: Drach mentions the 350mm belt and the 60 to 100mm deck. This alone does, however, not tell the full story of just how well armored they were. Above the 350mm main belt sat a 200mm upper belt and above this, 170mm of armor protecting the casemate guns. By comparison, the QE class had a 330mm main belt and 152mm as upper belt and casemate armor. Given that the fuse quality of AP shells in WW1 was far from what it would become in WW2, I believe heavy upper hull armor was quite important in dreadnought battleship design, since they could either break up or prematurely detonate AP shells, as happened a lot with British AP at Jutland. Even if the shell would penetrate intact, heavy upper hull armor would reduce its kinetic energy quite considerable and help to prevent deep penetrations. Another interesting point is that the König had a 350mm belt backed by 100mm slopes. The following Bayern class kept the 350mm belt but reduced the slope to 80mm, and the freed up weight was used to bring the upper belt up to a very impressive 250mm - almost as thick as the 280mm main belt of 1st generation British dreadnoughts, and quite a bit thicker than the 230mm main belt carried by 2nd generation British battlecruisers of the Lion class and Tiger. Apparently, German engineers though that the main belt offered very good protection anyways, and that a heavier upper belt would contribute more to the overall protection of the ship. Again comparing to the QE class, the British ships had only a 25mm armor deck and slopes behind the main belt, which isn't really enough to act as ballistic protection, only as a splinter catcher. They did carry some armor on their upper decks, but this could be bypassed by penetrating the 152mm upper belt. Heavy slopes were a distinct feature of German dreadnoughts. They weren't as pronounced on contemporary British battleships. It should be remembered that the numerical inferiority of the Germans made them come up with these very heavily protected ships - which is in itself a noble goal. But it did force them to make sacrifices in speed and most importantly, gun caliber, and this in turn allowed the British to be content with less armor and go for bigger guns. My point is that the dreadnought race was even more of an uphill battle for the Germans than most people realise - they shouldn't have started it at all.
@khaelamensha3624
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for these informations!
@V-V1875-h
Жыл бұрын
Cool disection of the armor scheme
@TTTT-oc4eb
Жыл бұрын
Yes, building the High Sea Fleet was nothing less than an extremely expensive disaster for Germany. Not only was it too small to defeat Royal Navy, but it also turned Britain from ally to enemy.
@rob5944
Жыл бұрын
In other words, don't start what you can't finish. I suppose having bigger guns let's one dictate the battle ranges, provided speed allows and the shells are up to scratch....and the vessel is well handled of course.
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
@@rob5944 well, gun caliber alone doesn't dictate battle distance, since guns can shoot a lot further than they can be expected to hit. For example, the longest range hit of WW2 was scored by Scharnhorst, which was armed with 11inch guns, at 24 kilometers - shared with Warspite. In practice, fire control equipment limits the range at which you can engage, not the gun. But larger caliber means exponentially heavier shells - the German 11inch gun of the Scharnhorst class fired 300kg projectiles, while the 15inch gun of the Bismarck class fired 800kg projectiles. This means of course more kinetic energy and a bigger explosive charge, thus translating into a far more damaging hit.
To Drachinifel - Just a little "cosmetics". König in german is written with Ö, if that symbol is not available or not suited for filename especially, there's another way to write it : Koenig which is identical also in german written litterature. But Konig pronounces differently. Best regard & thanks for all that amazing work !
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
Reminds me of Japanese in english characters, where Hyûga can also be written as Hyuuga, or Shôjô as Shoujou.
@boobah5643
Жыл бұрын
All the German letters that aren't in the English alphabet can be written as paired English letters; for the umlauts, just swap 'em out for a trailing 'e,' and the other one that looks mostly like a 'B' can be written 'ss.'
@sugarnads
Жыл бұрын
Who won the war? We will pronounce it how winners pronounce it
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
^ This ^_^ . I don't know a single Italian after all who's ever protested how us Brit's pronounce Lancia ("Lance-iah", instead of "Lan~chea").
@genericpersonx333
Жыл бұрын
One of the nice things about German is that most all of the special characters are actually nonessential: they mostly evolved as conveniences for printing and writing, ways to cut out extra letters, so there is generally always a way to write a German word using only the basic Roman letters if one is inclined.
"König" was an early attempt, at puting as many "Umlaute" into german shipnames, as, inhumanly, possible, to beat the Royal Navy, at least, in the pronounciation wars.
@khaelamensha3624
Жыл бұрын
🤣
@comentedonakeyboard
Жыл бұрын
@El Bearsidente NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIIIN!
@mellon4251
Жыл бұрын
As many as possible = one?😅
@cogitator1213
Жыл бұрын
@El Bearsidente as long as Finland won't build a large fleet
@cartmann94
Жыл бұрын
United States bringing the container ship SS Mayagüez: I wanna join too 🥺
The Konig-class are near and dear to my heart. This is the class, which got me into large naval vessels of the 20th century. There was an old strategy game called "The Entente", which I used to play and the most expensive and powerful units were battleships. Half the map was within range and they could destroy almost anything with a single salvo. The german faction got the Konig and it was the coolest one out of the entire bunch, due to that extra turret amid-ships. The studio that made that game, or one of them at least (Lesta studio) is now working for WarGaming and is developing World of Warships, and they have the Konig in there as well!!!!!! :D
@twinkyoctopus
Жыл бұрын
pretty sure wargaming broke away with lesta earlier this year
@richmcgee434
Жыл бұрын
For me it was a combination of building WW2 model kits and playing every tabletop naval wargame I could get my mitts on - although "tabletop" is the wrong word for some of them, since AvHill's Jutland was one of those "play on the floor and it better be a big one" rules sets that were more common in dedicated minis games.
@cerberusrex5275
Жыл бұрын
@@twinkyoctopus D:
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
@@richmcgee434 Beware tiled floors! Most naval miniature games involved guessing ranges. On a tiled floor, with a rudimentary knowledge of trigonometry (pretty much just X2 + Y2 = Z2), you could achieve 1980 USS Missouri upgraded radar and fire control levels of accuracy, first salvo! At least, until your buddies figured out what you’re doing and resorted to chemical warfare countermeasures. 🍺 Whatever, not like you weren’t going to drink beer anyway. 😎
@richmcgee434
Жыл бұрын
@@randallturner9094 I used to play with a professional carpenter. The guy could eyeball ranges to the inch from twenty feet away better than half the time, and I never saw him get it wrong by more than three inches at any distance. One of my other opponents when Battlefleet Gothic was hot used to joke about getting a metric tattoo on his forearm so he could "casually" lean on the table while he was guessing ranges for nova cannon shots.
Ah, Brings back fond childhood memories of playing Avalon Hill's Jutland with a long-dead schoolmate. I remember marveling over the counter art and the bizarre turret layouts, having only built model kits of WW2 warships at that point.
@tomdynia9951
Жыл бұрын
Ah Jutland! Needed a lot of floor space for that one!
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
We spread it all over our unfinished basement. Aside: the game was fundamentally broken, as a two-player game. Searching without exposing each other’s position.
@richmcgee434
Жыл бұрын
@@randallturner9094 We tended to play in teams of two-three on a side and recruited an uninvolved player as ref. It certainly wasn't as good about double-blind as Bismarck or Midway were, though.
@colbeausabre8842
Жыл бұрын
The players of the pre-WW2 "Fletcher Pratt's Naval War Game" used to rent out NY City hotel ballrooms.
@nikademuswtf
Жыл бұрын
I highly recommend NWS's Steam and Iron computer wargame. It allows you fight the entire North Sea campaign. Excellently done wargame. I love steaming at the head of the HSF with the four Konigs. Bring it!
@6:27 a photo from the deck of this battleship with a Zeppelin overhead!! One wonders if the sailor lived to tell of this day to his grandchildren.
@NashmanNash
Жыл бұрын
It was not all that rare though
In my opinion the König class is a superdreadnought. It has centerlined turrets and it's armor compensates the gun sizes of the other superdreadnoughts while still being able to damage the thinner protected ships.
Thank you, Drachinifel.
Yeah. I commanded the High Seas Fleet a number of times playing Avalon Hill's _Jutland_ so there's some real nostalgia here to see them as more than over head prints on rectangular cardboard counters. .
Thanks Drach. It would be interesting to dive them in Scapa Flow.
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
Some of the best diving in the world! (Markgraff has my vote for the best publicly accessible wreck)
@tomhenry897
Жыл бұрын
Weren’t they raised or scraped
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
@@tomhenry897 heya Tom! So throughout the 1920's and early 1930's, civilian salvage contractors did raise many of the High Seas fleet wrecks; The most notable of these was a man named Ernest Cox, an engineer who has been coined as "the man who raised a navy" of the 70 off ships, his company, as well as another that swooped in after he lost interest raised all but 3 battleships, 3 cruisers and a fast minelayer. These were in too deep water to safely salvage with the techniques of the day (which were pioneered in Scapa!!) So they were left to rot. Then between 1960 and the early 1980s, blast salvage was carried out on the remaining 7 wrecks targeting pre-atomic steel, and non ferrous items (brass etc). The salvers would blast holes into the wrecks and pull out that sweet sweet money making scrap. This stopped with a man named Dougal Campbell, who in his own words "was a vulture picking the bones clean". The wrecks that are left are: SMS Markgraf SMS König SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm SMS Coln (spelt correctly, they dropped the umlaut for about twenty years) SMS Dresden SMS Karlsruhe SMS Brummer (the mine layer) All are gorgeous wrecks, with massive amounts of random stuff on them (from guns, to search light iris's to paravane skegs). As time moves on, more of the decks peel away as they gradually naturally render away, but for me they will always be the most beautiful wrecks in the world!
Been waiting for this, ever since you stated Wyomings, Teghetoffs, and Konigs were the best 12" BBs. Thank you! Not that they were especislly innovative or vital, but Delawares are (! believe) the only class of USN Dreadnought you have yet to cover. Also, glad to hear your accurate pronunciation of 'Konig'.
@Karle94
Жыл бұрын
It's not quite true that they were not innovative. North Dakota was the first American battleship to use turbine, and the class as a whole was the first ever ship(s) to feature the Taylor's bow, more commonly called a bulbous bow.
@marcusfranconium3392
Жыл бұрын
The sad part is when technologie finally becomes mature on average 40 years and at its peak of reliability and it has been replaced by a junior technology not yet capable. When the dreadnougths became at their prime the aircraft carrier made its apearance , When Propeller aircraft finaly reached their peak in reliability , in commercial transport the jet engine took over . The sad part of innovation and refining ideas ,they are never in sync . and often means that the start of one new techonlogy its the end of one line for the other. .
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
I'm more into the Bellepheron class myself. (even though she's harder to spell than pronounce)
@NashmanNash
Жыл бұрын
Bellerophon..neither hard to spell,nor pronounce..of you spell it correctly^^
@marcusfranconium3392
Жыл бұрын
@@NashmanNash Ancient gods . did you know there is a diety protecting the thames . Father Thames, human manifestation and/or guardian of the River Thames that flows through Southern England, while his ancient worship is obscure, he has become a popular symbol of the river in modern times, it being the subject of the song "Old Father Thames" and the model of several statues and reliefs scattered around London.[6]
6:00 It would be interesting to have one day a video one day on how the british scrappers salvaged the ships from the bottom of Scapa Flow, a video on the same scale as those you've done on salvage operation in Pearl Harbor. If you find enough documents and information that is. If you have the time and there's enough material, I'd like to know more about the british efforts to clear that port in east Africa as well, where the Italians made a mess after their defeat.
@benwilson6145
Жыл бұрын
You should read "Bowman, Gerald (1964). The Man Who Bought a Navy: The Story of the World's Greatest Salvage Achievement at Scapa Flow."
@lawrencelewis2592
Жыл бұрын
There are quite a few videos on YT that show salvage efforts in Scapa Flow. Some show the ships floating upside down, others show them upright and being towed under the Forth bridge.
@benwilson6145
Жыл бұрын
@@lawrencelewis2592 There are some very interesting Pathe Film of the upside down ships passing under the Forth Bridge.
@lawrencelewis2592
Жыл бұрын
@@benwilson6145 I've seen a lot of those on YT. Fascinating stuff, for sure.
...The fact *two* dreadnoughts got chased off by a predreadnought is hilarious
I have dived some of the High Seas fleet including the Markgraf which is one of the deeper wreck, so not much time without deco-stops & pre-Nitrox days. Sadly the visibility was not great & I seem to remember it was mostly upside down. Impressive though.
@gavindenton6821
Жыл бұрын
Like you I have dived Scapa twice and never dived Konig but markgraf and Kronprinz twice. All three are upside down. I think Markgraf is the best but you need deco diving.
@zetectic7968
Жыл бұрын
@@gavindenton6821 Lucky you :). Only the once for me. Yes 20 minutes is not enough to see much of the wreck. Without finding & checking my log book I think I did the Kronprinz as well, not sure about the Konig.
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
@@gavindenton6821 deco diving and a wreck penetration qualification! The Markgraf to me is the best wreck in the world
so good naratuon . where parts of the scuttled ships recovered to remember past sailors passing
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
There's bits and pieces of them at the Lyness museum. Most of them have been salavged by now, either legally through commercial operations or by pesky divers. You have to remember there's only 7 ships still down there, and I suppose 4 gun turrets as well that belonged to the Bayern
If I recall, the captain of the Markgraf was shot and killed during the scuttle. Yeah, tempers were running pretty high that day. A local school had some kids on a tour boat in the Flow when the scuttling began, and they found it was quite terrifying apparently. Sinking ships make a hell of a lot of noise.
@michaelpielorz9283
Жыл бұрын
18 sailors were shot in Scapa,that day thanks to the anti-german propaganda of the last decades.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
As one Schoolgirl that day recounted during a 1990's interview; "They heeled over, they dived; they sank low and then rose high in the water. I myself saw twelve Capital Ships go down." As it was the Germans were in the wrong, for raising their battle ensigns in the anchorage, despite a clear message from the British/US ships that'd inturred them there that if they tried anything; it would be met with force.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
Personally I just remember Markgraf for being the first German ship that HMS Warspite shot up, in 1916.
@colindunnigan8621
Жыл бұрын
A video on the scuttle. kzread.info/dash/bejne/oWWK0JSlm7uYqaQ.html
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
@@jimtaylor294 re: “Germans were in the wrong for raising battle ensign..” wait, what? The Allies were planning to seize the ships, regardless of what flags they chose to fly. 🙃 really a shame, loss of historical icons. Sure would be nice to have had some survive as museum ships. But, this whole chapter of European conflict was only half over, and as the QE’s proved, WWI ships could still be power pieces.
It looks like a fun Dreadnought.
One of my favorite ships in Wows. Unlike some in her tier it literally wants to get close to remind people why it's a battleship with lots of guns. Best times is circling a ship well it sprays secondaries well targeting other ships. Players hate me fighting with it cause no one in the game expects a aggressive battleship .
Great looking ships
Incredible how a Lot of consideration went into installing diesel engines in warships, WITH the great majority of these plans (that I heard) being discarded.
@NewtypeCommander
Жыл бұрын
The choice of diesel engines for warships does sound attractive when one considers the potential benefits: good fuel economy for long duration operations at sea, good speed, slower RPMs directly from the crankshaft means no complex reduction gearing to the propeller shaft thus also reducing risk of cavitation, less visible smoke coming out of the exhaust, greater throttle response time. However, they do come with some notable drawbacks: very large machinery spaces required, very heavy, need multiple units to get the power required, and can be noisy which can be picked up by a good Sonar.
@SgtBeltfed
Жыл бұрын
@@NewtypeCommander Another issue that plagued German attempts to make large use of diesel engines in warships was the availability of diesel fuel itself. Germany had coal domestically, but oil was imported. You can make synthetic gasoline from coal, or you can just simply burn coal. You can't make diesel that way, and practical large scale bio-diesel was a ways off.
@chrissouthgate4554
Жыл бұрын
@@SgtBeltfed Similar problem for the RN, Welsh steaming coal or Persian Oil
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
@@chrissouthgate4554 Nah. Britain was - and still is - sitting on centuries of Coal, almost all of it the black type, while Germany's coal was/is mostly brown. (Welsh Steam Coal is just especially good) Notable too that GB had access to Venesuelan & US oil in both wars... while Germany did not; in WWII this was so much so that the UK had "an embarrasment of oil" supply, while Germany invaded the USSR primarily for Oil, knowing they only had a few months of reserves left.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
In most cases not going Diesel was the right decision, as while more efficient, Diesel powered warships were much slower, and more easily [critically] damaged in a battle. Case in point the Graf Spee: she couldn't outrun the three Cruisers that she was faced with, nor had the armour to outfight them without critical damage, which came in the form of 6" & 8" hits destroying her onboard facilities for oil processing. Upon hearing that the Battlecruiser HMS Renown - a ship Graf Spee couldn't outrun nor hope to fight even in peak condition - was steaming south to finish the Cruisers work, Langsdorf opted to defy orders and spare his crew a pointless death, by scuttling his ship. The bottom line: Diesel was fine for merchanen, but a bad choice as the prime mover for a Warship.
SmS Konig is my only favorite German Battleship. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are a close second if there was a second option.
Good looking ships, these.
I have been planning to go see my family's ancestral home in Ross for a few years. As a naval history enthusiast, I would love the opportunity to dive Scapa Flow.
With 13.5 and 14 in main guns were coming in service in 1911, could you imagine what kind of artillery a naval race that the Washington Naval treat stopped, had taken place instead? I have a feeling that 20 and 22 in guns with ranges over 30 miles, would have clashed in the Phillipines instead of the 18 to 16 in guns that did.
@dclark142002
Жыл бұрын
My bet is that naval aviation would have accelerated as well as spending on gunnery. I really doubt that even had the Washington Naval Treaty not been signed we would have ended up with greater than the waste of weight 18 inch guns on Musashi and Yamato. Heck, even the 16 inch guns are probably more than anyone really needed...but no one knew how well planes would be able to deliver ordinance practically...
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
^ Nah. As it was it wasn't until after WWII that the Carrier truly came of age. (during the war, they couldn't operate 24hr, as the means to land a squadron in the dark didn't really exist, and aircraft radar was still far too rare and basic) Now Aircraft Gunnery Spotting; that had progressed a lot by WWII, and needed to, as all warships were limited by being unable to spot fall of shot over the horizon.
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
Carriers rendered Battleships obsolete as the leading capital ship type during WWII, not after. Definitively. And that’s not a controversial opinion. Likewise I’m unaware of any real-world use of scouting planes to spot shell splashes in WWII, and they’d have the same daylight operation restrictions as carrier planes if they did. They were used for shore bombardment.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
^ False, on all points. Carriers replaced nothing, and nearly died out after WWII, until multiple innovations by the UK (Angled Flight Deck, Mirrored Landing Sight & Steam Catapult) saved it from oblivion. What was rendered obsolete by WWII was the Torpedo Bomber, when its painfully slow attack airspeed - limited by the laws of physics - made attacking warships with Air Search Radar, Radar Direction for the AAA, and Proximity Fuses... well suicidal. Battleships by contrast: the west made none after 1946 not because they were redundant or not wanted... but because the only threat country left [the USSR] lacked the ability - for various reasons - to build any. That, and the west had plenty of modern ones in service anyway. Politically though: everyone wanted Atom Bombs after WWII: Navies ended up in a solid 2nd place re' funding priority, apart from where nukes were includable. A~and no: there are various instances of warships having Spotter 'planes onboard for gunnery spotting *against other ships* (as well against shore targets), though Radar would see greater use as events played out. Examples of this are HMS Exeter during the Battle of River Plate (tried to launch the 'plane, only for enemy fire to scupper it), the Bismarck (which had one, yet due to an engine defect couldn't use it), and HMS Warspite during the Battle of Narvik, where the Spotter 'plane both bombed a U Boat, as well as performing recon' and fire spotting of shot for Warspite. (said battle led to Warspite sinking a group of Kreigsmarine Destroyers)
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
@@jimtaylor294 re: “carriers..nearly died out after WWII until.. angled flight deck.. and steam catapult.. saved it from oblivion.” Unlike Battleships, the last of which that was completed being laid down in ‘44, carrier construction went on unabated after WWII. A relative few were converted years later to include steam catapults and angled flight decks, but even today, of the ~50 carriers in existence, only 12 have angled flight decks and catapults. The majority don’t. Claiming that they “nearly died out” is silly. re: “having spotting planes onboard” - that isn’t the same thing as using them to actually spot shell fire now, is it. Many ships carried them, and used them for scouting, spotting for shore bombardment, etc. That’s not what we were talking about. Of your counter examples, only the Warspite at Narvik qualifies (if accurate), and given your propensity to make wild-assed claims I’m going to have to check it. Regardless implying it was an important factor while carrier operations wasn’t is another example of a wild-assed claim. Your whole world view on carriers is just weird.
5:43 An excellent example of hydrodynamic force surrounding an underwater explosion.
Good looking ships.
played her in wows and an amazing ship , ended up tanking 1,8 million potential damage , and she hold up quite good
I've always found amidships turrets an eyesore, but the Königs were some really handsome ships.
Could there be a history of Royal Navy in Ireland and Treaty Ports and maybe your visit to some of these locations.
Am I right in thinking that they went on to become a primary source of low background steel which is used in radiation detecting equipment?
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
You're very right! This mainly came from the 1960s-1980s blast salvage episodes principally lead by Dougal Campbell.
she was my go to in World of Warships for a month or so until i ground xp up enough for Bayren. then came the lovely Gneisenau whos name i will m ever be able to pronounce correctly.
This ship along with the Bayern was what made me decide to be a German BB main in World of Warships lol.
Great work Sir thank you
I note you used the Janes Fighting Ships (1919) as reference material and as a visual aid (thank you)... have you ever done a segment on the Janes ship game that the ships illustration could be used for? A bit on how much fun wargaming was back in the early 20th century may be interesting? Just a thought
im so happy you did konig
At first I thought there was a torpedo hitting the top of the spotting mast at 5:30
@All2Meme
Жыл бұрын
That would have been a neat trick! XD
Could there be a review of the "SS President Hoover" and her fate and other Ships of the Dollar Line that participated as Troopships in the Pacific. Al maybe a review of the "San Marco" Regiment of the Italian Navy.
Mein Großvater war auf diesen Schiff .
@hans-jochenherrmann3311
Жыл бұрын
Ich besitze noch Bildmaterial meines Großvaters.
There is a nice link between the Kaiser class , Konigs class Dreadnoughts and the proposed design for the Dutch Dreadnoughts 1913.. Taking elements of both and incorporate much heavier guns and more secondary guns . longer and faster . A class that would sit between the Konig and Bayern class . in design evolution.
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
Yes, they would have been very capable battleships.
@marcusfranconium3392
Жыл бұрын
@@michaelkovacic2608 Its interesting as in many design and shipclasses there are gaps one cant explain or think revolutionary , but the fact was there had been a few designs or ships in between not necessarily build or designed for the home country. The same in submarine classes in the netherlands jumping from O16 class to O 19 with out O17 and O18 as these where the 2 polish submarines designed and build in the Netherlands based on the O16 class the 2 Orzel class submarines. of the polish navy . O19 class was further improvement and evolution of the )16 and Orzel class . Submarines . If there are un explained gaps in linage or sudden design philosophies you have to delve a little deeper you might find some interesting backgrounds .or Ah moments i didnt knew that before.
@genericpersonx333
Жыл бұрын
@@marcusfranconium3392 One can see the same in firearms development as well, with a lot of innovation that would become famous later being found earlier on small contracts that can be easily missed. For much of the world, the Mauser 1893 was a marvel of modernity that seemingly came out of nowhere, but the reality was that the real revolution in Mauser rifles began in 1888 with the Belgian Model of 1889, which saw Mauser move from tubular-magazine blackpowder rifles to box-magazine smokeless-ammunition weapons with stripper-clip feed optional. The fact that it was Belgium who bought the original revolutionary design muted its impact on the world, despite it having all the major characteristics that would be most lauded later on the 1893 and its iterations.
@marcusfranconium3392
Жыл бұрын
@@genericpersonx333 The same with the Luger , the dutch army tested the first models fpr their different units , found the spring was not to satisfaction designed a new one and luger later would adopt it for their own designs and all later luger moddels. Still a shame the 1913 dreadnoughts where never build or placed under construction for one it would have safed a lot of missery after ww1 for the dutch navy . and 2 the germans would have several larger caliber dreadnaughts in their fleet if they where still under construction in 1914 . If i rember correctly it would take the germans 26 to deliver one of these ships . Jutland could had some more heavy gun ships .
@genericpersonx333
Жыл бұрын
@@marcusfranconium3392 Very good points! I must admit, though, that I am not so sure the Netherlands really would have been in a better place with the 1913-designs under flag in 1940-1941, assuming they had managed to take delivery of them. Assuming the Dutch government would afford to keep and modernize them during the 1930s despite the economic issues, the problem was that the only naval power that actually threatened Dutch interests was Japan, and Japan had a whole bunch of capital ships in 1941 that basically had no targets thanks to the unexpected success of their airpower early in the conflict. Assuming Japanese airpower didn't just destroy the Dutch battlewagons early on, one can be certain the Japanese would have been rushing a superior force of capital ships to the East Indies hoping to add the Dutch hulls to their battle honors. If the Dutch were not caught early enough, there was even the risk of Yamato coming to join the hunt. As impressive as the designs look, I don't think they'd have done enough of consequence to the Japanese to justify the probable heavy losses to the Netherlands. I can, however, see some virtue in them as aiding the British war effort closer to home, operating out with the Royal Navy after the fall of the homeland. The Dutch battleships could have released better British battleships to the Pacific that could better handle the Japanese, but it is hard to say just what Britain could afford to send in 1941 that would have been enough to really save the East Indies. Whatever the case is, I too wish the Dutch had built them at least, because more Dutch sailors on the seas has never been a bad thing for the world, unless you are English around the late 17th century, but we don't count that!
Thank you.
My favourite battleship to play in World of Warships, at least when it had its 2018 and previous sigma...Deadshot accurate. The actual battleship wasn't bad either :)
In 1912 or 1913 german gouvernement deciced, to introduce ,Sektsteuer' / Champagner tax for financing Imperial Fleet. In contrast to Imperial Fleet , ,Sektsteuer' still exists.
Or as WOW players call it: "That slow junk heap you suffer through to get Gneisenau"
@General_Cartman_Lee
Жыл бұрын
I still use the König to troll tier 4 and 6 CVs as the Wargaming "what if" upgrade with 105 mm dual purpose guns gives her an effective AA defense, since the CV rework better than the Texas'.
Do a review of CSS Alabama & Shannandoah.
I've often wondered why the German navy didn't increase the range of their 11in guns by increasing the angle to 35 or 40 degrees. Were they actually thinking of replacing the 11in with a 14in and therefore didn't need to do anything else? Did the German navy consider the effect of plunging shellfire upon the thinly protected British battle cruisers? They could have, as the hits that mattered were shells that penetrated turret roofs on the battle cruisers. Following Jutland one lesson the US Navy took away was that in the future ranges would be greater which validated Captain Sims contention in 1902 that long range fire would decide future battles.
thank you
I have a nice card model of the Konig in 1/250 scale. I have several German dreadnought card models. Much more fun to build than plastic.
@randallturner9094
Жыл бұрын
I have a Trumpeter Models 1/350 scale Dreadnought, more pieces than god! lol.. including bazillions of stamped metal deck rails.
@lawrencelewis2592
Жыл бұрын
@@randallturner9094 There's plenty of pieces in the 1/250 Konig. You go through Exacto knife blades like there's no tomorrow with a card model- best to buy #11 blades in a box of 100. The only metal bits are the railings that I have added, from Gold Medal models. I have the HMS Lion to build yet.
Good as always. Have you ever considered doing segments on ships which were designed but not built? I am thinking of things like the WWII Lion class, Kii and Owari, French Lille class, etc.
@alun7006
Жыл бұрын
He does!
If a barrel is 0.5 inch greater than, the enemy, that means the shell is heavier but it does not tell of accuracy or range.
@jrd33
Жыл бұрын
It doesn't even guarantee that the shell is heavier. You have to examine the specifications.
Just like o with an umlaut (ö), being written as oe, likewise, eszett, ß, can be written as ss and that is still correct and acceptable. Example: schieße is interchangeable with schiesse.
HMS defense (defense) not so good at the offense though?
Kaiser, then Koing, doesn’t that seem like a step backwards?
@Hachaimenesch
Жыл бұрын
the idea had been to use titles held by the Kaiser's family as ship names, so going backwards in importance we find Kaiser, König, Grosser Kurfürst and Markgraf
Grosser Kurfurst means Grand Elector, a reference to the Holy Roman Empire.
@535phobos
Жыл бұрын
"Großer Kurfürst" is the nickname of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg. He was the Great Grandfather of Friedrich II, and paved with victories over Sweden Prussias rise to power. The name is less a reference to the HRE as it is a reminder of prussian history.
At least the Germans placed the foremast, and it's observation position, in front of the forward funnel. Fred Jane's drawing does not do that 'robust' foremast it's due!
thanks
Love Konig.
How can it be a Dreadnaught when nothing is immune to budget cuts?
Wyoming,König, Agincourt, Gangut, Tegethof, and Colossus throwdown for title of Best 2nd gen dreadnought, who wins?
Can you cover the ghost ship haunting the Artic (I forgot the name, but it’s been around since WWI)
@vintagethrifter2114
Жыл бұрын
I think he's done it before and it's long gone.
@timschoenberger242
Жыл бұрын
If it is the SS Baychimo, the Historic Travels KZread channel just did one about the ship.
Did anny body read "Horatio Hornblower" or "Honnor Harrington" series >?
Thanks, great video, as usual (^_^) Could it interest you to cover SMS Seeadler?
I would love it if you could do HMAS Perth or Vampire.
*dooku voice* I’ve been looking forward to this…
I'd love to access a crew list for Konig.
Having a gun turret place on the centre line in between the boilers turbines eccetera it makes it incredibly vulnerable if a Lucky Hit gets in or well aim Torpedo..
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
Depends how good the armour scheme is. As it was the only Capital Ship to explode after being torpedoed was German, partially because the Battleship in question [SMS Pommern] had poor underwater protection. Probably the only time that a Destroyer (HMS Onslaught) can claim to have sunk a Battleship all on her own though.
@mattbowden4996
Жыл бұрын
If this is a vulnerability, it is a vulnerability common to pretty much every dreadnought and first-generation super dreadnought manufactured by every navy in the world. However, I don't think you are correct about this being a vulnerability at all. Amidships is the point at which the horizontal armour protection and torpedo protection will be at its strongest - both in terms of armour thickness and depth of structure behind the armour and torpedo defense. A midships turret is actually far less vulnerable than a turret placed at either end of the ship.
@spirz4557
Жыл бұрын
@@jimtaylor294 She was also a pre dreadnought and thus completely outdated.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
^ Irrelevant. Pommern was still a Battleship, snd being used in the Line of Battle, so it still counts. Granted though; her loss - with all hands - led to the Germans never risking their Pre'Dread's in open sea again.
@535phobos
Жыл бұрын
@@jimtaylor294 It is relevant as we are talking about the vulnerability of Dreadnoughts against torpedoes.
König* If you dont have that, Koenig will work too.
Is it possible of you to make a video about the hospital ship HS Tabora?
First mate on board!!
Would it not have made better sense to get rid of the casement mounted 88 and just put the 88s as Dual Purpose anti-air and anti torpedo boat with Splinter shields?
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
The 88mm guns were changed around a bit during the war, with some ships demounting all casemate guns and plating them over. Late-war German design proposals, like the Großkreuzer studies, used casemate mounted 150mm guns for secondary armament and 150mm guns is open mounts with gun shields as AA weapons. As far as I can tell, they didn't mount any 88mm guns at all. This appears to have been a response to the increasing battle distances, since during the war, the Germans started used HE shells for their 150mm secondary guns and dropped the AP shells altogether, since they wouldn't penetrate other battleships anyway at reasonable combat distances.
Finally!
Time Thanks
I guide that's less than 20 minutes long? **Impossible**
hello Drachinifel, I'm admin of the modelkitindo channel, I ask permission to hanging this video on my channel as a teaser, and I will enclose your channel name on the video and link in description ... thank you
anyone know the name of the song in the intro
From what I understand the remains of the ships are actually "for sale"... is this true and what would be the value of owning them?
@tomhenry897
Жыл бұрын
Pre A bomb steel
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
Yes and no, from time to time the wrecks pass hands between owners, but they are protected heritage monuments. Alongside this you have the problem of thousands of divers probably trying to sink the salvage boat to protect them 😅
I thought this was a World of Warships guide...
done alot of BLAH BLAH on this video. Yet i failed to mention.......the Konigs are my favorite German battleship class, along with SMS Seydlitz as fav battlecruiser bar none. Love leading my HSF line with the Konigs knowing they can take a licking and keep on ticking as well as dish out punishment as long as i keep their training up.
✌️
Visit the ship via dive gear....nope.
What a pretty, dirty, ugly, pretty ship.
Germany was definitely producing formidable ships in this era. Sadly their tactics were their downfall. Had Germany followed the UK Naval Doctrines the German Navy may have been a World power fleet with un restricted ranges.
@jrd33
Жыл бұрын
Since Germany was never really able to challenge the Royal Navy, they spent a lot of resources building a bunch of battleships that weren't much use for anything except hiding in port.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
Eeh, I'd have to partly disagree. The main failings of the Kaiserlichemarine was those of logistics (having mostly short to medium range ships, minimal oil, mediocre coal, and few to any overseas ports of call), and having the notion that they could hope to outbuild or outfight the Royal Navy, instead of allying with them against the Marine Nationale. (seriously; the Kaiser made a fatal mistake in ignoring Bismarck's advice there, as the latter always had done his best to keep the UK tolerant of German expansion, if not approving of it)
@peterthomson4632
Жыл бұрын
The whole point of the fleet was to challenge British control of its home waters, or at least pose such a risk that the British would back off. This was never going to happen - the British Empire had superior ship-building capability, greater financial capacity and was prepared to concentrate all it had on maintaining sea-control around the UK (eg by drawing down the Med, conceding where necessary to the US, building Scapa Flow). It simply added Britain to the Reich's list of enemies - already too long.
166th, 29 October 2022
Around 2160 period it would not be unsurprising if Germany approached what's left of the UK and asked permission to raise one of the in better condition König class, restore it, and put it on display as war memorial. Pity none of us now will live to see it.
@jimtaylor294
Жыл бұрын
Nope. Germany probably won't still exist by then anyway. (with or without Thermonuclear armageddon ala political stupidity)
@timholgate6639
Жыл бұрын
It's a lovely dream, but it just wouldn't be possible. All the wrecks are structurally disintegrating every year, and I think any efforts to salve them would destroy them. Blast salavaging aside, you have to remember they've been in high energy water for 103 years, so are rusted through in most places! I'd honestly love nothing more, but I can't see anyway that it would be possible
Obligatory comment for the algorithm
War das Vorbild der Bismarck soweit ich gehört habe
You do great work, but you may wish to find a better source on German artillery. Jane's Fighting Ships got it wrong a century ago, as do most today. 15cm = 149mm. 17cm = 173mm (6.8", not 6.7). 21cm = 211mm (8.3", not 8.2). 24cm = 238mm. Then of course there's the pre-Bundeswehr rank structure, which is usually misinterpreted.
I have no idea if you are pronouncing the German names correctly. But you certainly, SOUND like you are to me. ☮
I never served in the Navy, but I can assure you that I was a leading semen..
Bayern Baden
Only idiots sail a warship or a fleet to an enemy port, before a peace treaty is signed. Leading the HighSeasFleet König received at Jutland 10 heavy hits and 5 to 6 secondary artillery hits. The hull construction was as usual superior to any British construction. The German turret shape was in WWI much better than in WWII, when the German engineers sacrificed the proper turret shape to gain more clearance between the guns in a turret, to avoid as so much concussion as possible.
:))
Comment
Third! lol
Germany was always a little behind in the dreadnought race. The Konigs were really inferior to Orions and Queen Elisabeths` built during the same time.
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
Overall I'd agree, but their armor scheme was excellent, as I've detailed in another comment.
@davidharner5865
Жыл бұрын
Not in armour, it would be (2nd) KGVs before RN got to their level, long after 16" rifles were around.
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
@CK George1989 whether or not you trust it is irrelevant, German steel has a rightfully very good reputation.
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
@CK George1989 lol what a silly argument 🤣
@michaelkovacic2608
Жыл бұрын
@CK George1989 kid, look, your little provocations are pathetic. How old are you? 11?
Hey Drach, I think we all gotta know if you are a goofy goober or are not a goofy goober ya.
@davidharner5865
Жыл бұрын
Drach, are you gooberishly goofy, or goofily gooberish? Had to be asked.