Re: [GZG] Battlecruisers

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http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lOn 24/12/06,
K.H.Ranitzsch <kh.ranitzsch@t-online.de> wrote:
>
> Richard Bell schrieb:
> > On 12/23/06, Ryan Gill <rmgill@mindspring.com> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> I think mostly because it's role was too
> >> particular and it was often just stuck into the
> >> battle-line where it suffered horribly.
> >
> >
> > Not only was its role particular, but once the airplane really took
> > off, it was mooted.  The role of the battlecruiser envisioned by
> > Fisher was a vessel that allowed you to find the other line of
battle
> > while preventing the enemy from doing the same.
>
> As far as I understand it, the original battlecruisers were not really
> intended for reconnasissance work for the battle fleet and they were
not
> used like that in WWI. Recconnaissance was the task of light cruisers
> and destroyers.

One of the roles for battle cruisers was to act as part of the fleet
recon
screen, which  how both the Rayal Navy and  the Kreigsmarine used them
at
Jutland. Indeed, Beatty's BC's at Jutland intentionally put them selves
in
harms way, not just to act as part of the screen but in order to draw
the
high seas fleet into the Grand Fleets trap. Of course, this initial
stage of
the battle would have gone better for the British if Beatty hadn't
suffered
a Nelson complex, and his flag communication officer had actually
bothered
to relay orders and signals to Beatty, Jellicoe, and the Admiral of the
5th
Battle squadron.

As has already been mentioned, the battlecruisers were intended to hunt
> down commerce raiders, as they did in the Falklands battle. The
> intention was to allow the Royal Navy to keep world-wide control of
the
> sea. While many German raiders were converted merchant ships (and even
a
> sailing ship) there were numerous light cruisers (e.g.the Emden) and
> even heavy cruisers (Graf Spee's squadron) scattered over the oceans.
> The battlecruisers were intended to deal with the heaviest of these
> threats and did so effectively. Though it certainly is true that they
> were overkill against most raiders, including the light cruisers. But
> then, you really can't have too much killing power, can you ?
>
> Once the commerce raiders had been dealt with, the Royal Navy used
them
> as fast battleships, with altogether poor results - see the battle of
> Jutland.

Not as Fast Battle ships, but as heavy, fast screening elements for a
large
battle fleet, one of the roles they were designed for. Of course whether
or
not this role was tactically viable in reality is open to discussion,
and
such vessels were replaced with aircraft in WW2.

What the contemporary German battlecruisers were supposed to do is not
> quite clear to me. Probably they were built in an effort to "keep up
> with the Jones". Note that they were better armoured than the British
> ones, of similar speed, but with weaker guns - though still adequate
to
> deal with a battlecruiser's armour. Perhaps they can be described as
> anti-battlecruisers. They were mostly used as raiders, but only within
> the confines of the North Sea. They didn't have the range, and Germany
> didn't have the network of bases to use them in world-wide raiding.

The German BC's were there to do the same job as British BC's, only
their
construction followed the German norms of the time, protection,
firepower,
speed, in that order, whilst British capital ships tended towards
firepower,
speed and armour. The Royal Navy approach to ship building was a result
of
the fact it required multi-role capability in a wide varitety of
theatres.
The Kreigsmarine had but one major role, to defeat the Royal Navy. And
hence
it's BC's were tailored to the fleet screen role for a major fleet
action.

Greetings, and Merry Christmas
> Karl Heinz
>
>
>
>
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Cherrs, and Merry Christmas one and all,

Matt Tope