page_title: Ersatz Yorck-class battlecruiser
section_title: Armament
hierarchical_section_title: Ersatz Yorck-class battlecruiser / Design / Armament
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. ADN-ZB/Archiv Deutschland: Kaiserliche Marine Das Linienschiff "Baden" der Bayern-Klasse. Es lief am 30. Oktober 1915 vom Stapel, wurde am 21. Juli 1919 im britischen Hafen Scapa Flow versenkt, dann gehoben und am 16. August 1921 als Zielschiff im Ärmelkanal südwestlich von Portsmouth versenkt. Information added by Wikimedia users. English: German battleship "Baden"
context_page_description: The Ersatz Yorck class was a group of three battlecruisers ordered but not completed for the German Kaiserliche Marine in 1916. The three ships had originally been ordered as additions to the Mackensen class, but developments abroad, particularly the British Renown-class battlecruisers, led to the navy re-designing the ships. The primary change was an increase of the main battery from eight 35-centimeter guns to eight 38 cm weapons. Work on the first ship had already begun by the time the navy decided to re-design the ships, so the design staff was constrained by the need to use the material already assembled.
  The name derived from the fact that the lead ship was intended as a replacement for the armored cruiser Yorck, lost to mines in 1914, and it had been ordered under the provisional Ersatz Yorck. The other two ships, Ersatz Gneisenau, and Ersatz Scharnhorst, were considered to be replacements for the armored cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, both of which had been sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, also in 1914.
  As with the Mackensens, the three ships of the Ersatz Yorck class were never completed.
context_section_description: The Ersatz Yorck-class battlecruisers were to be armed with a main battery of eight 38 cm (15 in) SK L/45 guns in four Drh LC/1913 twin-gun turrets; this was identical to the main armament carried by the Bayern-class battleships. In both designs the turrets were arranged in two superfiring pairs, one forward and the other aft. These turrets originally allowed for depression of the guns to −8 degrees and elevation to 16 degrees, though Bayern had hers modified to allow 20 degrees of elevation, a common practice for German naval weapons during the latter part of the war. The guns had to be returned to 2.5 degrees to reload them. The guns had a maximum range of 20,250 m (66,440 ft). Each turret was fitted with a stereo rangefinder. Intended ammunition stowage for the Ersatz Yorck class was 720 shells or 90 rounds per gun; these were 750-kilogram (1,650 lb) shells that were light for guns of their caliber. The shell allotment was divided between armor piercing and high explosive versions, with 60 of the former and 30 of the latter. At a range of 20,000 m (66,000 ft), the armor-piercing shells could penetrate up to 336 mm (13.2 in) of steel plate. The guns had a rate of fire of around one shell every 38 seconds. Muzzle velocity was 805 meters per second (2,640 ft/s).
  The ships' secondary battery was to have consisted of twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 quick-firing guns mounted in armored casemates along the central superstructure. These guns were intended for defense against torpedo boats, and were supplied with a total of 2,240 shells. The guns could engage targets out to 13,500 m (44,300 ft), and after improvements in 1915, their range was extended to 16,800 m (55,100 ft). The guns had a sustained rate of fire of 5 to 7 rounds per minute. The shells were 45.3 kg (100 lb), and were loaded with a 13.7 kg (30 lb) RPC/12 propellant charge in a brass cartridge. The guns fired at a muzzle velocity of 835 metres per second (2,740 ft/s). The ships were also to be equipped with eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 flak guns in single pedestal mounts. Four were arranged around the rear superfiring main battery turret and the other four around the forward conning tower. The guns were placed in MPL C/13 mountings, which allowed depression to −10 degrees and elevation to 70 degrees. These guns fired 9 kg (20 lb) shells, and had an effective ceiling of 9,150 m (30,020 ft) at 70 degrees.
  As was standard for warships of the period, the Ersatz Yorcks were to be equipped with submerged torpedo tubes. There were three 60 cm (24 in) tubes: one in the bow, and one on each flank of the ship. The torpedoes were the H8 type, which were 9 m (30 ft) long and carried a 210 kg (463 lb) hexanite warhead. The torpedoes had a range of 8,000 m (8,700 yd) when set at a speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph); at a reduced speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), the range increased significantly to 15,000 m (16,000 yd). The ships would have been supplied with approximately fifteen torpedoes.
caption: The battleship SMS Baden, main battery trained to port; the Ersatz Yorck-class ships would have been similarly armed.
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