SMS Lützow SMS " Lützow " was the second built by the German " Kaiserliche Marine " ( ) before World War I . Ordered as a replacement for the old protected cruiser , " Lützow " was launched on 29 November 1913 , but not completed until 1916 . " Lützow " was a sister ship to from which she differed slightly in that she was armed with an additional pair of 15 cm ( 5 . 9 inch ) secondary guns and had an additional watertight compartment in her hull . She was named in honor of the Prussian general Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow who fought in the Napoleonic Wars . " Lützow " was commissioned on 8 August 1915 , but did not join the I Scouting Group until 20 March due to engine damage during trials . This was after most of the major actions conducted by the German battlecruiser force had taken place . As a result , " Lützow " saw very little action during the war . She took part in only one bombardment operation : the Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 – 25 April 1916 , after which she became Admiral Franz von Hipper ' s flagship . One month later , the ship was heavily engaged during the Battle of Jutland , on 31 May – 1 June . During the battle , " Lützow " sank the British battlecruiser and is sometimes given credit for the armored cruiser . However , she was heavily damaged by an estimated 24 heavy - caliber shell hits . With her bow thoroughly flooded , the ship was unable to make the return voyage to German ports ; her crew was evacuated and she was sunk by torpedoes fired by one of her escorts , the torpedo boat . Construction . " Lützow " was ordered as " Ersatz Kaiserin Augusta " , to replace the elderly protected cruiser , which was by then 20 years old . Built by Schichau - Werft in Danzig , her keel was laid down in May 1912 , and she was launched on 29 November 1913 . " Lützow " was commissioned on 8 August 1915 for trials , and was sent to Kiel on 23 August . There she completed her final fitting out , including her armament . While on trials on 25 October , " Lützow " s port low - pressure turbine was badly damaged . Repairs were conducted in Kiel until late January 1916 , after which the ship underwent further trials . These were finished on 19 February ; " Lützow " was assigned to the I Scouting Group on 20 March , and arrived at her new unit four days later . On completion she displaced nearly and was long . The ship was capable of a top speed of , and could steam for at a cruising speed of . Mounting a main armament of eight 30 . 5 cm ( 12 in ) guns , " Lützow " was the largest and most powerful German battlecruiser at the time , along with her elder sister . Service . Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft . " Lützow " first major operation was the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 – 25 April . Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper , the commander of the I Scouting Group , was away on sick leave , so the German ships were under the command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Bödicker . The German battlecruisers , the flagship , followed by " Derfflinger " , " Lützow " , , and left the Jade Estuary at 10 : 55 on 24 April , and were supported by a screening force of 6 light cruisers and two torpedo boat flotillas . The heavy units of the High Seas Fleet sailed at 13 : 40 , with the objective to provide distant support for Bödicker ' s ships . The British Admiralty was made aware of the German sortie through the interception of German wireless signals , and deployed the Grand Fleet at 15 : 50 . By 14 : 00 , Bödicker ' s ships had reached a position off Norderney , at which point he turned his ships northward to avoid the Dutch observers on the island of Terschelling . At 15 : 38 , " Seydlitz " struck a mine , which tore a long hole in her hull , just abaft of the starboard broadside torpedo tube , allowing 1 , 400 short tons ( 1 , 250 long tons ) of water to enter the ship . " Seydlitz " turned back with the screen of light cruiser s at a speed of . The four remaining battlecruisers turned south immediately in the direction of Norderney to avoid further mine damage . By 16 : 00 , " Seydlitz " was clear of imminent danger , so the ship stopped to allow Bödicker to disembark . The torpedo boat brought Bödicker to " Lützow " . At 04 : 50 on 25 April , the German battlecruisers were approaching Lowestoft when the light cruisers and , which had been covering the southern flank , spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of Commodore Tyrwhitt ' s Harwich Force . Bödicker refused to be distracted by the British ships , and instead trained his ships ' guns on Lowestoft . The German battlecruisers destroyed two 6 in ( 15 cm ) shore batteries and inflicted other damage to the town . In the process , a single 6 in shell from one of the shore batteries struck " Moltke " , but the ship sustained no significant damage . At 05 : 20 , the German raiders turned north , towards Yarmouth , which they reached by 05 : 42 . The visibility was so poor that the German ships fired one salvo each , with the exception of " Derfflinger " , which fired fourteen rounds from her main battery . The German ships turned back south , and at 05 : 47 encountered for the second time the Harwich Force , which had by then been engaged by the six light cruisers of the German screening ships . Bödicker ' s ships opened fire from a range of 12 , 000 m ( 13 , 000 yards ) . Tyrwhitt immediately turned his ships around and fled south , but not before the cruiser sustained severe damage . Due to reports of British submarines and torpedo attacks , Bödicker broke off the chase and turned back east towards the High Seas Fleet . At this point , Scheer , who had been warned of the Grand Fleet ' s sortie from Scapa Flow , turned back towards Germany . Battle of Jutland . At 02 : 00 CET , on 31 May 1916 , the I Scouting Group departed the Jade estuary ; " Lützow " , Hipper ' s flagship , was the leading vessel , followed by her sister " Derfflinger " , " Seydlitz " , " Moltke " , and " Von der Tann " . The ships were accompanied by the II Scouting Group , under the command of Rear Admiral Bödicker , composed of the four light cruiser s , , , and . The reconnaissance force was screened by 30 torpedo boats of the II , VI , and IX Flotillas , directed by the cruiser . An hour and a half later , the High Seas Fleet — under the command of Admiral Scheer — left the Jade with 16 dreadnoughts . It was accompanied by the IV Scouting Group , composed of the light cruisers , , , , and , and 31 torpedo boats of the I , III , V , and VII Flotillas , led by the light cruiser . The six pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron had departed from the Elbe roads at 02 : 45 , and rendezvoused with the battle fleet at 5 : 00 . The operation was to be a repeat of previous German fleet actions : to draw out a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it . Opening actions . Shortly before 16 : 00 , Hipper ' s force encountered Vice Admiral Beatty ' s 1st Battlecruiser Squadron . At 16 : 00 , Hipper ordered the signal " Distribution of fire from left " be hoisted on " Lützow " . The German ships were the first to open fire , at a range of approximately . The two leading British battlecruisers , and , concentrated their fire on " Lützow " . The British rangefinders had misread the range to their German targets , and so the first salvos fired by the British ships fell a mile beyond their German opponents . As the two lines of battlecruisers deployed to engage each other , " Lützow " began to duel with her opposite in the British line , . By 16 : 51 , " Lützow " had hit her opponent twice , but caused no significant damage . Nine minutes later , " Lion " scored the first hit on " Lützow " ; a salvo from the British ship struck the battlecruiser on her forecastle , but no major damage was done . Nearly simultaneously , " Lützow " dealt a tremendous blow to " Lion " ; one of her 30 . 5 cm shells penetrated the roof of " Lion " s center " Q " turret and detonated the munitions that were stored inside . Only by the resolute actions of the turret commander — Major Francis Harvey , who ordered the magazine be flooded — did the ship avoid a catastrophic magazine explosion . Indeed , approximately 30 minutes after the turret was destroyed , the fire in the turret spread to the working chamber that was directly above the magazine ; there it detonated propellant charges that had been stored there . The resulting explosion would have likely destroyed the ship if the ammunition magazine had not been flooded . At 17 : 03 , the rearmost British battlecruiser , , was struck by several shells from her opponent , . The forward ammunition magazines were penetrated and set on fire ; the resulting explosion tore the ship apart . Shortly thereafter , " Lützow " scored several more hits on " Lion " , though without serious damage being done . In an attempt to regroup his ships , Admiral Beatty sought to turn his ships away by 2 degrees while the s of the 5th Battle Squadron arrived on the scene and provided covering fire . As the British battlecruisers began to turn away , " Seydlitz " and " Derfflinger " were able to concentrate their fire on " Queen Mary " . Witnesses reported at least 5 shells from two salvos hit the ship , which caused an intense explosion that ripped the " Queen Mary " in half . Shortly after the destruction of " Queen Mary " , both British and German destroyers attempted to make torpedo attacks on the opposing lines . The British destroyers " Nestor " and " Nicator " each fired two torpedoes at " Lützow " , though all four missed . The leading ships of the German battle fleet had by 18 : 00 come within effective range of the British ships , and had begun trading shots with the British battlecruisers and " Queen Elizabeth " - class battleships . During the engagements between the combined German fleet and the British 1st Battlecruiser and 5th Battle Squadrons , " Lützow " had both of her wireless transmitters damaged ; after that point , the only method of communication between ships was via searchlight . Battlefleets engage . Shortly after 19 : 00 , the German cruiser had become disabled by a shell from the battlecruiser ; the German battlecruisers made a 16 - point turn to the northeast and made for the crippled cruiser at high speed . The III Battle Squadron of the German fleet , which contained the most powerful battleships of the German navy , also altered course to assist " Wiesbaden " . Simultaneously , the British III and IV Light Cruiser Squadrons began a torpedo attack on the German line ; while advancing to torpedo range , they smothered " Wiesbaden " with fire from their main guns . During the turn to the northeast , the British destroyers and approached to launch torpedoes at " Lützow " , though without success . " Onslow " was hit three times by " Lützow " s secondary battery and was forced to withdraw . At 19 : 15 , the German battlecruisers spotted the British armored cruiser , which had joined the attack on " Wiesbaden " . Hipper initially hesitated , believing the ship was the German cruiser " Rostock " , but at 19 : 16 , " Kapitän zur See " ( KzS ) Harder , " Lützow " s commanding officer , ordered his ships ' guns to fire . The other German battlecruisers and battleships joined in the melee ; " Lützow " fired five broadsides in rapid succession . In the span of less than 5 minutes , " Defence " was struck by several heavy - caliber shells from the German ships . One salvo penetrated the ship ' s ammunition magazines and , in a massive explosion , destroyed the cruiser . By 19 : 24 , the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron had formed up with Beatty ' s remaining battlecruisers ahead of the German line . The leading British ships spotted " Lützow " and " Derfflinger " , and began firing on them . In the span of 8 minutes , the battlecruiser scored eight hits on " Lützow " ; these hits were mainly concentrated in the ship ' s bow and were the primary cause of the flooding that would eventually cause her to sink . In return , both " Lützow " and " Derfflinger " concentrated their fire on " Invincible " , and 19 : 33 , " Lützow " s third salvo penetrated " Invincible " s center turret and ignited the magazine ; the ship disappeared in a series of massive explosions . By 19 : 30 , the High Seas Fleet , which was by that point pursuing the British battlecruisers , had not yet encountered the Grand Fleet . Scheer had been considering retiring his forces before darkness exposed his ships to torpedo boat attack . He had not yet made a decision when his leading battleships encountered the main body of the Grand Fleet . This development made it impossible for Scheer to retreat , for doing so would have sacrificed the slower pre - dreadnought battleships of the II Battle Squadron . If he chose to use his dreadnoughts and battlecruisers to cover their retreat , he would have subjected his strongest ships to overwhelming British fire . Instead , Scheer ordered his ships to turn 16 points to starboard , which would bring the pre - dreadnoughts to the relative safety of the disengaged side of the German battle line . " Lützow " withdraws . The other battlecruisers followed the move , but " Lützow " had lost speed and was unable to keep up . Instead , the ship tried to withdraw to the southwest to escape the punishing British gunfire . By 20 : 00 , flooding in the forward part of the ship had reached the magazine for the forward turret . The gun crew brought up as many shells and propellant charges as could be stored in the working chamber below the turret . Shortly before , at 19 : 50 , " Kommodore " Michelson , aboard the cruiser " Rostock " , dispatched the torpedo boats of I Half - Flotilla to assist " Lützow " . came alongside and took Hipper and his staff aboard , in order to transfer him to one of the other battlecruisers . and began laying a smoke screen between the battered ship and the British line , but at 20 : 15 , before it was finished , " Lützow " was struck in quick succession by four heavy - caliber shells . One pierced the ship ' s forward superfiring turret and temporarily disabled it . The shell detonated a propellant charge and the right gun was destroyed . The second hit disabled the electric training gear of the rearmost turret , which now had to be operated by hand . " Lützow " fired her last shot at 20 : 45 , at which point the smoke screen had successfully hidden her from the British line . As the German fleet began to withdraw after nightfall , " Lützow " , steaming at 15 knots , attempted to pass behind the German line to seek the safety of the disengaged side . By 22 : 13 , the last German ship in the line lost sight of " Lützow " , which was unable to keep up with the fleet . Admiral Reinhard Scheer , the commander of the High Seas Fleet , hoped that in the foggy darkness , " Lützow " could evade detection and successfully return to a German port . By 21 : 30 , the ship was settling deeper into the sea . Water began to wash onto the deck and into the forecastle above the main armored deck ; this would prove to be a significant problem . " Lützow " scuttled . At midnight , there was still hope that the severely wounded " Lützow " could make it back to harbor . The ship was capable of 7 knots up until around 00 : 45 when she began taking on more water . By 01 : 00 , there was too much water in the hull for the pumps to handle . Water began to enter the forward generator compartments , which forced the crew to work by candlelight . " Lützow " was so low in the water by 01 : 30 that water began to flood the forward boiler room . By that point , almost all of the compartments in the forward part of the ship , up to the conning tower and below the main armored deck , were thoroughly flooded . Water had also entered the ship through shell holes in the forecastle above the armored deck ; the majority of the upper portion of the ship forward of the forward - most barbette was flooded as well . The battlecruiser ' s crew attempted to patch the shell holes three times , but as the flooding worsened and the draft increased , water increasingly washed over the deck and inhibited progress on the repair work . The crew attempted to reverse direction and steam backwards , but this had to be abandoned when the bow became so submerged that the propellers were pulled partially out of the water ; forward draft had increased to over 17 meters . By 2 : 20 , an estimated 8 , 000 tons of water was in the ship , and she was in serious danger of capsizing , so " KzS " Harder gave the order to abandon ship . The torpedo boats " G37 , G38 , G40 " , and " V45 " came alongside the stricken battlecruiser to evacuate the ship ' s crew . By 02 : 45 " Lützow " was submerged up to her bridge . " G38 " fired two torpedoes into the ship , and two minutes later she disappeared below the waves . The ship was approximately north - west of Horns Reef when she was scuttled . The position of the wreck is estimated to be . During the battle , " Lützow " had fired an estimated 380 main battery shells and 400 rounds from her secondary guns , as well as two torpedoes . In return , she was hit 24 times by British heavy - caliber shells . The ship ' s crew suffered 115 men killed and another 50 wounded , second only to " Derfflinger " , which lost 157 men killed and 26 wounded . Notes . Footnotes Citations