by I Scouting Group » Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:56 am
Maybe the best place to start is with a general timeline of the ship�s activities from late 1941 onward:
June 1941
On 6/12/41, commanding officer Kapit�n zur See Hennecke was informed that Schleswig-Holstein�s assignment during the upcoming hostilities against the Soviet Union would be to assume a position in the �resund straight between Denmark and Sweden to prevent a breakout of Soviet naval forces into the open ocean. The ship was, in his opinion, rather ill-suited to this task because in addition to the SA (schwere Artillerie � heavy artillery/main battery), the ship�s only rapid-fire weapons consisted of the two 37mm twin-Flak and the four 88mm L/45 C13, none of which being especially well positioned to engage surface targets. Of additional concern was that with the ship anchored, it was conceivable that only one of the main battery turrets would be able to fire. Should this problem have presented itself, the plan was to attempt to rotate the ship while still anchored into a better firing arc for the turrets.
September 1941
No Soviet forces attempted to break out of the Baltic during Operation Barbarossa and the ship set sail for Copenhagen on 9/5/41. Some damage to one of the screws was discovered during the trip, and on 10/11 the ship docked in Gotenhafen for repairs. On 10/22, the ship then sailed to Kiel.
January 1942
The ship was ordered to assist in the efforts to maintain a free passage through the ice for supply ships servicing the northernmost section of the Eastern Front, and, in an emergency, to serve as a floating battery in support of land forces.
During the first icebreaking operation of 1942, the ship sustained a mine hit underneath the forward boiler rooms. A distress call was put out. The icebreaker Stettin, which was coaling in Riga, responds. When it arrived, it found that the forward section of the ship was underwater up to just below the anchor hawse with the stern raised out of the water by a corresponding amount.
The large naval icebreaker Castor joined the rescue operation shortly thereafter, and together the two ships helped pump at least 500T of water out of the Schleswig-Holstein. The ship was taken in tow to Danzig for temporary repairs.
May 1942
The ship sails from Danzig to Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven for permanent repairs. It does not sound as if any modifications were made to the ship at this time beyond repairing the mine damage. The ship then returned to Gotenhafen and served the remainder of 1942 as a training and accommodation ship for the helmsman school at Gotenhafen.
March 1943
The ship was deactivated following Hitler�s decision to deactivate the bulk of the surface fleet due to his anger at the outcome of the Battle of the Barents Sea. The ship therefore spent the rest of 1943 as a barracks ship.
February 1944
Because Schleswig-Holstein retained four coal-fired boilers (not the original boilers, but improved boilers that were installed during the 1925-26 refit), it was reactivated as a cadet training ship, with the first of a new crew arriving in early February. The ship had fallen into a somewhat decrepit state and much of February was spent on cleaning and basic maintenance.
Spring-Summer 1944
The ship raised steam and moved for the first time under its own power again on 3/9/44. Training cruises in the Baltic Sea resumed shortly thereafter. As best as I can tell, the ship was in the same configuration that it had been in 1941, namely with the main battery intact, and with an armament of 4x 88mm L/45 C13 as well as two twin-37mm Flak, and 3x 20mm Flak.
The ship conducted target practice with sub-caliber shells on 5/12. On 5/16, the ship accidentally lost on of its anchors as well as 120m of chain due to the water in the harbor being deeper than expected. After numerous attempts and considerable teasing from the crews of others ships, divers were able to salvage the lost anchor and chain on 5/22
Full-caliber target practice took place on 6/12.
Refit as a convoy escort, September � December 1944
In the aftermath of Operation Bagration in June 1944, Army Group North became trapped in the so-called �Courland Pocket�. D�nitz, among others, advocated that Army Group North hold this position so that that Baltic could continue to be used as a training ground for U-Boat crews.
In the mid-late summer and fall of 1944, some of the remaining heavy units of the Kriegsmarine provided artillery support to land forces along the Baltic Coast. Prinz Eugen, in particular, was able to render tactically-important fire support.
In light of these successes and because of the need to keep the Courland Pocket supplied by sea, a decision was made to refit the Schleswig-Holstein as a convoy escort ship as mentioned in my previous post. It was expected to use a heavily augmented AA armament to protect supply ships and transports from aerial attack, as well as provide fire support to ground forces.
The ship docked at Deutsche Werke on 9/25/44 to begin the refit process. I�ve cataloged the planned alterations above. Of these, augmentation and modernization of the AA armament and replacement of all four main battery barrels were deemed the most important.
Newly joined members of the crew assisted in the refit efforts, and the ship was scheduled to be ready for service on 12/23/1944.
This never happened, of course, because the ship was effectively sunk after sustaining three bomb hits on the evening of 12/18/44 in a large RAF air raid that destroyed or damaged several other vessels.
As mentioned above, it�s not clear whether all of the planned modifications were completed or whether all of the new anti-aircraft weapons were aboard at the time of the sinking. The sketch I had previously posted indicates the probable location of much of the new AA armament, but I have no information about where the numerous 40mm Bofors guns would have gone.
Barring the discovery of some other source, it may not be possible to model the ship exactly as it looked on 12/18. That said, two boilers were already lit to generate steam to test the new turbo-electric generators, and sea trials were planned to commence sometime before the ship was supposed to resume active service five days later. It�s therefore likely that most of the planned modifications had been completed at the time of sinking.
It is also worth mentioning that none of the ships AA guns were operational at the time of the air raid no ammunition was aboard. Because of this, on the senior officers, the watch officers, the flood-and-damage control personnel and various technical personnel remained aboard the ship during the air raid, with the remainder of the crew taking cover in trenches that had been dug alongside the pier.
Ship�s Paint and Color Schemes
Photographs from 1942 and the spring and summer of 1944 show the ship in the same color scheme that it had been in earlier in the war, with no traces of camouflage.
Similarly, the ship is not camouflaged in an October 1944 photograph taken in the Deutsch-Werke dry docks in Gotenhafen.
Finally, post-sinking photographs show no signs of camouflage, with the ship remaining in an overall light grey scheme with black funnel tops. I have no information as to whether the ship was going to receive a different paint scheme upon assuming service as a convoy ship.
I sought out this forum not only because I�m building the 1908 kit (which I am very impressed with so far � the only thing �missing� that I�ve noticed are the broadside as well as the aft torpedo tubes), but also because I think it�s important to get good source information out there in the English language. If anyone is interested in specific aspects of the above chronology, I�d be happy to summarize and or provided specific passages from the text to try to shed more light on things.
Maybe the best place to start is with a general timeline of the ship�s activities from late 1941 onward:
June 1941
On 6/12/41, commanding officer Kapit�n zur See Hennecke was informed that Schleswig-Holstein�s assignment during the upcoming hostilities against the Soviet Union would be to assume a position in the �resund straight between Denmark and Sweden to prevent a breakout of Soviet naval forces into the open ocean. The ship was, in his opinion, rather ill-suited to this task because in addition to the SA (schwere Artillerie � heavy artillery/main battery), the ship�s only rapid-fire weapons consisted of the two 37mm twin-Flak and the four 88mm L/45 C13, none of which being especially well positioned to engage surface targets. Of additional concern was that with the ship anchored, it was conceivable that only one of the main battery turrets would be able to fire. Should this problem have presented itself, the plan was to attempt to rotate the ship while still anchored into a better firing arc for the turrets.
September 1941
No Soviet forces attempted to break out of the Baltic during Operation Barbarossa and the ship set sail for Copenhagen on 9/5/41. Some damage to one of the screws was discovered during the trip, and on 10/11 the ship docked in Gotenhafen for repairs. On 10/22, the ship then sailed to Kiel.
January 1942
The ship was ordered to assist in the efforts to maintain a free passage through the ice for supply ships servicing the northernmost section of the Eastern Front, and, in an emergency, to serve as a floating battery in support of land forces.
During the first icebreaking operation of 1942, the ship sustained a mine hit underneath the forward boiler rooms. A distress call was put out. The icebreaker Stettin, which was coaling in Riga, responds. When it arrived, it found that the forward section of the ship was underwater up to just below the anchor hawse with the stern raised out of the water by a corresponding amount.
The large naval icebreaker Castor joined the rescue operation shortly thereafter, and together the two ships helped pump at least 500T of water out of the Schleswig-Holstein. The ship was taken in tow to Danzig for temporary repairs.
May 1942
The ship sails from Danzig to Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven for permanent repairs. It does not sound as if any modifications were made to the ship at this time beyond repairing the mine damage. The ship then returned to Gotenhafen and served the remainder of 1942 as a training and accommodation ship for the helmsman school at Gotenhafen.
March 1943
The ship was deactivated following Hitler�s decision to deactivate the bulk of the surface fleet due to his anger at the outcome of the Battle of the Barents Sea. The ship therefore spent the rest of 1943 as a barracks ship.
February 1944
Because Schleswig-Holstein retained four coal-fired boilers (not the original boilers, but improved boilers that were installed during the 1925-26 refit), it was reactivated as a cadet training ship, with the first of a new crew arriving in early February. The ship had fallen into a somewhat decrepit state and much of February was spent on cleaning and basic maintenance.
Spring-Summer 1944
The ship raised steam and moved for the first time under its own power again on 3/9/44. Training cruises in the Baltic Sea resumed shortly thereafter. As best as I can tell, the ship was in the same configuration that it had been in 1941, namely with the main battery intact, and with an armament of 4x 88mm L/45 C13 as well as two twin-37mm Flak, and 3x 20mm Flak.
The ship conducted target practice with sub-caliber shells on 5/12. On 5/16, the ship accidentally lost on of its anchors as well as 120m of chain due to the water in the harbor being deeper than expected. After numerous attempts and considerable teasing from the crews of others ships, divers were able to salvage the lost anchor and chain on 5/22
Full-caliber target practice took place on 6/12.
Refit as a convoy escort, September � December 1944
In the aftermath of Operation Bagration in June 1944, Army Group North became trapped in the so-called �Courland Pocket�. D�nitz, among others, advocated that Army Group North hold this position so that that Baltic could continue to be used as a training ground for U-Boat crews.
In the mid-late summer and fall of 1944, some of the remaining heavy units of the Kriegsmarine provided artillery support to land forces along the Baltic Coast. Prinz Eugen, in particular, was able to render tactically-important fire support.
In light of these successes and because of the need to keep the Courland Pocket supplied by sea, a decision was made to refit the Schleswig-Holstein as a convoy escort ship as mentioned in my previous post. It was expected to use a heavily augmented AA armament to protect supply ships and transports from aerial attack, as well as provide fire support to ground forces.
The ship docked at Deutsche Werke on 9/25/44 to begin the refit process. I�ve cataloged the planned alterations above. Of these, augmentation and modernization of the AA armament and replacement of all four main battery barrels were deemed the most important.
Newly joined members of the crew assisted in the refit efforts, and the ship was scheduled to be ready for service on 12/23/1944.
This never happened, of course, because the ship was effectively sunk after sustaining three bomb hits on the evening of 12/18/44 in a large RAF air raid that destroyed or damaged several other vessels.
As mentioned above, it�s not clear whether all of the planned modifications were completed or whether all of the new anti-aircraft weapons were aboard at the time of the sinking. The sketch I had previously posted indicates the probable location of much of the new AA armament, but I have no information about where the numerous 40mm Bofors guns would have gone.
Barring the discovery of some other source, it may not be possible to model the ship exactly as it looked on 12/18. That said, two boilers were already lit to generate steam to test the new turbo-electric generators, and sea trials were planned to commence sometime before the ship was supposed to resume active service five days later. It�s therefore likely that most of the planned modifications had been completed at the time of sinking.
It is also worth mentioning that none of the ships AA guns were operational at the time of the air raid no ammunition was aboard. Because of this, on the senior officers, the watch officers, the flood-and-damage control personnel and various technical personnel remained aboard the ship during the air raid, with the remainder of the crew taking cover in trenches that had been dug alongside the pier.
Ship�s Paint and Color Schemes
Photographs from 1942 and the spring and summer of 1944 show the ship in the same color scheme that it had been in earlier in the war, with no traces of camouflage.
Similarly, the ship is not camouflaged in an October 1944 photograph taken in the Deutsch-Werke dry docks in Gotenhafen.
Finally, post-sinking photographs show no signs of camouflage, with the ship remaining in an overall light grey scheme with black funnel tops. I have no information as to whether the ship was going to receive a different paint scheme upon assuming service as a convoy ship.
I sought out this forum not only because I�m building the 1908 kit (which I am very impressed with so far � the only thing �missing� that I�ve noticed are the broadside as well as the aft torpedo tubes), but also because I think it�s important to get good source information out there in the English language. If anyone is interested in specific aspects of the above chronology, I�d be happy to summarize and or provided specific passages from the text to try to shed more light on things.