Spähkreuzer 1938

Two types of planned but not built cruisers were called Spähkreuzer in the German navies, which should make reconnaissance and security services for the capital ships.

• 2.1 Tactical and technical data (planned)

Imperial Navy

As Spähkreuzer a 1916 styled cruiser fleet was called in the German Imperial Navy. He should be the German response to the British cruisers fast reconnaissance type " Scout ". The project was not realized.

Tactical and technical data (planned)

• Displacement: approx 4850 tons
• Armament: among others, 5 guns caliber 15 cm

Navy

The plan for the construction of Spähkreuzern was taken by the Navy in the Second World War and laid down in the Z plan. With the construction of a first Spähkreuzers was started in 1941. Although the base formed destroyer designs, but the ships were classified at the water displacement between destroyers and cruisers light thread. Ships of this size were referred to in the French Navy as a great destroyer.

The German Spähkreuzer were initially attributed to the destroyers and therefore received the identifiers Z 40 to Z 42 Only later did this in Sp 1 to Sp 3 altered. Because of the strained material supply only the construction of Sp 1 on the Germania Werft Kiel was started, but since the shipyard capacities were required for the submarine construction, it imposed in 1942 a construction freeze for the ship and had to cancel it in 1943.

Tactical and technical data (planned)

• Displacement: 5900 tons to
• Speed: 35.5 kn ( about 66 km / h)
• Crew: 550 men
• Armament: 6 guns caliber 15 cm in 3 towers with 2 tubes
• 4 Heavy anti-aircraft guns caliber 88mm
• 8 anti-aircraft guns caliber 3.7 cm
• 12 Light AA guns caliber 2 cm
• 10 torpedo tubes caliber 53.3 cm
• 50 sea mines

• Cruiser
• Navy
• Imperial Navy
• Military Ship Type