GROßE KRUEZER
The Twins - SMS Moltke and Goeben
A well-balanced design combining speed and armour, the Moltke's were destined to never fight together. SMS Moltke survived the battles in the North Sea, taking four hits at Jutland and several torpedoes in other operations, only to see her end at Scapa Flow. SMS Goeben, detached to the Mediteranean division in 1912, found herself deep behind enemy lines and threatened with capture. Chased by the British, SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau made port in then-neutral Constantinople, where they were "sold" to Turkey in exchange for Turkish entry into the war. Serving under various names but best known as Yavuz, Goeben outlasted all her contemporary WWI Dreadnoughts except USS Texas, but finally went to the breakers in 1974.
The next ship in line, while superficially resembling the Moltke-class, was a new design with increased ability to absorb punishment. And when war came, SMS Seydlitz would prove the design worked.
PHOTOS
SMS Moltke
Painting of General Helmuth von Moltke (the Elder) (Biography)
SMS Moltke's Crest
Plans and Construction
Moltke - Line Drawing - Top and Side Views (Koop)
Moltke - Line Drawing - Side View (Koop)
Moltke - Line Drawing - Top View (Koop)
Moltke - Line Drawing - Top and Side Views (Gröner)
Moltke under construction
Active Duty
Moltke - In Drydock
Moltke - Colorized postcard
Moltke - Starboard Bow
Moltke - Starboard Aspect
Moltke - Starboard Aspect
Moltke - Starboard Quarter Aspect (U.S. National Archives)
Moltke - Starboard Quarter Aspect
Moltke - Colorized postcard
Moltke - Portside Amidships
Moltke - Port Quarter Aspect
Moltke - Port Aspect leading High Seas Fleet into Forth of Firth (U.S. National Archives)
Moltke - Port Aspect (U.S. National Archives)
Moltke - Port Aspect
Moltke - Port Aspect
Moltke - Port Bow Aspect
SMS Goeben
Plans and Construction
Goeben - Line Drawing - Side View (Greger)
Goeben - Line Drawing - Top and Side Views (Greger)
Active Duty
Goeben - From the forecastle looking aft
Goeben - Starboard Bow Aspect
Goeben - Starboard Aspect (U.S. National Archives)
Goeben - Aft View (U.S. National Archives)
Goeben - Centerline looking aft at #2 Funnel
Goeben - Port Quarter Aspect - Colorized
Goeben - Quarterdeck - Taken onboard
Goeben - Portside Amidships - Taken onboard
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect - Probably on speed trials (note booms at bow and stern)
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect
Goeben - Port Bow Aspect (late war - no nets)
SPECIFICATIONS
Project Name: Heavy Cruiser G (Moltke) and Heavy Cruiser H (Goeben)
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid Down: Moltke - January 1, 1909 | Goeben - August 12, 1909
Launched: Moltke - April 7, 1910 | Goeben - March 28, 1911
Commissioned: Moltke - August 30, 1911 | Goeben - July 2, 1912
Removed from Service: Moltke - June 21, 1919 (Scuttled at Scapa Flow - sank at 1310 hrs) | Goeben - August 16, 1914 (Transfered to Turkey as Yavuz)
Scrapped: Moltke - June 1927 to 1929 | Goeben (as Yavuz) - 1974
Displacement: 22,979 tonnes (designed) / 25,400 tonnes (maximum)
Dimensions (meters): 186.6 (overall) x 29.4 x 9.19
Dimensions (feet): 615.78 (overall) x 97.0 x 30.33
# of Shafts: 4
# of Propeller Blades: 3 (3.74m diameter)
# of Rudders: 2 (tandem - one ahead of the other)
Max Speed/Range: 25.5 kts / 4,120 nm at 14 kts
Main Battery: Ten 280mm (11")/50 caliber - 5 twin turrets
Secondary Battery: Twelve 150mm (5.9")/45 caliber - 12 casement mounts (Goeben only had 10 after 1915)
Anti-Torpedo Boat / Anti-Aircraft Battery: Twelve 88mm (3.5")/45 caliber - single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: Four 50cm tubes (all underwater - one bow, one stern [portside], one mounted on each side just forward of "Anton" turret)
Complement: 1,050 (as designed) / 1,350 (wartime)
LINKS TO OTHER WEB-SITES
Naval Weapons of the World German Naval Guns
Naval Weapons of the World Pre-World War II German Torpedoes
German Kriegsmarine Encyclopedia
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