1,558
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 5:
Line 5: + +
no edit summary
==''Deutschland''==
==''Deutschland''==
The first of this new class of ship, the ''Deutschland'' was launched in 1931 and commissioned in 1933. She was active in Spanish waters during the [[Spanish Civil War]], evacuating refugees and escorting German ships carrying supplies to the Nationalists. In May 1937, the ship was attacked by Republican aircraft and suffered two bomb hits. 23 sailors were killed and 73 wounded. In retaliation for this attack, [[Adolf Hitler]] ordered the bombardment of the Republican-held harbor of Almeria by the ''Deutschland'''s sister ship, the ''Admiral Scheer''.
The first of this new class of ship, the ''Deutschland'' was launched in 1931 and commissioned in 1933. She was active in Spanish waters during the [[Spanish Civil War]], evacuating refugees and escorting German ships carrying supplies to the Nationalists. In May 1937, the ship was attacked by Republican aircraft and suffered two bomb hits. 23 sailors were killed and 73 wounded. In retaliation for this attack, [[Adolf Hitler]] ordered the bombardment of the Republican-held harbor of Almeria by the ''Deutschland'''s sister ship, the ''Admiral Scheer''.
At the outbreak of World War II, the ''Deutschland'' was at sea. After a delay, she was sent into the North Atlantic to conduct commerce raiding. She sunk or captured three merchant ships (over 11,000 tons in total) before weather damage forced the ship to the safety of Kiel harbor, arriving on November 15, 1939. It was on this date that the ship was renamed. This was done partly to confuse enemy intelligence, and partly because it was felt that if a ship bearing the name of the German nation was sunk, national morale would be damaged. Consequently, the ship was renamed in honor of Adolf Freiherr von Lutzow, one of Germany’s most distinguished military commanders from the Napoleonic Wars.
==''Admiral Scheer''==
==''Admiral Scheer''==