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Old 12-17-22, 09:55 PM   #87
CPTLTJASON
Kapitan.z.S Hartmann
 
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Mid-1934, Marinekommandiertenabteilung, Berlin.


In July 1934 KAdm Karl von Werner of the Marinekonstruktionsamt (K) proposed the construction of a disguised commerce raider from the keel up, von Werner had served aboard the raiders Mowe and Wolf IV in the Great War, the project was initially met with strong opposition, the Reichsmarine had just launched the Panzerschiffe Admiral Graf Spee, known as Panzerschiff C costing 82,000,000 RM and were planning for the Admiral Hipper-class cruisers which would cost 85,000,000.00 RM, in spite of this Adm Erich Reader Chef der Marineleitung authorized von Werner to proceed with the project with utmost secrecy.

He met with the owners of the Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa at their Bremen Headquarters to discuss the requisitioning of one of their new future class of motorships of the Ehrenfels Class. The Reichsmarine would end up buying the ship for 4,250,000.00 RM was accepted on July 19th. The payment was received on July 20th, 1934 at 12:01pm then on July 21, 1934 at 08:00 hrs. the teletype at the A.G. Weser Werft tapped out a directive from Berlin, 1.Marineleitung. Iac. 33928/34 geh.

The chosen ship was the “Weserfels” she was originally the second ship of the new Ehrenfels Class of motorships to be built by the Deschimag A.G. Weser Werft, Bremen. These large, fast motorships were diesel powered giving them a tremendous advantage over coal or turbine ships. She was to have sailed on the bi-weekly Hamburg-Calcutta run via the Suez Canal.
Specifications (as planned)

Length 506ft
Beam 61ft
Draft 31ft (Loaded 33ft, Empty 27ft)
Tonnage: 7.764 GRT (4.795 NRT 10.450 tdw)

Engine installation:
2 x 6-Zylinder doppeltwirkende Zweitakt-Dieselmotoren
Deschimag Werk A.G. "Weser", Bemen
Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN), Augsburg: Typ: D 6 Zu 53/76
7.600 PSe, 210 UpM, Vulcan-Getriebe 86 UpM

1 x Propeller / 1 x Rudder / 16.0 knots

Crew: 44
Passengers: 12

Loading gear:
1 x 50 t Boom
1 x 15 t Boom
6 x 10 t Boom
14 x 5 t Boom

The ship was given the designation of H.S.K. (10). But to maintain the secrecy of the project official documents refer to H.S.K. 10 as Schiff Nr. 30. Officially the ship was a special transport, destined to sail under the Reichsdienstflagge, the Reich Service Flag.
Unlike the Hilfskreuzers of the Great War which were just converted freighters this Hilfskreuzer was to be built from the keel up. The vessel would be heavily armed with 10 x 15cm guns, an array of secondary and anti-aircraft guns, 6 torpedo tubes, a catapult, the space to carry 8 aircraft, range 180,000km, an endurance of at least 300 days, space for up to 500 mines, cargo space for captured cargo, specially built refrigeration rooms, large pens for livestock, prisoner quarters, etc.

Most of the disguised raiders of the Great War were heavily armed however, they lacked above all things armor. With the “Weserfels” it was decided to augment the sand ballast with the installation of armor plates on her decks and hull with a thickness of 0.5” on the deck and 1” on the hull from frame 10.0 to frame 255.5 This greatly increased her weight from 7,700 grt to 10,800 grt. but it provided protection for the machinery spaces, magazines, torpedo rooms, mine rooms, and 8 x 15cm guns hidden behind flaps which were a headache to design in less than two months. During this phase in the design process, It was eventually decided to build the ship independently of the other Ehrenfels Class ships which is the reason she does not appear as an Ehrenfels Class ship in any register.

Final plans were approved by the Reichsmarine, and the contract was signed on August 31st. at the Deschimag A.G. Weser Werft. The keel was laid in Building Way Nr.V. on September 1st. at 07:00 hrs.
During the construction of the ship, the commander was assigned, the newly promoted Korv.Kpt. Wilhelm Hellmuth Hartmann, the II. Artillery officer of the pocket battleship Deutschland. Previously he had served as commander of the minesweeper M-21. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine in October 1918, one month later the war ended, however Hartmann was retained and was swiftly promoted by 1928 he held the rank of Kapitanleutnant and was in command of the minesweeper M-21 before being transferred to the newly completed Panzerschiffe Deutschland as II. Artillery Officer in June 1933 shortly after the ship entered service.

After being given command he began assembling his crew, rejecting the entire roster provided by the Personnel Office which were basically undesirable officers and ratings. Instead, he handpicked his officers, petty officers, and ratings. Once the crew selection was completed the original crew of 440 were housed in barracks in Bremen the nature of the ship was still a mystery to the crew and was to remain for the remainder of her construction.

The ship was completed on February 11, 1935. The launching took place on the 12th. and without ceremony one of the last ships launched under the flag of the Reichsmarine floated high on the River Weser. The “Weserfels” was then towed to the Fitting out Pier where she was completed by April 30th.

__________________
"The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him" Sun Tzu


Kapitan.z.S Hartmann's (U-35,U-46-U-204-U-332-U-256-U-293, U-838, U-830, U-834, U-1188, U-1180, U-835, U-840, U-839, Schiff 44 “AFRIKA”, Schiff 77 "Stortebecker", "Schiff 66 "WOLF", Schiff 19, Schiff 30) motto: Eastward Ho!
"Be more aggressive"

Schiff 30 wird sie alle versenken!

Last edited by CPTLTJASON; 12-19-22 at 08:11 PM.
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