SMS Lützow

Illustration of Lützow
History
German Empire
Name:	Lützow
Namesake:	Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow
Ordered:	1912–1913 Naval Program
Builder:	Schichau-Werke, Danzig
Laid down:	15 May 1912
Launched:	29 November 1913
Commissioned:	8 August 1915 for trials March 1916 full commission
Fate:	Scuttled after severe damage at the Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916
Notes:	Designated war grave
General characteristics
Class and type:	Derfflinger-class battlecruiser
Displacement:	26,741 t (26,319 long tons; 29,477 short tons) design load
Length:	210.40 m (690 ft 3 in)
Beam:	29 m (95 ft 2 in)
Draft:	9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)
Installed power:	18 water-tube boilers 79,881 shp (59,567 kW) (trials)
Propulsion:	4 shaft steam turbines
Speed:	26.4 knots (48.9 km/h; 30.4 mph)
Range:	5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement:	44 officers, 1,068 men
Armament:	8 × 30.5 cm SK L/50 guns 14 × 15 cm SK L/45 guns 8 × 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns 4 × 60 cm (24 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 300 mm (12 in) Conning tower: 300 mm Deck: 30 to 80 mm (1.2 to 3.1 in) Turrets: 270 mm (11 in)

SMS Lützow was the second Derfflinger-class battlecruiser built by the German Kaiserliche Marine (English: Imperial Navy) before World War I. Ordered as a replacement for the old protected cruiser Kaiserin Augusta, Lützow was launched on 29 November 1913, but not completed until 1916. Lützow was a sister ship to Derfflinger from which she differed slightly in that she was armed with an additional pair of 15 cm (5.9 inch) secondary guns and had an additional watertight compartment in her hull. She was named in honor of the Prussian general Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.

Lützow was commissioned on 8 August 1915, but did not join the I Scouting Group until 20 March due to engine damage during trials. This was after most of the major actions conducted by the German battlecruiser force had taken place. As a result, Lützow saw very little action during the war. She took part in only one bombardment operation: the Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24–25 April 1916, after which she became Admiral Franz von Hipper's flagship. One month later, the ship was heavily engaged during the Battle of Jutland, on 31 May–1 June. During the battle, Lützow sank the British battlecruiser HMS Invincible and is sometimes given credit for sinking the armored cruiser HMS Defence. However, she was heavily damaged by an estimated 24 heavy-caliber shell hits. With her bow thoroughly flooded, the ship was unable to make the return voyage to Germany; her crew was evacuated and she was sunk by torpedoes fired by one of her escorts, the torpedo boat G38.