SMS Pommern

300px SMS Pommern in 1907
Career (Germany)	Kaiser
Name:	Pommern
Namesake:	Pomerania
Builder:	AG Vulcan, Stettin
Laid down:	April 1904
Launched:	2 December 1905
Commissioned:	6 August 1907
Fate:	Torpedoed and sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1 June 1916
General characteristics
Class and type:	Deutschland-class battleship
Displacement:	13,200 t (13,000 long tons) normal 14,218 t (13,993 long tons) full load
Length:	127.6 m (418 ft 8 in)
Beam:	22.2 m (72 ft 10 in)
Draught:	7.7 m (25 ft 3 in)
Installed power:	19,330 ihp (14,414 kW)
Propulsion:	three shafts, triple expansion steam engines
Speed:	17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range:	5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km; 6,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	743
Armament:	2 × 2 - 28 cm (11.0 in) SK L/40 guns 14 × 17 cm (6.7 in) guns (casemated) 22 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) (casemated) 6 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Waterline belt: 230 mm (9 in) Deck: 76 mm (3.0 in) Turrets: 280 mm (11 in)

SMS Pommern was one of five Deutschland class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Kaiserliche Marine between 1904 and 1906. Named after the Prussian province of Pomerania, she was built at the AG Vulcan yard at Stettin, where she was laid down on 22 March 1904 and launched on 2 December 1905. She was commissioned into the navy on 6 August 1907. The ships of her class were already outdated by the time they entered the service, being inferior in size, armor, firepower, and speed to the new post-Dreadnought battleships.

After commissioning she was assigned to the II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, where she served throughout the first two years of World War I. Pommern was present at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. She and her sisters briefly engaged the British battlecruisers commanded by David Beatty; Pommern was hit once by a 12 in (30.5 cm) shell from the battlecruiser HMS Indomitable. During the confused night actions, the ship was hit by one, or possibly two, torpedoes from the British destroyer HMS Onslaught, which detonated one of Pommern's 17 cm gun magazine. The resulting explosion broke the ship in half and killed the entire crew.

Construction

Pommern was laid down on 22 March 1904 at the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin. She was originally scheduled to be launched on 19 November 1905, but the water level in the harbor was too low. As a result, the ship could not be launched until 2 December. In July 1907 Pommern was transferred to Kiel where she had her main battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns installed. She was commissioned for trials on 6 August; during her speed run, she made 18.7 knots (34.6 km/h; 21.5 mph), which made her the fastest pre-dreadnought battleship in the world.

Pommern was 127.6 m (418 ft 8 in) long, had a beam of 22.2 m (72 ft 10 in), and a draft of 8.21 m (26 ft 11 in). She had a full-load displacement of 14,218 metric tons (13,993 long tons). The ship was equipped with triple expansion engines that were rated at 16,000 indicated horsepower (11,931 kW) and a top speed of 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph). Steam was provided by twelve Schulz-Thornycroft boilers. In addition to being the fastest ship of her class, Pommern was the most fuel efficient. At a cruising speed of 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph), she could steam for 5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi).

The ship's primary armament consisted of four 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40 guns in two twin turrets. She was also equipped with fourteen 17 cm (6.7 in) guns mounted in casemates and twenty 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns in pivot mounts. The ship was also armed with six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, all submerged in the hull.

Service history

Pre-war

Pommern was assigned to the II Battle Squadron alongside her sisters. She took part in the annual training cruises and maneuvers with the rest of the High Seas Fleet between 1908–1914. This included fleet training in the Baltic in 1908 and a cruise into the Atlantic the following year. In May 1910 Pommern took part in fleet training in the Kattegat between Denmark and Norway, followed by a cruise to Norway in the summer. At the end of 1910, the fleet conducted another cruise into the Baltic. The next two years followed a similar pattern, though the summer cruise in 1912 was interrupted by the Agadir Crisis. As a result, the cruise was only into the Baltic. Later in the year Pommern took part in maneuvers off Helgoland.

World War I

Pommern remained with the High Seas Fleet throughout the first two years of the naval war. At the outbreak of war, the ship and her sisters in the II Battle Squadron were deployed to the mouth of the Elbe river to guard the area from possible British incursions.

On 24–25 April 1916, Pommern and her sisters joined the dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet to support the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group; the battlecruisers were tasked with conducting a raid of the English coast. While en route to the target, the battlecruiser Seydlitz was damaged by a mine. Seydlitz was detached to return home, and the rest of the ships continued with the mission. Due to poor visibility, the battlecruisers conducted a brief bombardment of the ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The operation was quickly called off, which prevented the British fleet from being able to intervene.

Battle of Jutland

File:SMS Pommern 1916.jpg

Pommern before the war

Admiral Scheer immediately planned another foray into the North Sea, but the damage to Seydlitz delayed the operation until the end of May. Pommern remained assigned the II Battle Squadron, now under the command of Rear Admiral Franz Mauve. The squadron was positioned at the rear of the German line. During the "Run to the North," Admiral Reinhard Scheer, the commander of the fleet, ordered the fleet to pursue the British V Battle Squadron at top speed. The slower Deutschland class ships could not keep up with the faster dreadnoughts and quickly fell behind.

Later in the evening of the first day of the battle, the hard-pressed battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group were being pursued by their British opponents. Pommern and the other so-called "five-minute ships" came to their aid by steaming in between the opposing battlecruiser squadrons. Pommern couldn't make out a target in the darkness, though her several of her sisters could. Despite this, their shooting was ineffective. The British battlecruisers scored several hits on the German ships, including one on Pommern by a 12 in (30.5 cm) shell fired by Indomitable, forcing her to haul out of line. Admiral Mauve ordered an 8-point turn to the south to disengage from the British, and they did not follow.

At 3:10 on the morning of 1 June, Pommern was torpedoed by the British destroyer Onslaught. At least one torpedo, and possibly a second, struck the ship. The hit detonated one of the 17 cm ammunition magazines aboard Pommern and caused a massive eruption of fire. The tremendous explosion broke the ship in half. The stern capsized and remained afloat for at least 20 minutes with her propellers jutting into the air. Hannover, the ship directly astern of Pommern, was forced to haul out of line to avoid the wreck. Pommern's entire crew of 839 officers and enlisted men were killed when the ship sank.

References

• Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55821-759-2. 
• London, Charles (2000). Jutland 1916: Clash of the Dreadnoughts. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855329928. 
• Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918 (1). Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 9781846034671. 
• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-35848-7.