Info on the Spähkreuzer 1940

[Christian W.]

Hello,

I would like to ask members of the community who might have sources available to help me with getting info on the Spähkreuzer 1940. The Spähkreuzer project was a series of designs to create something of a scout cruiser for the German Navy: in 1941 ships were finally ordered based on the Spähkreuzer 1940 design, (of these; only SP1 was actually laid down) - but as the concept started to lose in favor of U-boats/-smaller destroyers, and with the works themselves damaged by enemy bombing some months later, the project was abandoned, with the incomplete SP1 scrapped.

Does anyone here have any books that have information on the Spähkreuzer 1940 design? Most of the internet sources that I can find seem to falsely attribute technical information from earlier designs of the Spähkreuzer to the Spähkreuzer 1940 design. Only internet sources that appear to be on the money regarding the Spähkreuzer 1940 are this German language Wikipedia article (while Wikipedia is not always the greatest source, but this appears to be right) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A4hkreuzer as does the German language article on this site http://www.deutschekriegsmarine.de/inde ... aehkreuzer

If anyone has any sources with information on the subject, then sharing the information would be appreciated.

[danebrog]

Breyer/Koop: Von der "Emden" zur "Tirpitz", Band 2: Kleine Kreuzer, leichte Kreuzer, schwere Kreuzer und Spähkreuzer, page 115

These authors say the final drafts match in displacement and dimensions the K-cruisers

"Auch die Aufstellung der Hauptartillerie in zwei Türmen achtern und einem Turm vorn sowie die Stärke der Fla-Artillerie waren diesen adäquat. Typische Merkmale von "echten" Kreuzern waren weiter das Vorhandensein einer Bordflugzeuganlage, die Aufstellung der Torpedorohrsätze in Seitendecks und schließlich ein Seitenschutz durch einen 40 mm dicken Wasserlinienpanzer aus Wh-Material."

https://www.booklooker.de/B%C3%BCcher/S ... ccf137bc36

[Christian W.]

Breyer/Koop: Von der "Emden" zur "Tirpitz", Band 2: Kleine Kreuzer, leichte Kreuzer, schwere Kreuzer und Spähkreuzer, page 115

These authors say the final drafts match in displacement and dimensions the K-cruisers

"Auch die Aufstellung der Hauptartillerie in zwei Türmen achtern und einem Turm vorn sowie die Stärke der Fla-Artillerie waren diesen adäquat. Typische Merkmale von "echten" Kreuzern waren weiter das Vorhandensein einer Bordflugzeuganlage, die Aufstellung der Torpedorohrsätze in Seitendecks und schließlich ein Seitenschutz durch einen 40 mm dicken Wasserlinienpanzer aus Wh-Material."

https://www.booklooker.de/B%C3%BCcher/S ... ccf137bc36

Thanks! If it isn't too much to ask, could you perhaps take a picture or two from the book with sections relevant to the Spähkreuer 1940?

[danebrog]

Unfortunately not, as ìm not in possession of that book. But ou may find some drawings here:
https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/ ... ers-of-ww2 (scroll down)

[Christian W.]

Unfortunately not, as ìm not in possession of that book. But ou may find some drawings here:
https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/ww2/ ... ers-of-ww2 (scroll down)

Thanks for thought, but I've already checked that site, and it has quite a few errors (this is what I meant by many internet sources mixing the Spähkreuzer 1940 design with earlier designs): the Atlas publications drawing on that site shows the Spähkreuzer 1938, not the Spähkreuzer 1940 - as does the blueprint with Russia notations - while the drawing with the floatplane is actually an M-class light cruiser.

[danebrog]

Even the sketch at Breyers book is from himself
The only one I have :

[genstab]

It's interesting that the Z 1 gun and torpedo tube layout- even the two stacks- seems to have been copied by the US Fletcher class war destroyers of 1942.
Tried to copy one from Google but it wouldn't cut and paste.
Best,
Bill

[Takao]

It's interesting that the Z 1 gun and torpedo tube layout- even the two stacks- seems to have been copied by the US Fletcher class war destroyers of 1942.
Tried to copy one from Google but it wouldn't cut and paste.
Best,
Bill

Your not looking at a Fletcher then. Fletchers had 2 single turrets/gunhouses fore and three single turrets aft. For torpedoes, it was stack, tubes, stack, tubes.

The Z1 is only slightly closer to the later Sumner/Gearing, but not much, and that is only the use of twin turrets/gunhouses. Which were also arranged differenty - two forward, one aft.

The turret/gunhouse arrangement is more inline with the Japanese super destroyers of the Fubuki and later classes.