Plan Z

Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy (Kriegsmarine) ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939. The plan called for a Kriegsmarine of 10 battleships, four aircraft carriers, three battlecruisers, eight heavy cruisers, 44 light cruisers, 68 destroyers and 249 U-boats by 1944 that was meant to challenge the naval power of the United Kingdom.

Background

Post-Versailles

Following the end of World War I, the German armed forces became subject to the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles. For the navy, this meant it was restricted to six armoured warships ("panzerschiffe"), six cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats. With the scuttling of the majority of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, new construction was needed. The first major ship to be built after the war was the light cruiser . This was followed by a further three light cruisers of the K-class; , and , and a further two ships that were modified versions of the K-class, and .

Panzerschiff

The Treaty also stipulated that Germany could replace its armoured ships as needed, but with vessels that were not more than displacement. When it came time to replace some of the earlier vessels, the panzerschiff concept was created. This was designed primarily as an aggressor towards merchant shipping, or merchant raider, with the proviso that it be "stronger than faster enemies" (cruisers) and "faster than stronger enemies" (battleships). This led to the , a ship with six guns and a speed of . Two further units — and — followed. These were called "pocket battleships" in the outside world.

The panzerschiff concept was by no means new. The same "stronger than faster, faster than stronger" design concept was the basis of the battlecruiser that was widely built prior to World War I. In combat, the battlecruiser was sometimes put into the same lines as battleships, where it could no longer use its superior speed to stay out of trouble. British battlecruisers suffered high losses during the Battle of Jutland and the class as originally conceived was considered dead by military planners. Although the British completed already under construction, it was greatly modified and up-armoured. The Washington Naval Treaty classified battlecruisers in the same category of capital ship as fast battleships because that reflected post-World War I naval thinking. However, changes in technology, especially power plants, re-invigorated the concept, primarily for commerce raiding, allowing the Germans to build ships that evaded the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles on capital ship construction, while being smaller, better armored and still faster than their World War I counterparts. The new designs were widely lauded around the world. Designed as they were to implement the envisaged likely German war strategy of commerce raiding while avoiding engagements with heavy capital ships, no other major naval power with their different strategies and needs copied them. The British with their dependence on seaborne trade did not require commerce raiders. Their needs were for commerce protection, and built warships suitable for that task. Other major navies did likewise.

Nazi rise to power

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany. He withdrew from the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles and began the systematic re-building of the armed forces. The prestige brought by the panzerschiffe led to two improved vessels, Panzerschiffe D & E to be ordered - these became the and , which were larger than their predecessors, with nine instead of six guns. At the same time, studies were made into the construction of two even larger vessels. These were initially going to be panzerschiffe with guns, but with the improvements to the French fleet at the time, the new ships were redesigned as full schlachtschiffe (battleships). At this time, it was decided to embark on a large-scale re-building of the German Navy, and so Plan Z was evolved.

Plan: Battle Fleet vs. U-Boat

Within the Kriegsmarine, two opposing viewpoints emerged as to the direction of the re-equipment of the navy:

a large battle fleet capable of taking on the most powerful opponents (Britain and France)

a large force of U-boats and medium-sized warships such as the panzerschiffe for destruction of the enemy's commercial shipping.

It was pointed out that in order to carry out commerce raiding in the Atlantic Ocean, German ships would have to pass through the North Sea, which was likely to be filled with British battleships. So, the large fleet option was chosen.

The plan

The plan as it came about would have seen the completion of the two battleships under construction ( and ) to an interim design, as well as three heavy cruisers (, and ), plus a further two launched in 1939, before the major construction work began. The plan was then to have the majority finished by 1945:

Four aircraft carriers, (two of the Graf Zeppelin-class, plus two others)

Six H-Class battleships

Three "O Class" battlecruisers

12 "Kreuzer P Class" Panzerschiffe

Two further Hipper-class heavy cruisers (, and Lützow)

Four "M-Class" light cruisers

Two "Improved M-Class" light cruisers

Six "Spähkreuzer-class" large destroyers

Construction began on the aircraft carrier in 1936, with a second planned to begin in 1938. In mid 1939, following the launch of both Bismarck and Tirpitz, the keels of the first three improved battleships were laid, while orders were placed for the modified Messerschmitt Bf 109T fighters and Junkers Ju 87C dive bombers to equip the aircraft carriers. However, with the outbreak of World War II, it was decided that the large and expensive construction projects required too much of the materials vital to keep the Heer (the German army) and Luftwaffe up and running. As a consequence, work on the battleships was halted, and the materials were diverted to the construction of U-boats. Some Bf 109Ts were completed, though later stripped of their carrier equipment and stationed in Norway.

See also

NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw

References

Notes

Bibliography

Hillgruber, Andreas "England's Place In Hitler's Plans for World Dominion" pages 5–22 from Journal of Contemporary History, Volume 9, 1974.

Overy, Richard & Wheatcroft, Andrew The Road To War, Macmillan Press: London, United Kingdom, 1989

Nolte, Maik: "... mit Anstand zu sterben verstehen.": Flottenrüstung zwischen Tirpitzscher Tradition, strategischer Notwendigkeit und ideologischem Kalkül 1933 - 1943, Der Andere Verlag: Tönning, Germany, 2005.

Category:Plan Z Category:Kriegsmarine Category:Naval history of Germany