This is a German warship of the pre-Dreadnought era ,the 11,800 ton Kaiser class,four of them were built between 1895 -1902. Their small main battery calibre of 9 1/2 inch,was offset by a powerful secondary armament of eighteen 6 inch weapons. The introduction of the British Dreadnought class in 1906 led to an arms race between Germany and Great Britain which had devastating consequences for all concerned,
BrianD
Wikipedia.
The Kaiser class was a class of five battleships that were built in Germany prior to World War I and served in the German Imperial Navy during the war. They were the third class of German dreadnoughts, and the first to feature turbine engines and superfiring turrets. The five ships were Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, and König Albert. As was usual for German battleships of the period, the Kaiser class mounted main guns that were smaller than those of their British rivals: 30.5 cm (12.0 in), compared to the 34.3 cm (13.5 in) guns of the British Orion-class battleship.[1][Note 1]
All five ships saw action in the North Sea during the war; they served together as the VI Division of the III Battle Squadron. Four were present during the Battle of Jutland; König Albert was in dock at the time.[2] Of the four ships that took part in the battle, only Kaiser was damaged, being struck by two heavy-caliber shells.[3] The ships also took part in Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea; during the operation they were reorganized as the IV Battle Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon.[4]
At the end of the war, all five ships were interned at the British naval base in Scapa Flow. On 21 June 1919, they were scuttled to prevent their seizure by the Royal Navy. The ships were subsequently raised and broken up for scrap between 1929 and 1937.[5]
Hi,
I'm the greatgrand daughter of Matthew "Nutty" Curran. It's only been the last few months that we (his family) have found information on Nutty such as his boxing record etc. We knew he serviced and was a boxer, however we had little information. To find your blog on the Lancastria and that you sailed with him was fantastic. Thank you from his 2 Grandchildren, his 6 great grandchildren & 13 great greatgrand children.
Does anyone know...
...about the visit of the French battleship Dunkerque to Liverpool just before WWII?
http://www.maritimequest.com/warship.../dunkerque.htm
A cousin just got an aunts belongings after she died and we were surprised to find a small stash of love letters, written in both English and French from a sailor that she met when the ship visited Liverpool.
The letters went on for several years, and then just stopped - no ending letter.
He must have been the love of her life since she was the most out-going of three sisters, traveled a lot, but never got married. To keep just these letters for such a long time showed he must have meant a lot to her. She also had a ships name "label" that was on the uniform hat.
None of the family knew about this sailor - including a still living sister.
Two different paintings of the conflict in Norway. The black and white study is by the German war artist Alfred Bock and it shows the German task force heading for Norway. The speed of the invasion caught the British on the back foot, the German vessels were modern and fast ,whilst most of our ships were of First World War vintage. But old did not mean useless. The second picture shows one of the few actions in the Norwegian campaign that led to a British success. The aging British battleship Warspite ,together with 9 destroyers surprised the Germans by speeding into the narrow,manouevcre-constricting German refuge in Narvik's Ofoten Fjord to bambard the Germans there. The action was sharp and heavy and all the German destroyers were sunk. The British war artist E.Tufnell painted Warspite and Cossack in the late afternoon of April 13th 1940,
BrianD
What a Sad story, there seems to be a lifetime wasted there, waiting for the long lost Sailor.Originally Posted by az_gila
There is a photo and a mention of `Nutty`in a book `THE LINERS OF LIVERPOOL `Part 3, by Derek M Whale. on page 95.
including the sinking of the Lancastria. In the Book he is called Joe, I cant remember his name if it was Joe or Matthew, he was just known as Nutty, This was because of his name being Curran, [currents] I guess.
I bought my copy at the Maritime Museum shop in the Albert Dock FOR £2.95p
ISBN 0 907768 12 1 THIS IS THE NUMBER TO ORDER IT WITH IF IT IS NOT ON SALE.
Az_gilla. My Dad took me down to Gladstone Dock to see the two ships, Dunquerque and Strasbourg. I do not remember which one we went aboard; just being in a long line-up and going through mess decks and a gun turret. The one outstanding memory is of the matelots and the local girls occupying shop doorways during the evening, along Seaforth and Bridge Road.
Here is a cigarette card which shows the USS South Carolina which was an an American version of our own Dreadnought. Basic ,it shows the essentials,
BrianD
Liverpool was the home of Admiral Sir Max Hortons Western Approaches command. Escorts ,including this pair of Black Swans knew the port as their home base, many a merchantman gave grateful thanks for their protection,
BrianD
Nice one Brian.
Another great Charles Dixon study,this is entitled the "Carmania Sinking the Cap Trafalgar" and shows the cunard White Star liner delivering the coup de gras to the German armed merchant Cruiser on the 14th of September 1914. A brilliant painting conveying the horrors of ship to ship combat,
BrianD
Hi Brian, excellent painting of the Carmania, I think it was in the Battle of the Falklands.
Dont want to be a smart ass but it was the Cunard Steamship Company that owned her. Cunard White Star didnt excist until 1934 when Cunard took White Star over. It was Cunard White Star until 1960/1 when the last one in service, the Britannic went to the breakers.
Then it became the Cunard Line Ltd.
Cheers
Brian
Two utterly different recruiting posters, the one calling for more men for the US Navy and the other ,clearly calling for Aryan madchen to join the ranks of Hitlers air traffic controllers.
BrianD
Two more great posters, Brian. The US Navy posters were among the best produced anywhere. Luftwaffe Nachrichtenhelferin were more likely to be employed as switchboard operators.
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