Development
In a conference in May 1907, the Germany Navy Office decided to follow up the unique Von der Tann battlecruiser with an enlarged design. The sum of 44 million marks was allocated for the 1908 fiscal year, which created the possibility of increasing the main guns to 30.5 cm (12 in) in diameter, instead of the 28 cm (11 in) weapons on the preceding design. However, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, along with the Construction Department, argued that increasing the number of guns from 8 to 10 would be preferable instead of increasing the size of the previous battery. The General Navy Department held that for the new design to fight in the battle line, 30.5 cm (12 in) guns were necessary. Ultimately, Tirpitz and the Construction Department won the debate, and Moltke was equipped with ten 28 cm (11 in) guns. The guns were mounted in five twin gun turrets, three of which were on the centerline—one was forward and two were in a superfiring pair aft. The other two turrets were staggered wing turrets amidships. The Construction Department also mandated that armor protection was to be at least as good as that of Von der Tann. The ship was also to have a top speed of at least 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h).
During the design process, the ship's weight continued to grow due to the increase in the size of the citadel, armor thickness, the additions to the ammunition stores, and the rearrangement of the boiler system. The naval arms race between Germany and Britain put a great deal of stress on the Navy design staff, and prompted the decision to build two ships of the new design. They were assigned under the contract names of "Cruiser G" and "Cruiser H." Blohm & Voss received both contracts in 1908; "Cruiser G" was assigned to the 1908–1909 building year, while "Cruiser H" was assigned to 1909–1910. The contract for "Cruiser G" was awarded on 17 September 1908, under building number 200. The keel was laid on 7 December 1908, and the ship was launched on 7 April 1910. "Cruiser G" was commissioned on 30 September 1911, as SMS Moltke.
Read more about this topic: SMS Moltke
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