H class battleship (1944)
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| H-44 Class |  |
|---|---|
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 128,930 tons design, 139,264 tons fully laden |
| Length: | 1,133 ' |
| Beam: | 169' |
| Draft (max.): | 41 ft 6 in design, 44 ft 4 in fully loaded |
| Armament: | Guns 8 × 20" 12 × 5.9" 16 × 105 mm 16 × 37 mm 40 × 20 mm 6 × 21" torpedo tubes |
| Armor: | 15" belt 13" deck torpedo detonation plate around key sections |
| Aircraft: | one catapult with six aircraft, probably Arado 196 seaplanes |
| Radar: | Included, but not specified |
| Propulsion: | Diesels/steam turbines, 4 shafts, 266,300 hp |
| Speed: | 29.8 kt maximum |
| Range: | 20,000 nautical miles at 19 kt |
| Crew: | Unknown, but large |
The H class was a planned class of battleship of the Kriegsmarine, to be built as a part of Plan Z. The ships were given the provisional names H, J, K, L, M, and N. All six were to be commissioned by 1944, necessitating that construction began in 1939, the first keel being laid down on the 15th of July. However, by the 10th of October, construction was scrapped to make room for expansion of the U-Boat fleet. In all, three were laid down out of the six planned, although none were completed due to material shortages arising from the outset of war. Had the class been built, they would have been the largest ships afloat, rivalling even today's nuclear-powered supercarriers in size. Several redesigns followed however; the final one (put forth in 1944) is outlined in the infobox to the right. It should be noted that the southern north sea is between 80 and 120 feet in depth on average. While the planned draft was only half of the lower figure, it still leaves very little room for rises on the sea floor or a higher draft due to miscalculation during the planning stage or battle damage. In effect, the H-class could have been very delicate to navigate through half of the north sea.
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