When the Germans originally designed the five Graf Spee and Scharnhorst classes, one of the alternatives considered was that these vessels might carry twin 15-inch gun turrets. The German industry was quick to point out that although German ship builders could design and build vessels capable of carrying 15-inch mounts, the armament industry would be strapped to provide the 15-inch guns necessary. As a result, these two classes were built with the 11-inch triple mounts we all recognize. The 15-inch twin mounts later became available in time to arm Bismarck and Tirpitz. Looking closely aL the base of the German 11inch turrets, the astute kitbasher will notice that the turret rings appear large enough for the15inch twin mounts. Now an interesting bit of trivia comes into play. At the time of her bombing and partial destruction by the RAF, Gneisenau was undergoing conversion to replace her 11 -inch triple mounts with 15-inch twin turrets of the same type as carried by Bismarck and Tirpirz! Two of her triple 11-inch turrets were already being emplaced as coastal batteries in Norway, with the third located at Hook of Holland. All of her 11-inch ammunition handling areas had already been converted to 15-inch. Portions of the new 15-inch turrets were in the shipyard. In one of the easiest yet controversial conversions possible, you can convert Gneisenau and the others to 15inch twin mounts. CinC makes Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Bismarck. CinC's 15-inch twin turrets for the Bismarck fit the other two classes. Just replace the triple I I -inch mounts of a Graf Spee or Gneisenau with die extra twin 15-inch turrets from CinC's Bismarck kit. All other details of the conversion are not apparent at 1/2400 scale. The rate of fire will be slower, but the impact of a hit will do significantly more damage at longer range. Now if only the RAF will leave these vessels alone and Hider approve their going to sea! Lutzow (ex-Deutchland) and Adm. Scheer were both in Germany up until their destruction in 1945 and could also have been converted to 15-inch. One final thought for wargamers on the issue of 15-inch conversions. The German military and naval leaders were strongly in favor of waiting until 1944, as Hitler originally planned, to start the war. The German "Z" naval construction plan called for two carriers, six "H" class battleships, two Bismarck class, two Scharnhorsts converted to 15-inch guns, three 15inch armed battlecruisers, and the three panzerschiffe converted to 15-inch guns all due by 1944. Additional cruisers, destroyers, subs and other vessels were also in the plans. Many of these vessels, including some of the heavy ships had been ordered at the start of the war. BT Back to The Naval Sitrep #5 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com