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Laid down: 15 August 1936
Launched: 8 June 1937
Commissioned: 20 September 1939
Description: Blücher was the second of five Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers of N*zi Germany's Kriegsmarine (War Navy), built after the rise of the N*zi party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in June 1937. She was completed in September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War 2. After completing a series of sea trials and training exercises, the ship was pronounced ready for service with the fleet on 5 April 1940. She was armed with a main battery of eight 20.3 cm (8.0 in) guns and, although nominally under the 10,000-long-ton (10,000 t) limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over 16,000 long tons (16,000 t).
Design:
As launched, Blücher was 202.80 meters (665.4 ft) long overall, had a beam of 21.30 m (69.9 ft) and a maximum draft of 7.74 m (25.4 ft). The ship had a design displacement of 16,170 t (15,910 long tons; 17,820 short tons) and a full load displacement of 18,200 long tons (18,500 t). Blücher was powered by three sets of Blohm & Voss geared steam turbines that drove three propellers. The turbines were supplied with steam by twelve ultra-high pressure oil-fired boilers. The ship's top speed was 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) at 132,000 shaft horsepower (98,000 kW). As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men.
Armament:
8 x 20.3 cm (8 in) guns
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12 x 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/33 guns
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12 x 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 guns
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8 x 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 guns
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