German cruiser Seydlitz

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Seydlitz was a heavy cruiser of the German navy, fourth in the Hipper class, but was never completed. The keel was laid on 29 December 1936 at DeSchiMAG shipyards in Bremen, and the ship was launched on 19 January 1939. At the outbreak of World War II the cruiser was only two thirds completed. The Soviet Union sought to buy her, along with her also unfinished sister Lützow, but the request was turned down.

With the emphasis of the naval building program shifting to submarines, work on the ship suffered lengthy delays. In August 1942 it was decided to convert the ship, by then 90% completed, into an aircraft carrier. This required substantial reconfiguration, and the increasing scarcity of materials forced work to cease in January 1943. Seydlitz was towed to Königsberg where she was scuttled on 10 April 1945.

Raised by the Soviets in 1946 and renamed Poltava, she is believed to have been scrapped in the 1950s.

[edit] See also

• Sisterships completed and seeing service in WWII were Admiral Hipper, Blücher and Prinz Eugen.
• List of World War II ships
• List of Kriegsmarine ships
• List of naval ships of Germany
• List of ship launches in 1939
• List of shipwrecks in 1945