Laid down in 1908, just as the British HMS Invincible was being commissioned, SMS Von der Tann was the first German battlecruiser. She
was designed to be at the heart of the Scouting
Squadron, a role well suited to the battlecruiser
type. Von der Tann was in the thick of the action throughout
the war, and performed well.
At first glance, Von der Tann looks very similar to the British ships
she was designed to counter. The en-echelon
layout of the amidships turrets, and the
single fore and aft turrets, for example,
mirror the British design. But the similarities
end with this superficial resemblance.
The German design was far superior to the
British one, on account of her superior protection
and a much better layout of the machinery.
Armor was still inferior to contemporary
battleships, but it was thicker and better
laid out then in the British battlecruisers.
Beam was 8.5-feet wider in the German ship,
allowing for decent underwater protection.
However, the lack of freeboard made Von Der Tann a poor performer in the open ocean, and
she had smaller guns than contemporary British
designs.
Von der Tann was the first German ship with four screws,
and the first with Parsons turbines. The
ship was a single example, as even as she
was being laid down improved designs were
being drawn up.
Von der Tann ended her days at Scapa Flow, scuttled with
the rest of the interned High Seas Fleet.
| Laid down 25 Mar 1908 |
Launched 20 Mar 1909 |
Completed 1 Sep 1910 |
Commissioned 1 Sep 1910 |
| Fate Scuttled at Scapa Flow, 21 Jun 1919 |
Builders Blohm & Voss |
Complement 998 |
|
| Displacement 19,400 tons standard, 21,000 full load |
Dimensions 562' 9" x 87' |
Draught 27.5' |
|
| Main guns 8x 11"/45 cal (4 x 2) |
Secondary guns 10 x 5.9" (10 x 1) |
Light guns 16 x 3.4 (16 x 1) |
Torpedo tubes 4 x 17.7" submerged |
| Armour Belt: 9.5" Turrets: 9" Deck: 2.5" C.T.: 9.5" |
|||
| Machinery 18 Schulz-Thornycroft boilers |
Turbines 4 x Parsons |
Power output 42,000 shp |
Shafts 4 |
| Speed 24.8 kts |
Range 6,500 NM @ 10 kts |
Fuel 984 tons coal normal 2756 tons coal max |
|
Von der Tann
Cruise to South Africa 1911
WWI service:
3 Nov 1914 Bombarded Yarmouth
16 Dec 1914 Bombarded Scarborough and Whitby
Aug 1915 Operations Gulf of Riga
25 Apr 1916 Bombarded Lowestoft and Yarmouth
31 May 1916 Battle of Jutland, received four
hits, sank HMS Indefatigable
24 Nov 1918 Interned at Scapa Flow
21 Jun 1919 Scuttled at Scapa Flow
7 Dec 1930 refloated
1934 broken up at Rosyth
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