SMS Von der Tann
Encyclopedia : S : SM : SMS : SMS Von der Tann
| |
| Career |
|
|---|---|
| Shipyard: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | March 25 1908 |
| Launched: | March 20, 1909 |
| Commissioned: | February 20, 1911 |
| Fate: | scuttled at Scapa Flow June 21,1919 |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 19,370 tonnes planned, 21,300 tonnes full load |
| Length: | 171.7 m |
| Beam: | 26.6 m |
| Draught: | 8.91 m |
| Propulsion: | 4 screws, Parsons Turbines, 43,600 hp (39 MW) |
| Speed: | 24.8 knots |
| armour: | 10 inch belt, 9 inch turrets, |
| Range: | 4400 nm at 14 knots |
| Complement: | 1174 |
| Armament: | 8-11.2 in (284 mm) 50-calibre guns (4x2) 10-5.9 in (150 mm) guns 16-3.45 in (88 mm) guns |
SMS Von der Tann was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine as well as Germany's first turbine powered major warship. Built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Von der Tann was to be the workhorse of the Scouting Squadron. The ship had relatively small guns (11 in) when compared to her British counterparts (12 in), but was far better armoured.
SMS Von der Tann was named after Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, a Bavarian general who fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Von der Tann took part in the unsuccessful search for British battlecruisers after the Battle of Helgoland Bight in 1914. Later that year she was present at the bombardment of Yarmouth and Scarborough. 1915 the ship took part in operations in the North and Baltic Seas. Early 1916 she took part in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowesoft. At the Battle of Jutland she received four heavy hits, but sank HMS Indefatigable after heavy gun action. Her own casualties amounted to 11 dead and 35 wounded.
After Jutland she underwent repairs and took part in several unsuccessful raids into the North Sea. The vessel was surrendered with the rest of the High Seas Fleet on 24 November 1918 and interned at Scapa Flow. Scuttled there by her own crew on 21 June 1919, she was raised in 1930 and scrapped at Rosyth.
Sources
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921
External links
- [link] Specifications, Pictures, and line Drawings
- [link] Info, History, Operations, and Specs.
- [Maritimequest SMS Von der Tann Photo Gallery]
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