Kyler’s Kaiserliche Marine Blog
Post #3: SMS Von der Tann
Length: 171.8 meters
Beam: 26.6m
Draught: 8.13 m
Displacement: Designed – 19,370 tonnes / Full Load – 21,300
Armament: 8 28cm L/45 SK Guns Twin Turrets, 10 15cm L/45 SK guns Single Casemates, 16 88mm Guns, 4 45cm Torpedo tubes
Speed: Designed-24.8 / Top-27.4 knots
Range: 4,400nm at 14knots.
Crew: 41 Officers / 882 Enlisted
Builder: Blohm & Voss
Keel Laid: March 21st, 1908
Launched: March 20th, 1909
Completed: May 1910
Cost: 36.523 million marks
The armored cruiser Blucher was the direct response to the HMS Invincible, but incorrect intelligence led to Germany designing a uniform heavy cruiser heavy gun battery similar Nassau Class dreadnoughts. It was not until after this armored cruiser was laid down did Germany learn of the Royal Navy’s intention of using 12inch guns on this new class of dreadnoughts.
The General Naval Board quickly set to design a new Grossen Kreuzer. In some circles, the ship was to be a new fast battleship as the Kaiser had proposed in May 1906. While Admiral Tirpitz envisioned a ship along with the design philosophy of the British (for costs & politics), the General Navy Board won the argument that their ships would need to supplement the battleships in a decisive battle. This would see the Von der Tann using significantly more armor than the Invincible & Indefeatagible classes. The original design of the battlecruiser would have two 2-gun turrets and four 1-gun turrets. In the end, the design would utilize a similar turret arrangement that of the Invincible class. Von der Tann would have main-belt as thick as 250mm, a 25mm torpedo bulkhead, and two armored decks of 25mm. This was significantly stronger than the Invincibles 152 main-belt & 38mm deck. Her hull was composed of 75% double bottom with 15 different compartments. The ship was the first German capital ship to use turbine engines. Blohm & Voss built two sets of Parsons type reaction turbines. The higher pressure turbines power the outer shafts and the low pressure the inner shafts. The ship was also equipped with two reverse turbines. Each shaft had a three-bladed propeller with a diameter of 3.6m. During trials, the engines would produce a maximum of 79,007 shp well above the designed 42,000 shp. The additional power would propel the ship to a maximum speed of 27.4 knots. At the time of completion, she was the fastest capital ship in the world.
After her commissioning, Von der Tann was sent on a trip to South America from February to May 1911. As the oldest of Germany’s Battlecruiser, the Von der Tann would see action in almost every major naval action during the war. This included the bombardments of Yarmouth, Scarborough & Whitby, Uto, Lowestoft & Yarmouth, and the Skagerrak Battle. The ship would miss the Battle of Dogger Bank while in Wihlemshaven for repairs until February of 1915. The Von der Tann would sink the HMS Indefatigable at 17.03 during the Skagerrak Battle. The ship would be damaged four major shells including two from 15in guns and two from 13.5in guns. At one point, the battlecruiser had no functioning guns because of damage and mechanical problems. Von der Tann would still hold a place in the line to draw fire away from the other ships of the squadron. Repairs would take from June 1st to July 30th, 1916. The ship would have 11 dead and 35 wounded from the battle.
The Von der Tann would continue to service the 1st Scouting Group and accompany ships of all types on missions through the remainder of the war. After Germany’s surrender, the battlecruiser would be interned at Scapa Flow with the rest of the High Seas Fleet. On June 21st, it would sink itself with the rest of the fleet. The ship was finally refloated on February 5th, 1931, and sent to Rosyth Scotland to be scrapped.
Photos: Personal Collection
Content: “German Battlecruisers of World War One” By Gary Staff
