SMS Von der Tann
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SMS Von der Tann"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the first battlecruiser
built for the German Kaiserliche Marine
, as well as Germany's first major turbine
-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought
-type warship afloat, capable of reaching speeds of more than 27 knots. Built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg
, Von der Tann was the workhorse of the High Seas Fleet
Scouting Squadron.
Von der Tann was designed in response to the British . While the German design had slightly lighter guns—28 cm (11 in),The measurements used here and elsewhere in the article refer to the diameter of the bore
of the gun. compared to the 30.5 cm (12 in) Mark X
mounted on the British ships—Von der Tann was faster and significantly better-armored. She set the precedent of German battlecruisers carrying much heavier armor than their British equivalents, albeit at the cost of smaller guns.
The ship participated in a number of fleet actions during the First World War, including the Battle of Jutland
, where she destroyed the British battlecruiser within minutes of the engagement. Von der Tann was hit several times by large-caliber shells, but the damage was quickly repaired and the ship returned to the fleet in two months.
Following the end of the war in 1918, Von der Tann, along with most of the High Seas Fleet, was interned at Scapa Flow
pending a decision by the Allies as to the fate of the fleet. The ship met her end when the fleet was scuttled in 1919
to prevent them falling into British hands. The wreck of Von der Tann was raised in 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth
from 1931 to 1934.
, which were assumed to be larger iterations of the basic armored cruiser
type. Once sufficient information about the new British cruisers became available, it was obvious that they were not simply an enlargement on previous designs but a whole new type of warship—the battlecruiser
—to which Blücher was quite inferior. However, there were insufficient funds to alter Blücher's layout, so the cruiser assigned for 1907 would have to be an entirely new design.
Design of Von der Tann began in August 1906, under the name "Cruiser F", amid disagreements over the intended role of the new ship. Admiral Tirpitz
advocated a ship similar to the new British battlecruisers of the Invincible class: heavier guns, lighter armor, and higher speed with the intention of using the ship as a fleet scout and to destroy the opposing fleet's cruisers. Tirpitz had no intention of using the ship in the main battle line. Kaiser Wilhelm II however, along with most of the Reichsmarineamt (Navy Office), was in favor of incorporating the ship into the battle line after initial contact was made, which necessitated much heavier armor. This insistence upon the capability to fight in the battle line was a result of the numerical inferiority of the German High Seas fleet compared to the British Royal Navy
.
Several design proposals were submitted, all calling for heavy main guns, between 30.5 cm (12 in) and 34.3 cm (13.5 in) calibers. However, financial limitations dictated that smaller, less expensive weaponry would be used instead. The final design therefore used the same 28 cm (11 in) double turret introduced for the last two Nassau-class
battleship
s — hydraulic elevated Drh LC/1907 instead of electrical elevated Drh LC/1906. and , the last two Nassau class ships, used Drh LC/1907 mounts for their centerline turrets. See: Gardiner and Gray, p. 145 In compensation, the design was given a relatively heavy secondary armament.
At a conference in September 1906, many of the disagreements over the ship's design were resolved. The Naval Constructor, von Eickstedt, argued that since the explosive trials for the proposed protection systems for the new battlecruiser had not been completed, the construction should be postponed, to allow for any alterations to the design. He also argued that guns of 21 cm (8.3 in) or 24 cm (9.4 in) caliber would be sufficient to penetrate the armor of the new British battlecruisers. However, Admiral August von Heeringen
, of the General Navy Department, stated that for the ship to be able to engage battleships, the 28 cm (11 in) caliber guns were necessary.
Admiral Capelle, the deputy director of the Reichsmarineamt, stated that by mid November 1906, the testing for the underwater protection designs would be complete. He suggested that if the torpedo bulkhead needed to be strengthened, the ship might be too heavy for the 28 cm (11 in) guns, if the displacement of around 19,000 t (21,000 short tons) was to be retained. Tirpitz refused to consider using smaller guns, even if it meant increasing the displacement of the ship. Von Eickstedt proposed employing a secondary battery of 17 cm (6.7 in) guns instead of the 15 cm (5.9 in) the design called for, but the increased weight would have made it impossible to mount eight main battery guns.
On 22 June 1907, the Kaiser authorized construction of Cruiser F, to be named Von der Tann, after Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen
, a Bavarian general who fought in the Franco-Prussian War
of 1870. The contract was awarded to the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, on 26 September 1907. The keel
was laid on 21 March 1908, and the ship was launched nearly a year later, on 20 March 1909. The ship cost 36.523 million Marks
.
Von der Tann carried eight 28 cm (11 in) SK L/45In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/45 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/45 gun is 45 calibers, meaning that the gun is 45 times long as it is in diameter. guns, mounted in four twin turrets
: one fore, one aft, and two staggered wing turrets. The guns were emplaced in the Drh.L C/1907 turntable mount, which was traversed electrically, while the guns themselves used hydraulics to change elevation. The guns could be elevated up to 20 degrees, which enabled a maximum range of 18,900 m (20,700 yd). A refit in 1915 increased this to 20,400 m (22,300 yd). The main guns fired a 302 kg (670 lb) armored-piercing shell that had a muzzle velocity
of 875 m/s; the main propellant
charges were encased in a brass cartridge
. A total of 660 projectiles were stored in four shell rooms, each containing 165 shells. The wing turrets were staggered in such a way that all eight guns were able to fire on broadside on a very wide arc.
Unlike her British contemporaries, Von der Tann also carried a heavy secondary battery, consisting of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, casemate
d in MPL C/06 pivot mounts, each with 150 high explosive and armor-piercing shells. At construction, these guns could fire their 45.3 kg (100 lb) shells at targets up to 13,500 m (14,800 yd) away; after the 1915 refit, their maximum range was extended to 16,800 m (18,400 yd). She was also armed with sixteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, to defend against torpedo boat
s and destroyer
s. These were also emplaced in pivot mounts, of the MPL C/01-06 type, with a total of 3,200 shells for these guns. These guns fired a 9 kg (20 lb) shell at the high rate of 15 rounds per minute, up to a range of 10,694 m (11,695 yd), which was quite long for a smaller caliber weapon. In late 1916, following repair work after the damage sustained during the Battle of Jutland, Von der Tann had her 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns removed and the firing ports welded shut. Two 8.8 cm flak guns were installed on the aft superstructure.
As was customary for capital ships of the time, Von der Tann was equipped with four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tube
s, with a total of 11 torpedoes. These were located in the bow, the stern, and two on the broadside
. The torpedoes carried a 110 kg (240 lb) warhead, and had an effective range of 2 km (1.04 nmi) when set for a speed of 32 kn (59 km/h), and 1.5 km (0.81 nmi) at 36 kn (67 km/h).
, her armor was much thicker than that of the British battlecruisers. Von der Tann weighed over 2,000 tonnes more than the , and used 10% more of her weight for armour than the battlecruisers she faced at the Battle of Jutland
.
Von der Tanns armor consisted of Krupp
cemented and nickel steel
. The main belt armor
was 80–120 mm (3.1–4.7 in) thick forward, 250 mm (9.8 in) thick over the ship's citadel, and was 100 mm (3.9 in) thick aft. The forward conning tower
was protected by 250 mm (9.8 in), while the aft conning tower by 200 mm (7.9 in). The four turrets had 230 mm (9.1 in) faces, 180 mm (7.1 in) sides, and 90 mm (3.5 in) on the roofs. The horizontal armour measured 25 mm (0.98 in) thick, and the sloping deck armour was 50 mm (2.0 in) thick. Like the armored cruiser Blücher before her, she was protected by a torpedo bulkhead
, 25 mm (0.98 in) thick. It was set back a distance of 4 meters (13 ft) from the outer hull skin, the space in between being used to store coal.
(16 atmospheres
). Von der Tann was the first large German warship to use turbine
propulsion. The ship used two sets of turbines: high pressure turbines, which ran the outer two shafts, and low pressure turbines, which powered the inner two shafts. Each shaft had a propeller 3.6 m (12 ft) in diameter. The ship was designed to have a power output of 42,000 shaft horsepower (31,000 kW) at a speed of 300 rpm
, which enabled a rated top speed of 24.8 kn (45.9 km/h). However, as was the case with all later German battlecruisers, the ship could be run dramatically higher. During sea trial
s, the turbines provided 79,802 shp (59,508 kW) at 339 rpm for a top speed of 27.757 kn (51.39 km/h). In one instance during a cruise from Tenerife
to Germany, the ship averaged 27 kn (50 km/h), and reached a maximum speed of 28 kn (52 km/h). At the time of her launch, she was the fastest dreadnought
afloat. The ship had two parallel rudders, which were controlled by steam-powered engines. Von der Tann's electrical plant consisted of six steam turbo generators that had a total output of 1,200-kW (1,600-hp).
Like many German capital ships,The higher quality coal was generally reserved for the smaller craft, whose crews were less able to clean the boilers at the increased rate demanded by the low-quality coal. As a result, German capital ships were often supplied with poor coal, in the knowledge that their larger crews were better able to perform the increased maintenance. Von der Tann had chronic problems with the often low-quality coal available for the ship's boilers. Following the end of the raid on Scarborough, Von der Tann's commander, Captain Max von Hahn, remarked that "the inadequacy of our coal and its burning properties results in heavy smoke clouds and signals our presence." During the battle of Jutland, the ship was unable to maintain fires in all of her boilers after 16:00, due to the poor quality coal. Many other German ships suffered the same difficulties during the battle, including and . After 1916, the coal firing in the boilers was supplemented by spraying tar-oil
on the coal, which made the coal burn better.
were fitted during construction, but these proved to be ineffective; the tanks only reduced rolling by 33%. Bilge keel
s were later added to improve stability, and the space previously used for the anti-roll tanks was instead used as extra fuel storage. The ship was able to carry an additional 180 t (200 short ton
s) of coal in the anti-roll tanks. Von der Tann's hull consisted of 15 watertight compartments, and a double bottom
extended for 75% of the ship's length. The ship was known to have good maneuvering characteristics, with a speed loss of 60% and a heel of 8 degrees at full rudder.
The ship's crew compartments were arranged such that the officers were accommodated in the forecastle
. This arrangement was found to be unsatisfactory, and not repeated in later classes. Von der Tann was designed to be fitted with a lattice mast
, but the ship received standard masts instead. In 1914, spotting posts were attached to the masts in order to observe the fall of artillery fire. In 1915, seaplane
trials were conducted on Von der Tann, and a crane was attached on the aft deck to lift the seaplane aboard the ship. Von der Tann had originally been equipped with anti-torpedo nets, but these were removed towards the end of 1916.
at Kiel
. The German Navy was chronically short of crews at the time, so dockyard workers had to bring the ship to Kiel. On 1 September 1910, the ship was commissioned into the German Navy, with a crew composed largely of crew-members from the dreadnought . During trials, an average speed of 27 kn (50 km/h) was attained over a six-hour period, with a top speed of 28.124 kn (52.086 km/h) with the engines at maximum output.
Von der Tann made several long-distance voyages after completion. She visited Rio de Janeiro
, Puerto Militar
, and Bahía Blanca
in South America in early 1911, and returned to Kiel on 6 May 1911. The primary purpose of the cruise was to obtain armament contracts from South American countries by impressing them with what was "widely advertised as the fastest and most powerful warship then afloat." On 8 May 1911, Von der Tann joined the Unit of Reconnaissance Ships. In June 1911 Von der Tann attended the Fleet Review at Spithead
, for the coronation of King George V
.
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At the outbreak of the First World War
, Von der Tann was serving as the flagship
of the 3rd Admiral of Reconnaissance Forces, Konteradmiral Tapken. The ship was assigned to the I Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet
, under the command of Rear Admiral Franz Hipper
. Von der Tanns first major sortie during the war occurred when the ship took part in the unsuccessful search for British battlecruisers, after the Battle of Heligoland Bight, in August 1914. During the Battle of Heligoland Bight, Von der Tann had been stationed in Wilhelmshaven
Roads, and had been ordered to raise steam as early as 08:20, to assist the German cruisers under attack in the Heligoland Bight
. At 08:50, Rear Admiral Hipper requested permission from Admiral von Ingenohl
, the commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet, to send Von der Tann and to relieve the beleaguered German cruisers.
Von der Tann was ready to sail by 10:15, more than an hour before the British battlecruisers arrived on the scene. However, the ship was held up by low tide, which prevented the battlecruisers from crossing the bar
at the mouth of the Jade Estuary
. At 14:10, Von der Tann and Moltke were able to cross the Jade bar, and Hipper ordered the German light cruiser
s to fall back on the two heavy ships, while Hipper himself was about an hour behind in the battlecruiser . At 14:25, the remaining light cruisers, , , , , and , rendezvoused with the battlecruisers. Seydlitz arrived on the scene by 15:10; Ariadne succumbed to battle damage and sank. Hipper ventured forth cautiously to search for the two missing light cruisers, and . By 16:00, the German flotilla began returning to the Jade Estuary, arriving at approximately 20:23.
, on 2–3 November. At 16:30 on the 2nd, Von der Tann, along with Seydlitz (Hipper's flagship), Moltke, the armored cruiser Blücher, and the four light cruisers Strassburg, , , and Stralsund, departed the Jade Estuary, bound for the English coast with the intent to lay minefields in British sea lanes. At 18:00, two dreadnought battle squadrons of the High Seas Fleet departed to provide support. Hipper's force veered north in an arc to avoid Heligoland
and the British submarines stationed there, and then increased speed to 18 knots. At approximately 06:30 the following morning, Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the British minesweeper Halcyon and opened fire, which drew the attention of the destroyer . Hipper realized that he was wasting time, and that further pursuit would run his ships into a known minefield, so he ordered his ships back to sea. As the flotilla was turning away, the battlecruisers fired several salvos at Great Yarmouth, to little effect. By the time the British Admiralty was fully aware of the situation, the German force had retreated back to home waters.
Von der Tann also participated in the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
, on 15–16 December. The raid was another attempt to lure out a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it, with the whole of the High Seas Fleet standing by in support. Von der Tann delayed the raid itself by several days, because Admiral Ingenohl was unwilling to send forth the I Scouting Group at anything less than full strength, and Von der Tann was undergoing routine repairs in early December. The I Scouting Group, along with the II Scouting Group, composed of the four light cruisers Kolberg, Strassburg, Stralsund, and Graudenz, and two torpedo boat
flotillas, left the Jade at 03:20. Hipper's ships sailed north, through the channels in the minefields, past Heligoland to the Horns Reef light vessel, at which point the ships turned westward, towards the English coast. The main battle squadrons of the High Seas Fleet left in the late afternoon of the 15th. During the night of 15 December, the main body of the High Seas Fleet encountered British destroyers, and fearing the prospect of a night-time torpedo attack, Admiral Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat.
Upon nearing the British coast, Hipper's battlecruisers split into two groups. Seydlitz, Moltke, and Blücher went north to shell Hartlepool, while Von der Tann and Derfflinger went south to shell Scarborough and Whitby. The two ships destroyed the coast guard stations in both towns, along with the signalling station in Whitby. By 09:45 on the 16th, the two groups had reassembled, and began to retreat eastward. Hipper was unaware of Ingenohl's withdrawal, and following the bombardment of the target cities, turned back to rendezvous with the German fleet. By this time, David Beatty's
battlecruisers were in position to block Hipper's chosen egress route, while other forces were en route to complete the encirclement. At 12:25, the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass the British forces searching for Hipper. One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsund, and signaled a report to Beatty. At 12:30, Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships. Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper's ships, however, those were some 50 km (31 mi) ahead. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty's ships, detached to pursue the German cruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions.Beatty had intended on retaining only the two rearmost light cruisers from Goodenough's
squadron; however, s signalman misinterpreted the signal, thinking that it was intended for the whole squadron, and thus transmitted it to Goodenough, who ordered his ships back into their screening positions ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers. This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape, and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape.
Von der Tann was being refitted at the time of the Battle of Dogger Bank
, and so she missed this action. She was replaced by the armored cruiser Blücher, which was sunk during the battle. A detachment of men from Von der Tann had been sent to Blücher and went down with the ship. In 1915 the ship took part in operations in the North and Baltic Seas. On 10 August 1915, Von der Tann shelled the island fortress at Utö
, in the eastern Baltic, during which she took part in an artillery duel with the Russian armored cruiser Admiral Makarov. Von der Tann also engaged the Russian armored cruiser Bayan and five destroyers, during which Von der Tann was struck by a shell through the funnel, which caused no casualties. On 3–4 February 1916, Von der Tann participated in the fleet advance to welcome home the commerce raider . The ship was also present during the fleet sorties of 5–7 March, 17 April, 21–22 April, and 5 May.
Von der Tann also took part in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
on 24–25 April. Hipper was away on sick leave, so the German ships were under the command of Konteradmiral Friedrich Bödicker
. The German battlecruisers Derfflinger, Lützow, Moltke, Seydlitz and Von der Tann left the Jade Estuary at 10:55 on 24 April, and were supported by a screening force of 6 light cruisers and two torpedo boat flotillas. The heavy units of the High Seas Fleet sailed at 13:40, with the objective to provide distant support for Bödicker's ships. The British Admiralty was made aware of the German sortie through the interception of German wireless
signals, and deployed the Grand Fleet at 15:50.
By 14:00, Bödicker's ships had reached a position off Norderney
, at which point he turned his ships northward to avoid the Dutch observers on the island of Terschelling
. At 15:38, Seydlitz struck a mine
, which tore a 50-ft (15-m) hole in her hull, just abaft of the starboard broadside torpedo tube, which allowed 1,400-t (1,500-short tons) of water to enter the ship. Seydlitz turned back, with the screen of light cruisers, at a speed of 15 knots. The four remaining battlecruisers turned south immediately in the direction of Norderney to avoid further mine damage. By 16:00, Seydlitz was clear of imminent danger, so the ship stopped to allow Bödicker to disembark. The torpedo boat V28 brought Bödicker to Lützow.
At 04:50 on 25 April, the German battlecruisers were approaching Lowestoft when the light cruisers and , which had been covering the southern flank, spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of Admiral Tyrwhitt's
Harwich Force
. Bödicker refused to be distracted by the British ships, and instead trained his ships' guns on Lowestoft. The two 6 in (15 cm) shore batteries were destroyed, along with other damage to the town. KzS
Zenker
, Von der Tann's commanding officer, later wrote:
At 05:20, the German raiders turned north, towards Yarmouth, which they reached by 05:42. The visibility was so poor that the German ships fired one salvo
each, with the exception of Derfflinger, which fired fourteen rounds from her main battery. The German ships turned back south, and at 05:47, encountered for the second time the Harwich Force, which had by then been engaged by the six light cruisers of the screening force. Bödicker's ships opened fire from a range of 13,000 yd (12,000 m). Tyrwhitt immediately turned his ships around and fled south, but not before the cruiser sustained severe damage. Due to reports of British submarines and torpedo attacks, Bödicker broke off the chase, and turned back east towards the High Seas Fleet. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the Grand Fleet's sortie from Scapa Flow, turned back towards Germany.
Von der Tann participated in the Battle of Jutland
, as part of Hipper's First Scouting Group. Von der Tann was the rearmost of five battlecruisers in Hipper's line. Shortly before 16:00 CET
,It should be noted that the times mentioned in this section are in CET
, which is congruent with the German perspective. This is one hour ahead of UTC
, the time zone commonly used in British works. Hipper's force encountered Vice Admiral Beatty's
battlecruiser squadron. The German ships were the first to open fire, at a range of approximately 15,000 yd (14,000 m). At 16:49, Von der Tann fired her first shot at . Fourteen minutes of firing later, Von der Tann had scored five hits on Indefatigable out of 52 heavy shells fired, one of which caused Indefatigable to explode and sink. An observer on the battlecruiser , which was directly ahead of Indefatigable, later remarked that he saw "the Indefatigable hit by two shells from the Von der Tann, one on the fore turret. Both appeared to explode on impact. After an interval of thirty seconds, the ship blew up. Sheets of flame were followed by dense smoke which obscured her from view."
Following the destruction of Indefatigable, Beatty turned his force away, while the British 5th Battle Squadron closed in on the German battlecruisers, opening fire from approximately 19,000 yd (17,000 m). Von der Tann and Moltke, the two rearmost of Hipper's squadron, came under fire from the three lead British battleships of the 5th BS: , , and . The German battlecruisers began zig-zagging to avoid the gunfire from the British ships. At 17:09, six minutes after sinking Indefatigable, Von der Tann was hit by one 15 in (38 cm) shell from Barham, which struck beneath the waterline and dislodged a section of the belt armor, causing Von der Tann to take in 600 tons of water. This hit temporarily damaged the ship's steering gear, and combined with Von der Tanns zig-zagging cause her to fall out of line to port. The German Official History commented that "the greatest calamity of a complete breakdown of the steering gear was averted, otherwise, Von der Tann would have been delivered into the hands of the oncoming battleships as in the case of Blücher during the Dogger Bank action."
At 17:20, a 13.5 in (34 cm) shell from the battlecruiser struck the barbette of Von der Tanns A turret. A chunk of armor plate was dislodged from inside the turret, and struck the turret training gear, which jammed the turret at 120 degrees. This put the turret out of action for the duration of the engagement. At 17:23, the ship was hit again by a 13.5 in (34 cm) shell from Tiger, which struck near the C turret and killed 6 men. The shell holed the deck and created enough wreckage that the turret was unable to traverse, and the starboard rudder engine room was damaged. The C turret was out of action until the wreckage could be cut away. Smoke from a fire caused by burning practice targets that had been stowed below the turret obscured the ship. Sections of the torpedo nets were knocked loose and trailed behind the ship. However, they were cut loose before they could catch in the propellers. New Zealand, which had been engaging Von der Tann following Indefatigables destruction, lost sight of her target and shifted fire to Moltke. At 17:18, the range to Von der Tann from Barham had closed to 17,500 yd (16,000 m), at which point Von der Tann opened fire on the British battleship. Shortly thereafter, at 17:23, Von der Tann registered a hit on Barham which caused serious damage. However, after firing only 24 shells, Von der Tann had to return to her earlier target, New Zealand, because her fore and aft turrets had since been disabled, and her amidships turrets were no longer able to target Barham.
At 18:15, the guns of the last active turret jammed in their mountings, leaving Von der Tann without any working main armament. Regardless, she remained in the battle line to distract the British gunners. Because she was no longer firing her main guns, Von der Tann was able to maneuver in an erratic manner, such that she could avoid British gunfire. By 18:53, the ship's speed fell from 26 kn (48 km/h) to 23 kn (43 km/h). Over an hour and a half after having failed due to mechanical difficulties, D turret was repaired and again ready for action. Von der Tann sustained her fourth and final heavy shell hit at 20:19, when one 15 in (38 cm) shell from struck the aft conning tower. Shell splinters penetrated the conning tower
, killing the Third Gunnery Officer and both rangefinder operators and wounding every other crewman in the tower. Shell fragments and other debris fell through the ventilating shaft and onto the condenser, which put out all the lights in the ship. Eleven minutes later, at 20:30, B turret was again clear for action, and by 21:00, C turret was also in working order. However, both of the amidships turrets suffered further mechanical difficulties that put them out of action later during the battle.
At approximately 22:15, Hipper, with his flag now in Moltke, ordered his battlecruisers to increase speed to 20 knots, and to fall into the rear of the main German line. Neither Derfflinger, due to battle damage, nor Von der Tann, due to the dirtiness of her boiler fires, could steam at more than 18 knots. Derfflinger and Von der Tann took up positions astern of the II Squadron, and were later joined by the old pre-dreadnoughts and at 00:05. At 03:37, the British destroyer Moresby fired a torpedo at the rear of the German line; this passed closely across Von der Tanns bow, and forced the ship to turn sharply to starboard to avoid being hit. Close to the end of the battle, at 03:55, Hipper transmitted a report to Admiral Scheer, informing him of the tremendous damage his ships had suffered. By that time, Derfflinger and Von der Tann each had only two guns in operation, Moltke was flooded with 1,000 tons of water, and Seydlitz was severely damaged. Hipper reported: "I Scouting Group was therefore no longer of any value for a serious engagement, and was consequently directed to return to harbor by the Commander-in-Chief, while he himself determined to await developments off Horns Reef with the battlefleet."
During the course of the battle, two of Von der Tanns main turrets were knocked out by British gunfire, while her other two turrets suffered mechanical failures. The ship was firing so fast that several of the main guns in the amidships turrets became overheated and jammed in their recoil slides, and could not be returned to working order.Von der Tann was without her main battery for 11 hours, although three turrets were restored to working order before the end of the battle; D turret only after much cutting away of bent metal with oxyacetylene torches—afterwards the guns could be worked only by hand. Her casualties amounted to 11 dead and 35 wounded. During the battle Von der Tann fired 170 heavy shells and 98 secondary caliber shells.
During the fleet advance on 18–19 August, Von der Tann was one of two remaining German battlecruisers still in fighting condition (along with Moltke), so three dreadnoughts were assigned to the I Scouting Group for the operation: , , and . The I Scouting Group was to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland, in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers. Admiral Scheer and the rest of the High Seas Fleet, with 15 dreadnoughts of its own, would trail behind, providing cover. The British were aware of the German plans, and sortied the Grand Fleet to meet them. By 14:35, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and, unwilling to engage the whole of the Grand Fleet just 11 weeks after the decidedly close call at Jutland, turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.
Von der Tann served as the flagship of Rear Admiral von Reuter
during the fleet advance to Norway on 23–25 April 1918, as well as in the sortie on 8–9 July.
Von der Tann was to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918, days before the Armistice was to take effect. The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet; Scheer—by now the Grand Admiral
(Grossadmiral) of the fleet—intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to retain a better bargaining position for Germany, despite the expected casualties. However, many of the war-weary sailors felt the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war. While the High Seas Fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven, sailors began deserting en masse. As Von der Tann and passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven's inner harbor and roadstead, some 300 men from both ships climbed over the side and disappeared ashore. On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on and then on several other battleships mutinied
. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."
Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow
. Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha
made clear to von Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions. The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser
, which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow. The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British, American, and French warships. Once the ships were interned, their guns were disabled through the removal of their breech blocks, and their crews were reduced to 200 officers and enlisted men. Von der Tann was interned at Scapa Flow
under the command of Kapitän-Leutnant Wollante. While in Scapa Flow, a soldiers' council was formed aboard the ship; the council took complete, dictatorial control of the vessel for the duration of the interment.
The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles
. Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk
at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. The ship sank in two hours and fifteen minutes. The task of raising Von der Tann was secured by Ernest Cox
's salvage company. During preparation work, three workers were nearly killed when their oxy-acetylene cutters set off a major explosion. The blast tore holes in the still submerged vessel and allowed water into the compartment that had been emptied with compressed air; by the time the men were rescued, the compartment had refilled almost completely and the men were up to their necks. Nevertheless, the ship was successfully brought up on 7 December 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth
between 1931 and 1934.
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
built for the German Kaiserliche Marine
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
, as well as Germany's first major turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
-powered warship. At the time of her construction, Von der Tann was the fastest dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
-type warship afloat, capable of reaching speeds of more than 27 knots. Built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Von der Tann was the workhorse of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
Scouting Squadron.
Von der Tann was designed in response to the British . While the German design had slightly lighter guns—28 cm (11 in),The measurements used here and elsewhere in the article refer to the diameter of the bore
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
of the gun. compared to the 30.5 cm (12 in) Mark X
BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun
The BL 12 inch Gun Mark X was a British 45-calibres naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on battleships and battlecruisers from 1906...
mounted on the British ships—Von der Tann was faster and significantly better-armored. She set the precedent of German battlecruisers carrying much heavier armor than their British equivalents, albeit at the cost of smaller guns.
The ship participated in a number of fleet actions during the First World War, including the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, where she destroyed the British battlecruiser within minutes of the engagement. Von der Tann was hit several times by large-caliber shells, but the damage was quickly repaired and the ship returned to the fleet in two months.
Following the end of the war in 1918, Von der Tann, along with most of the High Seas Fleet, was interned at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
pending a decision by the Allies as to the fate of the fleet. The ship met her end when the fleet was scuttled in 1919
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
to prevent them falling into British hands. The wreck of Von der Tann was raised in 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
from 1931 to 1934.
Development
The preceding German large cruiser design, , was an incremental increase over previous armored cruisers. Blücher was armed with twelve 21 cm (8.3 in) guns, and designed to counter what the Germans knew about the British Invincible classInvincible class battlecruiser
The three Invincible class battlecruisers were built for the Royal Navy and entered service in 1908 as the world's first battlecruisers. They were the brainchild of Admiral Sir John Fisher, the man who had sponsored the construction of the world's first "all big gun" warship,...
, which were assumed to be larger iterations of the basic armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
type. Once sufficient information about the new British cruisers became available, it was obvious that they were not simply an enlargement on previous designs but a whole new type of warship—the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
—to which Blücher was quite inferior. However, there were insufficient funds to alter Blücher's layout, so the cruiser assigned for 1907 would have to be an entirely new design.
Design of Von der Tann began in August 1906, under the name "Cruiser F", amid disagreements over the intended role of the new ship. Admiral Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871...
advocated a ship similar to the new British battlecruisers of the Invincible class: heavier guns, lighter armor, and higher speed with the intention of using the ship as a fleet scout and to destroy the opposing fleet's cruisers. Tirpitz had no intention of using the ship in the main battle line. Kaiser Wilhelm II however, along with most of the Reichsmarineamt (Navy Office), was in favor of incorporating the ship into the battle line after initial contact was made, which necessitated much heavier armor. This insistence upon the capability to fight in the battle line was a result of the numerical inferiority of the German High Seas fleet compared to the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Several design proposals were submitted, all calling for heavy main guns, between 30.5 cm (12 in) and 34.3 cm (13.5 in) calibers. However, financial limitations dictated that smaller, less expensive weaponry would be used instead. The final design therefore used the same 28 cm (11 in) double turret introduced for the last two Nassau-class
Nassau class battleship
The Nassau class were a group of four German dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Navy. They were the German response to the introduction of the "all big gun" British . The class was composed of , , , and . All four ships were laid down in mid-1907, and completed between May and September...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s — hydraulic elevated Drh LC/1907 instead of electrical elevated Drh LC/1906. and , the last two Nassau class ships, used Drh LC/1907 mounts for their centerline turrets. See: Gardiner and Gray, p. 145 In compensation, the design was given a relatively heavy secondary armament.
At a conference in September 1906, many of the disagreements over the ship's design were resolved. The Naval Constructor, von Eickstedt, argued that since the explosive trials for the proposed protection systems for the new battlecruiser had not been completed, the construction should be postponed, to allow for any alterations to the design. He also argued that guns of 21 cm (8.3 in) or 24 cm (9.4 in) caliber would be sufficient to penetrate the armor of the new British battlecruisers. However, Admiral August von Heeringen
August von Heeringen
August von Heeringen was a Prussian admiral of the German Empire. He headed the Imperial Navy News Office and served as the Chief of the German Naval General Staff 12 March 1911 - 31 March 1913, and was present at the famous War Council of 8 December, 1912.He worked with leaders of the German...
, of the General Navy Department, stated that for the ship to be able to engage battleships, the 28 cm (11 in) caliber guns were necessary.
Admiral Capelle, the deputy director of the Reichsmarineamt, stated that by mid November 1906, the testing for the underwater protection designs would be complete. He suggested that if the torpedo bulkhead needed to be strengthened, the ship might be too heavy for the 28 cm (11 in) guns, if the displacement of around 19,000 t (21,000 short tons) was to be retained. Tirpitz refused to consider using smaller guns, even if it meant increasing the displacement of the ship. Von Eickstedt proposed employing a secondary battery of 17 cm (6.7 in) guns instead of the 15 cm (5.9 in) the design called for, but the increased weight would have made it impossible to mount eight main battery guns.
On 22 June 1907, the Kaiser authorized construction of Cruiser F, to be named Von der Tann, after Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen
Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen
Ludwig Samson Arthur Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen was a Bavarian general.-Early life:Born at Darmstadt, on the day of Waterloo, Ludwig von der Tann was descended from the old family of von der Tann, which had branches in Bavaria, the Alsace and the Rhine provinces, and attached his...
, a Bavarian general who fought in the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870. The contract was awarded to the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, on 26 September 1907. The keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid on 21 March 1908, and the ship was launched nearly a year later, on 20 March 1909. The ship cost 36.523 million Marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
.
Armament
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
: one fore, one aft, and two staggered wing turrets. The guns were emplaced in the Drh.L C/1907 turntable mount, which was traversed electrically, while the guns themselves used hydraulics to change elevation. The guns could be elevated up to 20 degrees, which enabled a maximum range of 18,900 m (20,700 yd). A refit in 1915 increased this to 20,400 m (22,300 yd). The main guns fired a 302 kg (670 lb) armored-piercing shell that had a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 875 m/s; the main propellant
Propellant
A propellant is a material that produces pressurized gas that:* can be directed through a nozzle, thereby producing thrust ;...
charges were encased in a brass cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
. A total of 660 projectiles were stored in four shell rooms, each containing 165 shells. The wing turrets were staggered in such a way that all eight guns were able to fire on broadside on a very wide arc.
Unlike her British contemporaries, Von der Tann also carried a heavy secondary battery, consisting of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
d in MPL C/06 pivot mounts, each with 150 high explosive and armor-piercing shells. At construction, these guns could fire their 45.3 kg (100 lb) shells at targets up to 13,500 m (14,800 yd) away; after the 1915 refit, their maximum range was extended to 16,800 m (18,400 yd). She was also armed with sixteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, to defend against torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s and destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. These were also emplaced in pivot mounts, of the MPL C/01-06 type, with a total of 3,200 shells for these guns. These guns fired a 9 kg (20 lb) shell at the high rate of 15 rounds per minute, up to a range of 10,694 m (11,695 yd), which was quite long for a smaller caliber weapon. In late 1916, following repair work after the damage sustained during the Battle of Jutland, Von der Tann had her 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns removed and the firing ports welded shut. Two 8.8 cm flak guns were installed on the aft superstructure.
As was customary for capital ships of the time, Von der Tann was equipped with four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s, with a total of 11 torpedoes. These were located in the bow, the stern, and two on the broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
. The torpedoes carried a 110 kg (240 lb) warhead, and had an effective range of 2 km (1.04 nmi) when set for a speed of 32 kn (59 km/h), and 1.5 km (0.81 nmi) at 36 kn (67 km/h).
Armor
Because the Von der Tann was designed to fight in the battle lineLine of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
, her armor was much thicker than that of the British battlecruisers. Von der Tann weighed over 2,000 tonnes more than the , and used 10% more of her weight for armour than the battlecruisers she faced at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
.
Von der Tanns armor consisted of Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
cemented and nickel steel
Krupp cemented armour
Krupp Cemented Armour is a further evolved variant of Krupp Armour, developed during the early years of the 20th Century. The process is largely the same with slight changes in the alloy composition: in % of total – carbon 0.35, nickel 3.90, chromium 2.00, manganese .35, silicon .07, phosphorus...
. The main belt armor
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
was 80–120 mm (3.1–4.7 in) thick forward, 250 mm (9.8 in) thick over the ship's citadel, and was 100 mm (3.9 in) thick aft. The forward conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
was protected by 250 mm (9.8 in), while the aft conning tower by 200 mm (7.9 in). The four turrets had 230 mm (9.1 in) faces, 180 mm (7.1 in) sides, and 90 mm (3.5 in) on the roofs. The horizontal armour measured 25 mm (0.98 in) thick, and the sloping deck armour was 50 mm (2.0 in) thick. Like the armored cruiser Blücher before her, she was protected by a torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
, 25 mm (0.98 in) thick. It was set back a distance of 4 meters (13 ft) from the outer hull skin, the space in between being used to store coal.
Machinery
Von der Tann was powered by 18 naval coal-fueled double boilers, separated into five boiler rooms. The boilers produced steam at a pressure of 235 psiPounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
(16 atmospheres
Atmosphere (unit)
The standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure. For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 105 Pa...
). Von der Tann was the first large German warship to use turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
propulsion. The ship used two sets of turbines: high pressure turbines, which ran the outer two shafts, and low pressure turbines, which powered the inner two shafts. Each shaft had a propeller 3.6 m (12 ft) in diameter. The ship was designed to have a power output of 42,000 shaft horsepower (31,000 kW) at a speed of 300 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
, which enabled a rated top speed of 24.8 kn (45.9 km/h). However, as was the case with all later German battlecruisers, the ship could be run dramatically higher. During sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s, the turbines provided 79,802 shp (59,508 kW) at 339 rpm for a top speed of 27.757 kn (51.39 km/h). In one instance during a cruise from Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
to Germany, the ship averaged 27 kn (50 km/h), and reached a maximum speed of 28 kn (52 km/h). At the time of her launch, she was the fastest dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
afloat. The ship had two parallel rudders, which were controlled by steam-powered engines. Von der Tann's electrical plant consisted of six steam turbo generators that had a total output of 1,200-kW (1,600-hp).
Like many German capital ships,The higher quality coal was generally reserved for the smaller craft, whose crews were less able to clean the boilers at the increased rate demanded by the low-quality coal. As a result, German capital ships were often supplied with poor coal, in the knowledge that their larger crews were better able to perform the increased maintenance. Von der Tann had chronic problems with the often low-quality coal available for the ship's boilers. Following the end of the raid on Scarborough, Von der Tann's commander, Captain Max von Hahn, remarked that "the inadequacy of our coal and its burning properties results in heavy smoke clouds and signals our presence." During the battle of Jutland, the ship was unable to maintain fires in all of her boilers after 16:00, due to the poor quality coal. Many other German ships suffered the same difficulties during the battle, including and . After 1916, the coal firing in the boilers was supplemented by spraying tar-oil
Coal tar
Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of extremely high viscosity, which smells of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. Coal tar is among the by-products when coal iscarbonized to make coke or gasified to make coal gas...
on the coal, which made the coal burn better.
Other characteristics
Frahm anti-roll tanksAntiroll Tanks
Antiroll Tanks are tanks fitted on to ships in order to improve their response to roll motion. Antiroll tanks are tanks within the vessel fitted with baffles intended to slow the rate of water transfer from the port side of the tank to the starboard side. The tank is designed such that a larger...
were fitted during construction, but these proved to be ineffective; the tanks only reduced rolling by 33%. Bilge keel
Bilge keel
A bilge keel is used to reduce the hull's tendency to roll. Bilge keels are employed in pairs . A ship may have more than one bilge keel per side, but this is rare. Bilge keels increase hydrodynamic resistance to rolling, making the ship roll less...
s were later added to improve stability, and the space previously used for the anti-roll tanks was instead used as extra fuel storage. The ship was able to carry an additional 180 t (200 short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s) of coal in the anti-roll tanks. Von der Tann's hull consisted of 15 watertight compartments, and a double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
extended for 75% of the ship's length. The ship was known to have good maneuvering characteristics, with a speed loss of 60% and a heel of 8 degrees at full rudder.
The ship's crew compartments were arranged such that the officers were accommodated in the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
. This arrangement was found to be unsatisfactory, and not repeated in later classes. Von der Tann was designed to be fitted with a lattice mast
Lattice mast
Lattice masts, or cage masts, are a type of observation mast common on major warships in the early 20th century. They were used most prominently on American dreadnought battleships and armored cruisers of the World War I era. Observation posts were mounted on the masts and used to direct the fire...
, but the ship received standard masts instead. In 1914, spotting posts were attached to the masts in order to observe the fall of artillery fire. In 1915, seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
trials were conducted on Von der Tann, and a crane was attached on the aft deck to lift the seaplane aboard the ship. Von der Tann had originally been equipped with anti-torpedo nets, but these were removed towards the end of 1916.
Service record
In May 1910, Von der Tann sailed from the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg to receive her final fitting-out in the Imperial DockyardKaiserliche Werft Kiel
Kaiserliche Werft Kiel was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1867, first as Königliche Werft Kiel but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. The German Navy was chronically short of crews at the time, so dockyard workers had to bring the ship to Kiel. On 1 September 1910, the ship was commissioned into the German Navy, with a crew composed largely of crew-members from the dreadnought . During trials, an average speed of 27 kn (50 km/h) was attained over a six-hour period, with a top speed of 28.124 kn (52.086 km/h) with the engines at maximum output.
Von der Tann made several long-distance voyages after completion. She visited Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Puerto Militar
Puerto Belgrano
Base Naval Puerto Belgrano is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires...
, and Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
in South America in early 1911, and returned to Kiel on 6 May 1911. The primary purpose of the cruise was to obtain armament contracts from South American countries by impressing them with what was "widely advertised as the fastest and most powerful warship then afloat." On 8 May 1911, Von der Tann joined the Unit of Reconnaissance Ships. In June 1911 Von der Tann attended the Fleet Review at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
, for the coronation of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Von der Tann was serving as the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the 3rd Admiral of Reconnaissance Forces, Konteradmiral Tapken. The ship was assigned to the I Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
, under the command of Rear Admiral Franz Hipper
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...
. Von der Tanns first major sortie during the war occurred when the ship took part in the unsuccessful search for British battlecruisers, after the Battle of Heligoland Bight, in August 1914. During the Battle of Heligoland Bight, Von der Tann had been stationed in Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
Roads, and had been ordered to raise steam as early as 08:20, to assist the German cruisers under attack in the Heligoland Bight
Heligoland Bight
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...
. At 08:50, Rear Admiral Hipper requested permission from Admiral von Ingenohl
Friedrich von Ingenohl
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Friedrich von Ingenohl was a German admiral from Neuwied best known for his command of the German High Seas Fleet at the beginning of World War I....
, the commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet, to send Von der Tann and to relieve the beleaguered German cruisers.
Von der Tann was ready to sail by 10:15, more than an hour before the British battlecruisers arrived on the scene. However, the ship was held up by low tide, which prevented the battlecruisers from crossing the bar
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
at the mouth of the Jade Estuary
Jadebusen
The Jade Bight, is a bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as Jade or Jahde.About 180 km² in area, the Jade was largely created by storm floods during the 12th and 16th centuries. During this period it was connected in the East to the river Weser...
. At 14:10, Von der Tann and Moltke were able to cross the Jade bar, and Hipper ordered the German light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s to fall back on the two heavy ships, while Hipper himself was about an hour behind in the battlecruiser . At 14:25, the remaining light cruisers, , , , , and , rendezvoused with the battlecruisers. Seydlitz arrived on the scene by 15:10; Ariadne succumbed to battle damage and sank. Hipper ventured forth cautiously to search for the two missing light cruisers, and . By 16:00, the German flotilla began returning to the Jade Estuary, arriving at approximately 20:23.
Bombardments of the English coast
Later that year Von der Tann was present at the Raid on YarmouthRaid on Yarmouth
The Raid on Yarmouth, which took place on 3 November 1914, was an attack by the German Navy on the British North Sea port and town of Great Yarmouth. Little damage was done to the town since shells only landed on the beach after German ships laying mines offshore were interrupted by British...
, on 2–3 November. At 16:30 on the 2nd, Von der Tann, along with Seydlitz (Hipper's flagship), Moltke, the armored cruiser Blücher, and the four light cruisers Strassburg, , , and Stralsund, departed the Jade Estuary, bound for the English coast with the intent to lay minefields in British sea lanes. At 18:00, two dreadnought battle squadrons of the High Seas Fleet departed to provide support. Hipper's force veered north in an arc to avoid Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
and the British submarines stationed there, and then increased speed to 18 knots. At approximately 06:30 the following morning, Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the British minesweeper Halcyon and opened fire, which drew the attention of the destroyer . Hipper realized that he was wasting time, and that further pursuit would run his ships into a known minefield, so he ordered his ships back to sea. As the flotilla was turning away, the battlecruisers fired several salvos at Great Yarmouth, to little effect. By the time the British Admiralty was fully aware of the situation, the German force had retreated back to home waters.
Von der Tann also participated in the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
The raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, which took place on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of which were civilians...
, on 15–16 December. The raid was another attempt to lure out a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it, with the whole of the High Seas Fleet standing by in support. Von der Tann delayed the raid itself by several days, because Admiral Ingenohl was unwilling to send forth the I Scouting Group at anything less than full strength, and Von der Tann was undergoing routine repairs in early December. The I Scouting Group, along with the II Scouting Group, composed of the four light cruisers Kolberg, Strassburg, Stralsund, and Graudenz, and two torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
flotillas, left the Jade at 03:20. Hipper's ships sailed north, through the channels in the minefields, past Heligoland to the Horns Reef light vessel, at which point the ships turned westward, towards the English coast. The main battle squadrons of the High Seas Fleet left in the late afternoon of the 15th. During the night of 15 December, the main body of the High Seas Fleet encountered British destroyers, and fearing the prospect of a night-time torpedo attack, Admiral Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat.
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
battlecruisers were in position to block Hipper's chosen egress route, while other forces were en route to complete the encirclement. At 12:25, the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass the British forces searching for Hipper. One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsund, and signaled a report to Beatty. At 12:30, Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships. Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper's ships, however, those were some 50 km (31 mi) ahead. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty's ships, detached to pursue the German cruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions.Beatty had intended on retaining only the two rearmost light cruisers from Goodenough's
William Goodenough
Admiral Sir William Edmund Goodenough GCB, MVO was a senior Royal Navy officer of World War I.-Naval career:Goodenough joined the Royal Navy in 1882. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1905...
squadron; however, s signalman misinterpreted the signal, thinking that it was intended for the whole squadron, and thus transmitted it to Goodenough, who ordered his ships back into their screening positions ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers. This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape, and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape.
Von der Tann was being refitted at the time of the Battle of Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....
, and so she missed this action. She was replaced by the armored cruiser Blücher, which was sunk during the battle. A detachment of men from Von der Tann had been sent to Blücher and went down with the ship. In 1915 the ship took part in operations in the North and Baltic Seas. On 10 August 1915, Von der Tann shelled the island fortress at Utö
Utö, Finland
Utö is a small island in the Archipelago Sea in the Baltic sea and belongs to Väståboland municipality. It is the southernmost year-round inhabited island in Finland. On the island there's a lighthouse, pilot station, a small guest harbour, a shop and a post office. Due to the remoteness of the...
, in the eastern Baltic, during which she took part in an artillery duel with the Russian armored cruiser Admiral Makarov. Von der Tann also engaged the Russian armored cruiser Bayan and five destroyers, during which Von der Tann was struck by a shell through the funnel, which caused no casualties. On 3–4 February 1916, Von der Tann participated in the fleet advance to welcome home the commerce raider . The ship was also present during the fleet sorties of 5–7 March, 17 April, 21–22 April, and 5 May.
Von der Tann also took part in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
The Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft was a naval battle fought during the First World War between the German Empire and the British Empire in the North Sea....
on 24–25 April. Hipper was away on sick leave, so the German ships were under the command of Konteradmiral Friedrich Bödicker
Friedrich Bödicker
Vice Admiral Friedrich Bödicker, was a flag officer of the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War.-Biography:...
. The German battlecruisers Derfflinger, Lützow, Moltke, Seydlitz and Von der Tann left the Jade Estuary at 10:55 on 24 April, and were supported by a screening force of 6 light cruisers and two torpedo boat flotillas. The heavy units of the High Seas Fleet sailed at 13:40, with the objective to provide distant support for Bödicker's ships. The British Admiralty was made aware of the German sortie through the interception of German wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
signals, and deployed the Grand Fleet at 15:50.
By 14:00, Bödicker's ships had reached a position off Norderney
Norderney
Norderney is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is also a municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony....
, at which point he turned his ships northward to avoid the Dutch observers on the island of Terschelling
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
. At 15:38, Seydlitz struck a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
, which tore a 50-ft (15-m) hole in her hull, just abaft of the starboard broadside torpedo tube, which allowed 1,400-t (1,500-short tons) of water to enter the ship. Seydlitz turned back, with the screen of light cruisers, at a speed of 15 knots. The four remaining battlecruisers turned south immediately in the direction of Norderney to avoid further mine damage. By 16:00, Seydlitz was clear of imminent danger, so the ship stopped to allow Bödicker to disembark. The torpedo boat V28 brought Bödicker to Lützow.
At 04:50 on 25 April, the German battlecruisers were approaching Lowestoft when the light cruisers and , which had been covering the southern flank, spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of Admiral Tyrwhitt's
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
. Bödicker refused to be distracted by the British ships, and instead trained his ships' guns on Lowestoft. The two 6 in (15 cm) shore batteries were destroyed, along with other damage to the town. KzS
Captain at Sea
Captain at Sea, is a naval rank corresponding to command of a ship-of-the-line or capital ship....
Zenker
Hans Zenker
Hans Zenker was a German admiral.-Biography:Born in Bielitz , he entered the Kaiserliche Marine on April 13, 1889. After serving as captain of several torpedo boats, he commannded in turn the light cruisers Lübeck in 1911 and Cöln in 1912-13...
, Von der Tann's commanding officer, later wrote:
Mist over the sea and the smoke from the ships ahead made it difficult for us to make out our targets as we steered for Lowestoft. But after we turned [to the north], the Empire Hotel offered us an ample landmark for effective bombardment. At 05:11 we opened fire with our heavy and medium calibers on the harbor works and swing bridges. After a few "shorts" the shooting was good. From the after-bridge a fire in the town, and from another vantage point a great explosion at the entry [to the harbor] were reported.
At 05:20, the German raiders turned north, towards Yarmouth, which they reached by 05:42. The visibility was so poor that the German ships fired one salvo
Salvo
A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute.Troops armed with muzzleloaders required time in which to refill their arms with gun powder and shot...
each, with the exception of Derfflinger, which fired fourteen rounds from her main battery. The German ships turned back south, and at 05:47, encountered for the second time the Harwich Force, which had by then been engaged by the six light cruisers of the screening force. Bödicker's ships opened fire from a range of 13,000 yd (12,000 m). Tyrwhitt immediately turned his ships around and fled south, but not before the cruiser sustained severe damage. Due to reports of British submarines and torpedo attacks, Bödicker broke off the chase, and turned back east towards the High Seas Fleet. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the Grand Fleet's sortie from Scapa Flow, turned back towards Germany.
Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, as part of Hipper's First Scouting Group. Von der Tann was the rearmost of five battlecruisers in Hipper's line. Shortly before 16:00 CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
,It should be noted that the times mentioned in this section are in CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
, which is congruent with the German perspective. This is one hour ahead of UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
, the time zone commonly used in British works. Hipper's force encountered Vice Admiral Beatty's
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
battlecruiser squadron. The German ships were the first to open fire, at a range of approximately 15,000 yd (14,000 m). At 16:49, Von der Tann fired her first shot at . Fourteen minutes of firing later, Von der Tann had scored five hits on Indefatigable out of 52 heavy shells fired, one of which caused Indefatigable to explode and sink. An observer on the battlecruiser , which was directly ahead of Indefatigable, later remarked that he saw "the Indefatigable hit by two shells from the Von der Tann, one on the fore turret. Both appeared to explode on impact. After an interval of thirty seconds, the ship blew up. Sheets of flame were followed by dense smoke which obscured her from view."
Following the destruction of Indefatigable, Beatty turned his force away, while the British 5th Battle Squadron closed in on the German battlecruisers, opening fire from approximately 19,000 yd (17,000 m). Von der Tann and Moltke, the two rearmost of Hipper's squadron, came under fire from the three lead British battleships of the 5th BS: , , and . The German battlecruisers began zig-zagging to avoid the gunfire from the British ships. At 17:09, six minutes after sinking Indefatigable, Von der Tann was hit by one 15 in (38 cm) shell from Barham, which struck beneath the waterline and dislodged a section of the belt armor, causing Von der Tann to take in 600 tons of water. This hit temporarily damaged the ship's steering gear, and combined with Von der Tanns zig-zagging cause her to fall out of line to port. The German Official History commented that "the greatest calamity of a complete breakdown of the steering gear was averted, otherwise, Von der Tann would have been delivered into the hands of the oncoming battleships as in the case of Blücher during the Dogger Bank action."
At 18:15, the guns of the last active turret jammed in their mountings, leaving Von der Tann without any working main armament. Regardless, she remained in the battle line to distract the British gunners. Because she was no longer firing her main guns, Von der Tann was able to maneuver in an erratic manner, such that she could avoid British gunfire. By 18:53, the ship's speed fell from 26 kn (48 km/h) to 23 kn (43 km/h). Over an hour and a half after having failed due to mechanical difficulties, D turret was repaired and again ready for action. Von der Tann sustained her fourth and final heavy shell hit at 20:19, when one 15 in (38 cm) shell from struck the aft conning tower. Shell splinters penetrated the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
, killing the Third Gunnery Officer and both rangefinder operators and wounding every other crewman in the tower. Shell fragments and other debris fell through the ventilating shaft and onto the condenser, which put out all the lights in the ship. Eleven minutes later, at 20:30, B turret was again clear for action, and by 21:00, C turret was also in working order. However, both of the amidships turrets suffered further mechanical difficulties that put them out of action later during the battle.
At approximately 22:15, Hipper, with his flag now in Moltke, ordered his battlecruisers to increase speed to 20 knots, and to fall into the rear of the main German line. Neither Derfflinger, due to battle damage, nor Von der Tann, due to the dirtiness of her boiler fires, could steam at more than 18 knots. Derfflinger and Von der Tann took up positions astern of the II Squadron, and were later joined by the old pre-dreadnoughts and at 00:05. At 03:37, the British destroyer Moresby fired a torpedo at the rear of the German line; this passed closely across Von der Tanns bow, and forced the ship to turn sharply to starboard to avoid being hit. Close to the end of the battle, at 03:55, Hipper transmitted a report to Admiral Scheer, informing him of the tremendous damage his ships had suffered. By that time, Derfflinger and Von der Tann each had only two guns in operation, Moltke was flooded with 1,000 tons of water, and Seydlitz was severely damaged. Hipper reported: "I Scouting Group was therefore no longer of any value for a serious engagement, and was consequently directed to return to harbor by the Commander-in-Chief, while he himself determined to await developments off Horns Reef with the battlefleet."
During the course of the battle, two of Von der Tanns main turrets were knocked out by British gunfire, while her other two turrets suffered mechanical failures. The ship was firing so fast that several of the main guns in the amidships turrets became overheated and jammed in their recoil slides, and could not be returned to working order.Von der Tann was without her main battery for 11 hours, although three turrets were restored to working order before the end of the battle; D turret only after much cutting away of bent metal with oxyacetylene torches—afterwards the guns could be worked only by hand. Her casualties amounted to 11 dead and 35 wounded. During the battle Von der Tann fired 170 heavy shells and 98 secondary caliber shells.
Later actions
After Jutland, she underwent repairs from 2 June until 29 July. After returning to the fleet, Von der Tann took part in several unsuccessful raids into the North Sea in 1916, including the advances on 18–19 August, 25–26 September, 18–19 October, 23–24 October, as well as the advance on 23–24 March 1917.During the fleet advance on 18–19 August, Von der Tann was one of two remaining German battlecruisers still in fighting condition (along with Moltke), so three dreadnoughts were assigned to the I Scouting Group for the operation: , , and . The I Scouting Group was to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland, in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers. Admiral Scheer and the rest of the High Seas Fleet, with 15 dreadnoughts of its own, would trail behind, providing cover. The British were aware of the German plans, and sortied the Grand Fleet to meet them. By 14:35, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and, unwilling to engage the whole of the Grand Fleet just 11 weeks after the decidedly close call at Jutland, turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.
Von der Tann served as the flagship of Rear Admiral von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
during the fleet advance to Norway on 23–25 April 1918, as well as in the sortie on 8–9 July.
Fate
Grand Admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.-France:...
(Grossadmiral) of the fleet—intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to retain a better bargaining position for Germany, despite the expected casualties. However, many of the war-weary sailors felt the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war. While the High Seas Fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven, sailors began deserting en masse. As Von der Tann and passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven's inner harbor and roadstead, some 300 men from both ships climbed over the side and disappeared ashore. On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on and then on several other battleships mutinied
Wilhelmshaven mutiny
The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the First World War and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.-...
. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha
Adolf von Trotha
Adolf von Trotha was a German admiral in the Kaiserliche Marine from Koblenz, Rhenish Prussia.-Family:...
made clear to von Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions. The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
, which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow. The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British, American, and French warships. Once the ships were interned, their guns were disabled through the removal of their breech blocks, and their crews were reduced to 200 officers and enlisted men. Von der Tann was interned at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
under the command of Kapitän-Leutnant Wollante. While in Scapa Flow, a soldiers' council was formed aboard the ship; the council took complete, dictatorial control of the vessel for the duration of the interment.
The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. The ship sank in two hours and fifteen minutes. The task of raising Von der Tann was secured by Ernest Cox
Ernest Cox
Ernest Frank Guelph Cox was an electrical and mechanical engineer and marine salvage expert from Wolverhampton. Between 1924 and 1931 his Cox & Danks Shipbreaking Co. successfully raised 35 of the German fleet that had been scuttled at Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow in 1919. He eventually sold the...
's salvage company. During preparation work, three workers were nearly killed when their oxy-acetylene cutters set off a major explosion. The blast tore holes in the still submerged vessel and allowed water into the compartment that had been emptied with compressed air; by the time the men were rescued, the compartment had refilled almost completely and the men were up to their necks. Nevertheless, the ship was successfully brought up on 7 December 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
between 1931 and 1934.