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SMS Von Der Tann

The SMS Von Der Tann, the first Battlecruiser built by the Imperial German Navy.

Short Bio:
SMS Von Der Tann was the first Battlecruiser built by the Imperial German Navy, and was a direct response to the launch of Invincible in 1907. Von Der Tann was capable of a then-incredible 27 knots and was the first major German warship to feature steam turbine technology. Unlike the Invincible and later British Battlecruisers, Von Der Tann and her successors were designed to fight in the line of battle, as well as chase down and destroy enemy cruisers, and therefore featured much heavier protection.

Von Der Tann was laid down 21 March, 1908 at Blohm and Voss in Hamburg. She was launched on 21 March, 1909, and completed 20 March 1910.

During her service history before World War I, she mainly went on extended world cruises, flying the flag of Germany across the world.

At the Outbreak of World War I, Von Der Tann was assigned to 1st Scouting Group where she would serve for the rest of the war.

She missed any action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, but did arrive in time to relieve the battered German cruisers.

She later participated in the English Coast Raids of late 1914, bombarding Yarmouth, Scarborough, and Whitby.

She was being refitted in 1915, and missed the Battle of Dogger Bank.

Her most major action was the Battle of Jutland. At Jutland, Von Der Tann is credited with sinking the British Battlecruiser Indefatigable, when 2 of her 11 inch shells penetrated Indefatigable's rear magazines, resulting in a catastrophic explosion that destroyed the ship.

During the Battle, Von Der Tann took a terrific pounding, having all of her main battery turrets knocked out and many of her secondaries. She did however, survive to return to port. During the Battle, Von Der Tann fired 170 main battery shells. She registered 37 hits. She was hit 16 times by enemy shells and suffered 11 dead 35 wounded.

After Jutland, Von Der Tann participated in a couple of sorties but saw no further action. She was later interned and than scuttled at Scapa Flow. She was later raised and then scrapped in the 1930s.

In Game Stats:
Armor:
Belt: heavy armor block, 1 block thick
Magazines: heavy armor, 1 block thick
torpedo bulkhead: 1 lightweight block thick
armored deck: heavy armor, 1 block thick, sloped
other places: 1 lightweight block thick
Speed: 27.1 knots
Armament:
4x2 11 inch guns
10x 6 inch guns
16x 3 inch guns
Length: 172 meters
Beam: 27 meters
Draught: 9 meters

Note: This is my first upload to the workshop, and I am relativley new to the game, so please do not judge the aesthetic too harshly. I went for the approach of focusing more ongetting the general capabilities and characteristics of the ship accurate rather than the down to the block accuracy. Also do not mind the extra propellers at the bottom of the hull, I needed them to be able to reach the historical speed of 27 knots.If anyone has any suggestions for improvements please let me know.