SMS Von der Tann SMS " Von der Tann " 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 in excess of . She was designed in response to the British . While the German design had slightly lighter guns — 28 cm ( 11 in ) , 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 . " Von der Tann " participated in a number of fleet actions during the First World War , including several bombardments of the English coast . She was present at the Battle of Jutland , where she destroyed the British battlecruiser in the opening minutes of the engagement . " Von der Tann " was hit several times by large - caliber shells during the battle , and at one point in the engagement , the ship had all of her main battery guns out of action either due to damage or malfunction . Nevertheless , the damage was quickly repaired and the ship returned to the fleet in two months . Following the end of the war in November 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 the ships from falling into British hands . The wreck was raised in 1930 , and scrapped at Rosyth from 1931 to 1934 . Development . The preceding German large cruiser design , , was an incremental increase over previous armored cruiser s . " Blücher " was armed with twelve 21 cm ( 8 . 3 in ) guns , and designed to counter what the Germans knew about the British , 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 " ( Imperial 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 s — hydraulic elevated Drh LC / 1907 instead of electrical elevated Drh LC / 1906 . 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 . Design . Armament . " Von der Tann " carried eight SK L / 45 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 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 SK L / 45 naval gun 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 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 ) . Armor . Because the " Von der Tann " was designed to fight in the battle line , 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 armor than the battlecruisers she faced at the Battle of Jutland . " Von der Tann " s 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 armor measured 25 mm ( 0 . 98 in ) thick , and the sloping deck armor 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 . 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 psi ( 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 trials , 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 , " 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 . Other characteristics . Frahm anti - roll tanks were fitted during construction , but these proved to be ineffective ; the tanks only reduced rolling by 33 % . Bilge keels 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 tons ) 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 . 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 Dockyard 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 crewmembers 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 . First World War . 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 Tann " s 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 . Bombardments of the English coast . Later that year " Von der Tann " was present at the Raid on Yarmouth , 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 . 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 . " Von der Tann " also engaged the Russian armored cruiser 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 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 . Battle of Jutland . " 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 , 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 Tann " s 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 Tann " s 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 " Indefatigable " s 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 Tann " s 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 Tann " s 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 torch es — 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 during the fleet advance to Norway on 23 – 25 April 1918 , as well as in the sortie on 8 – 9 July . Fate . " 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 block s , 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 by the Alloa Shipbreaking Company between 1931 and 1934 . Notes . Footnotes Citations