SMS Von der Tann – The Birth of the German Battlecruiser

Or, more accurately, the continuation of German Grossekrezuers. SMS Von der Tann, the first of Imperial Germany’s battlecruisers- even if never called that -is an interesting case. Here you have a ship that was a direct counter to HMS Invincible. And in basically every metric but raw firepower, this ship is arguably superior. Better protected, at least as fast in most cases, and not *that* far off in weaponry. Von der Tann was a landmark ship for Germany. Of course, a ship that was quickly overtaken by the pace of naval developments. But that’s most ships in the early 20th century, no matter the nation. Alas, the ship did miss most of the battles of the Great War, so she didn’t get as many chances to show what she could do. Still, Von der Tann is an interesting ship to look at. Further Reading: =tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=