SMS Von der Tann
Contents
Description
The SMS Von der Tann, 1914 is a rank V German battlecruiser with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Hot Tracks".
General info
Survivability and armour
The SMS Von der Tann is a battlecruiser. This class of ships is supposed to have the firepower of dreadnoughts, whilst having a superior speed to catch on their prey. This comes at the cost of armour thickness and coverage. She doesn't have coal bunkers protecting all turrets, the front and rear turrets only have armour plates to protect their ammunition. A lucky shot will knock a turret out and its ammo storage underneath, especially from other dreadnoughts. Still, the Von der Tann's armour is still very thick and can shield off most of the cruiser's shells and is impervious to destroyers.
While the lack of AA guns can be problematic against enemy aircraft, this can actually help the Von der Tann to preserve more of her crew in a trading firefight against enemy cruisers, as enemy ships need to damage the crew compartment or casemate turrets to kill her crew.
Mobility
Being a battlecruiser, the Von der Tann features superior mobility compared to battleships. Though still slower than the majority of cruisers, getting around the map will not be a problem for her.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 60 | 34 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 51 | 29 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Armament
Primary armament
The Von der Tann features eight 283 mm SK L/45 cannons arranged in four twin turrets. While the ship's left and right turrets appear to be obstructed by lifeboats in your hangar screen, they will be removed once you get into battle, allowing the turrets to traverse into the other sides, and thus making her capable of doing full broadsides with decent amount of firing angle.
while they are not as powerful as the 305 mm cannons equipping other dreadnoughts, the 283 mm guns still pack a huge punch and can do the short work out of enemy destroyers and cruisers. The gun also has a good reload time for its calibre at 20 seconds (ace crew).
Secondary armament
The Von der Tann features 10 х 150 mm SK L/45 cannons, five mounted in a casemate on each side of the ship. There are also 16 х 88 mm SK L/45 cannons, placed in a set of four casemate on the bow, stern, and command tower, as well as four turrets on the rear fire control tower.
The 150 mm guns are very reliable against enemy cruisers at mid-to-close range (within 7 km), being able to chew up most of their crew quickly due to the short reload time of 5 seconds, though ineffective beyond 7 km due to its awful dispersion. Other than the HEF shell, the guns have an option to load a SAP shell and an APCBC shell, the SAP is largely useless due to poor penetration, while the APCBC shell can tear up the modules of lightly-armoured enemy at closer range.
The 88 mm guns mainly act as a complementary weapons and can only be loaded with HEF shell. The guns don't pack as much punch as the 150 mm, but are still quite useful against destroyers and PT boats.
Anti-aircraft armament
Built during the infancy of naval aviation, the Von der Tann is barely equipped to deal against aerial threats. Therefore, her "anti-air" armament only consists of two antique 7.92 mm machine guns, which won't help to deter any aerial threats. Essentially, it is making her a sitting duck against enemy air support.
Additional armament
Similar to other dreadnoughts in her era, the Von der Tann features four underwater torpedo launchers, two mounted directly at her bow and stern respectively, and two other placed on each side of the bow. Due to this peculiar placement, the torpedo is highly situational and will not help much to destroy enemy ship. The torpedo itself is also pretty weak and slow, with only 122 kg of TNT and a top speed at only 50 km/h. Thus you should relied on her main and secondary armament instead.
Usage in battles
As a battlecruiser, the Von der Tann is fast and well-armed. The eight 283 mm guns can deal a huge amount of damage and have a reload of 20 seconds, much shorter than other battlecruisers and battleships (and the same as some American heavy cruisers), as well as capable of doing full broadsides. While other battleships can punch through your armour, cruisers will seriously struggle. Target cruisers and punish them with your strong secondary guns, colossal main battery firepower, and good reload. They'll struggle with your armour and they'll struggle to outrun you.
Your main threat will be battleships, who can angle against your guns and punch through your armour comfortably. Use your mobility to get away from, or around them, and don't be afraid to unleash some torpedoes on them if they do get too close.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fantastic speed for a ship of its size, able to outrun any battleship and stay close to cruisers
- Out-guns and out-armours every cruiser in the game
- Can do a full broadsides with the same damage potential as the SMS Westfalen
- Fantastic reload on its main guns, better than the Admiral Graf Spee despite them being the same size
- Deadly secondary armament that can punish cruisers if they come too close
Cons:
- Still slower than the majority of cruisers, can easily get left behind
- Main armament is inferior to most battleships
- Secondary armaments is woefully inaccurate beyond 7 km
- Placement of flank turrets makes it prone to ammo detonation from torpedo hits
- Effectively no AA protection, easy target for aircraft
History
Devblog
With the appearance of HMS Invincible in 1906, the Imperial Navy found itself lacking an appropriate response as the British battlecruiser outmatched any comparable vessel in the German fleet at the time. As a result, German ship builders began working on designing an equivalent vessel in the same year under the name "Cruiser F". As the ship would eventually become Germany's first battlecruiser, its design was carefully considered, with emphasis being put on speed and protection.
By mid 1907, Cruiser F's design had been finalized and its construction approved by the Kaiser in June, christening the vessel SMS Von der Tann in honor of a Bavarian general. Von der Tann was laid down in March 1908 and launched exactly a year later, before being completed and commissioned into service in September 1910. At the time of commissioning Von der Tann quickly became the new symbol of German naval power, being not only the first German warship fitted with steam turbine engines, but also the world's fastest warship of its type at the time. After completing trials, Von der Tann was sent on a cruise to South America before returning to Germany in May 1911.
During WWI, Von der Tann participated in numerous naval operations in the war: including the Battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as participating in raids against British ports and engagements against the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. At the end of WWI in 1918, Von der Tann along with the remainder of the German Navy was interned at Scapa Flow. In the following year, the interned German fleet along with Von der Tann scuttled itself to prevent capture by the Allies with this event marking the end of the warship's illustrious career.
Media
- Skins
- Images
- SMS Von der Tann Devblog Images
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| Blohm & Voss | |
|---|---|
| Destroyers | |
| Type 1934A | Z15 Erich Steinbrinck |
| Heavy Cruisers | |
| Admiral Hipper-class | Admiral Hipper |
| Battlecruisers | |
| Unique Ships | SMS Von der Tann · SMS Derfflinger |
| See Also | Blohm & Voss Aircraft Division |
| Germany battlecruisers | |
|---|---|
| SMS Von der Tann* | |
| SMS Derfflinger* | |
| Scharnhorst-class | Scharnhorst |
| * Unique ship | |
