Supertest: German Tier III Battleship Von Der Tann
6 min readHistorical background
SMS Von Der Tann was the first battlecruiser built for the German Kaiserliche Marine. Laid down in March 1908, launched in March 1909 and commissioned in September 1910, the ship was the faster dreadnaught-type warship with a speed exceeding 27 knots at the time of her construction.
Von der Tann participated in several 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 HMS Indefatigable 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 in 1919 when German caretaker crews scuttled their ships to prevent their division among Allied navies. The wreck was raised in 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth from 1931 to 1934.
If you want to know more about Von Der Tann, here is a video from Drachinifel covering it:
In World of Warships, Von Der Tann is the first tech tree battlecruiser of the game, featuring the “battlecruiser” dispersion and generally speaking, weaker armor protection.
Additionally, her secondaries have the same dispersion as those of Massachusetts, Georgia, or Ohio and she has the same Fast Damage Control Team as Soviet battleships.
Ship’s preview
For the classic reminder, this is a ship in testing, anything can change so don’t look at her like she would already be released.
Modules
Hull | Engine | Gun Fire Control System | Main battery |
Von der Tann (A) | 79 800 HP | FKS Typ 3 Mod. 1 | ![]() 283 mm/45 SK C/07 on a Drh LC/1907 mount |
Von der Tann (B) | FKS Typ 3 Mod. 2 |
Stock Ship
General Characteristics
Tier | III |
Health | 33 800 HP |
Torpedo Damage Reduction | 10 % |
Displacement | 19 370 tons |
Dimensions | |
Overall length | 171.76 m |
Beam | 26.58 m |
Overall height (keel to the highest point on the ship) | 18.0 m |
Freeboard | 4.2 m |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 13.000 km |
283 mm/45 SK C/07 on a Drh LC/1907 mount | 4 x 2 283 mm |
Secondary Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
150 mm/45 SK C/09 on an MPL C/06 mount 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | 10 x 1 150 mm 4 x 1 88 mm |
Maximum speed | 27.5 knots |
Turning Circle Radius | 600 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 16.0 s |
Surface Detectability | 10.4 km |
Air Detectability | 7.75 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke | 7.57 km |
Main Battery
4 x 2 283 mm/45 SK C/07 on a Drh LC/1907 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 13.000 km |
Reloading Time | 26.0 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 45 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 54° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 53° |
Sigma | 1.50 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 157 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 283 mm Spr.Gr. L/3.6![]() |
Alpha Damage | 3 200 |
Damage | 2 090 |
Penetration capacity | 71 mm |
Explosion size | 1.37 |
Fire chance | 19 % |
Projectile Speed | 855 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.534 |
Projectile Mass | 302 kg |
Type of Projectile | AP – 283 mm P.Spr.Gr. L/3.2![]() |
Alpha Damage | 7 200 |
Projectile Speed | 855 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.534 |
Projectile Mass | 302 kg |
Projectile Krupp | 2 789 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.01 s |
Detonator threshold | 47 mm |
Ricochet Angles | 45° – 60° |
Secondary battery
10 x 1 150 mm/45 SK C/09 on an MPL C/06 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
Reloading Time | 8.57 s |
Sigma | 1.0 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 150 mm HE K Gr 18![]() |
Alpha Damage | 1 800 |
Damage | 760 |
HE penetration | 38 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.57 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 10 % |
Projectile Speed | 835 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.407 |
Projectile Mass | 45.3 kg |
4 x 1 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
Reloading Time | 4.0 s |
Sigma | 1.0 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 88 mm Spr.Gr.![]() |
Alpha Damage | 1 000 |
Damage | 240 |
HE penetration | 15 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.24 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 4 % |
Projectile Speed | 890 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.446 |
Projectile Mass | 9 kg |
Anti-air Armament
4 x 1 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 4.6 km |
Hit chance | 75 % |
Sector’s damage | 5 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 18 |
Flak clouds number | 1 |
Flak cloud damage | 700 |
Consumables
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Fast Damage Control Team ![]() Number of charges: 4 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 40 s | Repair Party ![]() Work time: 28 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration: 0.5%/s Casemate damage regeneration: 50% Citadel damage regeneration: 10% |
Fully Upgraded Ship
General Characteristics
Tier | III |
Health | 36 500 HP |
Torpedo Damage Reduction | 10 % |
Displacement | 21 300 tons |
Dimensions | |
Overall length | 171.76 m |
Beam | 26.58 m |
Overall height (keel to the highest point on the ship) | 18.0 m |
Freeboard | 4.2 m |
Main Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 14.300 km |
283 mm/45 SK C/07 on a Drh LC/1907 mount | 4 x 2 283 mm |
Secondary Armament | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
150 mm/45 SK C/09 on an MPL C/06 mount 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | 10 x 1 150 mm 4 x 1 88 mm |
Maximum speed | 27.5 knots |
Turning Circle Radius | 600 m |
Rudder Shift Time | 11.4 s |
Surface Detectability | 10.4 km |
Air Detectability | 7.75 km |
Detectability After Firing Main Guns in Smoke | 7.57 km |
Main Battery
4 x 2 283 mm/45 SK C/07 on a Drh LC/1907 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 14.300 km |
Reloading Time | 26.0 s |
180 Degree Turn Time | 45 s |
Optimal firing angles at the front | 54° |
Optimal firing angles at the rear | 53° |
Sigma | 1.50 sigma |
Maximum Dispersion | 168 m |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 283 mm Spr.Gr. L/3.6![]() |
Alpha Damage | 3 200 |
Damage | 2 090 |
Penetration capacity | 71 mm |
Explosion size | 1.37 |
Fire chance | 19 % |
Projectile Speed | 855 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.534 |
Projectile Mass | 302 kg |
Type of Projectile | AP – 283 mm P.Spr.Gr. L/3.2![]() |
Alpha Damage | 7 200 |
Projectile Speed | 855 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.534 |
Projectile Mass | 302 kg |
Projectile Krupp | 2 789 |
Projectile Detonator | 0.01 s |
Detonator threshold | 47 mm |
Ricochet Angles | 45° – 60° |
Secondary battery
10 x 1 150 mm/45 SK C/09 on an MPL C/06 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
Reloading Time | 8.57 s |
Sigma | 1.0 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 150 mm HE K Gr 18![]() |
Alpha Damage | 1 800 |
Damage | 760 |
HE penetration | 38 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.57 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 10 % |
Projectile Speed | 835 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.407 |
Projectile Mass | 45.3 kg |
4 x 1 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | |
Maximum Firing Range | 4.000 km |
Reloading Time | 4.0 s |
Sigma | 1.0 sigma |
Shells | |
Type of Projectile | HE – 88 mm Spr.Gr.![]() |
Alpha Damage | 1 000 |
Damage | 240 |
HE penetration | 15 mm |
Explosion Size | 0.24 |
Chance to Cause Fire | 4 % |
Projectile Speed | 890 m/s |
Air Drag | 0.446 |
Projectile Mass | 9 kg |
Anti-air Armament
4 x 1 88 mm/45 Flak on an MPL C/13 mount | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 5.8 km |
Hit chance | 75 % |
Sector’s damage | 33 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 116 |
Flak clouds number | 6 |
Flak cloud damage | 1 400 |
8 x 1 7.92 mm MG 08 machine gun | |
Sector range | 0.1 km – 1.5 km |
Hit chance | 70 % |
Sector’s damage | 17 |
Sector’s damage frequency | 0.29 s |
Sector’s damage per second | 60 |
Consumables
Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
Fast Damage Control Team ![]() Number of charges: 4 Work time: 10 s Cooldown: 40 s | Repair Party ![]() Work time: 28 s Cooldown: 80 s HP regeneration: 0.5%/s Casemate damage regeneration: 50% Citadel damage regeneration: 10% |
The Armor
External armor protection:
Front and rear armor protection of the middle section:
Turtleback:
Citadel armor protection:
Turrets armor protection:
Hidden armor protection inside the bow and stern:
Personal Opinion
Well overall, if you forget the part where you risk getting bullied to oblivion by tier IV carriers, the ship looks pretty good.
The firepower is decent even though you will generally be fighting with 6 guns broadside because of the turret layout but at least, you have the battlecruiser dispersion.
The secondaries, while they can only reach 5 km, can still be useful at such low tier and with that absurd speed (the second-fastest battleship at tier III is Bellerophon with 22.5 knots), she won’t have too much trouble to get them to work.
As for the armor, you don’t really see yet the downside of the battlecruiser armor rule since, at this tier, everything (except Knyaz Suvorov) has a weakly protected bow or at least a good portion of it.
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IJN Battlecuiser branch when? xD
Still, KM batlecruiser branch might be fun too.
Where are the promised torpedoes?
Curious about secondary dispersion tho
supposedly m***a/ohio level of dispersion, with few 150mm’s and lots of 88/105mm’s which cant pen jack**** without IFHE.