SMS Derfflinger

Derfflinger interned at Scapa Flow
History
German Empire
Name:	Derfflinger
Namesake:	Georg von Derfflinger
Ordered:	1912–1913 Naval Program
Builder:	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down:	30 March 1912
Launched:	17 July 1913
Commissioned:	1 September 1914
Nickname(s):	"Iron Dog"
Fate:	Scuttled in Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946
General characteristics
Class and type:	Derfflinger-class battlecruiser
Displacement:	Normal: 26,600 t (26,200 long tons) Full Load: 31,200 t (30,700 long tons)
Length:	210.40 m (690 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam:	29 m (95 ft 2 in)
Draft:	9.20 m (30 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	4 shaft Parsons turbines; 18 boiler; 75,585 shp (56,364 kW)
Speed:	26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph)
Range:	5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement:	44 officers and 1,068 men
Armament:	8 × 30.5 cm (12") SK L/50 in 4 twin turrets 12 × 15 cm (5.9") SK L/45 in 12 single turrets 4 × 8.8 cm (4×1) in 4 single mounts 4 × single 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 300 mm (12 in) Command Tower: 300 mm Deck: 30 mm (1.2 in) Turrets: 270 mm (11 in)

SMS Derfflinger was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were Lützow and Hindenburg. The Derfflinger-class battlecruisers were larger and featured significant improvements over the previous German battlecruisers, in terms of armament, armor protection, and cruising range. The ship was named after Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger who fought in the Thirty Years' War.

Derfflinger was part of the I Scouting Group for most of World War I, and was involved in several fleet actions during the war. She took part in the bombardments of English coastal towns, as well as the Battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland, where her stubborn resistance led to the British nicknaming her "Iron Dog". The ship was partially responsible for the sinking of two British battlecruisers at Jutland; Derfflinger and Seydlitz destroyed Queen Mary, and Lützow assisted her elder sister in the sinking of Invincible. Derfflinger was interned with the rest of the High Seas fleet at Scapa Flow following the armistice in November 1918. Under the orders of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the interned ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919; Derfflinger sank at 14:45.