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 of more
than 27 knots. Built by Blohm and Voss in Hamburg, Von der Tann was one
of the workhorses of the High Seas Fleet I Scouting Group. Von der Tann
was designed in response to the British Invincible-class battlecruiser.
While the German design had slightly lighter guns—28 cm (11 in), as
opposed to the 30.5 cm (12 in) mounted on the British ships—Von der
Tann was faster and significantly better-armoured. She set the
precedent that German battlecruisers carried much heavier armour than
their British equivalents, albeit at the cost of smaller guns. The ship
participated in a number of fleet actions during the First World War,
including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, where she destroyed the
British battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable within the first few minutes of
the engagement. Von der Tann was hit several times by large-calibre
shells during the battle, but the damage was quickly repaired and the
ship returned to the fleet in two months. Following the end of the war
in 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 them falling into British hands. The wreck of Von der Tann
was raised in 1930, and scrapped at Rosyth from 1931 to 1934.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Von_der_Tann>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1279 BC:
According to estimations believed by most Egyptologists today, Ramesses
II became Pharaoh of Egypt.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesses_II>
1223:
Mongol invasions: Mongol forces defeated a combined army of Kiev,
Galich, and the Cumans on the banks of the Kalchik River in present-day
Ukraine.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River>
1669:
Citing poor eyesight, English naval administrator and Member of
Parliament Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary, one of
the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys>
1889:
The South Fork Dam near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA, failed,
unleashing a torrent of 18.1 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons)
of water that killed over 2,200 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood>
1977:
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was completed, a major U.S. oil
pipeline connecting oil fields in northern Alaska to a sea port where
the oil can be shipped to the Lower 48 states for refining.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System>
1997:
The Confederation Bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of
Northumberland Strait officially opened, forming a 12.9-kilometre
(8 mi) 'fixed link' between Prince Edward Island and the Canadian
mainland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_Bridge>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
implicit (adj):
1. Implied indirectly, without being directly expressed.
2. Contained in the essential nature of something but not openly
shown.
3. Having no reservations or doubts; unquestioning or unconditional
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/implicit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Be composed — be at ease with me — I am Walt Whitman, liberal and lusty
as Nature,
Not till the sun excludes you do I exclude you,
Not till the waters
refuse to glisten for you and the leaves to rustle for you, do my words
refuse to glisten and rustle for you.
--Walt Whitman
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman>