MOLTKE CLASS BATTLECRUISERS

Same design but larger versions of the Van Der Tann with armour protection similar to battleships.

MOLTKE. Built at Blohm and Voss in Hamburg and launched on the 4th of July 1910, commissioned 30th September 1911 and finally entered service in the German navy on the 31st of March 1912.  Moltke was torpedoed by the British Submarine E1 during 1915 and during the battle of Jutland received damage from four shell hits. In 1917 Moltke took part in operation off the East Baltic Islands. and in 1918 was torpedoed by Royal Navy Submarine E42.  On the 24th November 1918 she was interned at Scapa Flow and her crew Scuttled the ship on the 21st June 1919. raised in June 1927 and scrapped at Rosyth 1928,1929. It is interesting to note, that in the German navy the Moltke was always considered a lucky ship.

GOEBEN.  Built at Blohm and Voss at Hamburg and launched 28th March 1911 and commissioned  2nd of July 1912, entering service on 28th August 1912.  She was the only German Battleship or Battlecruiser to serve outside the German High seas Fleet. Goeben was serving in the Mediteranean when world war One started. On the 16th of August the Goeben was transfered or "Sold" (after being pursued by Royal naval Ships into the then Neutral Turkish waters), to the Turkish navy and became Jawuz Sultan Selim, She was still crewed by The German Sailors, and she was the first ship to fire on Sebastopol,  which opened Russo-Turkish conflict. she was mined in the approached to the Bosphorus but could only receive temporary repairs.. She had a successful attack on the island of Imbros and was struck by two mines and luckily managed to limp back to Constantinople. After the armistice, Turkey was not permitted to keep large warships, but the Jawuz Sultan Selim was permitted to stay with Turkey but it was in a disabled state. The ship was refitted for Turkey by Franch between 1927 and 1930. The name changed again in 1936 to Yavuz she served as the Turkish Flagship until 1950 and was finally decommissioned in 1973 and scrapped during 1974.