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.