Tannhäuser-class Battleship

SMS Tannhäuser, 1936
Class overview
Builders:	Englean Kaiserreich
Operators:	Kaiserliche-Marine
Preceded by:	Nassau Class
Succeeded by:	Kaiser Class
Built:	1930-1936
In commission:	1932-1973
Planned:	5
Completed:	3
Cancelled:	2
Active:	0
Retired:	3
Scrapped:	2
Preserved:	1
General characteristics
Type:	Battleship
Displacement:	42,672 tons
Length:	234.9 m (771 ft)
Beam:	30 m (98 ft)
Draft:	9.9 m (32 ft)
Propulsion:	3x BMV-Merzedes 1098 Geared Steam Turbines
Speed:	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Complement:	56 officers, 1,613 enlisted
Armament:	9x 38.1 cm SK C/33 6x 43 cm SK C/39 (Tannhäuser 1940 Refit) 12x 15 cm SK C/27 14x 10.5 cm L65 SK C/33 16x 3.7 cm L83 SK C/35 16x 2 cm C/36
Armour:	Belt: 360 mm Deck: 59 mm Turrets: 365mm
Aircraft carried:	2 x reconnaissance aircraft
Aviation facilities:	2 x catapult

The Tannhäuser class was a series of battleships designed and deployed by the Englean Kaiserliche-Marine during the Interwar Period and used during the Second Great War. The class was designed to replace the ageing fleet of battleships in possession of the Imperial Navy, which consisted of designs from the First Great War and the 1920s. The ships were produced in order to be able to effectively engage vessels of the Rezuan Navy, and to be the model capital ship of the Imperial Navy. With its primary armament of 9 15 inch guns, the SMS Tannhäuser was one of the most advanced ships in the world at the time of its launch (being similar to the Talvistovan Valmistaja). Although the ships were impressive, they would be historically overshadowed by their successor, the Kaiser class in 1938.

Ships of the Class

Line drawing of the Tannhäuser class

Name	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate	Notes
Tannhäuser	Germaniawerft	18 June 1930	25 August 1931	30 March 1933
Durfflinger	Germaniawerft	30 April 1931	25 June 1933	2 April 1936
Hebentien	Germaniawerft	2 February 1933	3 April 1936	2 May 1938