SMS Derfflinger - Guide 106 (Extended)

[@onecertainordinarymagician]

"But in keeping with a recurring theme amongst German ships where one of the class seems to absorb all the luck at the expense of the others" I laughed my head off there XD

[@hajoos.8360]

Your single point of view on Derfflinger is based on the failed interpretation of British politicians about the high seas fleet. The Germans built their 40% (of british fleets) fleet to become a valuable partner of the Brits to secure British homelands, too, when the Brits were active in overseas waters. The High-Seas-Fleet was never built to compete with the Brits, as the Brits interpreted it in arrogance. In real terms the bottled high-seas-fleet was totally useless. To compete the Brits the Germans would have needed a long-range battle-cruiser-fleet to intercept the trading routes. This fatal mistake in British politics caused the decline of Europe as a major power and the handover of the empire to the US in WWII.

[@edwardteach3000]

@@hajoos.8360 uh, I call bullshit.

[@NashmanNash]

@@hajoos.8360 Wow...how anyone can write down such bullshit surprises me :D

[@hajoos.8360]

@@NashmanNash make it better. You did not enlightened us, you covered us only with bullshit. Where are your arguments, intellectual giant?

[@NashmanNash]

@@hajoos.8360 Maybe,just maybe...Because Tirpitz and Wilhelm II said that the fleet is supposed to compete with the british and break their naval superiority? Long range Battlecruiser fleet...Wrong...against trade routes you just need long range cruisers..Things that didn´t exactly exist in the age of coal burners..And certainly not for germany thanks to the lack of colonies and supporting harbors. And how does building a fleet so large that is supposed to"help" the british,if the british already have a fleet that´s perfectly capable of doing it´s task in all possible scenarios.. You post your sources,i post mine...except the common sense,something you obviously lack. The only somewhat correct statement from you is that this entire naval arms race lead to the US becoming the major Power in the end,because they could afford to outbuild both the UK and germany on the long run

[@hajoos.8360]

Another reason Derfflinger was so beloved refers to his namesake, fieldmarshal Derfflinger, who fought in the 30 years war and afterwards he organized the Brandenburgian army in a very modern shape away from mercinaries-Landsknechts .... he created the first standing army in this era with social security for the lads. The main point in his career is, he was one of rare generals in history who made it up from the ranks. So everybody could identify with him.

[@thecatalyst6212]

why do they name wars after how long they lasted

[@hajoos.8360]

@@thecatalyst6212 People describe the fact how long such a burden as war lasted. If do you read Forester or other writers with their fictional British sea-heroes or more adjusted to the truth, talented pirates, like, in reality, Sidney-Smith or Cochrane (both were the best military seamen in history), you'll read, that all those heroes whether died or were fatigue about war, especially the Napoleonic Wars lasted more than 20 years. Think about, one of my grandfathers served in 2 WWs, after it, he was a broken man. Living in times of war was never funny. There is always war, but most times, as in our case, not in the own backyard.

[@NashmanNash]

@@thecatalyst6212 Pff...Nobody is calling the war between the Netherlands and the Scilly Islands the"more than 300 years war"...Or the russo-japanese part of WWII the"technically it never ended war"^^

[@thomasbenck9525]

@@thecatalyst6212 There is one war that was named after Jenkin's ear.

[@zhouenlai2569]

@@thecatalyst6212 The 30 years war is a collective term. It´s made up of 4 seperate wars with seperate names, which German historians are familiar with (Böhmisch-Pfälzischer Krieg, Niedersächsisch-Dänischer Krieg, Schwedischer Krieg, Französisch-Schwedischer Krieg). It´s also not unique (100 years war, 7 years war, six day war etc.).

[@miniadler]

hands down the most sexiest ships of the german imperial fleet

[@longlakeshore]

Definitely. And HMS Tiger was the sexiest WWI British battlecruiser.

[@fernandomarques5166]

Real beauty

[@davidmaxwell1026]

Yeah real nice lines. be good if any of these ships like Derfflinger, Dreadnought, Bayern, Lion and Iron Duke survived today as museums. not much to ask.

[@fernandomarques5166]

@@davidmaxwell1026 Biggest crime against history and museum ships in my opnion is the non-preservacion of the USS Enterprise.

[@steeltrap3800]

@@fernandomarques5166 I think HMS Warspite would also be a contender for that title. I suspect we can agree they both ought to have been preserved.

[@Ponja__]

Am I the only one that finds WW1 German capital ships so beautiful? Like, even compared to their contemporaries, they stand out

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Dashamburger - The British said the same thing about the German ships during the Channel Dash...

[@toddwebb7521]

Definitely like the high seas fleet battlecruisers a lot. Not sure if I have the same level of love for the slow battleships

[@NashmanNash]

@@toddwebb7521 Seydlitz is a little ugly with her 3 stepped hull...Moltke looks better in my eyes..even though i don´t find any of the pre Derfflinger Battlecruisers really attractive...

[@jonathanjones3623]

From a functionality or Aesthetics perspective? Certainly the Germans seem to do better than the Americans and the British forces on an individual characteristical basis I think it owes itself to the fact that Germany was such a latecomer it was able to utilize the most up-to-date techniques their mentality was newer and fresher at the time. you have to remember the United States was established in 1776 the British Empire was founded probably not that long after the United Kingdom was established in active Union 1701 1707 whenever that was. But you have a lot of legacy ideas mentality in both institutions that may be the Germans just didn't have and so their vessels do look a little bit more efficient they do look a lot more attractive because younger Minds want to have this impressive impact they do look the part roots and suits clean and cut though as far as individual Capital ships go for the British German warships simply took too long to build for the United States they were simply too expensive by comparison. so who won World War I who won World War II maybe the Germans should have adopted a different mentality with volume production at least as far as warships go it's my understanding that when you fight a war you go to war with the Navy you have and then ships that get built during the war are just icing on the cake it's the same thing in the aerial Arena or the ground Arena you go to war with the Army the guns you have you go to war with the planes and engines that you have and then cross your fingers and pray

[@hajoos.8360]

@@jonathanjones3623 The main reason for the beauty of German ships is the curvature of the hull. German ships implement a female shape, which donates the hull a certain stability. Unfortunately politics had more influence in Germany than in other nations. Nobody checked in the forefront the wrong calculated fuel consumption of the Hipper-class. The lack of maritime tradition promoted German flag-officers in spite of their failures. Instead being shot on his quarterdeck rear-admiral Kummetz was promoted to vice-admiral. The geo-political construction of the High Seas fleet was an entire failure. Sea power means an ability to be present on the entire planet & not only in the North Sea or the Baltics to fight some British or Russian pirates.

[@christosvoskresye]

And, of course, the SMS Derfflinger narrowly avoided direct contact with the HMS Notappearinginthisfilm.

[@MyLateralThawts]

In the highly unlikely possibility the RN would ever accept public input into naming their ships (see Boaty McBoatface) I sincerely hope someone nominates Notappearinginthisfilm as a prime contender.

[@hevendor958]

or what about HMS Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch

[@waffelreitter7231]

@@hevendor958 Ahhh the welsh laguage is a wonderful bout of Autism is it not?

[@the_undead]

@@waffelreitter7231 First off no Second off no Third off that looks more like keyboard smashing than anything else

[@waffelreitter7231]

@@the_undead"Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch" is a village in Whales Here it is pronounced in this video near the end: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHzYeYueitpplbs

[@arkadeepkundu4729]

Brits: What is that? Germany: *Unser Neuer Schlachtkreuzer!* Brits: So it sails around at high speed flinging large calibre artillery shells at things? Germany _(proudly)_ Ja, we call it *Der Fflinger*

[@schiefer1103]

Aua mein Gehirn

[@michaelkovacic2608]

Krintsch 😅

[@colbeausabre8842]

Arkadeep Kundu Oh, mannnnn - is that bad

[@jkilla9934]

Großartig

[@na3044]

That joke is bad and you should feel bad.

[@GKo-iu6ei]

Der Matrose Minute 11.36 ist mein Großvater Heinrich Köhler, er war Heizer auf der Derfflinger. Viele Geschichten wurden in unserer Familie um dieses Schiff erzählt...Danke für dieses Video. Mein Großvater starb 1960 als ich 5 Jahre alt war.

[@andrewclayton4181]

It mentions at the end the delay between the raising and the scrapping of Derfflinger. This resulted in the ship carrying the world record for length of time floating in a capsized state. During WWII it's upturned hull was used to mount ack-ack guns.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Oh the irony, a German ship helping to defend a British anchorage from German aircraft...

[@Bufoferrata]

At last! The Iron Dog has her day! Great video. Very informative and those model pics are a fantastic addition. Thanks so much!

[@nickschmitz841]

My great uncle served on SMS Derfflinger. Thank you for the video, it was quite informative.

[@studentjohn35]

The USN were resistant to the whole idea of battlecruisers right up until 1915. Once it became obvious to anyone that the battlecruiser fleets were in most actions, while all battleships remained in port, the USN became interested in battlecruisers. Derfflinger was the the favorite design studied by American officers. How a slightly improved Derfflinger evolved into to the committee's seven funnels draft design is a clue to what was wrong with the whole USN design bureau for a few years, there.

[@admiraltiberius1989]

One of my absolute favorite ships ever. Love how it looks and that nickname too. Thank you for doing the video. It's top quality as always.

[@hattrick8684]

Never gets old. This is probably the 10th time watching this video, just got done watching Von Der Tann’s video probably the 10th time as well. Saturday morning coffee with drach is a great way to start the weekend after a long week.

[@eplekake3870]

Thanks for the presentation. One of the reasons for wing turrets on the earlier Battlecruisers was that it was assumed that they would be involved in stern chases, and this gun arrangement would allow for increased forward and aft fire.

[@josynaemikohler6572]

Interestingly, the loss of the two aft turrets of Derfflinger was also blamed on misshandling of safety meassurements: When the Y turret was hit, and burned, the crew opened a door attempting to flee into the X turret, which caused both turrets being burned out instead of only one, and the loss of both turret's crews with only 1 survivor. Also, HMS Lion was safed by the affords of the mortally wounded Major Francis Harvey, ordering to flood the Q turret magazine, otherwise Lion would have exploded like her halfsister Queen Mary. Somewhat similiar, Seydlitz was saved at the battle of Dggerbank from a similiar fate, where one of the crews managed to flood the magazine, despite the valves being already glowing red. (He survived, but suffered severe burns and lung damage).

[@UnintentionalSubmarine]

That was Seydlitz at Dogger Bank however.

[@bigblue6917]

Makes you wonder about the standards of training for British and German crews.

[@riebenzahl-524]

@@bigblue6917 "there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today" Admiral Beatty at Jutland after two of his battlecruisers exploded. But it wasn't the ships but ignoring safety regulations, they kept the doors open between turret and the depote for the cordite to load faster. A lesson the germans learned from the battle at the Doggerbank in whcih they almost los Seydlitz due to the same issue

[@jamesricker3997]

The Americans learned that lesson before the war with a near disastrous accident on the pre-dreadnought USE Texas

[@hajoos.8360]

The guy who saved Seydlitz at the Doggerbank was pumpmaster Wlihelm Heidkamp. Kriegsmarine named the destroyer Z21 after him. This destroyer was sunk at Narvik.

[@markdavis2475]

Derfflinger was moored, upside down, next to the hulk of Iron Duke. During the war a small team lived on the hull in wooden huts, they carried out maintenance to ensure there was sufficient compressed air inside to keep her afloat. Early in WW2 a German plane bombed the Iron Duke. The salvage effort that kept her afloat highlighted the poor state of salvage equipment in the navy and led to huge improvements that went on to save many damaged vessels during the war. The book "Epics of Salvage" by David Masters is a good read about this.

[@RonJohn63]

2:05 That cruiser seems pretty low in the water for a ship in a high seas fleet.

[@nibotkram7743]

It belonged to the low seas fleet

[@RonJohn63]

@@nibotkram7743 aka the Baltic Sea Fleet?

[@charliekk3377]

Uboat cruiser lol

[@hajoos.8360]

The Baltic Sea is less salted in comparison to every other maritime part of the planet. Learn your lessons, midshipman. If not, you will never get a comission as a lieutenant.

[@paulgreen6980]

@@hajoos.8360 All ships carry ballast it is used to keep the ship at an optimum depth in any water and load!

[@iamnadexey]

What do you call a German baseball pitcher? Derfflinger

[@bigblue6917]

How long you been saving that joke. 😄

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

Don't quit your day job.

[@rictusmetallicus]

I'm german. Can you explain this joke to me?

[@iamnadexey]

@@rictusmetallicus If you "fling" something, then you throw it, so I anglicized "derfflinger" to be like "der flinger"

[@diabeticalien3584]

Lmao

[@jehb8945]

The small detail that impressed me about this ship was the flush deck no step down for a rear quarter deck and the secondary guns were mounted in the superstructure so I always considered this ship the prototype for German warships of world war II namely the scharnorists and most importantly the bismarcks. Derflinger and her sisters definitely cut above their weight lutzow took a stupid amount of damage to sink and Derflinger survived direct hits from 15-in shells. Even though these ships served the enemy of world war I deserve respect because they were well designed and they were tough.

[@nathansrandomstuff7680]

Building a 1:2400 model of derflingger as I’m watching this, great video as usual.

[@Locochris1956]

Derflinger was hit by 21 shells at Jutland, hit 10 was from Revenge a 15 inch APC pierced 10+ inch armoured plate on X turret only instance during the war where a British shell peirced German heavy armour this hit caused numerous charges to ignite and killed (likely 69 of the 75 in the turret as 6 escaped) it was hit by smaller shells as well, the heavy shells were thought to have come from Barham or Valiant (5) Indomiutable (3) Revenge (3) hits 9/10/11 Colossus (5) Collingwood (1) Royal Oak (2) both these passed through funnels without exploding, Bellerophon (1) Lion (1) the last hit At the end of the battle Derfliger had 3350 tons of water aboard of which 1120 was in the X and Y magazines 157 total killed and 26 wounded. repairs were not completed until 15th October, I am sure I read somewhere that Von Hase the gunnery officer says he was shocked by the accuracy of the Valiants shooting.Derflinger fired 298 12 inch APC and 87 base fused HE with an estimated 16 hits she also fired 1 torpedo at the British battle line without a hit.

[@blorblor5438]

I have two grenade fragments in my possession that my great-grandfather, who served on S53 during the Skagerak Battle, got as a memorial gift from a comrade who took part on the derfflinger. I wonder if it would be possible to somwhow determine from which guns those came...

[@Locochris1956]

@@blorblor5438 Hello there, I would think this difficult to determine but it would be wonderful to know all the same, good luck with determining the source

[@scotthill8787]

Interesting stuff, as always. Thanks, Drachinifel.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

And about 50 years ago I spent many hours commanding this ship - and the rest of the High Seas Fleet playing Avalon Hill's - Jutland - about the same amount of time that had passed at that time, since the real battle of Jutland. .

[@douglasstrother6584]

I spent a lot of time with Avalon Hill games, including Jutland.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@douglasstrother6584 Yeah. I lent my copy of Jutland to this guy who never returned it. So I looked it up recently on e-bay and bought another copy off of there. It was nice to have that again but ... it didn't have that "New Game Smell" I remember from those old games. .

[@shadowfire246]

I'm glad they gave the bells back to Germany we tend to forget about the brave men who died for something they believed in.

[@catriona_drummond]

They were conscripts. Noone cared what they believed in. They were expected to die for their country whether they believed in it's cause or not.

[@shadowfire246]

@@catriona_drummond this may be true to some extent but disrespecting the dead tends to have foul consequences. Just a heads up.

[@catriona_drummond]

@@shadowfire246 Are you threateneing me? Or do you have mystic delusions about karma? The dead are dead. I can say about then wahtever I want, they are dead. Also I am not disrespecting them when I say they died in vain for a crazy elite. And if they dissented they were shot. Poor guys. German sailors were the first to finally rebel against the insanity of continuing the lost war in 1918. And that was an act of true bravery.

[@shadowfire246]

@@catriona_drummond🤭🙄🙄

@@catriona_drummond Oh no, it's another of those edgy marxist 15 year olds who've just leared the word 'elite' and now think they have all society figured out.

[@SynchroScore]

Well, never thought I'd see a ship placed in a floating drydock upside-down.

[@deetroittony]

Good morning from Detroit. Love...love...love the iron dog!!!

[@thebudgieadmiral5140]

Hey Drach, would you deem the capture of Royal by the German airship L 23 worthy of a special video? If not her, then maybe SMS Seeadler? I saw someone had suggested her already and, having done a bit of reading it seems like she was surprisingly successful despite being a sailing ship in the age of steam.

[@TheNecromancer6666]

Look at this beauty.... Back when warships were properly beautiful....

[@wildzeromusic]

I don't play WoWs anymore, but I still watch Drach!

[@sarjim4381]

Very informative video. WWI German vessels aren't my forte so I always learn something from your High Seas fleet presentations. That is a beautiful model of the Derflinger. Having built a few naval models in my life, the quality of paintwork, detailing, and rigging on this one is really outstanding. Are there any more pictures or videos of Speedbird's models I can feast my eyes on?

[@Drachinifel]

Quite a few of his models are on the warship models channel on the Discord server, and I have permission to feature others in upcoming reviews :)

[@sarjim4381]

@@Drachinifel It will be neat to see more of them. I was lucky to be able to build models without paint and glue slopping over the edges, so I appreciate someone with the talent to do it right.

[@toddmoss1689]

Excellent informative video! Derfflinger is my favorite Imperial German Navy class of ships and I also thank Speedbird for sharing their excellent model. Given how Lutzow’s loss primarily resulted from exposing the large bow torpedo tube compartment to uncontrollable flooding, I’m left wondering if such an arrangement on capital ships was worth the vulnerability to flooding in such a critical space. Did capital ships with bow torpedo tubes ever launch successful torpedo attacks from the bow?

[@alganhar1]

Rodney, against the Bismark, though it is unknown to my knowledge whether the torpedo actually hit. As far as I am aware though that is the *only* time a Capital ship used underwater torpedo tubes in action. Like you, I wonder why they were retained.....

[@toddmoss1689]

alganhar1 and Rodney was most likely firing at a DIW Bismarck with little chance of evasion. I understand the World War 1 G7 to have a 9,300 meter range at 27 knots, but I think I’d rather let my destroyers and light cruisers deliver the torps.

[@alganhar1]

@@toddmoss1689 Agreed!

[@falloutghoul1]

@@alganhar1 Didn't Rodney suffer a near-hit to the bow tubes?

[@Locochris1956]

@@alganhar1 Derflinger fired at the British battle fleet and quite a few other battle ships fired off torpedos so not as unusual as you might think

[@klobiforpresident2254]

Now, big question, is this a video we're allowed to see? Looking forward to the 'new' drydock on Sunday ;-)

[@michaelsullivan6127]

Q & A --- Would it be possible to see an episode on the Gearing and Fletcher classes of WWII USN DDs? As a former USN navigation/ECM tech, I'd be very interested in your take on the FRAM-2 conversions and DASH drones from the 50s, as well. Thanks, and keep up the good work. I thoroughly enjoy your commentary. As an aside, your comments on the proliferation of light and medium AA on WWII US warships is best taken with a large grain of salt. The addition of over 100 light and medium AA guns on BBs, and a proportional number on smaller hulls, worked, didn't it? One might say that the US Navy learned a hard lesson at Pearl Harbor, and from the sinking of the Repulse and Prince of Wales. Put enough steel in the air, and incoming aircraft have a difficult time pressing their attacks.

[@Drachinifel]

Both destroyers are on the longer list. :) As for AA, I do completely agree it was justified, but the sheer number of guns amuses me so it's also fun to make humour from it. :)

[@michaelsullivan6127]

I look forward to seeing the episodes on the DDs. The Gearings and Fletchers performed yeoman service in the Pacific during the war, and many survived long after other classes went to the knackers. I was in NAVSPECWARGRU-2 from '67-70, and was assigned to a converted Rudderow-class DE (to APD -- high-speed transport) and an Adams-class DDG for my two extended deployments. Several of deployment teams were sent on the older-style WWII DDs, which were pretty rough duty compared to the Adams-class.

[@alexanderi1105]

My favourite Ww1 era battlecruiser, it looms so sleek compared to its predecessors and even the British ones

[@TEHSTONEDPUMPKIN]

Beautiful ships. But whats with the big white circles painted on top of there turrets?

[@swaghauler8334]

@@T_Hoog AKA "bullseyes?" :)

[@sse_weston4138]

Q&A: Although this would be conjecture overall, what do you believe happened to the IJN Unebi of 1886? (Repost of comment since last one got lost in the shuffle lol)

[@spookyshadowhawk6776]

The French built ship that almost reached Japan before it disappeared? If so, I've wondered about that myself. The Japanese switched to British ship's after that one disappeared.

[@mariebcfhs9491]

Zis is Der-fflinger, it flings 30,5cm shells at the enemy.

[@NikeaTiber]

I always wondered what a derf actually is. Thanks.

[@isdrevenge8764]

I live in Hartlepool and have walked past the spots that were hit during the bombardment. I can imagine waking up at 7 in the morning, opening your bedroom windows and seeing bright yellow flashes out at sea.

[@lawrencelewis8105]

Fascinating! I have a 1/250th model of the Derfflinger sitting right behind me. But, I thought the Seydlitz was called "The Iron Dog."

[@lawrencelewis8105]

@Jurassic Aviator I've seen pictures of the Seydlitz making it back to port with her forward decks almost awash. As an ex-navy man I can only say, those guys were sailors!

[@lawrencelewis8105]

@Jurassic Aviator I understand that there were no watertight doors between the transverse bulkheads- you had to go up above the waterline and then back down into the next compartment. That makes for excellent watertight integrity.

[@adamb9569]

Has to be the greatest name for a ship

[@VincentMMoore0]

Great channel! I just subscribed after a friend linked me to your video here.

[@markwinward500]

Please consider reviewing the pre-dreadnaught Japanese battleship Mikasa, Admiral Togo’s Russo-Japanese War flagship and the only surviving example of a British-built battleship.

[@Dreska_]

13:00 that photo is incredible! Maybe its fairly normal, but I've never seen a photo like that with buildings on top of the underside of a ship

[@lawrencelewis8105]

That was done several times on the scuttled German fleet that were raised and scrapped. The hulls were kept afloat by large air compressors pumping air into the hulls.

[@lawrencehaguewood5857]

Of course the third general is not quite remembered for a battle cruiser these days.

[@danielwalker6653]

In world of warships Hindenburg is a tier 10 german heavy cruiser (paper design). Never knew there was an actual warship named after Hindenburg.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

What is 6:21? Not a bird and not the sound of a computer program I know. Is your house haunted or something? :D

[@avnrulz8587]

Squeaky chair?

[@CorporalDeath67]

Sounds like he's playing Star Trek: Fleet Command on Andriod. Thats they exact sound it makes when their is an announcement.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

@@CorporalDeath67 Unacceptable. I demand he slave away 24/7 paying 110% attention solely to this content he provides for us free of charge! Or, alternatively, that he maybe mute his phone. :D

[@FRAGIORGIO1]

Very good presentation of these battlecruisers. I would only observe that Seydlitz is to be pronoounced as "Zyd lits"

[@Ah01]

Always wondered why isn`t sms Derfflinger (even in retrospective) mentioned and the first ”fast battleship” in the world? Obviously it`s capability to absorb the punishment was at least equal to most WW1-era battleships, and the armour thickness similar to the original layout of Queen Elizabeth - class, which are often referred to as the first. And Derfflinger was commissioned some three months before the first QE. Tremendous ship. Fast, tough, lethal and unbeaten to the end. And with no doubt, one of the most stylish looking.

[@crapphone7744]

The Dirt Flinger is one of my favorite ships in the old Avalon Hill Jutland game. For some reason it has proved deadly in every engagement I've commanded it in.😋

[@dimdimbramantyo7666]

Derfflinger: "Seydlitz, focus your fire on Queen Mary" Seydlitz: "I am locking her, hure !" Queen Mary: **Cursing in british**

[@jackharrison1478]

Queen Mary: eh Barreh, we're fooked

[@Macintoshiba]

What rotten luck!

[@falloutghoul1]

*Explodes in British*

[@Krieg-ch8ot]

Probably my favorite ship class of the high seas fleet very nice looking ships and a hell of a combat record. Something about her design somewhat reminds me of the Kriegsmarine's ships I know it's the same nation and all but there was a big design difference between the two Navy's Derflinger kinda seems to bridge the gap

[@McRocket]

Thank you for this. These are what I think battlecruisers should be. Fast, powerful and able to take almost as much of a pounding as a battleship. True, battle fleet scouts that can duke it out with battleships for short periods of time (if needed). I think the German's really got the battlecruiser concept right. Whereas I don't think the British or the Japanese ever, really did (though the G3 would have been spectacular, IMO). And the Americans got them hideously wrong (the Alaska's had virtually, no underwater protection and the less said about the Lexington's - 43,000 tons, 16" guns and a 7 inch belt?!? - the better).

[@benjaminwaterhouse4879]

lovely, thanks for the video.

[@evanklein4569]

Would it be possible to start mentioning the ship yards that built the ships? I’m not sure how hard that information is to come by but my cousin works at Bath Iron works and they are all very proud of every ship they produce and follow it through it’s service life. I think it would be really cool to know what ship yard created each ship.

[@paulhudson8321]

You should do a video on the raising of all the capital ships at scapa flow. Read a great book on the topic of how they raised those ships which most capsized and were refloated still upside down. The book is Jutland to junkyard.

[@alanmcclenaghan7548]

Best ship name ever!

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Handsome looking ship.

[@johnfisher9692]

As always an informative video. I've noticed the best way to tell a German BC from a German BB is to count the number of propeller shafts. German BC's always had 4 while the BB's had 3 shafts. I've read one of the weak points of the Germam BC's was thay turned slowly and lost a lot of speed doing so. How true was this?

[@535phobos]

They apparently needed some time to get into the turn, but turned pretty well. Loss of speed seemed to be around 50-65%, which seems for me to be normal for ships this size. The battleships were similar. I dont know if the British turned faster.

[@Locochris1956]

It may be because the metacentre height was very high in German fleet ships this is the height of roll above the centre of gravity, german ships were not built to go across oceans but the Baltic and North Sea, crews were based in barracks and the freeboard in these ships was low all this made the ship a stable gun platform but a tendency to roll right over in a fast turn, the Nassaus were spectacularly bad in thus regard.

[@johnfisher9692]

@@Locochris1956 Thank you for the information. I have noticed that while many people fall over themself crowing about the 'strengths' of German designs they conveniently ignore the grave weaknesses of those said ships or the advantages their limited duration voyage design gave them.

[@benwilson6145]

@@Locochris1956 Not sure where you got your definition of Metacentric Height from? Never seen that one before.A large metacetric height would make the ship very stiff, leading to a very quick roll period, maybe not the best for gunnery? Also a large metacentric height would not allow the ship to roll over in a turn. a large GM. large righting lever?

[@Locochris1956]

@@benwilson6145 Well the Nassaus are clearly low due to the armament being on one plane and so they were very stiff, smaller wave forms in the North sea and baltic even then were a` problem and after Nassau nearly rolled over due to being too stiff whilst on trials it/they had to be fitted with bilge keels as a matter of urgency, UK ships had to be built to operate in all the worlds oceans some of which have differing conditions and were limited to 90 foot beam as opposed to the 100 feet of the German ships again making the German ships stiffer. a short stiff roll period should reduce the variation caused by the roll between slight elevations when it came to gunnery.

[@ssejr01]

I love all these vids

[@jarigustafsson7620]

Beautiful model.

[@christopher5723]

Can you do the 1881 HMS Polyphemus. Which besides being an example of an intriguing design dead end, the torpedo ram, is perhaps the inspiration for HMS Thunderchild of "War of the Worlds" which I believe you have admitted an affection for in some of your previous videos.

[@psour33]

She was a great ship ! The old iron dog :)

[@F40PH-2CAT]

And that's when I said "Derfflinger? I hardly Knewher!"

[@rohmarts]

I wonder how many ships were given awesome nicknames by the enemy.

[@falloutghoul1]

Calling it now, Derfflinger would've sunk HMS Lion if it weren't for Blucher.

[@Diego-zz1df]

???

[@McRocket]

Wonderful model. ☮

[@geoffburrill9850]

Best looking German warship of this era.

[@tylerlawrence1997]

I really like this ship.

[@jackdale9831]

Have you done a video about the WWI German commerce-raider "Wolfe? It was successful over all, I feel, because it had a reconnaissance float-plane "Wulfchen", which could scan the horizon for "targets" or "warships" hunting-it. The few times it found Allied ships "gunning" for its "Mother", I wonder if it had enough fuel to fly-away in another direction to draw the warships away. And WHAT a Surprise to targets/warships alike,--appearing in one direction in mid-ocean, when a tender/other ship would HAVE to be nearby, just to re-fuel it, --it no larger than an observation land plane.

[@alexandermangani3346]

I wonder if you could do a video about HMS Frisky, a Royal Navy seagoing tug that became the subject of Farley Mowat’s book, “The Grey Seas Under”. She was an exceptional vessel and sailed as the SS Foundation Franklin for many years out of the Canadian Maritimes as a maritime salvage vessel. Her story is one that needs to be retold.

[@youngbloodk]

I think the Derfflinger is the best looking German warship, except for maybe the WW2 Scharnhorst. Especially like the aspect at around 5:30 in the video.

[@davidpetrie8261]

cant wait till they make a movie about Jutland

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

If there was one ship that could rival HMS Warspite in stuberness it was SMS Derfflinger, she is sooo on my shopping list to get in World of Warships

[@MrArcher7]

Seems that the Bismarck class had their roots in this class.

[@riebenzahl-524]

More or less, but it influenced the the SMS Bayern class battleships, which had 38 cm guns the first time, overall design didn't change so much, but components got more modern: aiming computer, better optics, radar......oh an most of it all: diesel engine as this was firlsty used in such capitle ships since the Deutschland class "pocket battleships" (extended range and speed)

[@bkjeong4302]

The Bismarcks were basically upsized, much faster Bayerns with more advanced fire control and radar. Which is partly why their armour design was terrible by WWII standards.

[@mattbowden4996]

@@bkjeong4302 That's a common myth, but it's not true as even a superficial glance at the plans of the two ships would show. The Bismarcks were based on the Scharnhorsts and the Scharnhorsts did not have very much to do with the Imperial German Dreadnoughts at all.

[@johncook3125]

Good video. Thanks

[@Walpolemike14]

Hey Drach, love the videos. Would you ever consider doing a USS Greer incident video, or maybe even a USS Maddox Tonkin Gulf video (without the politics, just the facts as you usually do, or maybe the sinking of U550 off Nantucket video. Just a couple suggestions for specials. Thanks! -- Mike McL

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

That background sound at 6:20 scared the crap out of me. I'm at work atm.

[@bearsamoyed]

Same

[@kieranoldroyd4748]

Might be a stupid question but why are there horizontal lines along the side of the ships in pre dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts

[@Sir_David_Beatty]

I'm thinking you mean the Anti-Torpedo nets.

[@vespelian5769]

Anti-torpedo nets. The Germans continued to be partial to them well into the war.

[@TheOmegagoldfish]

@@vespelian5769 Did they work?

[@JohnE9999]

@@TheOmegagoldfish The nets could only be used when the ship they were mounted on was stationary, i.e. at anchor. The entrances to anchorages are usually heavily patrolled, and were covered by anti-submarine nets back in the day. I haven't heard of ship mounted nets even getting a chance to try and stop a hostile torpedo. The nets were removed from ships because it eventually realized that they were far more likely to be loosened by battle damage and foul the ship's propellers, than they were to ever stop a torpedo.

[@model-man7802]

@@TheOmegagoldfish we used them at Pearl Harbor after 1941.

[@Bufoferrata]

Are the IJN Takao class on the list?

[@steve1978ger]

What's the purpose of, or story behind the big white round markings on top of her turrets?

[@johndickie5577]

Ship classes could be identified from the zeppelins but in order to know which ship in the class, different arrangements of circles were used, for example, a circle on each superfiring turret, or one circle on Anton, or no circles at all etc.

[@paulhallam7478]

What about HMS Tiger (1913)

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

What an embarrassing way for Lutzow to go down, sailing backwards with her ass hanging out of the water. XD

[@stevenmoore4612]

The Imperial German navy had some of the best looking ships! Very beautifully designed! Also Weren’t the only nations to actually build and operate battlecruisers the U.K., Germany, and Japan?

[@craigclemens986]

The Americans built the Alaska. It was classified as a BC

[@stevenmoore4612]

@@craigclemens986 “Large Cruiser” or “Battlecruiser” but they really didn’t know what to classify them as. Also yeah you can count the US too since the they had the Lexington class battlecruisers even though they were never completed. Even the French with the two Dunkerques were by technicality battlecruisers but they still called them battleships.

[@ivangenov6782]

@@stevenmoore4612 Didn't russia built the Kirov sometime during the cold war? It's pretty much a missile ship but counts as a Battlecruiser do to it's size/weight

[@stevenmoore4612]

@@ivangenov6782 I was referring to the first half of the 20th century. But I was doing research and the Russians were actually in the process of building battlecrusiers such as the Great War era Izmail class and the World War II era Kronstadt class and post war Stalingrad class. None of which were ever completed due to war and Russian/Soviet production problems.

[@ivangenov6782]

@@stevenmoore4612 oh

[@avnrulz8587]

7:38 'Hindemberg'. LOL

[@AdmiralGrafSpee100]

Damn ww1 battleships are good looking.

[@kris220b]

Does it Fling Derfs?

[@jjsmith4829]

very handsome ship

[@thoughtfulpug1333]

I wonder how well the 2 remaining Derfflingers would do if they faced 2 of the Kongo Class. They have quite similar armament and gun layout. Also have to wonder what would have happened if the germans won ww1 or they were allowed to retain the Derfflingers, what their refitted versions would be like in early WW2. I bet they'd be comparable in capability as the Scharnhorsts, with heavier armament to boot.

[@sander6438]

Kongo class was 2 knots faster and had 14 inch guns but the kongo class had a 8 inch belt

[@Cancun771]

Pronunciation is DErfflinger

[@Rauschgenerator]

"Seydlitz"'s pronounciation would be best described as "Side-litz".

[@rossswenson532]

Hello I would be interested in a damage control comparison between the axis & allies. Many allied ships were horribly damaged yet survived to fight another day. Were these advantages because of design or training?

[@Sodbusterrod]

In terms of survivability the German fleet had the advantage. Gary Staff analyzed comparable German and British battle cruisers and the Germans had 50% mores armor than British. Secondly, German ships were better designed to withstand battle damage. They had coal bunkers providing an additional layer of protection to the vitals of their ships that the British did not. The British emphasized firepower and speed in their designs. They could throw hundreds of pounds more of explosives per salvo because of their bigger guns, and their guns had greater range. In terms of training the Germans were better shots scoring a higher percentage of hits than the British. They were better equipped and trained in night fighting as well. If post battle repair time is an indicator of damage, the Germans suffered greater damage than the British. It took the Germans longer to get all their ships back in service than the British. The fact that the High Seas Fleet could make it home with such damage is a testimony to their survivability.

[@rossswenson532]

@@Sodbusterrod Thank you for your answer. It gave me a little better understanding. I don't quite know why I'm fascinated by this history so much.

[@RayyMusik]

Lützow: ‘ow’ pronounced similar to ‘row’, not ‘cow’.

[@bnipmnaa]

"Snow" would be a better example since "row" can also rhyme with "cow" (im Sinne von Streit bzw. Krawall, nicht rudern)

[@tristanrainey5080]

Loots ov

[@Digmen1]

Hi, you should change the title of the video to The Derflinger Class - not SMS Derfflinger Great video thanks

[@Chrinik]

It is interesting to see that the imperial german navy called these "Großer Kreuzer" (Big Cruiser) instead of the now more common german word "Schlachtkreuzer" (Battlecruiser), perhaps since these where very new ships at the time, the english terminology won over and everyone adopted it instead...

[@nichtvorhanden5928]

The imperial german Navy called battleships "Linienschiffe" (ship of the line) and dreadnoughts Groß Linienschiffe (great ships of the line).

[@Chrinik]

@@nichtvorhanden5928 I tracked it down to a naval law that was passed decades prior classifing ship classes...and apparently they just adhered to that.

[@nichtvorhanden5928]

@@Chrinik Ok, that is new for me but better than the modern classification system of the german navy (today).

[@ZardozCologne]

No ... it was a trick for finance reason (really!); if I remember that correctly, the shpis were named §Große Kreuzer" (large cruisers) to be able to finance them from the budget for cruisers not battleships.

[@Chrinik]

@@ZardozCologne Again there is a naval law that classified ship classes way before they were ever layed down. And since they share the same designation with the armored cruisers they superceded, I don't think it was some sort of trickery. But I'd be very happy for some souces if you have any.

[@Zakalwe-01]

Nice modern lines. Looks like a 60s Sheffield council estate...

[@thurbine2411]

At 7:42 it says SMS Hindemburg

[@damianzaninovich4900]

After 20 large caliber hits. How do you fix that? It must have looked like a tin can after target practice.

[@Emtbtoday]

There's a new model of it coming out soon it looks like it's going to be very detailed! S.m.s Derflinger both 1917/1918 variants with the shorter mast on the 1918

[@JJosephS1]

Could you please do one of you reviews of the Pennsy BB-38?

[@jamesbugbee6812]

Ah, a Kaiser class BB slipped into the vid 💜.

[@colbeausabre8842]

Think it's significant that the Germs named their ships after generals while British named them after admirals. That would be like the USN naming a ship after Eisenhower.

[@RM-we7px]

Iron Duke?

[@ironstarofmordian7098]

Those were some mighty fine ladies!