During the
First War of Schleswig, 1848–1850 between
Denmark and the two
duchies, the Schleswig-Holstein navy comprised three
paddlewheelers with sail rigging, a
schooner and 12 gunboats; their task was to protect the coast against Danish raids. , 1891 Initially called Gunboat No. 1,
Von der Tann was the most modern of these ships. Her
steam engine, built by
August Howaldt at
Schweffel und Howaldt's works in Kiel, gave her and a top speed (under steam) of six knots. She carried the
rigging of a three-mast schooner, with a very tall
funnel behind the main mast. Her armament comprised two 64-pounder guns mounted on
swivels fore and aft plus four three-pounder
howitzers. :
Von der Tann aground at Neustadt. (The
Hekla seen in the background) During the night of 20/21 July 1850,
Von der Tann had captured a Danish freighter in the
bay of Lübeck, but was not permitted to enter the neutral port of
Travemünde which belonged to the Free
Hanseatic City of
Lübeck. When
Von der Tann attempted to enter the port of
Neustadt in Holstein, she was engaged by Danish naval forces, the ships
Heckla and
Valkyren. During the ensuing battle,
Von der Tann accidentally
ran aground just outside Neustadt harbor. The ship was abandoned and set on fire by her crew, but was later repaired and put back into service. In 1853, after the end of the First War of Schleswig,
Von der Tann was taken over by the
Danish navy and renamed
Støren. She was
decommissioned and scrapped in 1862. The engine was reused in the gunboat
Hauch. == Legacy ==