Faction:
Ironblood
Class:
Roon-class Armored Cruiser (Heavy Cruiser in-game)
Background:
SMS Yorck, the second and final member of the Roon-class of Armored Cruisers, was part of the Kaiserliche Marine’s naval expansion program, ordered in 1902 as part of the Second Naval Law signed two years prior. Developed as an incremental improvement over their direct predecessors, the Prinz Adalbert-class, she was developed with a longer hull than her predecessor to allow for an additional pair of boilers, helping to increase its speed by roughly .5 knots (0.93 km/h or 0.58 mph). Ordered originally as “Ersatz Deutschland” to replace the Kaiser-class Ironclad Frigate of the same name, Yorck was laid down at the Blohm und Voss shipyard in Hamburg on 25 April 1903, was launched on 14 May 1904 (upon which she was given her name by her namesake’s great-great-granddaughter Josephine) and was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 21 November 1905.
Upon Yorck’s commissioning, she was assigned to the I Scouting Group, replacing the armored cruiser SMS Friedrich Carl as flagship on 2 April 1906. Over the next several years, Yorck took part in the peacetime routine of training exercises with the fleet reconnaissance forces and with the entire High Seas Fleet. She would be replaced as Scouting Group flagship by SMS Scharnhorst on 1 May 1908, but would resume the role after Scharnhorst was assigned to the German East Asia Squadron until replaced with SMS Blücher in May 1910. During her career, Yorck would be captained by a number of officers and sailors who would go on to make their name in the two World Wars, one of whom was Erich Raeder (the future head of the Kriegsmarine during the first half of World War II), who served as Yorck’s navigation officer, and Maximilian von Spee, who would later become commander of the aforementioned East Asia Squadron.
Yorck’s final years in her first commissioned career would be characterized by a string of bad luck and unfortunate events. While in a shipyard for maintenance on 31 March 1911, an explosion, attributed to benzene, ripped through the cruiser’s aft-most boiler room, the incident killing one man and injuring several. Another accident, on 2 November 1912 saw one of Yorck’s pinnaces accidentally detonate a naval mine, killing two and injuring an additional two. One final accident, occurring on 4 March 1913, saw Yorck, while doing training exercises off of Helgoland, saw the armored cruiser ram into the torpedo boat SMS S178 as the latter attempted to pass in front of the former. The ramming incident tore a hole into S178’s hull, and sank within a few minutes of the incident, killing 69. Yorck, alongside battleship SMS Oldenburg and torpedo boat SMS S177 would only successfully rescue fifteen between them, with Yorck, minorly damaged from the incident proceeding with the fleet maneuvers as usual.
After the conclusion of the maneuvers, Yorck would sail back to Kiel, where she would be decommissioned on 21 May 1913, at the time the last armored cruiser to serve in the I Scouting Group by that point. Her crew would be transferred to unique battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz, while Yorck would receive an overhaul and placed into reserve. This status of affairs would remain in place until the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, when Yorck would be mobilized for service. Recommissioned on 12 August, she would be initially assigned to IV Scouting Group, before shifting to III Scouting Group, tasked with guarding the German Bight, though she would take part in a sortie in the Baltic Sea, operating as far out as Östergarn in Swedish Gotland between 22 and 29 September.
On 3 November 1914, Yorck would participate in her first (and what would be her last) major operation as part of the Hochseeflotte during the Great War, with the ship, alongside the III Scouting Group, providing the reconnaissance for the main fleet while the I Scouting Group was to bombard Yarmouth. Though Hipper’s battlecruisers did little damage, they did lay a minefield that sank the British submarine HMS S5. Upon returning to port later that day, Yorck and the other German ships encountered heavy fog that prevented them from safely navigating the defensive minefields that had been laid outside the port, instead anchoring at the Schillig roadsted. Yorck’s captain, Pieper, believed the fog to have cleared sufficiently to allow the vessel to return to port, so he ordered the ship to get underway. This would be a terrible mistake with fatal consequences, as in act of cosmic bad luck, Yorck would strike a German mine at 0410 hrs on 4 November 1914, the cruiser began to turn to exit the minefield, and would inadvertently strike a second mine. She sank with heavy loss of life, though the numbers are still debated, with anywhere between 336 and 502 of the ship’s 629 crew being killed in the incident. The survivors were rescued, and Captain Pieper was court-martialed and imprisoned for two years for negligence, disobedience of orders, and homicide through negligence.
The wreck, located between Horumersiel and Hooksiel, was initially marked to allow vessels to pass safely. Beginning in 1926, the wreck was partially scrapped to reduce the navigational hazard to deeper-draft vessels. More work was done in 1936–1937 for the same reason. During a series of construction programs to expand the entrance to the Jade after World War II, the ship's turrets were removed in 1969 and the remaining parts of the hull were demolished in 1983 to further clear the seafloor.
Yorck’s retrofit is a hypothetical one, and is a reference to plans drawn up for her sister ship, SMS Roon in converting her into a seaplane carrier. In this capacity, this is referenced by Yorck being capable of using Light Cruiser guns and seaplanes.
Namesake:
SMS Yorck is named for Prussian Generalfieldmarschall (General Field Marshal) Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg (Full Name: Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg), a soldier in service with the Prussian Army (with exception of a brief spell in the Dutch Republic). A descendent of a minor noble family of Pomeranian Kashubians, Yorck entered the Prussian Army in 1772, and took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779), but was cashiered shortly before the war’s end due to Yorck expression of contempt for a superior officer, a move that saw him imprisoned and prevented from rejoining the Prussian Army. After a three-year stint with the Swiss mercenaries in service to the Dutch Republic during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780-1784), Yorck would return to Prussian Army service upon the accession of Frederick the Great’s successor, Friedrich Wilhelm II. In this capacity, Yorck would take part in Kościuszko’s Uprising (1794), distinguishing himself in the Battle of Szczekociny.
Yorck is most well known for his service during the Napoleonic Wars, serving as a prominent rearguard commander during the disastrous Jena campaign and would be severely wounded and taken prisoner during Blücher’s last stand at Lübeck, and would take part in Napoleon’s own disastrous campaign in Russia, his force having pushed into Riga. Yorck would serve as the catalyst for Prussia switching sides, joining with Russia against Napoleon to form the Sixth Coalition (1813-1814) and specifically, the German War of Liberation.In this capacity, Yorck would be the hero of the Battle of Wartenburg that bears his second name.
The Yorckscher March, composed by famous German composer and pianist Ludwig von Beethoven was named in his honor.
Rarity:
SR → SSR
Retrofit Spread:
| Project |
Attributes |
Materials (Coin Cost) |
Level (LB) |
Requirement |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| (A) Hull Improvement I |
HP+70 |
2x T1 Cruiser Blueprints (400) |
1 (0) |
— |
| (B) Reload Enhancement I |
Reload +5 |
3x T1 Cruiser Blueprints (600) |
5 (0) |
A |
| (C) Anti-Air Gun Improvement I |
AA Gun Efficiency +5% |
3x T1 Cruiser Blueprints (800) |
20 (1) |
A |
| (D) Anti-Air Enhancement I |
Anti-Air +15 |
5x T1 Cruiser Blueprints (1000) |
25 (1) |
C |
| (E) Main Gun Improvement I |
Main Gun Efficiency +5% |
3x T2 Cruiser Blueprints (1200) |
35 (2) |
C |
| (F) Firepower Enhancement I |
Firepower +10 |
2x T2 Cruiser Blueprints (1500) |
40 (2) |
B & E |
| (G) Hull Improvement II |
HP +70/+100 |
2x/3x T2 Cruiser Blueprints (1800x2) |
50 (2) |
E |
| (H) Hit Enhancement I |
Accuracy +5 |
3x T2 Cruiser Blueprints (2000) |
55 (2) |
G |
| (I) Anti-Air Gun Improvement II |
AA Gun Efficiency +5%/+5% |
1x/1x T3 Cruiser Blueprints (2500x2) |
70 (3) |
G |
| (J) Anti-Air Enhancement II |
Anti-Air +15/+25 |
1x/2x T3 Cruiser Blueprints & 5x/15x T3 Anti-Air Parts (3000x2) |
75 (3) |
D & I |
| (K) Modernization |
Anti-Air +35, Aviation +15 Main Gun Slot can now equip Light Cruiser Guns Secondary Gun Slot can now equip Seaplanes Stat Growth Changes* |
3x T3 Cruiser Blueprints & 1 Copy of Yorck or 1x Universal Bulin (4000) |
85 (3) |
I & J |
| (L) Tactical Learning |
Learn Skill “Yorckscher Marsch” |
2x T3 Cruiser Blueprints & 50 T3 General Parts |
90 (3) |
H & K |
\ Base Stats: Firepower -12, Torpedo -5, Reload -5, Accuracy +4, Anti-Air +20, Aviation +47)
New Abilities:
- Yorckscher Marsch: If this ship is not equipped with a seaplane, increase this ship’s Firepower and Torpedo stat by 5% (15%), decrease damage taken by 4% (12%), and every 15 seconds, launch a unique barrage with damage based on skill level. If this ship is equipped with a seaplane, increase the Accuracy of all ships by 5% (15%), increase Critical Hit Chance by 15% (30%) and Critical Hit Damage dealt by 15% (30%). Every 15 seconds, launch a unique airstrike utilizing Zeppelins with damage based on skill level.
Quotes:
- Acquisition: You’ve been quite the busy person, Commander. Armored Cruiser Yorck has returned with a…”few” improvements. If you felt it was worth the resources, then let us see how well I perform together…Heehee~
- Secretary (Idle) 1: Guns…or seaplanes? Hmm…I’ll leave that decision in your hands, Commander.
- Secretary (Idle) 2: Power, even great power, is only meaningful if there is purpose to it. Don’t you agree?
- Secretary (Touch): Do you have a wish that I could grant?
- Secretary (Special Touch): Is it your desire to impose your will on me? Then do whatever you wish, Commander♥
A/N:
SMS Yorck:
- Character Concept Made: July 16, 2021 (CC#19, remade for AO3 on October 21, 2023)
- Official Release: April 28, 2022 (Rondo at Rainbow's End)
SMS Yorck, one of the first two ships that ever got the "Graduated to canon" among the ships I've done for this project and honestly an interesting ship, if only because she's the only actual playable Armored Cruiser in the game. It's a shame though that despite this fact we have not gotten any of the WWI era equipment to make the ships historically accurate though, which honestly is how I like to set up my ships. No I don't really care for the metagame, I've never cared for that playstyle when I play video games.
As a character, Yorck is...interesting to say the least. She's a sultry individual, someone who you would think has little value of herself given her history, how she was effectively made obsolete overnight and her end by getting sunk by her country's own mines...yet at the same time, she has the kind of who is up for either her falling under your influence...or you under hers. All told I'd say she's pretty damn underrated as a character, even if she probably isn't spectacular in-game. Given that her gimmick as a pseudo-seaplane carrier (in reference to plans given to her surviving sister ship), I figure her being a similar-style ship to Halford would give her something to work with for her fans.
Anywho, we're heading back to modern carriers. Now a few concepts ago, we covered the lead ship of Great Britain's modern-day carriers in HMS Queen Elizabeth. But what if I told you that once upon a time, France wanted to get in on the Queen Elizabeth action. Before we ended up with France Libre, and back at a time when France wanted a second aircraft carrier to work with Charles de Gaulle, there was Porte-Avions 2, and it will be that ship, dubbed FS Richelieu, that will be the next character concept!
Link to the list of ships