 SMS Hindenburg was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine ( Imperial Navy ) , the third ship of the Derfflinger class , built to a slightly modified design . She carried the same battery of eight 30 @.@ 5 cm ( 12 @.@ 0 in ) guns , but in improved turrets that allowed them to fire further . The ship was also slightly larger and faster than her two sister ships . She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg , the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the Masurian Lakes , as well as Supreme Commander of the German armies from 1916 . The ship was the last capital ship of any type built by the German navy during World War I. 
