SMS Derfflinger was a German battlecruiser laid down in March 1911 and commissioned during the First World War on 1 September 1914. Her first action was participation in the raid on Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby in December 1914. She then fought at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915. Finally, Derfflinger was also present at the Battle of Jutland from 31 May to 1 June 1916, where she engaged in the destruction of HMS Queen Mary and HMS Invincible, as well as damaging HMS Princess Royal and HMS Barham; however, she sustained significant damage herself. After repairs and a refit that included the installation of a tripod foremast, she returned to service on 15 October 1916. In October 1918, plans for a final naval operation included Derfflinger, but it was cancelled due to unrest among the crews. Following the Armistice, she was interned at Scapa Flow in November 1918 and was scuttled by her crew on 21 June 1919. Raised in late August 1939, she was towed to Faslane after the Second World War and scrapped there between 1946 and 1948.

Introduced in Update "Dance of Dragons" in her 1916 refit, Derfflinger features good mobility and good armour for a battlecruiser, while also sharing main guns with German battleships of the same BR, which give her formidable firepower, although with a lower number of individual cannons than most of her peers. Finally, her anti-air armament is extremely poor, making her an easy target for even large, slow-flying, four-engine bombers or even coastal vessels from reserve BRs, if they manage to avoid the 150 mm casemate guns.