Helgoland class battleship

The "Helgoland" class was a class of German dreadnought battleships. The ships served in World War I and participated in the Battle of Jutland. All four survived the war, and were taken as war prizes by the victorious Allied powers.

Design

Laid down in 1909-10, the "Helgoland" class was the second type of German Dreadnoughts as a response to the introduction of the 'all-big-gun' British HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6. Like the "Nassau" class which preceded it, the ships carried their main armament in an unusual 'hexagonal' configuration. Twelve 30.5 cm L/50 guns were mounted in double turrets, with one turret fore and aft, and two on each flank of the ship. Secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm L/45 guns, along with two 8.8 cm L/45 AA-guns. While their armour was slightly superior to that of "Dreadnought", the Helgolands adopted older triple-expansion steam engines rather than steam turbines, limiting their speed to convert|20.5|knot|km/h.

Construction

Four ships of the class were built, with construction lasting from 1908 to 1912.
*SMS "Helgoland" was built at Howaldtswerke, Kiel. "Helgoland" was laid down 24 November 1908, launched 23 August 1911, and commissioned on 20 December 1911.
*SMS "Ostfriesland" was built at Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven. She was laid down 19 October 1908, launched 1 August 1911, and commissioned 15 September 1911.
*SMS "Thüringen" was built by AG Weser in Bremen. "Thüringen" was laid down 2 November 1908, launched on 1 July 1911, and commissioned on 10 September 1911.
*SMS "Oldenburg" was built by Schichau in Danzig; she was laid down 1 March 1909, launched 1 May 1912, and commissioned on 1 July 1912.

History

World War I

The ships of the "Helgoland" class were assigned to I Battle Squadron at the outbreak of World War I. All four ships were present during the Battle of Jutland; the "Helgoland" was hit by a single 15" shell, but sustained minimal damage. The "Oldenburg" was hit by a shell from a secondary battery that killed 8 and wounded 14 men. "Ostfriesland" and "Thüringen" escaped the battle unscathed, although on the return to German waters, "Ostfriesland" struck a mine, and had to be repaired in Wilhelmshaven.

Post-war

The ships of the class saw no further action during the war, and were taken as war prizes following the German surrender. "Helgoland" was taken by the British as a replacement for ships that had been taken earlier, but scuttled by their crews in Scapa Flow. "Helgoland" was later scrapped in 1924. "Ostfriesland" was handed over to the US Navy, and was later used as a target during a demonstration of air power, conducted by General Billy Mitchell. "Thüringen" and "Oldenburg" were taken by France and Japan, respectively, and used as target ships until they were scrapped in the early 1920s.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/battleship/sms-helgoland.html Class information]