Helgoland class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Helgoland class was the second class
of German dreadnought
battleship
s. Constructed from 1908 to 1912, the class comprised four ships: , the lead ship
; ; ; and . The design was a significant improvement over the previous ships; they had a larger main battery
—30.5 cm (12 in) main guns instead of the 28 cm (11 in) weapons mounted on the earlier vessels—and an improved propulsion system. The Helgolands were easily distinguished from the preceding Nassaus by the three funnels that were closely arranged, compared to the two larger funnels of the previous class. The ships retained the unusual hexagonal main battery layout of the Nassau-class.
The ships served as a unit in the I Division, I Battle Squadron alongside the Nassau-class ships in the II Division of the I Battle Squadron. They saw combat during World War I
, including the Battle of Jutland
in the North Sea and the Battle of the Gulf of Riga
in the Baltic. All four survived the war, but were not taken as part of the German fleet that was interned at Scapa Flow
. When the German ships at Scapa Flow were scuttled
, the four Helgolands were ceded as war reparations
to the victorious Allied powers in the sunken ships' stead. Ostfriesland was taken by the US Navy and expended as a target during Billy Mitchell's air power demonstration in July 1921. Helgoland and Oldenburg were allotted to Britain and Japan respectively, and broken up in 1921. Thüringen was delivered to France in 1920, and was used as a target ship
for the French navy. The ship was eventually broken up between 1923 and 1933.
between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia had been signed in 1907. Germany had become significantly isolated—on the Continent
, Germany was hemmed in by France in the west and Russia in the east, and the UK, with her powerful navy, was capable of blocking German access to the world shipping lanes. Admiral von Tirpitz reacted to this development with the request for newer and stronger capital ships. His thoughts on the matter were, "The aim which I had to keep in view ... for technical and organizing reasons as well as reasons of political finance was to build as steadily as possible." His appeal came in the form of the proposed Second Amendment to the Naval Law, which was passed on 27 March 1908.
For the second class of German dreadnoughts, there was considerable debate as to what changes would be made from the first design. In May 1906, the Reichsmarineamt (RMA, Imperial Navy Office) received word that the British were building battleships equipped with 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) guns. As a result, the General Navy Department advocated increasing the caliber of the main battery from 28 cm (11 in) to 30.5 cm (12 in). Admiral von Tirpitz was reluctant to agree to this change, as he wished to avoid escalating the arms race with Britain.
Admiral von Tirpitz's hesitation at increasing the armament of the new ships was lost when it became known in early 1907 that the United States Navy
was building battleships with 30.5 cm guns. In March 1907, von Tirpitz ordered the Construction Department to prepare a design with 30.5 cm guns and 320 mm (12.6 in) thick belt armor. Some dispute remained over the arrangement of the main battery. The two Minas Geraes-class battleships
being built for Brazil mounted the same number of guns, but in a more efficient arrangement. Superfiring turret pairs were placed on either end of the ship, with two wing turrets amidships. Admiral von Tirpitz favored adopting this arrangement for the Helgoland class, but the Construction Department felt two superfiring turrets could be easily disabled by a single hit. As a result, the hexagonal arrangement of the preceding Nassaus was retained.
The Naval Law stipulated that the lifespan of large warships was to be reduced from 25 years to 20 years; this was done in an effort to force the Reichstag
to allocate funds for additional ships. The reduction necessitated the replacement of the coastal defense ships of the and classes as well as the s. The battleships that von Tirpitz had failed to secure in the First Amendment to the Naval Law of 1906 were now approved by the Reichstag. The Naval Law also increased the naval budget by an additional 1 billion marks
. After the four s had been replaced by the four Nassaus, three of the Siegfried-class ships—, , —and the unique coastal defense ship were the next slated to be replaced. The Helgoland-class ships—SMS Helgoland, SMS Ostfriesland, SMS Thüringen, and SMS Oldenburg—were ordered under the provisional names Ersatz
Siegfried, Ersatz Oldenburg, Ersatz Beowulf, and Ersatz Frithjof, respectively.All German ships were ordered under provisional names; new additions to the fleet were given a letter, while ships that were intended to replace older vessels were ordered as "Ersatz
(ship name)." An excellent example of this practice is the s: the lead ship
was considered a new addition to the fleet, and was ordered as "K", while her sisters and were ordered as Ersatz Kaiserin Augusta and Ersatz Hertha, as replacements for two older ships. See: Gröner, p. 56
of 28.5 m (93.5 ft) and at full load a draft of 8.94 m (29.3 ft). The ships were significantly heavier than the Nassau-class; the Helgoland-class ships displaced 22808 metric tons (22,447.7 LT) at a standard load, and 24700 metric tons (24,309.8 LT) at full load, nearly 4000 metric tons (3,936.8 LT) more than the earlier ships.The Nassau-class battleships displaced 18,570 tons at the designed weight, and 21,000 tons at a full load. See: Gröner, p. 23 The ships had 17 watertight compartments and a double bottom for 86% of the length of the hull.
The class had greatly improved handling characteristics over the preceding Nassau-class. The Helgolands were much better sea boats and did not suffer from the severe rolling that the Nassaus did. The ships were responsive to the helm, and had a tight turning radius, and lost only minimal speed during swells. The ships lost up to 54% of their speed at hard rudder, and would heel up to 7°. For comparison, the earlier Nassaus lost up to 70% speed and held a 12° heel with the rudder hard over.
held a monopoly on steam turbines and required a 1 million gold mark royalty fee for every turbine engine. The triple-expansion engines were three-shaft, four-cylinder engines arranged in three engine rooms. Each shaft drove a four-bladed screw propeller that was 5.1 m (16.7 ft) in diameter. The engines were powered by 15 marine-type boilers with two fireboxes apiece for a total of 30. The engines were rated at 28000 ihp with a top speed of 20.5 knots. On trials, the powerplant produced up to 35500 ihp, and a top speed of 21.3 knots. The ships carried 3200 metric tons (3,149.5 LT) of coal, and were later modified to carry an additional 197 metric tons (193.9 LT) of oil that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate.Because of the wartime situation, Germany had limited access to high quality coal, but was able to acquire lower-grade coal for its ships. The higher quality coal was generally reserved for the smaller craft, whose crews were less able to clean the boilers at the increased rate demanded by the low-quality coal. As a result, German capital ships were often supplied with poor coal, in the knowledge that their larger crews were better able to perform the increased maintenance. After 1915, the practice of spraying oil onto the low-quality coal was introduced, in order to increase the burn rate. See: Philbin, p. 56 At full fuel capacity, the ships could steam for 5500 nautical miles (10,186 km) at a speed of 10 knots (19.6 km/h). The ships' electrical power was provided by eight turbo-generators that produced 2,000 kW (225 V).
Like the Nassau-class which preceded it, the Helgoland-class ships carried their main armament in an unusual hexagonal configuration. Twelve 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50
In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/50 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/50 gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as it is in diameter. guns were emplaced in long-trunk Drh LC/1908 mountings, an improved version of the previous LC/1907 and LC/1906 mounts used in the Nassau-class. The guns were arranged in pairs in six twin gun turret
s, with one turret each fore and aft, and two on each flank of the ship. The guns could initially be depressed to −8° and elevated to 13.5°, although the turrets were later modified to allow −5.5° depression and 16° of elevation. The guns fired 405 kilograms (892.9 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 855 m/s (2,805.1 ft/s); at 13.5°, this provided a maximum range of 18700 m (20,450.6 yd), and with the upgraded 16° elevation, the range was extended to 20500 m (22,419.1 yd). The guns had a total of 1,020 rounds for 85 shells per gun.
The ships' secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, which were mounted in casemate
s. The guns fired 45.3 kilograms (99.9 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s). The guns could be elevated to 19°, which provided a maximum range of 14950 metres (16,349.5 yd). The ships also carried sixteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, also in casemates. These guns fired a 10 kilograms (22 lb) projectile at 650 m/s (2,132.5 ft/s), and could be trained up to 25° for a maximum range of 9600 m (10,498.7 yd). After 1914, two 8.8 cm guns were removed and replaced by two 8.8 cm Flak guns, and between 1916 and 1917, the remaining twelve 8.8 cm casemated guns were removed. These anti-aircraft guns fired a slightly lighter 9.6 kilograms (21.2 lb) shell at 770 m/s (2,526.2 ft/s). They could be elevated to 45° and could hit targets 11800 metre away. The Helgoland-class ships were further armed with six 50 cm (19.7 in) submerged torpedo tube
s. One tube was mounted in the bow, another in the stern, and two on each broadside, on either ends of the torpedo bulkhead
.
. The ships had an armored belt that was 30 cm (11.8 in) thick at its strongest points, where it protected the ship's vitals, and as thin as 8 cm (3.1 in) in less critical areas, such as the bow and stern. Behind the main belt was a torpedo bulkhead
3 cm (1.2 in) thick. The ships' decks were armored, between 5.5 and 8 cm (2.2 and 3.1 in) thick. The forward conning tower on each vessel had a roof that was 20 cm (7.9 in) thick, and sides 40 cm (15.7 in) thick. The aft conning tower was not as heavily armored, with only a 5 cm (2 in) thick roof and 20 cm (7.9 in) sides. The main battery turrets had roofs that were 10 cm (3.9 in) thick, and 30 cm sides. The casemated secondary battery had 17 cm (6.7 in) worth of armor protection, and 8 cm thick gun shields. The Helgolands were also fitted with anti-torpedo nets, but these were removed after 1916.
Four ships of the class were ordered, under the provisional names Ersatz Siegfried (Helgoland), Ersatz Oldenburg (Ostfriesland), Ersatz Beowulf (Thüringen), and Ersatz Frithjof (Oldenburg), as replacements for three of the coastal defense ships of the Siegfried-class, and the unique coastal defense ship SMS Oldenburg. SMS Helgoland was built at Howaldtswerke
, Kiel
. She was laid down on 24 December 1908, launched 25 August 1909, and commissioned nearly two years later on 23 August 1911.
SMS Ostfriesland was built at Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
. She was laid down 19 October 1908, launched five days after her sister Helgoland, on 30 August 1909, and commissioned 1 August 1911. SMS Thüringen was built by AG Weser
in Bremen
. She was laid down on 7 November 1908, launched on 27 November 1909, and commissioned on 10 September 1911. SMS Oldenburg, the final vessel, was built by Schichau
in Danzig; she was laid down 1 March 1909, launched 30 June 1910, and commissioned on 1 May 1912.
; they served as the I Division of the I Battle Squadron. The ships of the class participated in several fleet operations in the North Sea
, including the sortie on 31 May 1916 that resulted in the Battle of Jutland
. The ships also saw limited service in the Baltic Sea
, primarily during the abortive Battle of the Gulf of Riga
in August 1915.
The first major operation of the war in which the Helgoland-class ships participated was the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 15–16 December 1914. The raid was primarily conducted by the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group
. The Helgoland-class ships, along with the Nassau
, Kaiser, and König
classes steamed in distant support of Franz von Hipper
's battlecruisers. Friedrich von Ingenohl
, the commander of the High Seas Fleet
, decided to take up station approximately in the center of the North Sea, about 130 miles east of Scarborough.
The Royal Navy
, which had recently received the German code books captured from the beached cruiser , was aware that an operation was taking place, but was not sure where the Germans would strike. Therefore, the Admiralty
ordered David Beatty's
1st Battlecruiser Squadron, the six battleships of the 2nd Battle Squadron, and several cruisers and destroyers to intercept the German battlecruisers. However, Beatty's task force nearly ran headlong into the entire High Seas Fleet. At 6:20, Beatty's destroyer screen came into contact with the German torpedo boat V155. This began a confused, 2-hour long battle between the British destroyers and the German cruiser and destroyer screen, often at very close range. At the time of the first encounter, the Helgoland-class battleships were less than 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) away from the six British dreadnoughts; this was well within firing range, but in the darkness, neither British nor German admirals were aware of the composition of their opponents' fleets. Admiral Ingenohl, loathe to disobey the Kaiser's order to not risk the battlefleet without his express approval, concluded that his forces were engaging the screen of the entire Grand Fleet, and so, 10 minutes after the first contact, he ordered a turn to port to a southeast course. Continued attacks delayed the turn, but by 6:42, it had been carried out. For about 40 minutes, the two fleets were steaming on a parallel course. At 7:20, Ingenohl ordered a further turn to port, which put his ships on a course for German waters.
Many in the German navy were furious over Ingenohl's timidity, and his reputation suffered greatly. Großadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz
remarked that "On 16 December, Ingenohl had the fate of Germany in the palm of his hand. I boil with inward emotion whenever I think of it." The captain of the battlecruiser was even more scathing; he stated that Ingenohl had turned away "because he was afraid of eleven British destroyers which could have been easily eliminated ... Under the present leadership we will accomplish nothing."
The Helgoland-class ships also sortied from port to support the German battlecruisers during the Battle of Dogger Bank
, but did not actively engage British forces.
. The intention was to destroy the Russian naval forces in the area, including the pre-dreadnought
Slava
, and to use the minelayer to block the entrance to Moon Sound with naval mine
s. The German forces, under the command of Vice Admiral Hipper, included the four Nassau-class
and four Helgoland-class battleships, the battlecruisers , , and , and a number of smaller craft. The four Helgolands were not committed to the actual battle, however. For the duration of the operation, the ships were stationed outside the gulf in order to prevent Russian reinforcements from disrupting the laying of minefields.
The Russians' own minefields were larger than had been expected, and so clearing them took longer than the Germans had planned. This delay was compounded by stiff resistance from the Russian navy; Deutschland was ultimately unable to lay her mines. Reports of Allied submarine activity in the area prompted the withdrawal of the German naval force on the morning of 20 August. Indeed, the battlecruiser Moltke had been torpedoed by the British submarine the day before, though only minor damage was sustained.
, behind Rear Admiral Behncke's III Battle Squadron, and followed by Rear Admiral Mauve's elderly pre-dreadnought
s of the II Battle Squadron. Ostfriesland served as the division flagship, under the command of Vice Admiral E. Schmidt.
The Helgoland-class ships first entered direct combat at 19:20 on the first day of the battle. Ostfriesland, Helgoland, and Thüringen began firing on , which, along with the other s of the 5th Battle squadron, had been pursuing the German battlecruiser force. With the exception of Ostfriesland, the firing only lasted for four minutes, because the German line had been in the process of turning to the east-northeast, and the ships quickly lost sight of the British battleships. Thüringen and Helgoland only fired around 20 main battery shells before they lost sight of their target. Ostfriesland, however, was able to keep visual contact until 19:45, at which point she, too, ceased firing. At 20:15, during the third Gefechtskehrtwendung,This translates roughly as the "battle about-turn", and was a simultaneous 16-point turn of the entire High Seas Fleet
. It had never been conducted under enemy fire before the Battle of Jutland. See: Tarrant, pp. 153–154 Helgoland was struck by a 15 in (38.1 cm) shell in the forward part of the ship. The shell tore a 20 feet (6.1 m) hole in the hull and rained splinters on the foremost port side 5.9 in gun; approximately 80 tons of water entered the ship.
At around midnight on 1 June, the Helgoland- and Nassau-class ships in the center of the German line came into contact with the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla. A chaotic night battle ensued, during which rammed the British destroyer . The 4th Flotilla broke off the action temporarily to regroup, but at around 01:00, unwittingly stumbled into the German dreadnoughts a second time. Oldenburg and Helgoland opened fire on the two leading British destroyers, but a British shell destroyed Oldenburgs forward search light. Shell fragments rained down on the bridge and wounded the ship's captain, Kapitän Hopfner, and killed his second in command, Kapitänleutnant Rabius, along with a number of other men on the bridge, including the helmsman. Oldenburg was temporarily without anyone to steer the ship; she was in danger of ramming either the ship to her rear or to her front. Kapitän Hopfner, despite his injuries, took the helm and brought the ship back into line.
Shortly after 01:00, Thüringen and Nassau encountered the British armored cruiser . Thüringen opened fire first and pummeled Black Prince with a total of 27 heavy-caliber shells and 24 rounds from her secondary battery. Nassau and Ostfriesland joined in, followed by .
By this time, the 4th Destroyer Flotilla had been largely destroyed as a fighting unit. The few remaining, heavily damaged ships had been scattered and would take no further part in the battle.
Following the return to German waters, Helgoland and Thüringen, along with the s Nassau, , and , took up defensive positions in the Jade
roadstead
for the night. During the battle, the ships suffered only minor damage. Helgoland was hit by a single 15 in 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
.
The ships of the class saw no further significant action during the war, and were ceded to the Allies under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
. All four ships were stricken from the German navy on 5 November 1919. Helgoland was taken by the British and was scrapped in 1921 in Morecambe
. Her bow ornament was retained and was eventually returned to Germany; it is now on display in the Dresden
army museum. Oldenburg was surrendered to the Japanese, but they did not take possession of the ship. Instead, they sold the vessel to a British salvage firm that scrapped it in Dordrecht
in 1921. Thüringen was taken by France; the ship was nearly scuttled by her crew while en route to Cherbourg in 1920. She was used as a target until she was beached in 1923 at Gavres
. She was broken up in situ
, but a large portion of the hull remains off shore.
Ostfriesland was ceded to the US Navy, and was later used as a stationary target during a demonstration of air power, conducted by General Billy Mitchell on 21 July 1921 off Cape Henry
in Virginia. The ship sank at 12:40 after sustaining several bomb hits and near misses. However, she likely would have avoided these had she been underway, and if she had been hit, damage control teams would have kept the ship afloat.
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of German dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s. Constructed from 1908 to 1912, the class comprised four ships: , the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
; ; ; and . The design was a significant improvement over the previous ships; they had a larger main battery
Main battery
Generally used only in the terms of naval warfare, the main battery is the primary weapon around which a ship was designed. "Battery" is in itself a common term in the military science of artillery. For example, the United States Navy battleship USS Washington had a main battery of nine guns...
—30.5 cm (12 in) main guns instead of the 28 cm (11 in) weapons mounted on the earlier vessels—and an improved propulsion system. The Helgolands were easily distinguished from the preceding Nassaus by the three funnels that were closely arranged, compared to the two larger funnels of the previous class. The ships retained the unusual hexagonal main battery layout of the Nassau-class.
The ships served as a unit in the I Division, I Battle Squadron alongside the Nassau-class ships in the II Division of the I Battle Squadron. They saw combat during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, including the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
in the North Sea and the Battle of the Gulf of Riga
Battle of the Gulf of Riga
The Battle of the Gulf of Riga was a World War I naval operation of the German High Seas Fleet against the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea in August 1915...
in the Baltic. All four survived the war, but were not taken as part of the German fleet that was interned at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. When the German ships at Scapa Flow were scuttled
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
, the four Helgolands were ceded as war reparations
War reparations
War reparations are payments intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land.- History :...
to the victorious Allied powers in the sunken ships' stead. Ostfriesland was taken by the US Navy and expended as a target during Billy Mitchell's air power demonstration in July 1921. Helgoland and Oldenburg were allotted to Britain and Japan respectively, and broken up in 1921. Thüringen was delivered to France in 1920, and was used as a target ship
Target ship
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...
for the French navy. The ship was eventually broken up between 1923 and 1933.
Design
The Triple EntenteTriple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia had been signed in 1907. Germany had become significantly isolated—on the Continent
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
, Germany was hemmed in by France in the west and Russia in the east, and the UK, with her powerful navy, was capable of blocking German access to the world shipping lanes. Admiral von Tirpitz reacted to this development with the request for newer and stronger capital ships. His thoughts on the matter were, "The aim which I had to keep in view ... for technical and organizing reasons as well as reasons of political finance was to build as steadily as possible." His appeal came in the form of the proposed Second Amendment to the Naval Law, which was passed on 27 March 1908.
For the second class of German dreadnoughts, there was considerable debate as to what changes would be made from the first design. In May 1906, the Reichsmarineamt (RMA, Imperial Navy Office) received word that the British were building battleships equipped with 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) guns. As a result, the General Navy Department advocated increasing the caliber of the main battery from 28 cm (11 in) to 30.5 cm (12 in). Admiral von Tirpitz was reluctant to agree to this change, as he wished to avoid escalating the arms race with Britain.
Admiral von Tirpitz's hesitation at increasing the armament of the new ships was lost when it became known in early 1907 that the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
was building battleships with 30.5 cm guns. In March 1907, von Tirpitz ordered the Construction Department to prepare a design with 30.5 cm guns and 320 mm (12.6 in) thick belt armor. Some dispute remained over the arrangement of the main battery. The two Minas Geraes-class battleships
Minas Geraes-class battleship
The Minas Geraes class, spelled Minas Gerais in some sources, consisted of two battleships built for the Brazilian Navy which began a South American dreadnought race. The ships were named Minas Geraes, after the Brazilian state, and São Paulo, honoring both the state and city...
being built for Brazil mounted the same number of guns, but in a more efficient arrangement. Superfiring turret pairs were placed on either end of the ship, with two wing turrets amidships. Admiral von Tirpitz favored adopting this arrangement for the Helgoland class, but the Construction Department felt two superfiring turrets could be easily disabled by a single hit. As a result, the hexagonal arrangement of the preceding Nassaus was retained.
The Naval Law stipulated that the lifespan of large warships was to be reduced from 25 years to 20 years; this was done in an effort to force the Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
to allocate funds for additional ships. The reduction necessitated the replacement of the coastal defense ships of the and classes as well as the s. The battleships that von Tirpitz had failed to secure in the First Amendment to the Naval Law of 1906 were now approved by the Reichstag. The Naval Law also increased the naval budget by an additional 1 billion marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. After the four s had been replaced by the four Nassaus, three of the Siegfried-class ships—, , —and the unique coastal defense ship were the next slated to be replaced. The Helgoland-class ships—SMS Helgoland, SMS Ostfriesland, SMS Thüringen, and SMS Oldenburg—were ordered under the provisional names Ersatz
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
Siegfried, Ersatz Oldenburg, Ersatz Beowulf, and Ersatz Frithjof, respectively.All German ships were ordered under provisional names; new additions to the fleet were given a letter, while ships that were intended to replace older vessels were ordered as "Ersatz
Ersatz
Ersatz means 'substituting for, and typically inferior in quality to', e.g. 'chicory is ersatz coffee'. It is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement...
(ship name)." An excellent example of this practice is the s: the lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
was considered a new addition to the fleet, and was ordered as "K", while her sisters and were ordered as Ersatz Kaiserin Augusta and Ersatz Hertha, as replacements for two older ships. See: Gröner, p. 56
General characteristics
The Helgoland-class ships were longer than their predecessors, at 167.2 m (548.6 ft) overall. The ships had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 28.5 m (93.5 ft) and at full load a draft of 8.94 m (29.3 ft). The ships were significantly heavier than the Nassau-class; the Helgoland-class ships displaced 22808 metric tons (22,447.7 LT) at a standard load, and 24700 metric tons (24,309.8 LT) at full load, nearly 4000 metric tons (3,936.8 LT) more than the earlier ships.The Nassau-class battleships displaced 18,570 tons at the designed weight, and 21,000 tons at a full load. See: Gröner, p. 23 The ships had 17 watertight compartments and a double bottom for 86% of the length of the hull.
The class had greatly improved handling characteristics over the preceding Nassau-class. The Helgolands were much better sea boats and did not suffer from the severe rolling that the Nassaus did. The ships were responsive to the helm, and had a tight turning radius, and lost only minimal speed during swells. The ships lost up to 54% of their speed at hard rudder, and would heel up to 7°. For comparison, the earlier Nassaus lost up to 70% speed and held a 12° heel with the rudder hard over.
Propulsion
The Helgoland-class ships retained older triple-expansion steam engines rather than the new steam turbines in use in the British Royal Navy. This decision was based solely on cost: at the time, ParsonsParsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
held a monopoly on steam turbines and required a 1 million gold mark royalty fee for every turbine engine. The triple-expansion engines were three-shaft, four-cylinder engines arranged in three engine rooms. Each shaft drove a four-bladed screw propeller that was 5.1 m (16.7 ft) in diameter. The engines were powered by 15 marine-type boilers with two fireboxes apiece for a total of 30. The engines were rated at 28000 ihp with a top speed of 20.5 knots. On trials, the powerplant produced up to 35500 ihp, and a top speed of 21.3 knots. The ships carried 3200 metric tons (3,149.5 LT) of coal, and were later modified to carry an additional 197 metric tons (193.9 LT) of oil that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate.Because of the wartime situation, Germany had limited access to high quality coal, but was able to acquire lower-grade coal for its ships. The higher quality coal was generally reserved for the smaller craft, whose crews were less able to clean the boilers at the increased rate demanded by the low-quality coal. As a result, German capital ships were often supplied with poor coal, in the knowledge that their larger crews were better able to perform the increased maintenance. After 1915, the practice of spraying oil onto the low-quality coal was introduced, in order to increase the burn rate. See: Philbin, p. 56 At full fuel capacity, the ships could steam for 5500 nautical miles (10,186 km) at a speed of 10 knots (19.6 km/h). The ships' electrical power was provided by eight turbo-generators that produced 2,000 kW (225 V).
Armament
30.5 cm SK L/50 gun
The 30.5 cm SK L/50 gunIn Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/50 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/50 gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as it is in diameter. was a heavy gun mounted on 16 of...
In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/50 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/50 gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as it is in diameter. guns were emplaced in long-trunk Drh LC/1908 mountings, an improved version of the previous LC/1907 and LC/1906 mounts used in the Nassau-class. The guns were arranged in pairs in six twin gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s, with one turret each fore and aft, and two on each flank of the ship. The guns could initially be depressed to −8° and elevated to 13.5°, although the turrets were later modified to allow −5.5° depression and 16° of elevation. The guns fired 405 kilograms (892.9 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 855 m/s (2,805.1 ft/s); at 13.5°, this provided a maximum range of 18700 m (20,450.6 yd), and with the upgraded 16° elevation, the range was extended to 20500 m (22,419.1 yd). The guns had a total of 1,020 rounds for 85 shells per gun.
The ships' secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, which were mounted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s. The guns fired 45.3 kilograms (99.9 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,755.9 ft/s). The guns could be elevated to 19°, which provided a maximum range of 14950 metres (16,349.5 yd). The ships also carried sixteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, also in casemates. These guns fired a 10 kilograms (22 lb) projectile at 650 m/s (2,132.5 ft/s), and could be trained up to 25° for a maximum range of 9600 m (10,498.7 yd). After 1914, two 8.8 cm guns were removed and replaced by two 8.8 cm Flak guns, and between 1916 and 1917, the remaining twelve 8.8 cm casemated guns were removed. These anti-aircraft guns fired a slightly lighter 9.6 kilograms (21.2 lb) shell at 770 m/s (2,526.2 ft/s). They could be elevated to 45° and could hit targets 11800 metre away. The Helgoland-class ships were further armed with six 50 cm (19.7 in) submerged torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s. One tube was mounted in the bow, another in the stern, and two on each broadside, on either ends of the torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
.
Armor
The Helgoland-class ships were equipped with Krupp cemented armor, in almost the same layout as in the preceding Nassau-class ships. The only major differences were slight increases in the armor protection for the main and secondary batteries, and a much thicker roof for the forward conning towerConning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
. The ships had an armored belt that was 30 cm (11.8 in) thick at its strongest points, where it protected the ship's vitals, and as thin as 8 cm (3.1 in) in less critical areas, such as the bow and stern. Behind the main belt was a torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
3 cm (1.2 in) thick. The ships' decks were armored, between 5.5 and 8 cm (2.2 and 3.1 in) thick. The forward conning tower on each vessel had a roof that was 20 cm (7.9 in) thick, and sides 40 cm (15.7 in) thick. The aft conning tower was not as heavily armored, with only a 5 cm (2 in) thick roof and 20 cm (7.9 in) sides. The main battery turrets had roofs that were 10 cm (3.9 in) thick, and 30 cm sides. The casemated secondary battery had 17 cm (6.7 in) worth of armor protection, and 8 cm thick gun shields. The Helgolands were also fitted with anti-torpedo nets, but these were removed after 1916.
Construction
Howaldtswerke
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. In 2009 it was the largest shipyard in Germany and has more than 2,400 employees. It has been part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems owned by ThyssenKrupp, since 2005...
, Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. She was laid down on 24 December 1908, launched 25 August 1909, and commissioned nearly two years later on 23 August 1911.
SMS Ostfriesland was built at Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover. It was founded in 1853, first as Königliche Werft Wilhelmshaven but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
. She was laid down 19 October 1908, launched five days after her sister Helgoland, on 30 August 1909, and commissioned 1 August 1911. SMS Thüringen was built by AG Weser
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
. She was laid down on 7 November 1908, launched on 27 November 1909, and commissioned on 10 September 1911. SMS Oldenburg, the final vessel, was built by Schichau
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
in Danzig; she was laid down 1 March 1909, launched 30 June 1910, and commissioned on 1 May 1912.
History
The Helgoland-class ships operated as a unit in the High Seas FleetHigh Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
; they served as the I Division of the I Battle Squadron. The ships of the class participated in several fleet operations in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, including the sortie on 31 May 1916 that resulted in the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
. The ships also saw limited service in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, primarily during the abortive Battle of the Gulf of Riga
Battle of the Gulf of Riga
The Battle of the Gulf of Riga was a World War I naval operation of the German High Seas Fleet against the Russian Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea in August 1915...
in August 1915.
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
I Scouting Group
The I Scouting Group was a special reconnaissance unit within the German Kaiserliche Marine. The unit was famously commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper during World War I. The I Scouting Group was one of the most active formations in the High Seas Fleet during the war; the unit took part in every...
. The Helgoland-class ships, along with the Nassau
Nassau class battleship
The Nassau class were a group of four German dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Navy. They were the German response to the introduction of the "all big gun" British . The class was composed of , , , and . All four ships were laid down in mid-1907, and completed between May and September...
, Kaiser, and König
König class battleship
The König class was a group of four battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of , , , and . The most powerful warships of the German High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a unit throughout World War...
classes steamed in distant support of Franz von Hipper
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...
's battlecruisers. Friedrich von Ingenohl
Friedrich von Ingenohl
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Friedrich von Ingenohl was a German admiral from Neuwied best known for his command of the German High Seas Fleet at the beginning of World War I....
, the commander of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
, decided to take up station approximately in the center of the North Sea, about 130 miles east of Scarborough.
The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, which had recently received the German code books captured from the beached cruiser , was aware that an operation was taking place, but was not sure where the Germans would strike. Therefore, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
ordered David Beatty's
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
1st Battlecruiser Squadron, the six battleships of the 2nd Battle Squadron, and several cruisers and destroyers to intercept the German battlecruisers. However, Beatty's task force nearly ran headlong into the entire High Seas Fleet. At 6:20, Beatty's destroyer screen came into contact with the German torpedo boat V155. This began a confused, 2-hour long battle between the British destroyers and the German cruiser and destroyer screen, often at very close range. At the time of the first encounter, the Helgoland-class battleships were less than 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) away from the six British dreadnoughts; this was well within firing range, but in the darkness, neither British nor German admirals were aware of the composition of their opponents' fleets. Admiral Ingenohl, loathe to disobey the Kaiser's order to not risk the battlefleet without his express approval, concluded that his forces were engaging the screen of the entire Grand Fleet, and so, 10 minutes after the first contact, he ordered a turn to port to a southeast course. Continued attacks delayed the turn, but by 6:42, it had been carried out. For about 40 minutes, the two fleets were steaming on a parallel course. At 7:20, Ingenohl ordered a further turn to port, which put his ships on a course for German waters.
Many in the German navy were furious over Ingenohl's timidity, and his reputation suffered greatly. Großadmiral Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871...
remarked that "On 16 December, Ingenohl had the fate of Germany in the palm of his hand. I boil with inward emotion whenever I think of it." The captain of the battlecruiser was even more scathing; he stated that Ingenohl had turned away "because he was afraid of eleven British destroyers which could have been easily eliminated ... Under the present leadership we will accomplish nothing."
The Helgoland-class ships also sortied from port to support the German battlecruisers during the Battle of Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....
, but did not actively engage British forces.
Battle of the Gulf of Riga
On 3 August 1915, several heavy units of the High Seas Fleet were transferred to the Baltic to participate in a planned foray into the Riga GulfGulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
. The intention was to destroy the Russian naval forces in the area, including the pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
Slava
Russian battleship Slava
Slava was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, the last of the five s. Commissioned too late to participate in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, she survived while all of her sister ships were either sunk during the battle or surrendered to the Imperial...
, and to use the minelayer to block the entrance to Moon Sound with naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s. The German forces, under the command of Vice Admiral Hipper, included the four Nassau-class
Nassau class battleship
The Nassau class were a group of four German dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Navy. They were the German response to the introduction of the "all big gun" British . The class was composed of , , , and . All four ships were laid down in mid-1907, and completed between May and September...
and four Helgoland-class battleships, the battlecruisers , , and , and a number of smaller craft. The four Helgolands were not committed to the actual battle, however. For the duration of the operation, the ships were stationed outside the gulf in order to prevent Russian reinforcements from disrupting the laying of minefields.
The Russians' own minefields were larger than had been expected, and so clearing them took longer than the Germans had planned. This delay was compounded by stiff resistance from the Russian navy; Deutschland was ultimately unable to lay her mines. Reports of Allied submarine activity in the area prompted the withdrawal of the German naval force on the morning of 20 August. Indeed, the battlecruiser Moltke had been torpedoed by the British submarine the day before, though only minor damage was sustained.
Battle of Jutland
The ships took part in the inconclusive Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. For the majority of the battle, the I Battle Squadron formed the center of the line of battleLine of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
, behind Rear Admiral Behncke's III Battle Squadron, and followed by Rear Admiral Mauve's elderly pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
s of the II Battle Squadron. Ostfriesland served as the division flagship, under the command of Vice Admiral E. Schmidt.
The Helgoland-class ships first entered direct combat at 19:20 on the first day of the battle. Ostfriesland, Helgoland, and Thüringen began firing on , which, along with the other s of the 5th Battle squadron, had been pursuing the German battlecruiser force. With the exception of Ostfriesland, the firing only lasted for four minutes, because the German line had been in the process of turning to the east-northeast, and the ships quickly lost sight of the British battleships. Thüringen and Helgoland only fired around 20 main battery shells before they lost sight of their target. Ostfriesland, however, was able to keep visual contact until 19:45, at which point she, too, ceased firing. At 20:15, during the third Gefechtskehrtwendung,This translates roughly as the "battle about-turn", and was a simultaneous 16-point turn of the entire High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. It had never been conducted under enemy fire before the Battle of Jutland. See: Tarrant, pp. 153–154 Helgoland was struck by a 15 in (38.1 cm) shell in the forward part of the ship. The shell tore a 20 feet (6.1 m) hole in the hull and rained splinters on the foremost port side 5.9 in gun; approximately 80 tons of water entered the ship.
At around midnight on 1 June, the Helgoland- and Nassau-class ships in the center of the German line came into contact with the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla. A chaotic night battle ensued, during which rammed the British destroyer . The 4th Flotilla broke off the action temporarily to regroup, but at around 01:00, unwittingly stumbled into the German dreadnoughts a second time. Oldenburg and Helgoland opened fire on the two leading British destroyers, but a British shell destroyed Oldenburgs forward search light. Shell fragments rained down on the bridge and wounded the ship's captain, Kapitän Hopfner, and killed his second in command, Kapitänleutnant Rabius, along with a number of other men on the bridge, including the helmsman. Oldenburg was temporarily without anyone to steer the ship; she was in danger of ramming either the ship to her rear or to her front. Kapitän Hopfner, despite his injuries, took the helm and brought the ship back into line.
Shortly after 01:00, Thüringen and Nassau encountered the British armored cruiser . Thüringen opened fire first and pummeled Black Prince with a total of 27 heavy-caliber shells and 24 rounds from her secondary battery. Nassau and Ostfriesland joined in, followed by .
By this time, the 4th Destroyer Flotilla had been largely destroyed as a fighting unit. The few remaining, heavily damaged ships had been scattered and would take no further part in the battle.
Following the return to German waters, Helgoland and Thüringen, along with the s Nassau, , and , took up defensive positions in the Jade
Jadebusen
The Jade Bight, is a bay on the North Sea coast of Germany. It was formerly known simply as Jade or Jahde.About 180 km² in area, the Jade was largely created by storm floods during the 12th and 16th centuries. During this period it was connected in the East to the river Weser...
roadstead
Roadstead
A roadstead is a place outside a harbor where a ship can lie at anchor. It is an enclosed area with an opening to the sea, narrower than a bay or gulf. It has a surface that cannot be confused with an estuary. It can be created artificially by jetties or dikes...
for the night. During the battle, the ships suffered only minor damage. Helgoland was hit by a single 15 in 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
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
.
Post-war
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. All four ships were stricken from the German navy on 5 November 1919. Helgoland was taken by the British and was scrapped in 1921 in Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...
. Her bow ornament was retained and was eventually returned to Germany; it is now on display in the Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
army museum. Oldenburg was surrendered to the Japanese, but they did not take possession of the ship. Instead, they sold the vessel to a British salvage firm that scrapped it in Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
in 1921. Thüringen was taken by France; the ship was nearly scuttled by her crew while en route to Cherbourg in 1920. She was used as a target until she was beached in 1923 at Gavres
Gâvres
Gâvres is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-External links:* * -References:* *...
. She was broken up in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase which translated literally as 'In position'. It is used in many different contexts.-Aerospace:In the aerospace industry, equipment on board aircraft must be tested in situ, or in place, to confirm everything functions properly as a system. Individually, each piece may...
, but a large portion of the hull remains off shore.
Ostfriesland was ceded to the US Navy, and was later used as a stationary target during a demonstration of air power, conducted by General Billy Mitchell on 21 July 1921 off Cape Henry
Cape Henry
Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia north of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles...
in Virginia. The ship sank at 12:40 after sustaining several bomb hits and near misses. However, she likely would have avoided these had she been underway, and if she had been hit, damage control teams would have kept the ship afloat.