A Helgoland class battleship was one of four German dreadnoughts used by the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. These battleships succeeded the Nassau class and they all took part in the Battle of Jutland. This new series of dreadnoughts comprised SMS Ostfriesland, Thuringen, Helgoland, and Oldenburg, which were in service between 1912 and 1919.
The Helgoland class were the first battleships in the Imperial German Navy to be equipped with the 305-mm (12-inch/50 cal.) naval guns, which had the same performance and effects as the British 13.5-in guns of the Orion and Iron Duke class. Developed from the Nassau series of dreadnoughts, they had basically the same layout. The difference lied in their armament and their hull length, with the Helgoland's being longer and having three exhaust funnels instead of the two in the Nassau class. These all four battleships still relied on the three triple-expansion steam engines of their preceding class.
All four Helgoland class battleships served with Battle Squadron 1 of the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine and they all saw combat action at the Battle of Jutland on May 31/June 1, 1916. SMS Oldenburg and Helgoland were damaged during this naval engagement. However, they were subsequently repaired in the shipyards at Kiel. Also, all four were stricken on November 5, 1919, after the war, and they were handed over to the Allies. Helgoland, Thuringen, and Oldenburg were given up to Great Britain, France, and Japan respectively and were scrapped. SMS Ostfriesland, on the other hand, was relinquished to the United States of America, where she would eventually be used as a target and sunk in 1921.
Specifications
Type: dreadnought
Length:166.4 m
Beam: 28.5 m
Draft: 8.4 m
Displacement: 22,800 tons (empty)
Propulsion/Machinery: 3 triple-expansion steam engines, with three screw propellers, fed by 15 boilers, producing 28,000 HP.
Maximum Speed: 20 knots.
Range: 9,400 nautical miles at 10 knots.
Armor: 300-mm on belt; 65-mm on deck, 305-mm on barbettes.
Armament: twelve 305mm (12-inch) guns; fourteen 150mm (5.9-inch) guns.
Compliment: 1,390 sailors and officers
Below, SMS Helgoland, the lead ship of her class, in 1914, as part of Battle Squadron 1.
SMS Ostfriesland in 1918, before it was handed over to the US Navy.
Below, SMS Thuringen before the war.
