SMS Ostfriesland

The SMS Ostfriesland was a German dreadnought battleship in service with the Kaiserliche Marine from 1911 to 1919. She belonged to the Helgoland class, which comprised four battleships; SMS Helgoland, Ostfriesland, Thuringen, and Oldenburg. Although these vessels were based on the Nassau class, with exactly the same layout, they were longer, had bigger-caliber guns (twelve 12-inch) and had improved triple-expansion engines. They all saw combat action during World War I.

The SMS Ostfriesland was laid down on October 19, 1908, in the shipyards of Wilhelmshaven and built by Kaiserliche Werft. She was launched on September 30, 1909, and commissioned on August 1, 1912. She would be assigned to the 1st Division of the Battle Squadron 1 of the German High Sees Fleet, participating in a number of naval engagements during World War I. Together with the rest of warships of Battle Squadron 1, Ostfriesland took part in the raid on Scarborough and Hartlepool.

She and her sister ships also participated in the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. Although she came out unscathed, Helgoland and Oldenburg were damaged. In 1917, SMS Ostfriesland was given the mission of patrolling the German Bight. Later, she and her sister ships participated in Operation Albion, which was the landing and capturing the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga. After the war, in 1919, she was decommissioned, disarmed and handed over to one of the victor nations; the United States, where she would be sunk while being used as a target during naval drills.

Specifications

Type: dreadnought battleship

Displacement: 22,800 tons (empty)

Length: 166.40 m (546 feet)

Beam: 28.5 m (93.5 feet)

Draft: 8.4 m (27.5 feet)

Propulsion: three vertical, 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, with three shafts, fed by 15 boilers, generating 28,000 HP. Exhaust: three funnels.

Maximum Speed: 20 knots

Range: 9,400 nautical miles at 10 knots

Armament: twelve 305-mm (12-inch) guns, set up in twin turrets; fourteen 150-mm (5.9-inch) guns.

Armor: 300-mm-thick on belt; 77-mm on deck; 305-mm on barbettes.

Compliment: 1,390 sailors and officers.

Below, the SMS Ostfriesland in 1917.

In this aerial view of the German battleship after the war, in 1920, you can see the layout of the 12-inch gun turrets