SMS Helgoland

History

On the eve of World War I (1914-1918), Germany and Great Britain engaged in an arms race to gain as much advantage as possible. A major portion of the acquisitions by both parties are related to warships, many of which have entered service and are designed to provide the minimal advantage needed for future naval warfare. The product of the German Imperial Navy during this period became the Helgoland class, a group of four-man surface fighters (officially classified as "Dreadnought" battleships) built from 1908 to 1912 and in service from 1911 to 1920.

All four ships participated in World War I, and surprisingly, all four survived in 1918. The ships of this class are SMS Helgoland itself and sister ships SMS Ostfriesland, SMS Thuringen and SMS Oldenburg.

SMS Helgoland was built by specialists at the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel and is named after a small group of islands in the North Sea - "Helgoland" off the northwest coast of Germany. The ship was launched on November 11, 1908, and on September 25 of the following year.

The warship was commissioned on August 23, 1911, and was in service during the First World War, which began in August 1914.

At the time of its service, the Helgoland class was the first ship of the Imperial German Navy to have a 12" (30.4 cm / 304 mm) gun as its main armament, and the last of the "three-cabin" group. Following the model of the Nassau class, built in 1907-1910 and in service in 1909-1919. Four of the dreadnought battleships were also completed.

Overall, the Helgoland-class was a slight improvement over the previous Nassau-class ships11 incheswith cannons running on main batteries.

Complete armament includes 12 x 30.5 cm main gun, 14 x 15 cm secondary gun and 14 x 8.8 cm three guns. 6 x 50 cm torpedo tubes are also installed. Remarkable in relation to the main battery is the hexagonal arrangement of six turrets surrounding the hull superstructure. There are two towers on each side of the ship, another at the bow and the rest at the stern.

Each features a dual-gun arrangement, giving the ship considerable flexibility to engage targets at any angle.

Power comes from 15 boiler units powering a vertical 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine producing 27,617 hp and driving 3 shafts aft. Top speed under ideal conditions would be nearly 21 knots (20.8 knots), with a range of 5,500 nautical miles (6,330 mi) treading water at 10 knots.

There are 42 officers and 1,027 seafarers/enlisted personnel on board. Armor protection reached 12 inches on the belt, another 12 inches on the main turret, and 2.5 inches on the deck. The well-equipped Heligoland became the main adversary on the high seas.

SMS Helgoland was part of Germany's vaunted "High Seas Fleet", which went head-to-head with the power of the British "Grand Fleet". Heligoland began service patrolling the North Sea and at times responding to Russian threats in the Baltic.

It supported operations in the August 1915 naval battle of the Gulf of Riga - an Allied victory - which took place from 8 to 20 August.

The great battle involving Heligoland became known as the Battle of Jutland - the great battle of the German and British fleets in an indecisive battle in which victory was declared on both sides. The fighting took place between May 31 and June 1, 1916, and the British lost more ships to the enemy, although the German fleet was now more or less in control for the remainder of the war.

Heligoland was damaged in action, but survived another day of fighting.

Like other ships in the German fleet, the SMS Helgoland was destined for a final suicide attack on the British Navy to ensure better conditions for Germany when it surrendered in 1918. However, due to rebellion and sabotage within the army, the attack never happened - the armistice ended in November 1918, ending the threat posed by the German Imperial Navy in the region.

Helgoland and her three sisters were stripped of her martial arts and given to the British as prizes. She was discharged from active duty on December 16, 1918, and her name was removed from the Naval Register on November 5, 1919.

The British took official ownership of the ship on August 5, 1920, and the hull was scrapped in 1921 - by 1924 she had completely disappeared.

Specification

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Performance

Armor

Wing