Part of the Helgoland-class wit as sister ships the Helgoland, Thüringen and Ost-Friesland. She was laid down on 1 March 1909 at the yard Schichau-Werke at Danzig, launched on 30 June a year later, brought to Kiel to be completed, commissioned on 1 May 1912, stricken and decommissioned on 5 November 1919, as the ‘M’ she was on 13 May 1920 handed over to Japan which country was not interested and sold her a month later to a British ship-breaking firm and finally she was be broken up at Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1921.(1)
With a displacement of 22,808 metric tons/22,448 long tons (design)-24,700 tons/24,300 long tons (full load) were her dimensions 167,20 x 28,50 x 8,94 metres or 551.76’x 94.05’x 29.50’. The 3-4 cylinder vertical triple expansion engines and the 15 boilers supplied 22,000 shp allowing a speed of 20,8 knots and with a speed of 10 knots a range of 5,500 nautical miles. Her crew numbered 1,069 men. The armament consisted of 6x2-30,5 cm (12”) guns, 14-15cm (5.9”) guns, 14-8,8cm (3.5”) guns and 6-50cm (19.7”) submerged torpedo tubes. The armour consisted of a 30cm (12”) thick belt, a 6.35cm (2.5”) thick deck while the gun turrets were protected by 30cm (12”).
Note
1. The Dutch newspaper Nieuwsblad van het Noorden dated 21 October 1920 reported her final voyage. She was the largest of the former warships bought by Dutch break up yards and was by the German cabinet handed over to Japan. She was at that moment lying in the Firth of Forth near Burtnisland. While the Japanese cabinet worried about the costs of the transport to Japan and the costs of keeping her in service was she sold to a British firm. The firm sold her to the N.V. Frank Rijsdijk’s Scheepsslooperij at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. The two Dutch tugs Roode Zee and Zwarte Zee departed 3 weeks ago to the Firth of Forth with a runner up crew on board for the Oldenburg. On Friday 17 September 19.00 o’clock departed the transport from Burtnisland. With relatively calm weather during the voyage and a medium speed of 4,5 miles was on Tuesday 21 September the Nieuwe Waterweg reached but the large draught of the Oldenburg caused to wait for the high tide. Added to some smaller tugs was she towed up the Nieuwe Waterweg and anchored alongside the Vondelingenplaat off Vlaardingen.
