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SMS Ostfriesland

August 23, 2023

SMS Ostfriesland[a] was the second vessel of the Helgoland class of dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy. Named for the region of East Frisia, Ostfriesland's keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven. She was launched on 30 September 1909 and was commissioned into the fleet on 1 August 1911. The ship was equipped with twelve 30.5 cm (12 in) guns in six twin turrets, and had a top speed of 21.2 knots (39.3 km/h; 24.4 mph). Ostfriesland was assigned to the I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career, including World War I.

SMS Ostfriesland
History
German Empire
NameSMS Ostfriesland
NamesakeEast Frisia
BuilderKaiserliche Werft, Wilhelmshaven
Laid down19 October 1908
Launched30 September 1909
Commissioned1 August 1911
Decommissioned16 December 1918
In service22 September 1911
Stricken5 November 1919
FateCeded to United States, 1920
United States
NameUSS Ostfriesland
Acquired7 April 1920
Commissioned7 April 1920
Decommissioned20 September 1920
FateSunk as a target by aircraft, 21 July 1921
General characteristics
Class and typeHelgoland-class battleship
Displacement
Length167.20 m (548 ft 7 in)
Beam28.50 m (93 ft 6 in)
Draft8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed21.2 knots (39.3 km/h; 24.4 mph)
Range5,500 nautical miles (10,190 km; 6,330 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 42 officers
  • 1027 enlisted
Armament
Armor

Along with her three sister ships, Helgoland, Thüringen, and Oldenburg, Ostfriesland participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I in the North Sea against the British Grand Fleet. This included the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, the largest naval battle of the war. The ship also saw action in the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy. She was present during the unsuccessful first incursion into the Gulf of Riga in August 1915.

After the German collapse in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow during the peace negotiations. The four Helgoland-class ships were allowed to remain in Germany, however, and were therefore spared the destruction of the fleet in Scapa Flow. Ostfriesland and her sisters were eventually ceded to the victorious Allied powers as war reparations; Ostfriesland was transferred to the United States Navy. She was sunk during air power trials off the Virginia Capes in July 1921.

Design

Main article: Helgoland-class battleship
 
Plan and profile drawing of the Helgoland class

The ship was 167.2 m (548 ft 7 in) long, had a beam of 28.5 m (93 ft 6 in) and a draft of 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in), and displaced 24,700 metric tons (24,310 long tons) at full load. She was powered by three 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines with 15 boilers; each engine drove a four-bladed screw. The ship's engines were rated at 28,000 PS (28,000 ihp; 21,000 kW) and produced a top speed of 21.2 knots (39.3 km/h; 24.4 mph). Ostfriesland stored up to 3,200 metric tons (3,100 long tons) of coal, which allowed her to steam for 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). After 1915 the boilers were modified to spray oil on the coal; the ship could carry up to 197 metric tons (194 long tons) of fuel oil.[1] She had a crew of 42 officers and 1,071 enlisted men.[2]

Ostfriesland was armed with a main battery of twelve 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50[b] guns in six twin gun turrets, with one turret fore, one aft, and two on each flank of the ship.[4] The ship's secondary battery consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, all of which were mounted in casemates in the side of the upper deck. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns.[1] After 1914, two of the 8.8 cm guns were removed and replaced by 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns. Ostfriesland was also armed with six 50 cm (19.7 in) submerged torpedo tubes; one was in the bow, one in the stern, and two on each broadside.[2]

Her main armored belt was 300 mm (11.8 in) thick in the central citadel, and was composed of Krupp cemented armor (KCA). Her main battery gun turrets were protected by the same thickness of KCA on the sides and faces, as well as the barbettes that supported the turrets. Ostfriesland's deck was 63.5 mm (2.5 in) thick.[1]

Service history

Ostfriesland was ordered by the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) under the provisional name Ersatz Oldenburg, as a replacement for the old coastal defense ship Oldenburg. The contract for the ship was awarded to the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Dockyard) in Wilhelmshaven under construction number 31.[1][c] Work began on 19 October 1908 with the laying of her keel, and the ship was launched less than a year later, on 30 September 1909.[6] She was christened by the Princess of Innhausen and Knyphausen, a representative of the oldest East Frisian nobility.[7] Fitting-out, including completion of the superstructure and the installation of armament, lasted until August 1911. Ostfriesland, named for the north-western coastal area of Germany, was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 1 August 1911, just under three years from when work commenced.[2]

After commissioning, Ostfriesland conducted sea trials, which were completed by 15 September.[8] Kapitän zur See (KzS) Walter Engelhardt served as the ship's first commanding officer.[7] On the 22nd, the ship was formally assigned to I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. She then conducted individual ship training exercises, which were followed by I Squadron, and then fleet maneuvers in November. Ostfriesland became the new squadron flagship on 24 April 1912, replacing Westfalen.[8] The annual summer cruise in July–August, which typically went to Norway, was interrupted by the Agadir Crisis. As a result, the cruise only went into the Baltic.[9] Ostfriesland and the rest of the fleet then fell into a pattern of individual ship, squadron, and full fleet exercises over the next two years of peacetime.[8] Ostfriesland won the 1912/1913 Kaiserschiesspreis—the Kaiser's artillery shooting prize—for I Squadron. Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Beesel was the ship's gunnery officer at the time and, as such, was responsible for the accuracy of the ship's shooting.[10]

On 14 July 1914, the annual summer cruise to Norway began.[11] During the last peacetime cruise of the Imperial Navy, the fleet conducted drills off Skagen before proceeding to the Norwegian fjords on 25 July. The following day the fleet began to steam back to Germany, as a result of Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia. On the 27th, the entire fleet assembled off Cape Skadenes before returning to port, where it remained at a heightened state of readiness.[12] War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia broke out on the 28th, and in the span of a week all of the major European powers had joined the conflict.[13] By 29 July Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron was back in Wilhelmshaven.[14]

World War I

The first major naval action in the North Sea, the Battle of Helgoland Bight, took place on 28 August 1914.[15] At 04:30, Helgoland, which was stationed off the heavily fortified island of Wangerooge,[15] received the order to join Ostfriesland and sail out of the harbor. At 05:00, the two battleships met the battered cruisers Frauenlob and Stettin.[16] By 07:30, the ships had returned to port for the night.[17] On the afternoon of 7 September, Ostfriesland and the rest of the High Seas Fleet conducted a training cruise to the island of Heligoland.[18] In October, Ostfriesland was equipped with a pair of 8.8 cm flak guns for anti-air defense.[8]

 
A British recognition drawing of a Helgoland-class battleship

Ostfriesland was present during the first sortie by the German fleet into the North Sea, which took place on 2–3 November 1914. No British forces were encountered during the operation. A second operation followed on 15–16 December.[8] This sortie was the initiation of a strategy adopted by Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, the commander of the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Ingenohl intended to use the battlecruisers of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group to raid British coastal towns to lure out portions of the Grand Fleet where they could be destroyed by the High Seas Fleet.[19] Early on 15 December the fleet left port to raid the towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. That evening, the German battle fleet of some twelve dreadnoughts—including Ostfriesland and her three sisters—and eight pre-dreadnoughts came to within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of an isolated squadron of six British battleships. However, skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced Ingenohl that he was faced with the entire Grand Fleet. Under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily, Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battle fleet back toward Germany.[20]

The Battle of Dogger Bank, in which Vice Admiral David Beatty's 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons ambushed the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group, occurred on 24 January 1915.[21] Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron sortied to reinforce the outnumbered German battlecruisers; I Squadron left port at 12:33 CET,[d] along with the pre-dreadnoughts of II Squadron. They were too late, however, and failed to locate any British forces. By 19:05, the fleet had returned to the Schillig Roads outside Wilhelmshaven.[8] In the meantime, the armored cruiser Blücher had been overwhelmed by concentrated British fire and sunk, while the battlecruiser Seydlitz was severely damaged by a fire in one of the ammunition magazines. As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II removed Ingenohl from his post and replaced him with Admiral Hugo von Pohl on 2 February.[22]

 
Ostfriesland in 1915 with a zeppelin overhead

The eight I Squadron ships went into the Baltic on 22 February 1915 for unit training, which lasted until 13 March. Following their return to the North Sea, the ships participated in a series of uneventful fleet sorties on 29–30 March, 17–18 April, 21–22 April, 17–18 May, and 29–30 May. Ostfriesland and the rest of the fleet remained in port until 4 August, when I Squadron returned to the Baltic for another round of training maneuvers.[8] That month, KzS Ernst-Oldwig von Natzmer replaced Engelhardt as the ship's commanding officer.[7] From the Baltic, the squadron was attached to the naval force that attempted to sweep the Gulf of Riga of Russian naval forces in August 1915.[8] The assault force included the eight I Squadron battleships, the battlecruisers Von der Tann, Moltke, and Seydlitz, several light cruisers, 32 destroyers and 13 minesweepers. The plan called for channels in Russian minefields to be swept so that the Russian naval presence, which included the pre-dreadnought battleship Slava, could be eliminated. The Germans would then lay minefields of their own to prevent Russian ships from returning to the Gulf.[23] Ostfriesland and the majority of the other big ships of the High Seas Fleet remained outside the Gulf for the entirety of the operation. The dreadnoughts Nassau and Posen were detached on 16 August to escort the minesweepers and to destroy Slava, though they failed to sink the old battleship. After three days, the Russian minefields had been cleared, and the flotilla entered the Gulf on 19 August, but reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted a German withdrawal from the Gulf the following day.[24] By 26 August, I Squadron had returned to Wilhelmshaven.[8]

On 23–24 October, the High Seas Fleet undertook its last major offensive operation under the command of Admiral Pohl, though it ended without contact with British forces.[8] By January 1916 hepatic cancer had weakened Pohl to the point where he was no longer able to carry out his duties, and he was replaced by Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Reinhard Scheer in January.[25] Scheer proposed a more aggressive policy designed to force a confrontation with the British Grand Fleet; he received approval from the Kaiser in February.[26] Scheer's first operation was a sweep into the North Sea on 5–7 March, followed by two more on 21–22 March and 25–26 March.[8] During Scheer's next operation, Ostfriesland supported a raid on the English coast on 24 April 1916 conducted by the German battlecruiser force. The battlecruisers left the Jade Estuary at 10:55 and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw.[27] The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed but, during the approach to Yarmouth, encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force. A short gun duel ensued before the Harwich Force withdrew. Reports of British submarines in the area prompted I Scouting Group to retreat. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow, also withdrew to safer German waters.[28]

Battle of Jutland

Main article: Battle of Jutland
 
Maps showing the maneuvers of the British (blue) and German (red) fleets on 31 May – 1 June 1916

Ostfriesland was present during the fleet operation that resulted in the battle of Jutland, which took place on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The German fleet again sought to draw out and isolate a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it before the main British fleet could retaliate. During the operation, Ostfriesland was the lead ship in I Squadron's I Division and the ninth ship in the line, directly astern of the fleet flagship Friedrich der Grosse and ahead of her sister Thüringen. I Squadron was the center of the German line, behind the eight König- and Kaiser-class battleships of III Squadron. The six elderly pre-dreadnoughts of III and IV Divisions—II Battle Squadron—formed the rear of the formation. Ostfriesland flew the flag of Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Erhardt Schmidt, the squadron commander during the battle and Scheer's deputy commander.[29][30]

Shortly before 16:00, the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of David Beatty. The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of Indefatigable, shortly after 17:00,[31] and Queen Mary, less than half an hour later.[32] By this time, the German battlecruisers were steaming south to draw the British ships toward the main body of the High Seas Fleet. At 17:30, the crew of the leading German battleship, König, spotted both I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching. The German battlecruisers were steaming to starboard, while the British ships steamed to port. At 17:45, Scheer ordered a two-point turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers and, a minute later, the order to open fire was given.[33][e]

While the leading battleships engaged the British battlecruiser squadron, Ostfriesland and ten other battleships fired on the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron. Ostfriesland, Kaiser, and Nassau engaged the cruiser Southampton, though only Nassau scored a hit.[34] After about 15 minutes, Ostfriesland shifted fire to Birmingham and Nottingham, though again failed to hit her targets.[35] Shortly after 19:15, the British dreadnought Warspite came into range; Ostfriesland opened fire at 19:25 with her main battery guns, at ranges of 10,800 to 15,000 yd (9,900 to 13,700 m). Ostfriesland claimed hits from her third and fourth salvos. Warspite was hit by a total of thirteen heavy shells during this period.[36]

By 20:15, the German battle line had faced the entire deployed Grand Fleet a second time. Scheer ordered a 180-degree turn at 20:17, which was covered by a charge by the battlecruiser squadron and a torpedo-boat attack. In order to hasten the maneuver, Schmidt ordered Ostfriesland to turn immediately without waiting for Thüringen behind him. This move caused some difficulty for the III Squadron ships ahead, though the ships quickly returned to their stations.[37] At around 23:30, the German fleet reorganized into the night cruising formation. Ostfriesland was the eighth ship, stationed toward the front of the 24-ship line.[38] An hour later, the leading units of the German line encountered British light forces and a violent firefight at close range ensued. Sometime around 01:10, the armored cruiser Black Prince stumbled into the German line. Thüringen illuminated the vessel with her spotlights and poured salvos of 30.5 cm rounds into the ship. Ostfriesland fired with her 15 cm guns and Kaiser fired both 30.5 cm and 15 cm guns. In the span of less than a minute, two massive explosions tore the cruiser apart and killed the entire 857-man crew.[39]

Despite the ferocity of the night fighting, the High Seas Fleet punched through the British destroyer forces and reached Horns Reef by 4:00 on 1 June.[40] At 06:20, however, Ostfriesland struck a mine, previously laid by the destroyer HMS Abdiel on 4 May,[41] on her starboard side. The ship hauled out of line, as the explosion was initially thought to have been a torpedo fired by a submarine. Ostfriesland fell behind the fleet and steamed at slow speed, screened by the destroyers V3, V5, and briefly by G11. By 10:40, the battleship had increased speed to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[42] Her anti-submarine escort was eventually reinforced by a floatplane, which spotted what it believed to be a British submarine at 12:20. Ostfriesland turned away, which caused the torpedo bulkhead, damaged slightly by the mine explosion, to tear open. More water entered the ship and caused a 4.75 degree list to starboard, forcing Ostfriesland to reduce speed again. The ship requested assistance from a pumping ship at 14:20, but by 14:45 the flooding was under control and the ship passed the Outer Jade Lightship. She was able to increase speed gradually to 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and at 18:15 she reached port in Wilhelmshaven.[43] The mine tore a hole that measured 40 ft × 16 ft (12.2 m × 4.9 m) and allowed 500 t (490 long tons) of water into the ship. Further flooding occurred after the torpedo bulkhead damage at 12:20, though the full damage report has not survived.[44] Ostfriesland was drydocked in Wilhelmshaven for repairs, which lasted until 26 July.[45] In the course of the battle, Ostfriesland fired 111 rounds from her main battery, 101 shells from her 15 cm guns, and a single 8.8 cm shell.[46] The only damage sustained was the mine that was struck on the morning of 1 June, which killed one man and wounded ten.[47]

Later operations

On 18 August 1916, Scheer attempted a repeat of the 31 May operation. The two serviceable German battlecruisers, Moltke and Von der Tann, supported by three dreadnoughts, were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers.[f] The rest of the fleet, including Ostfriesland, would trail behind and provide cover.[50] On the approach to the English coast during the action of 19 August 1916, Scheer turned north after receiving a false report from a zeppelin about a British unit in the area.[51] As a result, the bombardment was not carried out, and by 14:35, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and so turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.[52]

On 25–26 September, Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron provided support for a sweep out to the Terschelling Bank conducted by the II Führer der Torpedoboote (Leader of Torpedo Boats). Scheer conducted another fleet operation on 18–20 October in the direction of the Dogger Bank. For the majority of 1917, Ostfriesland was assigned to guard duty in the German Bight. During Operation Albion, the amphibious assault on the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga, Ostfriesland and her three sisters were moved to the Danish straits to block any possible British attempt to intervene. On 28 October the four ships arrived in Putzig Wiek, and from there steamed to Arensburg on the 29th. On 2 November the operation was completed and Ostfriesland and her sisters began the voyage back to the North Sea.[8] In March 1918, Natzmer was replaced as the ship's commander by KzS Hans Herr.[7] A final abortive fleet sortie took place on 23–24 April 1918.[8] Ostfriesland, Thüringen, and Nassau were formed into a special unit for Operation Schlußstein, a planned occupation of St. Petersburg. The three ships reached the Baltic on 10 August, but the operation was postponed and eventually canceled.[53] The special unit was dissolved on 21 August and the battleships were back in Wilhelmshaven on the 23rd.[54]

The end of the war

Ostfriesland and her three sisters were to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918, just over 2 weeks before the Armistice was signed. The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from its base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet; Scheer—by now the Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) of the fleet—intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, to improve Germany's bargaining position, despite the expected casualties. But many of the war-weary sailors felt that the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war.[55] On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of the 29th, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships mutinied.[56] The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation.[57] Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy".[58] On 16 December, Ostfriesland was decommissioned and used as a barracks ship.[54]

 
Ostfriesland under United States flag

Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, was interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow. Only the most modern ships were sent for internment; the four Helgoland-class ships were left in Germany.[57] On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to scuttle his ships. In the span of a few hours, ten battleships and five battlecruisers sank in the shallow waters of Scapa Flow.[59] KzS Karl Windmüller served as Ostfriesland's final commander,[7] until she was stricken from the navy list on 5 November 1919. She was then surrendered to the Allies as "H" as a replacement for the ships that had been scuttled. The ship remained in Germany until 7 April 1920, when a German crew took her to Rosyth. She was ceded to the United States as war reparations, commissioned on 7 April at Rosyth as USS Ostfriesland and commanded by Captain J. F. Hellweg.[60] On 9 April an American crew arrived to bring her to the US.[54] Even though she needed repairs, Ostfriesland was able to sail to New York. She was later decommissioned there on 20 September 1920.[60]

US bombing target

In July 1921, the United States Navy and Army Air Service conducted a series of bombing tests off Cape Henry, led by General Billy Mitchell. The targets included demobilized American and former German warships, including the old battleship Iowa, the cruiser Frankfurt, and finally Ostfriesland on 20 July. At 13:30 ET, the first attack wave, armed with 230 lb (100 kg) bombs, struck the stationary ship. Eight of thirty-three bombs found their mark, after which the ship was inspected. The second wave was also armed with 230 lb bombs, and the third and fourth carried 600 lb (270 kg) bombs. Five 600 lb bombs found their mark, but little damage was done to the ship's topside. The bombs that nearly missed the ship, however, had done significant underwater damage to the hull, which allowed some flooding and created a list of five degrees to port and three additional feet of draft at the stern. The bombing schedule was interrupted by a storm in the late afternoon.[61]

Early on the morning of 21 July, the fifth wave of bombers began their attack. At 08:52, the first Army bomber dropped a 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb that hit the ship; four more bombers followed and scored two further hits. Inspectors again went aboard Ostfriesland following the fifth attack and noted that the hits had not seriously damaged the ship, though one had created a large hole on her starboard side that allowed further flooding. By noon, she was down five feet at the stern and one foot at the bow. At 12:19, the next attack wave, equipped with 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs, struck. Six bombs were dropped, none of which hit, though three detonated very close to the hull. At 12:30, Ostfriesland began to sink rapidly by the stern and the list to port increased dramatically. At 12:40, the ship rolled over and sank. The results of the tests were widely publicized and Mitchell became both a national hero and the "infallible prophet of aviation".[61]

The leadership of the US Navy, however, was outraged by Mitchell's handling of the tests; the 2,000 lb bombs had not been sanctioned by the Navy, which had set the rules for the engagement. Mitchell's bombers had also not allowed inspectors aboard the ship between bombing runs as stipulated by the Navy. The joint Army–Navy report on the tests, issued a month later and signed by General John J. Pershing, stated that "the battleship is still the backbone of the fleet."[62] Mitchell wrote his own, contradictory account of the tests, which was then leaked to the press. The sinking of the battleship sparked great controversy in the American public sphere; Mitchell's supporters exaggerated the significance of the tests by falsely claiming Ostfriesland to be an unsinkable "super-battleship" and that "old sea dogs ... wept aloud."[62] Senator William Borah argued that the tests had rendered battleships obsolete. Mitchell was widely supported in the press, though his increasingly combative tactics eventually resulted in a court-martial for insubordination that forced him to retire from the military.[63]

Sinking off the Virginia Capes
  •  

    Ostfriesland, Frankfurt, and other former German ships off the Virginia Capes, July 1921

  •  

    Ostfriesland at anchor prior to the tests

  •  

    A bomb explodes off Ostfriesland's port bow

  •  

    Inspection teams aboard the ship, evaluating damage

  •  

    The ship already settling by the stern, another bomb explodes underwater

  •  

    Ostfriesland sinking by the stern

Notes

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ostfriesland (ship, 1911).

Footnotes

  1. ^ "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" (German: His Majesty's Ship).
  2. ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) 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 its diameter.[3]
  3. ^ German ships were ordered under provisional names; new additions to the fleet were given a letter designation, while those ordered as replacements for older vessels were named "Ersatz (ship name)." Once the ship was finished, the vessel would be commissioned with its intended name. For example, Derfflinger was ordered as a new addition to the fleet, and so was given the provisional designation "K." Hindenburg, was ordered to replace the old cruiser Hertha, and so was named Ersatz Hertha before she was formally commissioned.[5]
  4. ^ The Germans were on Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of UTC, the time zone commonly used in British works.
  5. ^ The compass can be divided into 32 points, each corresponding to 11.25 degrees. A two-point turn to port would alter the ships' course by 22.5 degrees.
  6. ^ Derfflinger and Seydlitz had been seriously damaged at the Battle of Jutland, and Lützow had been sunk.[48][49]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 24.
  2. ^ a b c Gröner, p. 25.
  3. ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
  4. ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 146.
  5. ^ Gröner, p. 56.
  6. ^ Staff (Volume 1), p. 42.
  7. ^ a b c d e Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 200.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Staff (Volume 1), p. 43.
  9. ^ Staff (Volume 1), p. 8.
  10. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 201.
  11. ^ Staff (Volume 1), p. 11.
  12. ^ Staff (Volume 2), p. 14.
  13. ^ Heyman, p. xix.
  14. ^ Staff (Volume 1), pp. 11, 43.
  15. ^ a b Osborne, p. 41.
  16. ^ Stumpf, pp. 40–41.
  17. ^ Stumpf, p. 42.
  18. ^ Stumpf, p. 46.
  19. ^ Herwig, pp. 149–150.
  20. ^ Tarrant, pp. 31–33.
  21. ^ Tarrant, p. 38.
  22. ^ Tarrant, p. 43.
  23. ^ Halpern, p. 196.
  24. ^ Halpern, pp. 197–198.
  25. ^ Herwig, p. 161.
  26. ^ Tarrant, p. 50.
  27. ^ Tarrant, p. 53.
  28. ^ Tarrant, p. 54.
  29. ^ Tarrant, p. 286.
  30. ^ Campbell, p. 200.
  31. ^ Tarrant, pp. 94–95.
  32. ^ Tarrant, pp. 100–101.
  33. ^ Tarrant, p. 110.
  34. ^ Campbell, p. 54.
  35. ^ Campbell, p. 99.
  36. ^ Campbell, p. 154.
  37. ^ Campbell, pp. 200–201.
  38. ^ Campbell, p. 275.
  39. ^ Campbell, p. 290.
  40. ^ Tarrant, pp. 246–247.
  41. ^ Smith, p. 21.
  42. ^ Campbell, p. 314.
  43. ^ Campbell, p. 320.
  44. ^ Campbell, pp. 334–335.
  45. ^ Campbell, p. 336.
  46. ^ Tarrant, p. 292.
  47. ^ Tarrant, pp. 296, 298.
  48. ^ Gröner, pp. 56, 57.
  49. ^ Tarrant, p. 277.
  50. ^ Massie, p. 682.
  51. ^ Staff (Volume 2), p. 15.
  52. ^ Massie, p. 683.
  53. ^ Staff (Volume 1), pp. 43–44.
  54. ^ a b c Staff (Volume 1), p. 44.
  55. ^ Tarrant, pp. 280–281.
  56. ^ Tarrant, pp. 281–282.
  57. ^ a b Tarrant, p. 282.
  58. ^ Herwig, p. 252.
  59. ^ Herwig, p. 256.
  60. ^ a b "Ostfriesland". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  61. ^ a b Johnson.
  62. ^ a b Budiansky, p. 149.
  63. ^ Budiansky, pp. 149–151.

References

  • Budiansky, Stephen (1998). Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War, from Kitty Hawk to Iraq. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-303474-2.
  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-1-55821-759-1.
  • Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
  • Grießmer, Axel (1999). Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine: 1906–1918; Konstruktionen zwischen Rüstungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz [The Battleships of the Imperial Navy: 1906–1918; Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5985-9.
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
  • Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
  • Heyman, Neil M. (1997). World War I. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-29880-6.
  • Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe (Band 6) [The German Warships (Volume 6)] (in German). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0237-4.
  • Johnson, Alfred W. (9 April 2015). "The Naval Bombing Experiments Off the Virginia Capes – June and July 1921". Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  • Massie, Robert K. (2003). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-40878-5.
  • Osborne, Eric W. (2006). The Battle of Heligoland Bight. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34742-8.
  • Smith, Peter C. (2005). Into the Minefields: British Destroyer Minelaying 1918–1980. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-271-1.
  • Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918. Vol. 1: Deutschland, Nassau and Helgoland Classes. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-467-1.
  • Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918. Vol. 2: Kaiser, König And Bayern Classes. Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-468-8.
  • Stumpf, Richard (1967). Horn, Daniel (ed.). War, Mutiny and Revolution in the German Navy: The World War I Diary of Seaman Richard Stumpf. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
  • Tarrant, V. E. (2001) [1995]. Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9.

Further reading

  • Dodson, Aidan; Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4198-1.

External Links

  • Sinking of the German Battleship Ostfriesland on YouTube

37°09′08″N 74°34′03″W / 37.15222°N 74.56750°W / 37.15222; -74.56750

August 23, 2023
ostfriesland, second, vessel, helgoland, class, dreadnought, battleships, imperial, german, navy, named, region, east, frisia, ostfriesland, keel, laid, october, 1908, kaiserliche, werft, dockyard, wilhelmshaven, launched, september, 1909, commissioned, into, . SMS Ostfriesland a was the second vessel of the Helgoland class of dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy Named for the region of East Frisia Ostfriesland s keel was laid in October 1908 at the Kaiserliche Werft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven She was launched on 30 September 1909 and was commissioned into the fleet on 1 August 1911 The ship was equipped with twelve 30 5 cm 12 in guns in six twin turrets and had a top speed of 21 2 knots 39 3 km h 24 4 mph Ostfriesland was assigned to the I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career including World War I SMS OstfrieslandHistoryGerman EmpireNameSMS OstfrieslandNamesakeEast FrisiaBuilderKaiserliche Werft WilhelmshavenLaid down19 October 1908Launched30 September 1909Commissioned1 August 1911Decommissioned16 December 1918In service22 September 1911Stricken5 November 1919FateCeded to United States 1920United StatesNameUSS OstfrieslandAcquired7 April 1920Commissioned7 April 1920Decommissioned20 September 1920FateSunk as a target by aircraft 21 July 1921General characteristicsClass and typeHelgoland class battleshipDisplacementNormal 22 808 t 22 448 long tons Full load 24 700 t 24 300 long tons Length167 20 m 548 ft 7 in Beam28 50 m 93 ft 6 in Draft8 94 m 29 ft 4 in Installed power15 water tube boilers 28 000 PS 28 000 ihp Propulsion3 triple expansion steam engines 3 screw propellersSpeed21 2 knots 39 3 km h 24 4 mph Range5 500 nautical miles 10 190 km 6 330 mi at 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph Complement42 officers 1027 enlistedArmament12 30 5 cm 12 in SK L 50 guns 14 15 cm 5 9 in SK L 45 guns 14 8 8 cm 3 5 in SK L 45 guns 6 50 cm 19 7 in torpedo tubesArmorBelt 300 mm 11 8 in KCA Turrets 300 mm KCA Barbettes 300 mm KCA Deck 63 5 mm 2 50 in KCAAlong with her three sister ships Helgoland Thuringen and Oldenburg Ostfriesland participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I in the North Sea against the British Grand Fleet This included the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1 June 1916 the largest naval battle of the war The ship also saw action in the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy She was present during the unsuccessful first incursion into the Gulf of Riga in August 1915 After the German collapse in November 1918 most of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow during the peace negotiations The four Helgoland class ships were allowed to remain in Germany however and were therefore spared the destruction of the fleet in Scapa Flow Ostfriesland and her sisters were eventually ceded to the victorious Allied powers as war reparations Ostfriesland was transferred to the United States Navy She was sunk during air power trials off the Virginia Capes in July 1921 Contents 1 Design 2 Service history 2 1 World War I 2 1 1 Battle of Jutland 2 1 2 Later operations 2 2 The end of the war 2 3 US bombing target 3 Notes 3 1 Footnotes 3 2 Citations 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External LinksDesign EditMain article Helgoland class battleship Plan and profile drawing of the Helgoland classThe ship was 167 2 m 548 ft 7 in long had a beam of 28 5 m 93 ft 6 in and a draft of 8 94 m 29 ft 4 in and displaced 24 700 metric tons 24 310 long tons at full load She was powered by three 4 cylinder triple expansion steam engines with 15 boilers each engine drove a four bladed screw The ship s engines were rated at 28 000 PS 28 000 ihp 21 000 kW and produced a top speed of 21 2 knots 39 3 km h 24 4 mph Ostfriesland stored up to 3 200 metric tons 3 100 long tons of coal which allowed her to steam for 5 500 nautical miles 10 200 km 6 300 mi at a speed of 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph After 1915 the boilers were modified to spray oil on the coal the ship could carry up to 197 metric tons 194 long tons of fuel oil 1 She had a crew of 42 officers and 1 071 enlisted men 2 Ostfriesland was armed with a main battery of twelve 30 5 cm 12 in SK L 50 b guns in six twin gun turrets with one turret fore one aft and two on each flank of the ship 4 The ship s secondary battery consisted of fourteen 15 cm 5 9 in SK L 45 guns all of which were mounted in casemates in the side of the upper deck For defense against torpedo boats she carried fourteen 8 8 cm 3 5 in SK L 45 guns 1 After 1914 two of the 8 8 cm guns were removed and replaced by 8 8 cm anti aircraft guns Ostfriesland was also armed with six 50 cm 19 7 in submerged torpedo tubes one was in the bow one in the stern and two on each broadside 2 Her main armored belt was 300 mm 11 8 in thick in the central citadel and was composed of Krupp cemented armor KCA Her main battery gun turrets were protected by the same thickness of KCA on the sides and faces as well as the barbettes that supported the turrets Ostfriesland s deck was 63 5 mm 2 5 in thick 1 Service history EditOstfriesland was ordered by the German Imperial Navy Kaiserliche Marine under the provisional name Ersatz Oldenburg as a replacement for the old coastal defense ship Oldenburg The contract for the ship was awarded to the Kaiserliche Werft Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven under construction number 31 1 c Work began on 19 October 1908 with the laying of her keel and the ship was launched less than a year later on 30 September 1909 6 She was christened by the Princess of Innhausen and Knyphausen a representative of the oldest East Frisian nobility 7 Fitting out including completion of the superstructure and the installation of armament lasted until August 1911 Ostfriesland named for the north western coastal area of Germany was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 1 August 1911 just under three years from when work commenced 2 After commissioning Ostfriesland conducted sea trials which were completed by 15 September 8 Kapitan zur See KzS Walter Engelhardt served as the ship s first commanding officer 7 On the 22nd the ship was formally assigned to I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet She then conducted individual ship training exercises which were followed by I Squadron and then fleet maneuvers in November Ostfriesland became the new squadron flagship on 24 April 1912 replacing Westfalen 8 The annual summer cruise in July August which typically went to Norway was interrupted by the Agadir Crisis As a result the cruise only went into the Baltic 9 Ostfriesland and the rest of the fleet then fell into a pattern of individual ship squadron and full fleet exercises over the next two years of peacetime 8 Ostfriesland won the 1912 1913 Kaiserschiesspreis the Kaiser s artillery shooting prize for I Squadron Kapitanleutnant Friedrich Beesel was the ship s gunnery officer at the time and as such was responsible for the accuracy of the ship s shooting 10 On 14 July 1914 the annual summer cruise to Norway began 11 During the last peacetime cruise of the Imperial Navy the fleet conducted drills off Skagen before proceeding to the Norwegian fjords on 25 July The following day the fleet began to steam back to Germany as a result of Austria Hungary s ultimatum to Serbia On the 27th the entire fleet assembled off Cape Skadenes before returning to port where it remained at a heightened state of readiness 12 War between Austria Hungary and Serbia broke out on the 28th and in the span of a week all of the major European powers had joined the conflict 13 By 29 July Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron was back in Wilhelmshaven 14 World War I Edit The first major naval action in the North Sea the Battle of Helgoland Bight took place on 28 August 1914 15 At 04 30 Helgoland which was stationed off the heavily fortified island of Wangerooge 15 received the order to join Ostfriesland and sail out of the harbor At 05 00 the two battleships met the battered cruisers Frauenlob and Stettin 16 By 07 30 the ships had returned to port for the night 17 On the afternoon of 7 September Ostfriesland and the rest of the High Seas Fleet conducted a training cruise to the island of Heligoland 18 In October Ostfriesland was equipped with a pair of 8 8 cm flak guns for anti air defense 8 A British recognition drawing of a Helgoland class battleshipOstfriesland was present during the first sortie by the German fleet into the North Sea which took place on 2 3 November 1914 No British forces were encountered during the operation A second operation followed on 15 16 December 8 This sortie was the initiation of a strategy adopted by Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl the commander of the High Seas Fleet Admiral Ingenohl intended to use the battlecruisers of Konteradmiral Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper s I Scouting Group to raid British coastal towns to lure out portions of the Grand Fleet where they could be destroyed by the High Seas Fleet 19 Early on 15 December the fleet left port to raid the towns of Scarborough Hartlepool and Whitby That evening the German battle fleet of some twelve dreadnoughts including Ostfriesland and her three sisters and eight pre dreadnoughts came to within 10 nmi 19 km 12 mi of an isolated squadron of six British battleships However skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced Ingenohl that he was faced with the entire Grand Fleet Under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battle fleet back toward Germany 20 The Battle of Dogger Bank in which Vice Admiral David Beatty s 1st and 2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons ambushed the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group occurred on 24 January 1915 21 Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron sortied to reinforce the outnumbered German battlecruisers I Squadron left port at 12 33 CET d along with the pre dreadnoughts of II Squadron They were too late however and failed to locate any British forces By 19 05 the fleet had returned to the Schillig Roads outside Wilhelmshaven 8 In the meantime the armored cruiser Blucher had been overwhelmed by concentrated British fire and sunk while the battlecruiser Seydlitz was severely damaged by a fire in one of the ammunition magazines As a result Kaiser Wilhelm II removed Ingenohl from his post and replaced him with Admiral Hugo von Pohl on 2 February 22 Ostfriesland in 1915 with a zeppelin overheadThe eight I Squadron ships went into the Baltic on 22 February 1915 for unit training which lasted until 13 March Following their return to the North Sea the ships participated in a series of uneventful fleet sorties on 29 30 March 17 18 April 21 22 April 17 18 May and 29 30 May Ostfriesland and the rest of the fleet remained in port until 4 August when I Squadron returned to the Baltic for another round of training maneuvers 8 That month KzS Ernst Oldwig von Natzmer replaced Engelhardt as the ship s commanding officer 7 From the Baltic the squadron was attached to the naval force that attempted to sweep the Gulf of Riga of Russian naval forces in August 1915 8 The assault force included the eight I Squadron battleships the battlecruisers Von der Tann Moltke and Seydlitz several light cruisers 32 destroyers and 13 minesweepers The plan called for channels in Russian minefields to be swept so that the Russian naval presence which included the pre dreadnought battleship Slava could be eliminated The Germans would then lay minefields of their own to prevent Russian ships from returning to the Gulf 23 Ostfriesland and the majority of the other big ships of the High Seas Fleet remained outside the Gulf for the entirety of the operation The dreadnoughts Nassau and Posen were detached on 16 August to escort the minesweepers and to destroy Slava though they failed to sink the old battleship After three days the Russian minefields had been cleared and the flotilla entered the Gulf on 19 August but reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted a German withdrawal from the Gulf the following day 24 By 26 August I Squadron had returned to Wilhelmshaven 8 On 23 24 October the High Seas Fleet undertook its last major offensive operation under the command of Admiral Pohl though it ended without contact with British forces 8 By January 1916 hepatic cancer had weakened Pohl to the point where he was no longer able to carry out his duties and he was replaced by Vizeadmiral Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer in January 25 Scheer proposed a more aggressive policy designed to force a confrontation with the British Grand Fleet he received approval from the Kaiser in February 26 Scheer s first operation was a sweep into the North Sea on 5 7 March followed by two more on 21 22 March and 25 26 March 8 During Scheer s next operation Ostfriesland supported a raid on the English coast on 24 April 1916 conducted by the German battlecruiser force The battlecruisers left the Jade Estuary at 10 55 and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13 40 The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target and had to withdraw 27 The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed but during the approach to Yarmouth encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force A short gun duel ensued before the Harwich Force withdrew Reports of British submarines in the area prompted I Scouting Group to retreat At this point Scheer who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow also withdrew to safer German waters 28 Battle of Jutland Edit Main article Battle of Jutland Maps showing the maneuvers of the British blue and German red fleets on 31 May 1 June 1916Ostfriesland was present during the fleet operation that resulted in the battle of Jutland which took place on 31 May and 1 June 1916 The German fleet again sought to draw out and isolate a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it before the main British fleet could retaliate During the operation Ostfriesland was the lead ship in I Squadron s I Division and the ninth ship in the line directly astern of the fleet flagship Friedrich der Grosse and ahead of her sister Thuringen I Squadron was the center of the German line behind the eight Konig and Kaiser class battleships of III Squadron The six elderly pre dreadnoughts of III and IV Divisions II Battle Squadron formed the rear of the formation Ostfriesland flew the flag of Vizeadmiral Vice Admiral Erhardt Schmidt the squadron commander during the battle and Scheer s deputy commander 29 30 Shortly before 16 00 the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of David Beatty The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of Indefatigable shortly after 17 00 31 and Queen Mary less than half an hour later 32 By this time the German battlecruisers were steaming south to draw the British ships toward the main body of the High Seas Fleet At 17 30 the crew of the leading German battleship Konig spotted both I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching The German battlecruisers were steaming to starboard while the British ships steamed to port At 17 45 Scheer ordered a two point turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers and a minute later the order to open fire was given 33 e While the leading battleships engaged the British battlecruiser squadron Ostfriesland and ten other battleships fired on the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron Ostfriesland Kaiser and Nassau engaged the cruiser Southampton though only Nassau scored a hit 34 After about 15 minutes Ostfriesland shifted fire to Birmingham and Nottingham though again failed to hit her targets 35 Shortly after 19 15 the British dreadnought Warspite came into range Ostfriesland opened fire at 19 25 with her main battery guns at ranges of 10 800 to 15 000 yd 9 900 to 13 700 m Ostfriesland claimed hits from her third and fourth salvos Warspite was hit by a total of thirteen heavy shells during this period 36 By 20 15 the German battle line had faced the entire deployed Grand Fleet a second time Scheer ordered a 180 degree turn at 20 17 which was covered by a charge by the battlecruiser squadron and a torpedo boat attack In order to hasten the maneuver Schmidt ordered Ostfriesland to turn immediately without waiting for Thuringen behind him This move caused some difficulty for the III Squadron ships ahead though the ships quickly returned to their stations 37 At around 23 30 the German fleet reorganized into the night cruising formation Ostfriesland was the eighth ship stationed toward the front of the 24 ship line 38 An hour later the leading units of the German line encountered British light forces and a violent firefight at close range ensued Sometime around 01 10 the armored cruiser Black Prince stumbled into the German line Thuringen illuminated the vessel with her spotlights and poured salvos of 30 5 cm rounds into the ship Ostfriesland fired with her 15 cm guns and Kaiser fired both 30 5 cm and 15 cm guns In the span of less than a minute two massive explosions tore the cruiser apart and killed the entire 857 man crew 39 Despite the ferocity of the night fighting the High Seas Fleet punched through the British destroyer forces and reached Horns Reef by 4 00 on 1 June 40 At 06 20 however Ostfriesland struck a mine previously laid by the destroyer HMS Abdiel on 4 May 41 on her starboard side The ship hauled out of line as the explosion was initially thought to have been a torpedo fired by a submarine Ostfriesland fell behind the fleet and steamed at slow speed screened by the destroyers V3 V5 and briefly by G11 By 10 40 the battleship had increased speed to 15 knots 28 km h 17 mph 42 Her anti submarine escort was eventually reinforced by a floatplane which spotted what it believed to be a British submarine at 12 20 Ostfriesland turned away which caused the torpedo bulkhead damaged slightly by the mine explosion to tear open More water entered the ship and caused a 4 75 degree list to starboard forcing Ostfriesland to reduce speed again The ship requested assistance from a pumping ship at 14 20 but by 14 45 the flooding was under control and the ship passed the Outer Jade Lightship She was able to increase speed gradually to 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph and at 18 15 she reached port in Wilhelmshaven 43 The mine tore a hole that measured 40 ft 16 ft 12 2 m 4 9 m and allowed 500 t 490 long tons of water into the ship Further flooding occurred after the torpedo bulkhead damage at 12 20 though the full damage report has not survived 44 Ostfriesland was drydocked in Wilhelmshaven for repairs which lasted until 26 July 45 In the course of the battle Ostfriesland fired 111 rounds from her main battery 101 shells from her 15 cm guns and a single 8 8 cm shell 46 The only damage sustained was the mine that was struck on the morning of 1 June which killed one man and wounded ten 47 Later operations Edit On 18 August 1916 Scheer attempted a repeat of the 31 May operation The two serviceable German battlecruisers Moltke and Von der Tann supported by three dreadnoughts were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty s battlecruisers f The rest of the fleet including Ostfriesland would trail behind and provide cover 50 On the approach to the English coast during the action of 19 August 1916 Scheer turned north after receiving a false report from a zeppelin about a British unit in the area 51 As a result the bombardment was not carried out and by 14 35 Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet s approach and so turned his forces around and retreated to German ports 52 On 25 26 September Ostfriesland and the rest of I Squadron provided support for a sweep out to the Terschelling Bank conducted by the II Fuhrer der Torpedoboote Leader of Torpedo Boats Scheer conducted another fleet operation on 18 20 October in the direction of the Dogger Bank For the majority of 1917 Ostfriesland was assigned to guard duty in the German Bight During Operation Albion the amphibious assault on the Russian held islands in the Gulf of Riga Ostfriesland and her three sisters were moved to the Danish straits to block any possible British attempt to intervene On 28 October the four ships arrived in Putzig Wiek and from there steamed to Arensburg on the 29th On 2 November the operation was completed and Ostfriesland and her sisters began the voyage back to the North Sea 8 In March 1918 Natzmer was replaced as the ship s commander by KzS Hans Herr 7 A final abortive fleet sortie took place on 23 24 April 1918 8 Ostfriesland Thuringen and Nassau were formed into a special unit for Operation Schlussstein a planned occupation of St Petersburg The three ships reached the Baltic on 10 August but the operation was postponed and eventually canceled 53 The special unit was dissolved on 21 August and the battleships were back in Wilhelmshaven on the 23rd 54 The end of the war Edit Ostfriesland and her three sisters were to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918 just over 2 weeks before the Armistice was signed The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from its base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet Scheer by now the Grossadmiral Grand Admiral of the fleet intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy to improve Germany s bargaining position despite the expected casualties But many of the war weary sailors felt that the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war 55 On the morning of 29 October 1918 the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day Starting on the night of the 29th sailors on Thuringen and then on several other battleships mutinied 56 The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation 57 Informed of the situation the Kaiser stated I no longer have a navy 58 On 16 December Ostfriesland was decommissioned and used as a barracks ship 54 Ostfriesland under United States flagFollowing the capitulation of Germany in November 1918 most of the High Seas Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter was interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow Only the most modern ships were sent for internment the four Helgoland class ships were left in Germany 57 On the morning of 21 June the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers and at 11 20 Reuter transmitted the order to scuttle his ships In the span of a few hours ten battleships and five battlecruisers sank in the shallow waters of Scapa Flow 59 KzS Karl Windmuller served as Ostfriesland s final commander 7 until she was stricken from the navy list on 5 November 1919 She was then surrendered to the Allies as H as a replacement for the ships that had been scuttled The ship remained in Germany until 7 April 1920 when a German crew took her to Rosyth She was ceded to the United States as war reparations commissioned on 7 April at Rosyth as USS Ostfriesland and commanded by Captain J F Hellweg 60 On 9 April an American crew arrived to bring her to the US 54 Even though she needed repairs Ostfriesland was able to sail to New York She was later decommissioned there on 20 September 1920 60 US bombing target Edit In July 1921 the United States Navy and Army Air Service conducted a series of bombing tests off Cape Henry led by General Billy Mitchell The targets included demobilized American and former German warships including the old battleship Iowa the cruiser Frankfurt and finally Ostfriesland on 20 July At 13 30 ET the first attack wave armed with 230 lb 100 kg bombs struck the stationary ship Eight of thirty three bombs found their mark after which the ship was inspected The second wave was also armed with 230 lb bombs and the third and fourth carried 600 lb 270 kg bombs Five 600 lb bombs found their mark but little damage was done to the ship s topside The bombs that nearly missed the ship however had done significant underwater damage to the hull which allowed some flooding and created a list of five degrees to port and three additional feet of draft at the stern The bombing schedule was interrupted by a storm in the late afternoon 61 Early on the morning of 21 July the fifth wave of bombers began their attack At 08 52 the first Army bomber dropped a 1 000 lb 450 kg bomb that hit the ship four more bombers followed and scored two further hits Inspectors again went aboard Ostfriesland following the fifth attack and noted that the hits had not seriously damaged the ship though one had created a large hole on her starboard side that allowed further flooding By noon she was down five feet at the stern and one foot at the bow At 12 19 the next attack wave equipped with 2 000 lb 910 kg bombs struck Six bombs were dropped none of which hit though three detonated very close to the hull At 12 30 Ostfriesland began to sink rapidly by the stern and the list to port increased dramatically At 12 40 the ship rolled over and sank The results of the tests were widely publicized and Mitchell became both a national hero and the infallible prophet of aviation 61 The leadership of the US Navy however was outraged by Mitchell s handling of the tests the 2 000 lb bombs had not been sanctioned by the Navy which had set the rules for the engagement Mitchell s bombers had also not allowed inspectors aboard the ship between bombing runs as stipulated by the Navy The joint Army Navy report on the tests issued a month later and signed by General John J Pershing stated that the battleship is still the backbone of the fleet 62 Mitchell wrote his own contradictory account of the tests which was then leaked to the press The sinking of the battleship sparked great controversy in the American public sphere Mitchell s supporters exaggerated the significance of the tests by falsely claiming Ostfriesland to be an unsinkable super battleship and that old sea dogs wept aloud 62 Senator William Borah argued that the tests had rendered battleships obsolete Mitchell was widely supported in the press though his increasingly combative tactics eventually resulted in a court martial for insubordination that forced him to retire from the military 63 Sinking off the Virginia Capes Ostfriesland Frankfurt and other former German ships off the Virginia Capes July 1921 Ostfriesland at anchor prior to the tests A bomb explodes off Ostfriesland s port bow Inspection teams aboard the ship evaluating damage The ship already settling by the stern another bomb explodes underwater Ostfriesland sinking by the sternNotes Edit Battleships portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ostfriesland ship 1911 Footnotes Edit SMS stands for Seiner Majestat Schiff German His Majesty s Ship In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature SK Schnelladekanone 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 its diameter 3 German ships were ordered under provisional names new additions to the fleet were given a letter designation while those ordered as replacements for older vessels were named Ersatz ship name Once the ship was finished the vessel would be commissioned with its intended name For example Derfflinger was ordered as a new addition to the fleet and so was given the provisional designation K Hindenburg was ordered to replace the old cruiser Hertha and so was named Ersatz Hertha before she was formally commissioned 5 The Germans were on Central European Time which is one hour ahead of UTC the time zone commonly used in British works The compass can be divided into 32 points each corresponding to 11 25 degrees A two point turn to port would alter the ships course by 22 5 degrees Derfflinger and Seydlitz had been seriously damaged at the Battle of Jutland and Lutzow had been sunk 48 49 Citations Edit a b c d Groner p 24 a b c Groner p 25 Griessmer p 177 Campbell amp Sieche p 146 Groner p 56 Staff Volume 1 p 42 a b c d e Hildebrand Rohr amp Steinmetz p 200 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Staff Volume 1 p 43 Staff Volume 1 p 8 Hildebrand Rohr amp Steinmetz p 201 Staff Volume 1 p 11 Staff Volume 2 p 14 Heyman p xix Staff Volume 1 pp 11 43 a b Osborne p 41 Stumpf pp 40 41 Stumpf p 42 Stumpf p 46 Herwig pp 149 150 Tarrant pp 31 33 Tarrant p 38 Tarrant p 43 Halpern p 196 Halpern pp 197 198 Herwig p 161 Tarrant p 50 Tarrant p 53 Tarrant p 54 Tarrant p 286 Campbell p 200 Tarrant pp 94 95 Tarrant pp 100 101 Tarrant p 110 Campbell p 54 Campbell p 99 Campbell p 154 Campbell pp 200 201 Campbell p 275 Campbell p 290 Tarrant pp 246 247 Smith p 21 Campbell p 314 Campbell p 320 Campbell pp 334 335 Campbell p 336 Tarrant p 292 Tarrant pp 296 298 Groner pp 56 57 Tarrant p 277 Massie p 682 Staff Volume 2 p 15 Massie p 683 Staff Volume 1 pp 43 44 a b c Staff Volume 1 p 44 Tarrant pp 280 281 Tarrant pp 281 282 a b Tarrant p 282 Herwig p 252 Herwig p 256 a b Ostfriesland history navy mil Retrieved 23 June 2021 a b Johnson a b Budiansky p 149 Budiansky pp 149 151 References EditBudiansky Stephen 1998 Air Power The Men Machines and Ideas That Revolutionized War from Kitty Hawk to Iraq New York Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 14 303474 2 Campbell John 1998 Jutland An Analysis of the Fighting London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 978 1 55821 759 1 Campbell N J M amp Sieche Erwin 1986 Germany In Gardiner Robert amp Gray Randal eds Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1906 1921 London Conway Maritime Press pp 134 189 ISBN 978 0 85177 245 5 Griessmer Axel 1999 Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine 1906 1918 Konstruktionen zwischen Rustungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz The Battleships of the Imperial Navy 1906 1918 Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws in German Bonn Bernard amp Graefe Verlag ISBN 978 3 7637 5985 9 Groner Erich 1990 German Warships 1815 1945 Vol I Major Surface Vessels Annapolis Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 0 87021 790 6 Halpern Paul G 1995 A Naval History of World War I Annapolis Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 55750 352 7 Herwig Holger 1998 1980 Luxury Fleet The Imperial German Navy 1888 1918 Amherst Humanity Books ISBN 978 1 57392 286 9 Heyman Neil M 1997 World War I Westport Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 313 29880 6 Hildebrand Hans H Rohr Albert amp Steinmetz Hans Otto 1993 Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe Band 6 The German Warships Volume 6 in German Ratingen Mundus Verlag ISBN 978 3 7822 0237 4 Johnson Alfred W 9 April 2015 The Naval Bombing Experiments Off the Virginia Capes June and July 1921 Naval History amp Heritage Command Retrieved 15 December 2017 Massie Robert K 2003 Castles of Steel Britain Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea New York Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0 345 40878 5 Osborne Eric W 2006 The Battle of Heligoland Bight Bloomington Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 34742 8 Smith Peter C 2005 Into the Minefields British Destroyer Minelaying 1918 1980 Barnsley Pen amp Sword Books ISBN 978 1 84415 271 1 Staff Gary 2010 German Battleships 1914 1918 Vol 1 Deutschland Nassau and Helgoland Classes Oxford Osprey Books ISBN 978 1 84603 467 1 Staff Gary 2010 German Battleships 1914 1918 Vol 2 Kaiser Konig And Bayern Classes Oxford Osprey Books ISBN 978 1 84603 468 8 Stumpf Richard 1967 Horn Daniel ed War Mutiny and Revolution in the German Navy The World War I Diary of Seaman Richard Stumpf New Brunswick Rutgers University Press Tarrant V E 2001 1995 Jutland The German Perspective London Cassell Military Paperbacks ISBN 978 0 304 35848 9 Further reading EditDodson Aidan Cant Serena 2020 Spoils of War The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars Barnsley Seaforth Publishing ISBN 978 1 5267 4198 1 External Links EditSinking of the German Battleship Ostfriesland on YouTube 37 09 08 N 74 34 03 W 37 15222 N 74 56750 W 37 15222 74 56750 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SMS Ostfriesland amp oldid 1162742419, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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