sms class pre dreadnought battleships built kaiserliche_marine named german germany built shipyard kiel launched november commissioned august months commissioned revolutionary new standard big gun battleships rendered rest class obsolete served flagship prince outbreak world war sisters tasked defending mouth german bight possible british incursions rest fleet mobilized ships class attached high_seas_fleet unit participated large scale fleet actions years war culminating battle jutland june late day battle pre dreadnoughts briefly engaged british battlecruisers retreating battle surviving sisters assigned coastal defense duties withdrawn combat service completely tasked auxiliary roles barracks ship wilhelmshaven end war struck naval register january sold ship breakers year broken scrap bow preserved underwater weapons school bell display estate construction second naval vessel bear armored frigate intended fight german battle line battleships imperial_german_navy laid july dockyard kiel launched november trials lasted august september british battleship hms dreadnought armed inch guns commissioned december dreadnought revolutionary design rendered capital ship german navy obsolete including long beam draft load displacement metric tons long tons equipped coal fired triple expansion engines produced rated indicated horsepower gave speed knots mph cruising speed knots mph steam nautical miles primary armament consisted guns twin turrets equipped fourteen guns mounted casemates guns pivot mounts torpedo tubes submerged hull service history september ship officially joined fleet admiral prince flagship assigned fleet flagship subordinate squadron commander took training exercises north_sea december returning kiel february fleet renamed high_seas_fleet fleet maneuvers north_sea followed early june cruise norway followed fleet training june returning norway went round fleet training followed september november taken drydock annual refit participated fleet maneuvers february baltic_sea june training conducted island fortress north_sea july rest fleet sailed atlantic_ocean conduct training cruise stopped fleet returned germany august following month set training maneuvers conducted baltic north seas winter cruise baltic afterward following year followed pattern cruise atlantic conducted july august stopped round exercises went periodic overhaul refit given additional pedestal mounted search lights ship german navy equipped ray machine fleet conducted training maneuvers norway denmark annual summer cruise went norway followed fleet training november hosted kaiser celebration opening training cruise baltic followed end year years followed pattern training exercises cruises norway summer exception crisis cruise went baltic september following maneuvers partially grounded baltic damage necessitated dry docking repairs completed november january new dreadnought battleship friedrich der replaced flagship fleet golden bow denoted flagship removed returned ranks world war outbreak war ship deployed mouth guard area remained high_seas_fleet battle squadron years war sisters covered raid english coast december remained picket duty mouth february went dock kiel work lasted march afterward returned guard duty september ship went baltic training completed october went dockyard kiel maintenance went vulcan drydock hamburg additional work february april returning fleet flagship battle squadron command admiral april sisters joined dreadnoughts high_seas_fleet support battlecruisers raid english coast route target battlecruiser damaged detached return home operation proceeded battlecruisers conducted short bombardment ports visibility poor operation called british fleet intervene took sortie british ships result battle jutland admiral immediately planned foray north_sea damage delayed operation end ship flagship rear admiral weakest battleships involved battle positioned rear german line run north admiral commander fleet ordered fleet pursue retreating battleships british battle squadron speed sisters significantly slower dreadnoughts quickly fell grand_fleet arrived scene confronted admiral significant numerical superiority german fleet severely hampered presence slower class ships ordered immediate turn germany sacrifice slower ships good escape admiral reversed course fleet battle turn maneuver required unit german line turn simultaneously having fallen ships conform new course following turn ships squadron german line admiral considered moving ships rear line astern dreadnoughts decided realized movement interfere maneuvering admiral battlecruisers instead attempted place ships head line later day battle hard pressed battlecruisers pursued british opponents called minute ships came aid steaming opposing battlecruiser squadrons poor visibility subsequent engagement brief fired round guns period admiral decided continue fight powerful battlecruisers ordered point turn starboard late 31st fleet organized night march germany fell dreadnoughts rear line british destroyers conducted series attacks fleet targeted melee turned away attacking destroyers targets clearly engage effectively soon struck torpedo exploded fragments ship regardless high_seas_fleet punched british destroyer forces reached june german fleet reached wilhelmshaven hours later undamaged dreadnoughts nassau classes took defensive positions later career jutland sisters returned picket duty mouth occasionally transferred guard duty baltic december january lay idle january ship taken hamburg went drydock maintenance work lasted april sailed roads mouth baltic continued guard duty august disbanded weeks later august arrived kiel decommissioned september guns removed kiel transferred wilhelmshaven serve barracks ship january ship struck naval register sold scrapping complete ship bow display underwater weapons school bell located prince estate
SMS Deutschland (1904)