SMS Ostfriesland - Construction

Construction

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. 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. She was christened by the Princess of Innhausen and Knyphausen, a representative of the oldest East Frisian nobility. 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, at a cost of 43.579 million gold marks.

The ship was 167.2 m (549 ft) long, had a beam of 28.5 m (94 ft) and a draft of 8.94 m (29.3 ft), and displaced 24,700 metric tons (24,310 long tons) at full load. She was powered by three 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines with 15 boilers; each engine drove a four-bladed screw. The ship's engines were rated at 22,000 indicated horsepower (16,000 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; 3,500 short 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; 217 short tons) of fuel oil. She had a crew of 42 officers and 1,071 enlisted men.

Ostfriesland was armed with a main battery of twelve 30.5 cm SK L/50 guns in six twin gun turrets, with one turret fore, one aft, and two on each flank of the ship. The ship's secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns and sixteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns. 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. Her main armored belt was 300 mm (12 in) thick in the central portion, and was composed of Krupp cemented armor (KCA). Her main battery gun turrets were protected by the same thickness of KCA armor on the sides and faces, as well as the barbettes that supported the turrets. Ostfriesland's deck was 63.5 mm (2.50 in) thick.