SMS Westfalen SMS " Westfalen " was one of the s , the first four dreadnought s built for the German Imperial Navy . " Westfalen " was laid down at AG Weser in Bremen on 12 August 1907 , launched nearly a year later on 1 July 1908 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 16 November 1909 . The ship was equipped with a main battery of twelve guns in six twin turrets in an unusual hexagonal arrangement . The ship served with her sister ships for the majority of World War I , seeing extensive service in the North Sea , where she took part in several fleet sorties . These culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 , where " Westfalen " was heavily engaged in night - fighting against British light forces . " Westfalen " led the German line for much of the evening and into the following day , until the fleet reached Wilhelmshaven . On another fleet advance in August 1916 , the ship was damaged by a torpedo from a British submarine . " Westfalen " also conducted several deployments to the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy . The first of these was during the Battle of the Gulf of Riga , where " Westfalen " supported a German naval assault on the gulf . " Westfalen " was sent back to the Baltic in 1918 to support the White Finns in the Finnish Civil War . The ship remained in Germany while the majority of the fleet was interned in Scapa Flow after the end of the war . In 1919 , following the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow , " Westfalen " was ceded to the Allies as a replacement for the ships that had been sunk . She was then sent to ship - breakers in England , who broke the ship up for scrap by 1924 . Construction . The German Imperial Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) ordered " Westfalen " under the provisional name " Ersatz Sachsen " as a replacement for , the lead ship of the elderly s . The Reichstag secretly approved and provided funds for " Nassau " and " Westfalen " at the end of March 1906 , but construction on " Westfalen " was delayed while arms and armor were procured . She was laid down on 12 August 1907 at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen . As with her sister , construction proceeded swiftly and secretly ; detachments of soldiers guarded both the shipyard and the major contractors who supplied building materials , such as Krupp . The ship was launched on 1 July 1908 , underwent an initial fitting - out , and then in mid - September 1909 was transferred to Kiel by a crew composed of dockyard workers for a final fitting - out . However , the water level in the Weser River was low at this time of year , so six pontoons had to be attached to the ship to reduce her draft . Even so , it took two attempts before the ship cleared the river . " Westfalen " was long , wide , and had a draft of . She displaced with a standard load , and fully laden . The ship design retained 3 - shaft triple expansion engines instead of the more advanced turbine engines . Steam was provided to the engines by twelve coal - fired boilers , with the addition in 1915 of supplementary oil firing . This machinery was chosen at the request of Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz and the Navy ' s construction department . The department stated in 1905 that the " use of turbines in heavy warships does not recommend itself . " " Westfalen " carried twelve SK L / 45 guns in an unusual hexagonal configuration . Her secondary armament consisted of twelve SK L / 45 guns and sixteen SK L / 45 guns , all of which were mounted in casemate s . The ship was also armed with six submerged torpedo tube s . One tube was mounted in the bow , another in the stern , and two on each broadside , on either end of the torpedo bulkhead . Service history . On 16 October 1909 , before " Westfalen " was commissioned into the fleet , the ship took part in a ceremony for the opening of the third set of locks in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal in Kiel . Exactly one month later , " Westfalen " was commissioned for sea trials , which were interrupted only by fleet training exercises in February 1910 . At the completion of the trials on 3 May , " Westfalen " was added to the I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet ; two days later , she became the squadron flagship , replacing the pre - dreadnought . The navy had intended to transfer the ship to the II Battle Squadron , but this plan was discarded after the outbreak of World War I in July 1914 . World War I . " Westfalen " participated in most of the fleet advances into the North Sea throughout the war . The first operation was conducted primarily by Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper ' s battlecruiser s ; the ships bombarded the English coastal towns of Scarborough , Hartlepool , and Whitby on 15 – 16 December 1914 . A German battlefleet of 12 dreadnoughts , including " Westfalen " , her three sisters and eight pre - dreadnoughts sailed in support of the battlecruisers . On the evening of 15 December , they came to within of an isolated squadron of six British battleships . However , skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced the German fleet commander , Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , that the entire Grand Fleet was deployed before him . Under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II , von Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battlefleet back towards Germany . In late March 1915 the ship went into drydock for periodic maintenance . Battle of the Gulf of Riga . In August 1915 , the German fleet attempted to clear the Russian - held Gulf of Riga in order to assist the German army , which was planning an assault on Riga itself . To do so , the German planners intended to drive off or destroy the Russian naval forces in the Gulf , which included the pre - dreadnought battleship and a number of smaller gunboat s and destroyers . The German battle fleet was accompanied by several mine - warfare vessels , tasked first with clearing Russian minefields and then laying a series of their own minefields in the northern entrance to the Gulf to prevent Russian naval reinforcements from reaching the area . The assembled German fleet included " Westfalen " and her three sister ships , the four s , the battlecruisers , , and , and several pre - dreadnoughts . The force operated under the command of Franz von Hipper , who had by now been promoted to vice admiral . The eight battleships were to provide cover for the forces engaging the Russian flotilla . The first attempt on 8 August was broken off , as it took too long to clear the Russian minefields . On 16 August 1915 , a second attempt was made to enter the Gulf : " Nassau " and , four light cruisers , and 31 torpedo boats managed to breach the Russian defenses . On the first day of the assault , two German light craft — the minesweeper and the destroyer — were sunk . The following day , " Nassau " and " Posen " battled " Slava " , scoring three hits on the Russian ship that forced her to retreat . By 19 August , the Russian minefields had been cleared and the flotilla entered the Gulf . However , reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted the Germans to call off the operation the following day . Admiral Hipper later remarked that " to keep valuable ships for a considerable time in a limited area in which enemy submarines were increasingly active , with the corresponding risk of damage and loss , was to indulge in a gamble out of all proportion to the advantage to be derived from the occupation of the Gulf " before " the capture of Riga from the land side . " In fact , the battlecruiser " Moltke " had been torpedoed that morning . Return to the North Sea . By the end of August " Westfalen " and the rest of the High Seas Fleet had returned to their anchorages in the North Sea . The next operation conducted was a sweep into the North Sea on 11 – 12 September , though it ended without any action . Another sortie followed on 23 – 24 October during which the German fleet did not encounter any British forces . Another uneventful advance into the North Sea took place on 21 – 22 April 1916 . A bombardment mission followed two days later ; " Westfalen " joined the battleship support for Hipper ' s battlecruisers while they attacked Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 – 25 April . During this operation , the battlecruiser " Seydlitz " was damaged by a British mine and had to return to port prematurely . Due to poor visibility , the operation was soon called off , leaving the British fleet no time to intercept the raiders . Battle of Jutland . Admiral Reinhard Scheer , who had succeeded Admirals von Ingenohl and Hugo von Pohl as the fleet commander , immediately planned another attack on the British coast . However , the damage to " Seydlitz " and condenser trouble on several of the III Battle Squadron dreadnoughts delayed the plan until the end of May 1916 . The German battlefleet departed the Jade at 03 : 30 on 31 May . " Westfalen " was assigned to the II Division of the I Battle Squadron , under the command of Rear Admiral W . Engelhardt . " Westfalen " was the last ship in the division , astern of her three sisters . The II Division was the last unit of dreadnoughts in the fleet ; they were followed by only the elderly pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron . Between 17 : 48 and 17 : 52 , eleven German dreadnoughts , including " Westfalen " , engaged and opened fire on the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron , though the range and poor visibility prevented effective fire , which was soon checked . At 18 : 05 , " Westfalen " began firing again ; her target was a British light cruiser , most probably the . Despite the short distance , around , " Westfalen " scored no hits . Scheer had by this time called for maximum speed in order to pursue the British ships ; " Westfalen " made . By 19 : 30 when Scheer signaled " Go west " , the German fleet had faced the deployed Grand Fleet for a second time and was forced to turn away . In doing so , the order of the German line was reversed ; this would have put the II Squadron in the lead , but Captain Redlich of " Westfalen " noted that II Squadron was out of position and began his turn immediately , assuming the lead position . Around 21 : 20 , " Westfalen " and her sister ships began to be engaged by the battlecruisers of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron ; several large shells straddled ( fell to either side of ) the ship and rained splinters on her deck . Shortly thereafter , two torpedo tracks were spotted that turned out to be imaginary . The ships were then forced to slow down in order to allow the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group to pass ahead . Around 22 : 00 , " Westfalen " and " Rheinland " observed unidentified light forces in the gathering darkness . After flashing a challenge via searchlight that was ignored , the two ships turned away to starboard in order to evade any torpedoes that might have been fired . The rest of I Battle Squadron followed them . During the brief encounter , " Westfalen " fired seven of her 28 cm shells in the span of about two and a half minutes . " Westfalen " again assumed a position guiding the fleet , this time because Scheer wanted lead ships with greater protection against torpedoes than the pre - dreadnoughts had . At about 00 : 30 , the leading units of the German line encountered British destroyers and cruisers . A violent firefight at close range ensued ; " Westfalen " opened fire on the destroyer with her 15 cm and 8 . 8 cm guns at a distance of about 1 , 800 m ( 2 , 000 yd ) . Her first salvo destroyed " Tipperary " s bridge and forward deck gun . In the span of five minutes , " Westfalen " fired ninety - two 15 cm and forty - five 8 . 8 cm rounds at " Tipperary " before turning 90 degrees to starboard to evade any torpedoes that might have been fired . " Nassau " and several cruisers and destroyers joined in the attack on " Tipperary " ; the ship was quickly turned into a burning wreck . The destroyer nevertheless continued to fire with her stern guns and launched her two starboard torpedoes . One of the British destroyers scored a hit on " Westfalen " s bridge with its guns , killing two men and wounding eight ; Captain Redlich was slightly wounded . At 00 : 50 , " Westfalen " spotted and briefly engaged her with her secondary guns ; in about 45 seconds she fired thirteen 15 cm and thirteen 8 . 8 cm shells before turning away . " Broke " was engaged by other German warships , including the cruiser ; she was hit at least seven times and suffered 42 dead , six missing , and 34 wounded crew members . An officer aboard the light cruiser described " Broke " as " an absolute shambles . " Despite the serious damage inflicted , " Broke " managed to withdraw from the battle and reach port . Just after 01 : 00 , " Westfalen " s searchlights fell on the destroyer " Fortune " , which was wrecked and set ablaze in a matter of seconds by " Westfalen " and " Rheinland " . 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 . With " Westfalen " in the lead , the German fleet reached Wilhelmshaven a few hours later , where the battleship and two of her sisters took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead . Over the course of the battle , the ship had fired fifty - one 28 cm shells , one - hundred and seventy - six 15 cm rounds , and one hundred and six 8 . 8 cm shells . Repair work followed immediately in Wilhelmshaven and was completed by 17 June . Raid of 18 – 19 August . Another fleet advance followed on 18 – 22 August , during which the I Scouting Group battlecruisers were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty ' s battlecruisers . As only two of the four German battlecruisers were still in fighting condition , three dreadnoughts were assigned to the Scouting Group for the operation : , ( or " Großer " " Kurfürst " ) , and the newly commissioned . The High Seas Fleet , including " Westfalen " at the rear of the line , would trail behind and provide cover . However , at 06 : 00 on 19 August , " Westfalen " was torpedoed by the British submarine , some north of Terschelling . The ship took in approximately of water , but the torpedo bulkhead held . Three torpedo - boats were detached from the fleet to escort the damaged ship back to port ; " Westfalen " made on the return trip . The British were aware of the German plans and sortied the Grand Fleet to meet them . By 14 : 35 , Admiral Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet ' s approach and , unwilling to engage the whole of the Grand Fleet just 11 weeks after the close call at Jutland , turned his forces around and retreated to German ports . Repairs to " Westfalen " lasted until 26 September . Following the repair work , " Westfalen " briefly went into the Baltic Sea for training , before returning to the North Sea on 4 October . The fleet then advanced as far as the Dogger Bank on 19 – 20 October . The ship remained in port for the majority of 1917 . The ship did not actively take part in Operation Albion in the Baltic , though she was stationed off Apenrade to prevent a possible British incursion into the area . Expedition to Finland . On 22 February 1918 , " Westfalen " and " Rheinland " were tasked with a mission to Finland to support German army units to be deployed there . The Finns were engaged in a civil war ; the White Finns sought a conservative government free from influence from the newly created Soviet Union , while the Red Guards preferred Soviet - style communism . On 23 February , the two ships took on the 14th Jäger Battalion , and early on 24 February they departed for the Åland Islands . Åland was to be a forward operating base , from which the port of Hanko would be secured , following an assault on the capital of Helsinki . The task force reached the Åland Islands on 5 March , where they encountered the Swedish coastal defense ship s , , and . Negotiations ensued , which resulted in the landing of the German troops on Åland on 7 March ; " Westfalen " then returned to Danzig . " Westfalen " remained in Danzig until 31 March , when she departed for Finland with " Posen " ; the ships arrived at Russarö , which was the outer defense for Hanko , by 3 April . The German army quickly took the port . The task force then proceeded to Helsingfors ; on 9 April " Westfalen " stood off Reval , organizing the invasion force . Two days later the ship passed into the harbor at Helsingfors and landed the soldiers ; she supported their advance with her main guns . The Red Guards were defeated within three days . The ship remained in Helsingfors until 30 April , by which time the White government had been installed firmly in power . Following the operation , " Westfalen " returned to the North Sea where she rejoined the I Battle Squadron . On 11 August , " Westfalen " , " Posen " , , and steamed out towards Terschelling to support German patrols in the area . While en route , " Westfalen " suffered serious damage to her boilers that reduced her speed to . After returning to port , she was decommissioned and employed as an artillery training ship . Fate . Following the German collapse in November 1918 , a significant portion of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow under the terms of the Armistice . " Westfalen " and her three sisters — the oldest dreadnoughts in the German navy - were not among the ships listed for internment , so they remained in German ports . During the internment , a copy of " The Times " informed the German commander , Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , that the Armistice was to expire at noon on 21 June 1919 , the deadline by which Germany was to have signed the peace treaty . Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships after the Armistice expired . To prevent this , he decided to scuttle his ships at the first opportunity . On the morning of 21 June , the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers ; at 11 : 20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships . As a result of the scuttling at Scapa Flow , the Allies demanded replacements for the ships that had been sunk . " Westfalen " was struck from the German naval list on 5 November 1919 and subsequently handed over to the Allies under the contract name " D " on 5 August 1920 . The ship was then sold to ship - breakers in Birkenhead , where she was broken up for scrap by 1924 . Notes . Footnotes Citations