SMS Rheinland SMS " Rheinland " was one of four s , the first dreadnought s built for the German Imperial Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) . " Rheinland " mounted twelve main guns in six twin turrets in an unusual hexagonal arrangement . The navy built " Rheinland " and her sister ships in response to the revolutionary British , which had been launched in 1906 . " Rheinland " was laid down in June 1907 , launched the following year in October , and commissioned in April 1910 . " Rheinland " s extensive service with the High Seas Fleet during World War I included several fleet advances into the North Sea , some in support of raids against the English coast conducted by the German battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group . These sorties culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 , in which " Rheinland " was heavily engaged by British destroyer s in close - range night fighting . The ship also saw duty in the Baltic Sea , as part of the support force for the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915 . She returned to the Baltic as the core of an expeditionary force to aid the White Finns in the Finnish Civil War in 1918 , but ran aground shortly after arriving in the area . Significant portions of her armor and all her main guns had to be removed before she could be refloated . The damage done by the grounding was deemed too severe to justify repairs and " Rheinland " was decommissioned to be used as a barracks ship for the remainder of the war . In 1919 , following the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow , " Rheinland " was ceded to the Allies who , in turn , sold the vessel to ship - breakers in the Netherlands . The ship was eventually broken up for scrap metal starting in 1920 . Her bell is on display at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden . Construction . " Rheinland " was ordered under the provisional name " Ersatz Württemberg " , as a replacement for the old . She was laid down on 1 June 1907 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin . Like her sister , construction proceeded under absolute secrecy ; detachments of soldiers guarded the shipyard itself , as well as contractors such as Krupp that supplied building materials . The ship was launched on 26 September 1908 ; at the launching ceremony the ship was christened by Elisabeth of Wied and Clemens Freiherr von Schorlemer - Lieser gave a speech . Fitting - out work was completed by the end of February 1910 . A dockyard crew was used for limited sea trials , which lasted from 23 February to 4 March 1910 off Swinemünde . She was then taken to Kiel , where she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 30 April 1910 . More sea trials followed in the Baltic Sea . The ship was long , wide , and had a draft of . She displaced with a normal load , and fully laden . She retained coal - fired 3 - shaft triple expansion engines instead of more advanced turbine engines . This type of machinery was chosen at the request of both Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz and the Navy ' s construction department ; the latter stated in 1905 that the " use of turbines in heavy warships does not recommend itself . " " Rheinland " 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 both ends of the torpedo bulkhead s . Commanding officers . " Rheinland " was initially commanded by " Kapitän zur See " ( " KzS " ) Albert Hopman , from her commissioning until August 1910 . He was temporarily replaced by " Korvettenkapitän " Wilhelm Bunnemann when the ship ' s crew was reduced to commission the battlecruiser in September 1910 . Hopman returned to the ship later that month , and held command through September 1911 . " KzS " Richard Engel replaced Hopman in 1911 and commanded the ship until August 1915 . That month , he left the ship and " KzS " Heinrich Rohardt was given command of " Rheinland " . He served for over a year , until December 1916 , when he was replaced by " Korvettenkapitän " Theodor von Gorrissen . Gorrissen ' s command lasted until September 1918 ; he was replaced by " KzS " Ernst Toussaint , who held command of the ship for less than a month . " Fregattenkapitän " Friedrich Berger was the ship ' s last commander , serving from September 1918 until the ship ' s decommissioning on 4 October . Service history . At the conclusion of trials on 30 August 1910 , " Rheinland " was taken to Wilhelmshaven , where a significant portion of the crew was transferred to the new battlecruiser . Following the autumn fleet maneuvers in September , the crew was replenished with crewmembers from the old pre - dreadnought , which was decommissioned at the same time . " Rheinland " was then assigned to the I Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet . In October , the fleet went on the annual winter cruise , followed by fleet exercises in November . The ship took part in the summer cruises to Norway each August in 1911 , 1913 , and 1914 . World War I . " Rheinland " participated in nearly all of the fleet advances throughout the war . The first such operation was conducted primarily by the battlecruisers ; the ships bombarded Scarborough , Hartlepool , and Whitby on 15 – 16 December 1914 . During the operation , the German battle fleet of some 12 dreadnoughts and 8 pre - dreadnoughts , which was serving as distant support for the battlecruisers , came to within of an isolated squadron of six British battleships . However , skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens convinced the German commander , Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , that he was confronted with the entire Grand Fleet . He broke off the engagement and turned for home . A fleet sortie to the Dogger Bank took place on 24 April 1915 . During the operation , the high - pressure cylinder of " Rheinland " s starboard engine failed . Repair work lasted until 23 May . Battle of the Gulf of Riga . In August 1915 , the German fleet attempted to clear the Russian - held Gulf of Riga in order to facilitate the capture of Riga by the German army . 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 gunboats and destroyers . The German naval force would also lay a series of minefields in the northern entrance to the Gulf to prevent Russian naval reinforcements from reentering the area . The assembled German fleet included " Rheinland " and her three sister ships , the four s , and the battlecruisers , , and . The force operated under the command of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper . The eight battleships were to provide cover for the forces engaging the Russian flotilla . The first attempt on 8 August was unsuccessful , as it had taken too long to clear the Russian minefields to allow the minelayer to lay a minefield of her own . On 16 August 1915 , a second attempt was made to enter the Gulf : and , four light cruisers , and 31 torpedo boats managed to breach the Russian defenses . On the first day of the assault , the German minesweeper was sunk , as was the destroyer . The following day , " Nassau " and " Posen " engaged in an artillery duel with " Slava " , resulting in 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 . " Return to the North Sea . By the end of August , " Rheinland " and the rest of the High Seas Fleet units were back in their bases on 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 . On 12 February 1916 , " Rheinland " was sent to the dockyard for an extensive overhaul , which lasted until 19 April . " Rheinland " was back with the fleet in time to participate in another advance into the North Sea on 21 – 22 April . Another bombardment mission followed two days later ; " Rheinland " was part of the battleship support for the I Scouting Group battlecruisers that attacked Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24 – 25 April . During this operation , the battlecruiser was damaged by a British mine and had to return to port prematurely . Visibility was poor , so the operation was quickly called off before the British fleet could intervene . Battle of Jutland . Admiral Reinhard Scheer immediately planned another attack on the British coast , but the damage to " Seydlitz " and condenser trouble on several of the III Battle Squadron dreadnoughts delayed the plan until the end of May . The German battlefleet departed the Jade at 03 : 30 on 31 May . " Rheinland " was assigned to the II Division of the I Battle Squadron , under the command of Rear Admiral W . Engelhardt . " Rheinland " was the second ship in the division , astern of " Posen " and ahead of " Nassau " and . The II Division was the last unit of dreadnoughts in the fleet ; they were followed by the elderly pre - dreadnoughts of the II Battle Squadron . Between 17 : 48 and 17 : 52 , 11 German dreadnoughts , including " Rheinland " , engaged and opened fire on the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron , though the range and poor visibility prevented effective fire , which was soon checked . Some ten minutes later " Rheinland " again opened fire on the British cruisers , targeting what was most likely , though without success . By 20 : 15 , 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 , with " Rheinland " third from the front , behind " Westfalen " and " Nassau " . At 21 : 22 , crewmen aboard " Rheinland " and " Westfalen " , the two leading ships in the German line , spotted two torpedo tracks 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 , " Rheinland " and " Westfalen " 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 . At about 00 : 30 , the leading units of the German line encountered British destroyers and cruisers . A violent firefight at close range ensued ; " Rheinland " pounded the armored cruiser with her secondary guns at a range of . After a few minutes , " Rheinland " and the rest of the German battleships turned away to avoid torpedoes . At 00 : 36 , " Rheinland " was hit by a pair of shells from " Black Prince " . One of the shells cut the cables to the four forward searchlights and damaged the forward funnel . The second struck the side of the ship and exploded on the forward armored transverse bulkhead . Although the bulkhead was bent inward from the explosion , it was not penetrated . About 45 minutes later , " Rheinland " opened fire on another destroyer , possibly , but she had to cease when a German cruiser came too close to the line of fire . At the same time , " Black Prince " was obliterated by accurate fire from the battleship . Despite the ferocity of the night fighting , the High Seas Fleet punched through the British destroyer forces and reached Horns Reef by 04 : 00 on 1 June . The German fleet reached Wilhelmshaven a few hours later , where " Rheinland " refueled and re - armed . Meanwhile , her three sisters stood out in the roadstead in defensive positions . Over the course of the battle , the ship had fired thirty - five 28 cm ( 11 in ) shells and twenty - six 15 cm ( 5 . 9 in ) rounds . The two hits from " Black Prince " had killed 10 men and wounded 20 . Repair work followed immediately in Wilhelmshaven and was completed by 10 June . Later actions . Another fleet advance followed on 18 – 22 August ; 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 . " Rheinland " and the rest of the High Seas Fleet were to trail behind and provide cover . 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 decidedly close call at Jutland , turned his forces around and retreated to German ports . " Rheinland " covered a sweep by torpedo boats into the North Sea on 25 – 26 September . She then participated in a fleet advance on 18 – 20 October . In early 1917 , the ship was stationed on sentry duty in the German Bight . The crew became unruly due to poor quality food in July and August of that year . The ship did not take part directly in Operation Albion against the Russians , but remained in the western Baltic to prevent a possible incursion by the British to support their Russian ally . Expedition to Finland . On 22 February 1918 , " Rheinland " and her sister were tasked with a mission to Finland to support German army units to be deployed there . The ship arrived in the Åland Islands on 6 March , where her commander became the Senior Naval Commander , a position he held until 10 April . On 11 April , the ship departed the Ålands for Helsinki , with the intention of proceeding to Danzig to refuel . However , she encountered heavy fog while " en route " and ran aground on Lagskär Island at 07 : 30 . Two men were killed in the incident and the ship was badly damaged . Three boiler rooms were flooded and the inner hull was pierced . Refloating efforts on 18 – 20 April proved unsuccessful . The crew was removed temporarily , to bring the pre - dreadnought back into service . On 8 May , a floating crane was brought in from Danzig ; the main guns , some of the turret armor , and the bow and citadel armor were all removed . The ship was lightened by — more than a third of her normal displacement — and with the aid of pontoons , eventually refloated by 9 July . The ship was towed to Mariehamn where some limited repairs were effected . On 24 July the ship departed for Kiel with the assistance of two tug boats ; she arrived there three days later . It was determined that repair work was impractical and instead the ship was decommissioned on 4 October and placed into service as a barracks ship in Kiel . Fate . Following the German collapse in November 1918 , a significant portion of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow according to the terms of the Armistice . " Rheinland " and her three sisters were not among the ships listed for internment , so they remained in German ports . However , a copy of " The Times " informed 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 . Rear Admiral von Reuter came to the conclusion 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 . This included " Rheinland " , which was struck from the German naval list on 5 November 1919 and subsequently handed over to the Allies . The ship was sold on 28 June 1920 to ship - breakers in Dordrecht in the Netherlands , under the contract name " F " . She was towed there a month later on 29 July and broken up by the end of the following year . " Rheinland " s bell is preserved at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden . Notes . Footnotes Citations