SMS Braunschweig SMS " Braunschweig " was the first of five pre - dreadnought battleship s of the in the German Kaiserliche Marine ( Imperial Navy ) . She was laid down in 1901 and commissioned in October 1904 , at a cost of 23 , 983 , 000 marks . She was named after the then Duchy of Brunswick ( ) . Her sister ships were , , , and . The ship served in the II Squadron of the German fleet after commissioning , though by the outbreak of World War I she had been moved to the IV Squadron . " Braunschweig " saw action in the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy . In August 1915 , the ship participated in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga , during which she engaged the Russian battleship . In 1916 , the ship was placed in reserve owing to crew shortages . She spent the remainder of World War I as a training ship , and after 1917 , as a barracks ship for U - boat crews . Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , she was retained after the end of the war and modernized in 1921 – 22 . " Braunschweig " served in the reformed Reichsmarine as a coastal defense ship until 1926 , when she was again placed in reserve . She was stricken in 1931 and subsequently broken up for scrap . Construction . " Braunschweig " was laid down in 1901 , at the Germaniawerft in Kiel under construction number 97 . The first of her class , she was ordered under the contract name " H " as a new unit for the fleet . The ship cost 23 , 983 , 000 marks . " Braunschweig " was launched on 20 December 1902 and commissioned into the fleet on 15 October 1904 . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward . The ship was powered by three 3 - cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws . Steam was provided by eight naval and six cylindrical boilers , all of which burned coal . " Braunschweig " s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . " Braunschweig " s armament consisted of a main battery of four 28 cm ( 11 in ) SK L / 40 guns in twin gun turret s , one fore and one aft of the central superstructure . Her secondary armament consisted of fourteen 17 cm ( 6 . 7 inch ) SK L / 40 guns and eighteen 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 45 in ) SK L / 35 quick - firing guns . The armament suite was rounded out with six torpedo tubes , all mounted submerged in the hull . Service history . Upon commissioning in October 1904 , " Braunschweig " was assigned to the II Division of the II Squadron of the German fleet . She was joined by her sister the following month ; the II Division was rounded out by the old battleship . The German Navy in 1905 consisted of four divisions of three battleships each , with two divisions per squadron . This was supported by a cruiser division , composed of two armored cruiser s and six protected cruiser s . After the outbreak of World War I in 1914 , " Braunschweig " was assigned to the IV Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet . The squadron was commanded by Vice Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt . In July 1915 , following the loss of the minelaying cruiser in the Baltic , the IV Squadron ships were transferred to reinforce the German naval forces in the area . On 11 and 19 July , German cruisers , with the IV Squadron ships in support , conducted sweeps in the Baltic , though without engaging Russian forces . In August 1915 , the German fleet attempted to clear the Gulf of Riga of Russian naval forces , in order to aid the German Army advancing on the city . The IV Squadron was joined by the I Squadron , which consisted of the eight and s , from the High Seas Fleet , along with three battlecruiser s and a host of smaller craft . The task force was placed under command of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper , though operational command remained with Vice Admiral Schmidt . On the morning of 8 August , the Germans made their initial push into the Gulf ; " Braunschweig " and " Elsass " were tasked with engaging the Russian pre - dreadnought and preventing her from disrupting the German minesweepers . However , when it became clear that the minesweepers could not clear the minefield before nightfall , Schmidt called off the attempt . A second attempt was made on 16 August ; this time , " Braunschweig " remained outside the Gulf while the dreadnought s and took over the task of dealing with " Slava " . By 19 August , the Russian minefields had been cleared and the flotilla entered the Gulf . Reports of Allied submarines in the area , however , prompted the Germans to call off the operation the following day . On 12 October , the British submarine fired a single torpedo at " Braunschweig " , though it failed to hit its target . Due to manpower shortages , the IV Squadron ships were demobilized . In 1916 , " Braunschweig " became a training ship . On 20 August 1917 , she was transferred for use as a barracks ship stationed in Kiel . In this role , the ship supported the III Submarine Flotilla . The Treaty of Versailles , which ended the war , specified that Germany was permitted to retain six battleships of the " " Deutschland " or " Lothringen " types . " " Braunschweig " was chosen to remain on active service with the newly reformed Reichsmarine . The ship was modernized at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven from 1921 – 22 . In 1923 , " Braunschweig " s bridge was rebuilt and enlarged . She and " Elsass " , along with the , were assigned to the North Sea Station . The ship served with the fleet until 1926 , when she was withdrawn from active duty and placed in reserve . On 31 March 1931 , " Braunschweig " was stricken from the naval register and temporarily used as a hulk in Wilhelmshaven before being broken up for scrap . Notes . Footnotes Citations References . Books Journals