SMS Hindenburg SMS " Hindenburg " was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine and the third ship of the . She was named in honor of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg , the victor of the Battle of Tannenberg and the Battle of the Masurian Lakes , as well as Supreme Commander of the German armies from 1916 . The ship was the last capital ship of any type built by the German navy during World War I . " Hindenburg " was commissioned late in the war and as a result had a brief service career . The ship took part in a handful of short fleet advances as the flagship of the I Scouting Group in 1917 – 18 , though saw no major action . " Hindenburg " was subsequently interned with the rest of the German battlecruisers at Scapa Flow in November 1918 . Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the ships be scuttled on 21 June 1919 . " Hindenburg " holds the distinction of being the last of the ships to sink . Construction . Built by the Kaiserliche Werft at their shipyard in Wilhelmshaven , " Hindenburg " was the third and final ship of her class , her sister ships were and . Designed as a replacement for the elderly protected cruiser , " Hindenburg " s keel was laid down on 30 June 1913 . She was launched on 1 August 1915 , but due to shifting construction priorities in time of war , she was not completed until 10 May 1917 , by which time it was too late for her to see any significant operations in World War I . At the time , British naval intelligence believed the ship was commissioned so late because she had had parts removed to repair " Derfflinger " after the battle of Jutland in June 1916 . In actuality , construction proceeded slowly because of labor shortages . " Hindenburg " s primary armament was eight 30 . 5 cm ( 12 in ) guns in four twin turrets , the same as in her two sisters . However , the gun turrets were Drh LC / 1913 mounts , which were an improved version the Drh LC / 1912 type mounts on " Derfflinger " and " Lützow " — the gun houses on " Hindenburg " allowed gun elevation to 16° , as opposed to 13 . 5° in the earlier model . This gave the guns mounted in the Drh LC / 1913 turrets an advantage of some over those in the older turret . Like her sister ship , the " Lützow " , she was armed with fourteen 15 cm ( 5 . 9 in ) SK L / 45 guns and four 60 cm ( 23 . 6 in ) torpedo tubes instead of the standard twelve 15 cm guns and four 50 cm ( 19 . 7 in ) tubes mounted on " Derfflinger " . While longer and heavier than her sisters , " Hindenburg " was also faster , capable of steaming at during trials , compared with for " Derfflinger " . World War I . SMS " Hindenburg " was the last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy , and as such had a very short career . She was fully operational by 20 October 1917 , but this was too late to see any major operation in World War I . On 17 November " Hindenburg " and , along with the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group , were acting as distant support for German minesweepers off the German coast when the minesweepers were attacked by British warships . The British raiders included the new battlecruisers , , and . However , the raid was brief ; by the time " Hindenburg " and " Moltke " arrived on the scene , the British ships had broken off the attack and withdrawn . On 23 November , " Hindenburg " replaced as flagship of the I Scouting Group . Advance of 23 April 1918 . In late 1917 , light forces of the High Seas Fleet began interdicting British convoys to Norway . On 17 October the light cruisers and intercepted one of the convoys , sinking nine of the twelve cargo ships and the two escorting destroyers — and — before turning back to Germany . On 12 December , four German destroyers ambushed a second British convoy of five cargo vessels and two British destroyers . All five transports were sunk , as was one of the destroyers . Following these two raids , Admiral David Beatty , the commander of the Grand Fleet , detached battleships from the battle fleet to protect the convoys . The German navy was now presented with an opportunity for which it had been waiting the entire war : a portion of the numerically stronger Grand Fleet was separated and could be isolated and destroyed . Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper planned the operation : the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group , along with light cruisers and destroyers , would attack one of the large convoys , while the rest of the High Seas Fleet would stand by , ready to attack the British dreadnought battleship squadron . At 05 : 00 on 23 April 1918 , the German fleet , with " Hindenburg " in the lead , departed from the Schillig roadstead . Hipper ordered wireless transmissions be kept to a minimum , to prevent British intelligence from receiving radio intercepts . At 06 : 10 the German battlecruisers had reached a position approximately 60 kilometers southwest of Bergen , when lost her inner starboard propeller . Without resistance from the water , the propeller - less shaft began spinning faster and faster , until one of the engine gears flew apart . Shrapnel from the broken machinery damaged several boilers and tore a hole in the hull ; the ship was dead in the water . The ship ' s crew effected temporary repairs , which allowed the ship to steam at . However , it was decided to take the ship under tow by the battleship . Despite this setback , Hipper continued northward . By 14 : 00 , Hipper ' s force had crossed the convoy route several times but had found nothing . At 14 : 10 , Hipper turned his ships southward . By 18 : 37 , the German fleet had made it back to the defensive minefields surrounding their bases . It was later discovered that the convoy had left port a day later than expected by the German planning staff . Later planned operations . On 11 August 1918 , Hipper was promoted to Admiral and given command of the entire High Seas Fleet . Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter replaced Hipper as the commander of the I Scouting Group ; he raised his flag on " Hindenburg " the following day . " Hindenburg " was to have taken part in what would have amounted to the " death ride " of the High Seas Fleet shortly before the end of World War I . The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet ; Reinhard Scheer — by now the " Großadmiral " of the German fleet — intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy , to achieve a better bargaining position for Germany whatever the cost to the fleet . The plan involved two simultaneous attacks by light cruisers and destroyers , one on Flanders and another on shipping in the Thames estuary ; " Hindenburg " and the other four battlecruisers were to support the Thames attack . After both strikes , the fleet was to concentrate off the Dutch coast , where it would meet the Grand Fleet in battle . While the fleet was consolidating in Wilhelmshaven , war - weary sailors began deserting en masse . As " Von der Tann " and " Derfflinger " passed through the locks that separated Wilhelmshaven ' s inner harbor and roadstead , some 300 men from both ships climbed over the side and disappeared ashore . On 24 October 1918 , the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven . Starting on the night of 29 October , sailors on several battleships mutinied ; three ships from the III Squadron refused to weigh anchors , and acts of sabotage were committed on board the battleships and . In the face of open rebellion , the order to sail was rescinded and the planned operation was abandoned . In an attempt to suppress the mutiny , the High Seas Fleet squadrons were dispersed . Fate . Under the terms of the Armistice between Germany and the Allies that ended World War I , the majority of the German fleet was to be interned at Scapa Flow ; this included " Hindenburg " and the rest of the battlecruisers . On 21 November 1918 , the ships to be interned — 14 capital ships , seven light cruisers , and 50 of the most modern torpedo boats — departed German waters for what would prove to be the last time . Prior to the departure of the German fleet , Admiral Adolf von Trotha made clear to Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , who was given command of the ships to be interned , that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships , under any conditions . The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser , which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow . The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British , American , and French warships . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations in Versailles that ultimately produced the treaty that ended the war . 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 . " Hindenburg " was the last ship to sink , at 17 : 00 . Her captain had deliberately arranged that the ship sank on an even keel to make it easier for her crew to escape . After several unsuccessful attempts , she was raised on 23 July 1930 , only to be scrapped at Rosyth between 1930 and 1932 . Her bell was presented to the German Federal Navy on 28 May 1959 . Notes . Footnotes Citations