Today's classic warship, USS Ostfriesland
Helgoland class battleship
Displacement. 24 500 t.
Lenght. 546'
Beam. 93'3"
Draft. 29'6"
Speed. 21 k.
Complement. 1150
Armament. 12 12", 14 5.9", 6 19.7" tt.
SMS Ostfriesland, a German battleship built at Wilhelmshaven, Germany in 1908; launched in September 1909; commissioned in the Imperial German Navy in May 1911. Named for a region of Germany bordering on the North Sea, Ostfriesland was one of four Helgoland-class battleships commissioned in 1911-12. During World War I, she was attached to the first Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and took part in operations in the North Sea and Baltic in 1915-16.
Ostfriesland saw action at the Battle of Jutland, and was damaged by a mine while returning to base. Following repairs she made only a few more tentative sorties into the North Sea.
After the war, she was interned at Scapa Flow with the bulk of the High Seas Fleet, but was moved to Rosyth before the scuttle. The vessel was awarded to the United States as a war prize, and taken over in April 1920 by the U. S. Navy and commissioned as USS Ostfriedland on 7 April 1920 at Rosyth, Scotland, Capt. J. F. Hellweg in command.
Though in need of repairs, USS Ostfriedland sailed to New York under her own power. She was decommissioned at New York Navy Yard in September of 1920. The US Navy drydocked the vessel for examination, and removed pieces of armor, guns, etc from the vessel for further study. Along with other captured German vessels, she was given over for destruction in a live-fire exercise.
During World War I, a number of proposals had been advanced to use airplanes against capital ships, but all were dropped. In 1920, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell began training air crews to demonstrate the superiority of air power over battleships and the Navy reluctantly agreed to provide targets. After sinking three U-boats, a destroyer, and a cruiser, on July 20, 1921, Martin bombers were loaded with 230-pound and later 600-pound bombs to use against Ostfrieland, 60 miles off the Virginia coast. These had little effect, but the next day they returned from Langley Field armed with 1,000- and 2,000-pound bombs. Hit below the waterline by six 1-ton bombs, Ostfriesland sank 21 minutes after the attack began. Popular lore had it that pro-battleship admirals wept to see the ship go down. While the rules of the exercise were broken by the fliers using 2000-pound bombs, and the vessel would no doubt have survived easily if buttoned up and given even a minimum amount of damage control, the film footage of those tiny little planes sinking a battleship had the desired effect in promoting airpower.
The wreck lies 60 miles off the Virginia Capes, in 380 feet of water. The top of the wreck is at 310 feet, and the vessel lies upside down resting on its gun turrets and superstructure. The current is light, and the bottom sandy, but visibility is limited in the darkness. This is a very challenging dive, pushing the limits of sport diving technology. Very few have visited the wreck, which was first re-located in 1990.
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