SMS Pommern
Pommern was the third ship of the
Deutschland-class. She was ordered as ship “
O” at AG Vulcan of Stettin in 1904 and launched on December 2nd, 1905 (Her launch was delayed by a few weeks because of low water).
Pommern was commissioned into the fleet, II Battle Squadron, on August 6th, 1907. During her trials she was clocked with a top speed of 18,2kn, making her the fastest pre-dreadnought in the world.
The years leading up to the first world war were spent with fleet maneuvers, training courses around the Baltics and Skandinavia. Her first refit came around 1908 with rebuild masts and additional searchlight platforms.
The second refit was a few years later, when additional searchlights were added on platforms at the forward funnels.
When the war broke out in Sarajevo,
Pommern was away in Norway and was quickly recalled to home waters. She and other pre-dreadnoughts were assigned guard duties around home waters or served as part of the main fleet during the initial raids against the British Isles.
In 1916 came the Battle of Jutland:
Pommern was part of the third division under Rear-Admiral Mauve together with
Deutschland and
Hessen. The initial fight was taken by the German battlecruisers as the main fleet lacked behind, because of the pre-dreadnoughts poor speed. The squadron saw action in the evening of May 31st, relieving the German battlecruisers.
In the following night action, the German fleet came under attack by British destroyers.
Pommern was hit around 3:10am by one, possible two torpedoes in one of her ammunition magazines for her 170mm guns fired by destroyer
Onslaught. She sunk, taking all of her 839 crew with her. Her loss alone made up a third of the German losses in human life that day.
Her bow crest, which had been removed before the war, is today exhibited at the Maritime Memorial at Laboe.
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