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INDIVIDUAL SHIP

SMS Moltke

SMS Moltke was a member of the Moltke class.

Moltke classImperial German NavyGermanyDreadnought and World War IVerified subject image
Cleaning guns aboard the SMS Moltke. Sans lieu, sans date. Croiseur allemand Moltke. Graissage des canons. Don Mars (contretype numéro 1614).
Cleaning guns aboard the SMS Moltke. Sans lieu, sans date. Croiseur allemand Moltke. Graissage des canons. Don Mars (contretype numéro 1614).Fonds des Albums Valois - Albums thématiques · Public domainImage source
ClassMoltke class
NavyImperial German Navy
CountryGermany
Builder / shipyardBlohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down1908-12-07
Launched1910-04-07
Completed1911
Recorded statusScuttled

Overview

SMS Moltke was a member of the Moltke class.

SMS Moltke is associated with Germany and Imperial German Navy. It belonged to Moltke class, so the class page provides the shared design history while this page concentrates on the individual ship.

Construction and identity

The available construction record identifies SMS Moltke as built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, laid down on 1908-12-07, launched on 1910-04-07, and completed on 1911.

The ship's documented identity includes service with Imperial German Navy.

Service history

Served with the High Seas Fleet, fought at Dogger Bank and Jutland, and was scuttled at Scapa Flow in 1919.

The ship's configuration should be interpreted through the documented class and the dates attached to this individual vessel; equipment should not be assumed to have remained unchanged throughout service.

Class context: Moltke class

The Moltke class enlarged Germany’s battlecruiser concept with ten 28 cm guns and substantial armor.

As a member of Moltke class, SMS Moltke shared the class's documented design framework and intended roles of Fleet combatant and Scouting. Individual refits, transfers, and wartime changes belong to this ship only when separately documented.

Later service and disposition

scuttled with the interned High Seas Fleet. The associated date is 1919-06-21. The recorded location is Scapa Flow.

SMS Moltke matters as an individual career within Moltke class, allowing class-wide design history to be separated from this ship's own construction, identities, service, and fate.

This ship is recorded as a member of Moltke class. Shared design history belongs on the class page; this page concentrates on the individual hull where evidence is available.

Sources and further reading

  1. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921Conway Maritime Press
  2. Moltke-class battlecruiser ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-18
  3. German Warships 1815–1945, Volume OneNaval Institute Press
  4. Cruiser Breslau (Midilli) Service in the Ottoman Empire ↗Çanakkale Araştırmaları Türk Yıllığı · accessed 2026-09-18
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