The German SMS Schleswig-Holstein was the final ship of the five in the Deutschland class. The ships of this class were already outdated by the time they entered service, being inferior in size, armor, firepower and speed to the new generation of dreadnought battleships. Schleswig-Holstein fought in both World Wars. As one of the few battleships Germany was allowed to keep under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Schleswig-Holstein was used in fleet service in the 1920s. In 1935, she was converted into a training ship. Schleswig-Holstein is known worldwide for firing the first shots of World War II when she bombarded the Polish base at Danzig's Westerplatte in the early morning hours of September 1, 1939. The ship was used as a training vessel for the majority of the war, and was sunk by British bombers in December 1944.
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