sms "helgoland", the lead ship of her class, was a dreadnought battleship of the german imperial navy. "helgoland"'s design was an improvement on the earlier "nassau class". one change was adding bigger main guns. construction began on 11 november 1908 at the howaldtswerke shipyards in kiel. "helgoland" was launched on 25 september 1909 and was commissioned on 23 august 1911.