length of , a beam of , and a draft of . She displaced normally and up to at combat loading. She was equipped with three triple expansion engines and twelve coal-fired water-tube boilers that produced a rated and a top speed of . In addition to being the fastest ship of her class, Schleswig-Holstein was the second-most fuel efficient. At a cruising speed of , she could steam for . She had a standard crew of 35 officers and 708 enlisted men. The ship's primary armament consisted of four 28 cm SK L/40 guns in two twin turrets; one turret was placed forward and the other aft. Her offensive armament was rounded out with a secondary battery of fourteen SK L/40 guns mounted individually in casemates. A battery of twenty-two SK L/45 guns in single mounts provided defense against torpedo boats. The ship was also armed with six torpedo tubes, all below the waterline. One was in the bow, one in the stern, and four on the broadside. Her armored belt was thick amidships in the citadel, and she had a thick armored deck. The main battery turrets had thick sides. Service history Schleswig-Holstein was laid down on 18 August 1905 at the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel. She was launched on 17 December 1906, the last pre-dreadnought battleship of the German navy. At Schleswig-Holsteins launching ceremony, she was christened by Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the German Empress; Wilhelm II was also in attendance. Ernst Gunther, the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, gave the commissioning speech. Upon completion, Schleswig-Holstein was commissioned for sea trials on 6 July 1908. Her crew largely came from her sister ship . On 21 September the ship was assigned to II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, alongside her sister ships. In November, fleet and unit exercises were conducted in the Baltic Sea. The training regimen in which Schleswig-Holstein participated followed a similar pattern over the next five years. Fleet maneuvers were conducted in the spring, followed by a summer cruise to Norway, and additional fleet training in the fall. This included another cruise into the Atlantic, from 7 July to 1 August 1909. Starting in September 1910, Friedrich Boedicker took command of the ship, a position he held for the next three years. On 3 October 1911, the ship was transferred back to II Squadron. Due to the Agadir Crisis in July, the summer cruise