was in the bow, one in the stern, and two on each broadside. Her main armored belt was thick in the central citadel, and was composed of Krupp cemented armor (KCA). Her main battery gun turrets were protected by the same thickness of KCA on the sides and faces, as well as the barbettes that supported the turrets. Helgolands deck was thick. Service history Helgoland was ordered by the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) under the provisional name Ersatz Siegfried, as a replacement for the old coastal defense ship . The contract for the ship was awarded to Howaldtswerke in Kiel under construction number 500. Work began on 24 December 1908 with the laying of her keel, and the ship was launched less than a year later, on 25 September 1909. Fitting-out, including completion of the superstructure and the installation of armament, lasted until August 1911. Helgoland, named for the offshore islands seen as vital to the defense of the Kiel Canal, was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 23 August 1911, just under three years from when work commenced. Upon commissioning, Helgoland replaced the pre-dreadnought in I Battle Squadron. On 9 February 1912, Helgolands crew beat the German record for loading coal, taking 1,100 tons of coal on board in two hours; the record was previously held by the crew of the Nassau-class battleship . Kaiser Wilhelm II congratulated the crew through a Cabinet order. In March, fleet training maneuvers were conducted in the North Sea, followed by another round of exercises in November. The fleet also trained in the Skagerrak and Kattegat during the November exercises. The next year followed a similar training pattern, though a summer cruise to Norway was instituted. On 10 July 1914, Helgoland left the Jade Estuary to take part in the annual summer training cruise to Norway. The fleet, along with several German U-boats, assembled at Skagen on 12 July to practice torpedo boat attacks, individual ship maneuvers, and searchlight techniques. The fleet arrived at the Fjord of Songe by 18 July, but Helgoland had to wait until after midnight for a harbor pilot to guide her into the confined waters of the fjord. Helgoland joined , the light cruiser , and the Kaiser's yacht in Balholm. That same day, Helgoland took on 1250 tons of coal from a Norwegian collier. The following morning Helgoland was joined by her sister , and