 SMS Hindenburg was the last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy , and as such had a very short career . She was fully operational by 20 October 1917 , but this was too late to see any major operation in World War I. On 17 November Hindenburg and Moltke , along with the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group , were acting as distant support for German minesweepers off the German coast when the minesweepers were attacked by British warships . The British raiders included the new battlecruisers Repulse , Courageous , and Glorious . However , the raid was brief ; by the time Hindenburg and Moltke arrived on the scene , the British ships had broken off the attack and withdrawn . On 23 November , Hindenburg replaced Seydlitz as flagship of the I Scouting Group . 
