 Hindenburg was the last battlecruiser completed for the Imperial German Navy , and as such had a very short career . She was commissioned 10 May 1917 , and was fully operational by 20 October 1917 , too late to see any major action 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 they were attacked by British battlecruisers . The raid was brief ; by the time Hindenburg and Moltke arrived on the scene , the British ships had broken off the attack and withdrawn . Six days later , Hindenburg replaced Seydlitz as flagship of the I Scouting Group . On 23 April 1918 , the ship took part in an abortive fleet advance into the North Sea that attempted to intercept an Allied convoy . Moltke sustained mechanical damage while en route , and as a result , Vice Admiral Hipper decided to cancel the operation . On 11 August , Hipper was promoted to Admiral and given command of the entire High Seas Fleet . Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter replaced Hipper as the commander of the I Scouting Group ; he raised his flag on Hindenburg the following day . 
