The "Helgoland" class was the second class of German dreadnought battleships. Constructed from 1908 to 1912, the class comprised four ships: , the lead ship; ; ; and . The design was a significant improvement over the previous ships; they had a larger main battery— main guns instead of the weapons mounted on the earlier vessels—and an improved propulsion system. The "Helgoland"s were easily distinguished from the preceding "Nassau"s by the three funnels that were closely arranged, compared to the two larger funnels of the previous class. The ships retained the hexagonal main battery layout of the "Nassau" class.