The Ostfriesland, named after a German province bordering on the Netherlands and the North Sea, was a German battleship built at Wilhelmshaven, Germany in 1908. She was 546' in length and 93' in breadth. Launched in September 1909, she was commissioned into the Imperial German Navy in May 1911. 

The Ostfriesland saw action during the Battle of Jutland, suffering extensive damage from a mine and British shelling. After the war she was interned at Scapa Flow though she was moved before the scuttling of the rest of the German fleet in 1919. She was surrendered to the Allies following World War I and was taken over as a war prize by the U. S. Navy. The Ostfriesland was commissioned into the US Navy on 7 April 1920 at Rosyth, Scotland.

Though in need of repairs, the ship managed to sail to New York where she was decommissioned on 20 September 1920. The Ostfriesland, with several other ex-German warships, were utilized as targets for a demonstration of air power by Brigadier General Billy Mitchell. Bombed by Army planes from Langley Field in Virginia, she was sunk 21 July 1921 approximately 60 miles off the Virginia Capes.

Today, the once great battleship rests in 380' of water in the Southern Drill Grounds. First dove in 1990, she has since been visited by a handful of divers.