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SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II

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Kaiser Wilhelm II steaming at high speed
History
KaiserGermany
NameKaiser Wilhelm II
NamesakeWilhelm II
BuilderKaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Laid downOctober 1896
Launched14 September 1897
Commissioned13 February 1900
Stricken17 March 1921
FateScrapped in 1922
General characteristics
Class and typeKaiser Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacementlist error: <br /> list (help)
Standard: 10,790 t (10,620 long tons; 11,890 short tons)
Full load: 11,599 t (11,416 long tons; 12,786 short tons)
Length125.3 m (411 ft 1 in)
Beam20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Draft7.89 m (25 ft 11 in)
Installed power13,000 ihp (9,700 kW)
Propulsion3 shafts, triple expansion steam engines
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Range3,420 nmi (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement658–687
Armamentlist error: <br /> list (help)
4 × 24 cm (9.4 in) 40 cal guns
18 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns
12 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns
12 × 1-pdr guns
6 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes
Armorlist error: <br /> list (help)
Belt: 300 to 150 mm (11.8 to 5.9 in)
Deck: 65 mm (2.6 in)
Conning Tower: 250 mm
Turrets: 250 mm (9.8 in)
Casemates: 150 mm

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II ("His Majesty's Ship Emperor Wilhelm II") was the second ship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven and launched 14 September 1897. The ship was completed 7 October 1898 and commissioned into the fleet as flagship on 4 February 1902. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin turrets. She was powered by triple expansion engines that delivered a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).

Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet until 1906, when she was replaced by the new battleship SMS Deutschland. After the new dreadnought battleships began entering service in 1910, Kaiser Wilhelm II was decommissioned and put into reserve.

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she and her sisters were brought back into active duty as coastal defense ships in the V Battle Squadron. Due to her age, however, she was withdrawn from this role in early 1915, after which she served as a command ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet. Following the end of the war in November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was stricken from the navy list and sold for scrap in the early 1920s. Her bow ornament is preserved at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden.

Construction

Main article: Kaiser Friedrich III class battleship

Kaiser Wilhelm II's keel was laid in 1896, at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, under construction number 24. She was ordered under the contract name Ersatz Friedrich der Große, to replace the elderly armored frigate Friedrich der Große.[1] Kaiser Wilhelm II was launched on 14 September 1897 and commissioned on 13 February 1900.[2]

The ship was 125.3 m (411 ft) long overall and had a beam of 20.4 m (67 ft) and a draft of 7.89 m (25.9 ft) forward and 8.25 m (27.1 ft) aft. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers. Kaiser Wilhelm II's powerplant was rated at 13,000 indicated horsepower (9,700 kW), which generated a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h).[1]

Kaiser Wilhelm II's armament consisted of a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 guns in twin gun turrets,[Note 1] one fore and one aft of the central superstructure.[3] Her secondary armament consisted of eighteen 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns and twelve 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns. The armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts.[1]

Service history

When Kaiser Wilhelm II was commissioned into the fleet in 1900, she assumed the position of fleet flagship; she held this position until 1906.[4] Kaiser Wilhelm II was assigned to the I Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet), where she was joined by her sister-ships.[5] At 01:30 on 2 January 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II's sistership Kaiser Friedrich III struck an underwater obstacle while the two ships were steaming from Danzig to Kiel. The shock from the collision damaged the ship's boilers and started a fire in the coal bunkers. Kaiser Wilhelm II took her sister in tow, although after a period of time, the engines on Kaiser Friedrich III were restarted. The ships reached Kiel, where temporary repairs were conducted.[6]

In September 1902, extensive fleet maneuvers were conducted in the Baltic and North Sea. Kaiser Wilhelm II didn't actively take part in the exercises; she instead served as an observation ship for the commander of the fleet, as well as her namesake, Kaiser Wilhelm II.[7] In 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II was assigned to the II Division of the I Squadron, alongside her sister-ship Kaiser Karl der Große and the newer battleship Mecklenburg; the Heimatflotte at that time consisted of another division of three battleships in the I Squadron and two more three-ship divisions in the II Squadron. This was supported by a cruiser division composed of two armored cruisers and six protected cruisers.[8]

In 1906, Kaiser Wilhelm II was replaced as fleet flagship by the new battleship SMS Deutschland.[9] The ship served with the active fleet for ten years, by which time the new dreadnoughts were beginning to come into service. Kaiser Wilhelm II was then decommissioned and placed into reserve.[5] While the ship was in reserve, she was assigned to the V Squadron of the Reserve Fleet, along with her four sister ships and the battleship Wettin.[10]

World War I

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron. They were tasked with coastal defense, though they served in this capacity for a very short time. In February 1915, they were again withdrawn from service.[5] Thereafter, Kaiser Wilhelm II was converted into a floating headquarters for the commander of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven. The ship had its wireless equipment modernized for use by the commander when the fleet was in port.[11]

According to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war, the German navy was significantly reduced in strength.[12] As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II was stricken from the navy list on 17 March 1921 and sold to shipbreakers. By 1922, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters had been broken up for scrap metal. The ship's bow ornament is preserved at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden.[2]

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnellfeuerkanone) denotes that the gun quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun is 40 as times long as it is in diameter.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c Gröner, p. 15
  2. ^ a b Gröner, p. 16
  3. ^ Hore, p. 67
  4. ^ Gardiner, Chesneau, & Kolesnik, p. 247
  5. ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray, p. 141
  6. ^ R.U.S.I. Journal, Vol. 45, pp. 614–615
  7. ^ R.U.S.I. Journal Vol. 47, pp. 91–96
  8. ^ The United Service, p. 335
  9. ^ Staff, p. 8
  10. ^ Proceedings, p. 1564
  11. ^ Philbin, p. 48
  12. ^ Williamson, p. 5

References

Books
  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073. OCLC 12119866.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
  • Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral Hipper:The Inconvenient Hero. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 9060322002.
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
  • Hore, Peter (2006). The Ironclads. London: Southwater Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84476-299-6.
  • Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918 (1). Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 9781846034671.
  • Williamson, Gordon (2003). German Battleships 1939–45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841764986.
Journals
  • "The British and German Fleets". The United Service. 7. New York: Lewis R. Hamersly & Co.: 328–340 1905.
  • "German Naval Manoeuvres". R.U.S.I. Journal. 47. London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies: 90–97. 1903.
  • "Naval Notes". R.U.S.I. Journal. 45. London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies: 611–625. 1901.

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