SMS Fürst Bismarck
lithograph of Fürst Bismarck
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Class overview | |
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Preceded by | Victoria Louise class |
Succeeded by | Prinz Heinrich |
History | |
German Empire | |
Name | Fürst Bismarck |
Namesake | Otto von Bismarck |
Builder | Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel |
Laid down | 1 April 1896 |
Launched | 25 September 1897 |
Commissioned | 1 April 1900 |
Stricken | 17 June 1919 |
Fate | Scrapped in 1919–1920 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Armored cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 127 m (416 ft 8 in) |
Beam | 20.40 m (66 ft 11 in) |
Draft | 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 18.7 knots (34.6 km/h; 21.5 mph) |
Range | |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
SMS Fürst Bismarck (Prince Bismarck)
The ship was primarily intended for colonial duties, and she served in this capacity as part of the East Asia Squadron until she was relieved in 1909, at which point she returned to Germany. The ship was rebuilt between 1910 and 1914, and after the start of World War I, she was briefly used as a coastal defense ship. She proved inadequate to this task, and so she was withdrawn from active duty and served as a training ship for engineers until the end of the war. Fürst Bismarck was decommissioned in 1919 and sold for scrap.
Design
Fürst Bismarck was designed before the naval arms race between Germany and the United Kingdom. Admiral Hollmann was the State Secretary of the Naval Office at the time. Given the dominance of the British
The first armored cruiser to be designed by the German navy, Fürst Bismarck was an enlarged version of the Victoria Louise-class cruisers, at nearly twice the displacement and with a significantly more powerful armament. The ship was intended for overseas use, particularly in support of German colonies in Asia and the Pacific. Despite heavy political opposition, the new ship was approved by the Reichstag and construction began in 1896.[2]
General characteristics and machinery
Fürst Bismarck was 125.70 m (412.4 ft) at the waterline, with an overall length of 127 m (417 ft) and a beam of 20.40 m (66.9 ft). She had a draft of 7.80 m (25.6 ft) forward and 8.46 m (27.8 ft) aft. She
The ship was of transverse and longitudinal steel frame construction; the hull was a single layer of wooden planks covered by a
Fürst Bismarck was propelled by three vertical four-cylinder,
Armament
Fürst Bismarck's primary armament consisted of a battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 guns in twin-gun turrets,[b] one fore and one aft of the central superstructure. The guns were mounted in Drh.L. C/98 turrets, which allowed elevation to 30° and depression to −5°. At maximum elevation, the guns could hit targets out to 16,900 meters (18,500 yd). The guns fired 140-kilogram (310 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 835 meters per second (2,740 ft/s). The ship stored 312 rounds, for a total of 78 shells per gun.[4][6][7]
The secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 quick-firing guns in MPL type casemates. These guns fired armor-piercing shells at a rate of 4 to 5 per minute. The ships carried 120 shells per gun, for a total of 2,160 rounds total. The guns could depress to −7 degrees and elevate to 20 degrees, for a maximum range of 13,700 m (14,990 yd). The shells weighed 51 kg (112 lb) and were fired at a muzzle velocity of 735 m/s (2,410 ft/s). The guns were manually elevated and trained.[7][8]
For defense against torpedo boats, the ship also carried ten 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns in a combination of individual casemates and pivot mounts.[4] These guns fired 7.04 kg (15.5 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 590 m/s (1,900 ft/s). Their rate of fire was approximately 15 shells per minute; the guns could engage targets out to 6,890 m (7,530 yd). The gun mounts were manually operated.[7][9]
Six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes were also fitted, with a total of 16 torpedoes. One tube was fitted to a swivel mount on the stern of the ship, four were submerged on the broadside, and the sixth was placed in the bow, also submerged.[4]
Armor
Fürst Bismarck was protected with
By contrast, the following armored cruiser design, Prinz Heinrich, had only had a 10 cm-thick armor belt and 15 cm (5.9 in) of armor on the turret sides.[4] Even Blücher, Germany's last armored cruiser, had only a 18.0 cm (7.1 in) armored belt and 18 cm-thick turret faces, although her overall scale of protection was much more comprehensive than Fürst Bismarck's.[10]
Service history
The contract for Fürst Bismarck was awarded to the
East Asia Squadron
Boxer Uprising
In Singapore on 4 August, the ship received orders to escort the
Bendemann decided to implement a
By February 1901, the fighting had decreased to the point that the ships of the East Asia Squadron could resume the normal routine of individual and squadron training exercises. In May, Seeadler was detached to
1902–1905
Fürst Bismarck completed repairs in Nagasaki on 15 January 1902 and in early February she rendezvoused with Hertha and Bussard in Singapore. There, Bendemann returned to the ship, though days later on 15 February, he turned command of the squadron over to VAdm Richard Geissler. Later that month, the light cruiser Thetis joined the squadron; further changes to the composition of the squadron followed shortly thereafter, with Kaiserin Augusta, S91, and S92 returning to Germany in February and March. In April, Schwalbe, Geier, and Luchs went to Ningbo to protect Europeans from unrest in the city while Fürst Bismarck and the rest of the squadron toured East Asian ports, ranging from Japan to the Dutch East Indies. During this period, they also conducted various training exercises and alternated visits to Qingdao and Japan for periodic maintenance. Schwalbe returned to Germany in September, though her place was taken by Geier. On 25 December, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded the Schießpreis (Shooting Prize) for excellent gunnery in the East Asia Squadron to Fürst Bismarck.[16]
In early 1903, Fürst Bismarck anchored off the mouth of the Yangtze with Hansa and Thetis, remaining there until mid-March before proceeding to Qingdao. She remained there until late April, when the squadron conducted training exercises through May, during which Fürst Bismarck again won the Schießpreis. The ship visited Japan in company with Bussard, where Geissler and his staff were received by
The year 1904 began with exercises and visits to ports in the region. By this time, tensions between Russia and Japan over their competing interests in Korea had risen considerably, so on 7 January the
During the war, the squadron continued its normal training routine, and Fürst Bismarck won the Schießpreis again that year. She, Hertha, and Seeadler were present in Shanghai for the opening of a German club in the city. In early 1905, riots in China forced most of the squadron to remain in Chinese ports until March. Prittwitz und Gaffron recalled his ships to Qingdao when the Russian Second Pacific Squadron approached the area; following the Battle of Tsushima, where the Russian squadron was annihilated, the German vessels resumed training activities. Later in the year, both Seeadler and Thetis were sent to German East Africa to suppress a rebellion against German rule. By August, a floating dry dock had been completed in Qingdao, allowing the East Asia Squadron to repair its ships itself; Fürst Bismarck underwent repairs there in October. On 11 November, KAdm Alfred Breusing relieved Prittwitz und Gaffron as commander of the squadron, and in December embarked on a tour of the southern portion of the East Asia Station, though the cruise had to be cut short due to unrest in Shanghai that necessitated Fürst Bismarck's presence there. The ship sent a landing party ashore, along with men from the gunboats Jaguar, Tiger, and Vaterland. The men patrolled the city center and protected the German consulate, but did not take any active role in the unrest.[19]
1906–1908
In January 1906, Fürst Bismarck began a tour of Indonesia,[20] after which she went to Hong Kong via North Borneo in late February.[21] She remained there for almost a month, departing on 23 March to meet the rest of the squadron, which by then could be withdrawn from Shanghai. Fürst Bismarck and Hansa, the only major warships assigned to the squadron by that time, visited Japanese ports in May. On 28 May, Fürst Bismarck went to Taku, where Breusing and his staff traveled overland to Beijing, the first German naval officers to visit the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi after the Boxer Rebellion. Hansa began the voyage back to Germany on 4 July, and on 9 August, the light cruiser Niobe arrived to join the squadron. On 19 November, the light cruiser Leipzig arrived to further strengthen the squadron. Fürst Bismarck and Tiger went on another tour of Indonesia and Japan in early 1907. On 13 May, KAdm Carl von Coerper arrived to replace Breusing; he began his tenure as squadron commander by boarding Tiger for a cruise into the Yangtze to familiarize himself with German economic interests in the area. After returning to Fürst Bismarck, he visited Japan in company with Niobe. During the squadron maneuvers that year, Fürst Bismarck won the Schießpreis for a fourth time.[20]
The light cruiser
Later career
In 1910, Fürst Bismarck was taken into the shipyard at the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel for an extensive modernization. Part of the work also included converting the ship into a torpedo
Notes
Footnotes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.
- ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 caliber, meaning that the gun is 40 times as long as it is in diameter.[5]
- ^ United States forces in the alliance could not legally come under foreign command, and French forces refused to due to political reasons. Nevertheless, Waldersee maintained good relations with US and French commanders in the field and the forces collaborated effectively during the campaign.[13]
Citations
- ^ Padfield, p. 37.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 142.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 48–49.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gröner, p. 49.
- ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
- ^ Friedman, p. 141.
- ^ a b c Campbell & Sieche, p. 140.
- ^ Friedman, p. 143.
- ^ Friedman, p. 146.
- ^ Gröner, p. 53.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 164–166.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 166.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 167.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 167–168.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 168–169.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 169.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 170–171.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 171–172.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 172.
- ^ "Notes & Quotes". The British North Borneo Herald. 1 March 1906. p. 47.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 172–173.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 173.
References
- Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Grießmer, Axel (1999). Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine: 1906–1918; Konstruktionen zwischen Rüstungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz [The Battleships of the Imperial Navy: 1906–1918; Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5985-9.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 3. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 3-7822-0211-2.
- ISBN 978-1-84341-013-3.