SMS König Albert

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SMS König Albert
SMS König Albert; the diagonal lines along the side of the hull are anti-torpedo net booms.
History
German Empire
NameKönig Albert
NamesakeKing Albert of Saxony
Builder
Danzig
Laid down17 July 1910
Launched27 April 1912
Commissioned31 July 1913
FateScuttled at Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow 21 June 1919
NotesRaised in 1935 and broken up for scrapping 1936
General characteristics
Class and typeKaiser-class battleship
Displacement
Length172.40 m (565 ft 7 in)
Beam29 m (95 ft 2 in)
Draft9.10 m (29 ft 10 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed22.1 knots (40.9 km/h; 25.4 mph)
Range7,900 nmi (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Crew
  • 41 officers
  • 1,043 enlisted
Armament
Armor

SMS König Albert

Danzig. She was launched on 27 April 1912 and was commissioned into the fleet on 31 July 1913. The ship was equipped with ten 30.5-centimeter (12 in) guns in five twin turrets, and had a top speed of 22.1 knots (40.9 km/h; 25.4 mph). König Albert was assigned to III Battle Squadron and later IV Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career, including World War I
.

Along with her four sister ships, Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, and Prinzregent Luitpold, König Albert participated in most of the major fleet operations of World War I, though she was in drydock for maintenance during the Battle of Jutland between 31 May and 1 June 1916. As a result, she was the only battleship actively serving with the fleet that missed the largest naval battle of the war. The ship was also involved in Operation Albion, an amphibious assault on the Russian-held islands in the Gulf of Riga, in late 1917.

After Germany's defeat in the war and the signing of the

ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships. König Albert was raised in July 1935 and subsequently broken up
for scrap in 1936.

Design

Main article: Kaiser-class battleship
A large warship with five gun turrets, two tall masts, two funnels, and heavy armor protection.
Plan and profile drawing of the Kaiser class; the shaded areas represent the portions of the ship protected by armor

The ship was 172.40 m (565 ft 7 in) long

full load. She had a beam of 29 m (95 ft 2 in) and a draft of 9.10 m (29 ft 10 in) forward and 8.80 m (28 ft 10 in) aft. König Albert was powered by three sets of Schichau turbines, supplied with steam by sixteen coal-fired boilers. The powerplant produced a top speed of 22.1 knots (40.9 km/h; 25.4 mph). She carried 3,600 metric tons (3,500 long tons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of 7,900 nautical miles (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). She had a crew of 41 officers and 1,043 enlisted.[1]

König Albert was armed with a

en echelon amidships, such that both could fire on the broadside.[3] The ship was also armed with a secondary battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns in casemates amidships. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns in casemates. The ship was also armed with four 8.8 cm L/45 anti-aircraft guns. The ship's armament was rounded out by five 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes, all mounted in the hull; one was in the bow, and the other four were on the broadside.[1]

Her main

Krupp cemented armor (KCA). Her main battery gun turrets were protected by 300 mm (11.8 in) of KCA on the sides and faces. König Albert's conning tower was heavily armored, with 400 mm (15.7 in) sides.[1]

Service history

Ordered under the contract name Ersatz Ägir as a replacement for the obsolete

Princess Mathilde of Saxony christened the ship, and her brother, the last king of Saxony, Friedrich August III gave the speech.[6] Following the completion of fitting-out work, the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 31 July 1913.[5]

Although König Albert was the last ship in her class to be launched, she was the third to be commissioned,

Lüderitzbucht, and South Africa, stopping in Saint Helena en route. On 15 February 1914, the Division reached Rio de Janeiro, which ceremonially greeted the visiting German warships.[8]

From Rio de Janeiro, Strassburg went to Buenos Aires, Argentina, while König Albert and Kaiser steamed to Montevideo, Uruguay. Strassburg then rejoined the battleships in Montevideo, and all three then rounded Cape Horn and steamed to Valparaíso, Chile. Between 2 and 11 April they remained in Valparaiso, which marked the furthest point of their journey. On the return voyage, the three ships made additional stops, including in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, before returning to Rio de Janeiro. The Division then began the trip back to Germany, stopping in Cape Verde, Madeira, and Vigo. The ships reached Kiel on 17 June 1914, after having traveled some 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km; 23,000 mi) without incident. On 24 June, the Detached Division was dissolved, and König Albert and Kaiser joined their classmates in III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet.[9]

World War I

The North Sea, where most major German fleet actions took place

Throughout the first two years of the war, the High Seas Fleet, including König Albert, conducted a number of sweeps and advances into the North Sea. The first occurred on 2–3 November 1914, though no British forces were encountered. Admiral

Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily, Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned back toward Germany.[12]

Following the loss of

Horns Reef which concluded without result.[14]

On 11 January 1916, Admiral

Tondern, but failed to locate them. Another advance to Horns Reef followed on 21–22 April.[14] On 24 April, the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group conducted a raid on the English coast. König Albert and the rest of the fleet sailed in distant support. The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw.[19] The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed, but during the approach to Yarmouth, they encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force. A short artillery duel ensued before the Harwich Force withdrew. Reports of British submarines in the area prompted the retreat of I Scouting Group. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow, also withdrew to safer German waters.[20]

After the raid on Yarmouth, several of the III Squadron battleships developed problems with their condensers.

Sunderland.[14] Admiral Scheer attempted a repeat of the original 31 May plan: the two serviceable German battlecruisers—Moltke and Von der Tann—augmented by three faster dreadnoughts, were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Vice Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers. Scheer would trail behind with the rest of the fleet and provide support.[23] During the action of 19 August 1916, Scheer turned north after receiving a false report from a zeppelin about a British unit in the area.[24] As a result, the bombardment was not carried out, and by 14:35, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and so turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.[25]

Another fleet operation took place on 18–19 October, though it ended without encountering any British units. Unit training in the Baltic was then conducted, and on the return voyage III Squadron was diverted to assist in the recovery of a pair of U-boats stranded on the Danish coast. The fleet was reorganized on 1 December;[15] the four König-class battleships remained in III Squadron, along with the newly commissioned Bayern, while the five Kaiser-class ships, including König Albert, were transferred to IV Squadron.[26] König Albert saw no major operations in the first half of 1917, and on 18 August she went into drydock at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel for periodic maintenance, which lasted until 23 September.[15]

Operation Albion

Main article: Operation Albion
A small boat packed with soldiers passes in front of a cruiser and several transport ships
German troops landing at Ösel

In early September 1917, following the German conquest of the Russian port of

pre-dreadnoughts Slava and Tsesarevich, the armored cruisers Bayan and Admiral Makarov, the protected cruiser Diana, 26 destroyers, and several torpedo boats and gunboats. The garrison on Ösel numbered some 14,000 men.[29]

The operation began on the morning of 12 October, when Moltke and the III Squadron ships engaged Russian positions in Tagga Bay while König Albert and the rest of IV Squadron shelled Russian gun batteries on the

Zerel, though heavy fog delayed them from engaging the target. The Russians opened fire first, which was quickly returned by the two ships. Friedrich der Grosse came to the two ships' assistance and the three battleships fired a total of 120 large-caliber shells at the battery at Zerel over the span of an hour. The battleships' gunfire prompted most of the Russian gun crews to flee their posts.[32]

On the night of 15 October, König Albert and Kaiserin were sent to replenish their coal stocks in

Putzig.[33] On the 19th, they were briefly joined in Putzig by Friedrich der Grosse, which continued on to Arensburg with Moltke.[34] The next morning, Vice Admiral Schmidt ordered the special naval unit to be dissolved; in a communique to the naval headquarters, Schmidt noted that "Kaiserin and König Albert can immediately be detached from Putzig to the North Sea."[35] The two ships then proceeded to Kiel via Danzig, where they transited the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal back to the North Sea.[5] After returning to the North Sea on 23 October, König Albert served as the flagship for a force of heavy ships, including Kaiserin, Nassau, Rheinland, and the battlecruiser Derfflinger, supporting a mine-sweeping operation in the German Bight. Afterward she resumed guard duty in the Bight.[15]

Fate

Main article:
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
A map designating the locations where the German ships were sunk; click for a larger view.
Map of the scuttled ships showing König Albert (#14)

König Albert and her four sisters were to have taken part in a

mutinied.[37] The ship remained on picket duty in the Bight until 10 November. This kept her away from the mutinous vessels, until she returned to port and her crew joined the mutiny.[15] The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation.[38] Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."[39]

Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow.[38] Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha made it clear to Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions.[40] The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser Cardiff, which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow. This consisted of some 370 British, American, and French warships.[41] Once the ships were interned, their guns were disabled through the removal of their breech blocks, and their crews were reduced to 200 officers and enlisted men.[42]

The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the

ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships.[40] König Albert capsized and sank at 12:54. On 31 July 1935, the ship was raised and broken up for scrap over the following year in Rosyth.[1]

Notes

Footnotes

  1. Seiner Majestät Schiff" (German
    : His Majesty's Ship).
  2. ^ König Albert was the fourth of five ships ordered, but she was completed after the fifth ship, Prinzregent Luitpold. See Gröner, p. 26. As a result, some sources refer to König Albert as the fifth ship of the class. See Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 109.
  3. ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick loading, while the L/50 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/50 gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 45 times as long as it is in bore diameter.[2]
  4. ^ German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".
  5. ^ The new battleship Bayern had been commissioned on 18 March, but was still conducting trials in the Baltic Sea and was unavailable for the operation. See Campbell, p. 17.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f Gröner, p. 26.
  2. ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
  3. ^ Staff, Battleships, p. 4.
  4. ^ a b Staff, Battleships, p. 6.
  5. ^ a b c d e Staff, Battleships, p. 20.
  6. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 109.
  7. ^ Staff, Battleships, pp. 18, 22.
  8. ^ Staff, Battleships, pp. 10, 11.
  9. ^ Staff, Battleships, p. 11.
  10. ^ Herwig, pp. 149–150.
  11. ^ Tarrant, p. 31.
  12. ^ Tarrant, pp. 31–33.
  13. ^ Tarrant, pp. 43–44.
  14. ^ a b c d Staff, Battleships, pp. 15, 21.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Staff, Battleships, p. 21.
  16. ^ Tarrant, p. 49.
  17. ^ Tarrant, p. 50.
  18. ^ Staff, Battleships, pp. 32, 35.
  19. ^ Tarrant, p. 53.
  20. ^ Tarrant, p. 54.
  21. ^ Tarrant, p. 56.
  22. ^ Tarrant, p. 62.
  23. ^ Massie, p. 682.
  24. ^ Staff, Battleships, p. 15.
  25. ^ Massie, p. 683.
  26. ^ Halpern, p. 214.
  27. ^ Halpern, p. 213.
  28. ^ Halpern, pp. 214–215.
  29. ^ a b Halpern, p. 215.
  30. ^ Barrett, p. 125.
  31. ^ Barrett, p. 146.
  32. ^ Staff, Battle for the Baltic Islands, pp. 71–72.
  33. ^ Staff, Battle for the Baltic Islands, p. 81.
  34. ^ Staff, Battle for the Baltic Islands, p. 140.
  35. ^ Staff, Battle for the Baltic Islands, p. 145.
  36. ^ Tarrant, pp. 280–281.
  37. ^ Tarrant, pp. 281–282.
  38. ^ a b Tarrant, p. 282.
  39. ^ Herwig, p. 252.
  40. ^ a b Herwig, p. 256.
  41. ^ Herwig, pp. 254–255.
  42. ^ Herwig, p. 255.

References

Further reading

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