SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse

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Kaiser Karl der Grosse in 1902
History
German Empire
NameKaiser Karl der Grosse
NamesakeCharlemagne (Karl der Grosse in German)
Builder
Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down17 September 1898
Launched18 October 1899
Commissioned4 February 1902
Decommissioned19 November 1915
Stricken6 December 1919
FateScrapped in 1920
General characteristics
Class and typeKaiser Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement
Length125.3 m (411 ft 1 in)
Beam20.4 m (66 ft 11 in)
Draft7.89 m (25 ft 11 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 3 ×
    triple-expansion steam engines
  • 3 × screw propellers
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Range3,420 nmi (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement
  • 39 officers
  • 612 enlisted
Armament
Armor

SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse

Blohm and Voss shipyard. She was laid down in September 1898 and launched in October 1899. A shipyard strike and an accidental grounding delayed her completion until February 1902; she was therefore the last member of her class to enter service. The ship was armed with four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turrets and had a top speed of 17.5 knots
(32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).

Kaiser Karl der Grosse served with the active fleet until 1908, participating in the normal peacetime routine of training cruises and fleet maneuvers. By 1908, the new "all-big-gun"

ship-breakers
and scrapped in 1920.

Design

Main article: Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleship
Plan and profile drawing of the Kaiser Friedrich III class

After the German

Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office), Leo von Caprivi became the Chancellor of Germany in 1890, and Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Friedrich von Hollmann became the new Secretary of the Reichsmarineamt. Hollmann requested the first Kaiser Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnought battleship in 1892, but the Franco-Russian Alliance, signed the year before, put the government's attention on expanding the Army's budget. Parliamentary opposition forced Hollmann to delay until the following year, when Caprivi spoke in favor of the project, noting that Russia's recent naval expansion threatened Germany's Baltic Sea coastline. In late 1893, Hollmann presented the Navy's estimates for the 1894–1895 budget year, and now the Reichstag approved the new ship, and over the following three years, he secured approval for two further ships. In June 1897, Hollmann was replaced by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz, who quickly proposed and secured approval for the first Naval Law in early 1898. The law authorized the last two ships of the class, Kaiser Karl der Grosse and Kaiser Barbarossa.[1]

Kaiser Karl der Grosse was 125.3 m (411 ft 1 in)

kW), which generated a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). She had a cruising radius of 3,420 nautical miles (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She had a normal complement of 39 officers and 612 enlisted men.[2]

The ship's armament consisted of a

3.7 cm (1.5 in) machine cannon in single mounts. The armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts. The ship's belt armor was 300 mm (11.8 in) thick, and the main armor deck was 65 mm (2.6 in) thick. The conning tower and main battery turrets were protected with 250 mm (9.8 in) of armor plating, and the secondary casemates received 150 mm (5.9 in) of armor protection.[2]

Service history

Construction through 1904

Kaiser Karl der Grosse having her 24 cm SK L/40 guns installed

German Emperor (Kaiser)

yard number 136.[2][5] She was the first capital ship to be built by the yard and the second warship of any type.[6] The new battleship was launched on 18 October 1899 and named for Charlemagne (Karl der Grosse in German); Wilhelm II gave the launching speech and Johann Georg Mönckeberg, the Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor) of Hamburg, christened the ship. A major strike by shipyard workers in late 1900 significantly delayed completion of the ship. In October 1901, a shipyard crew took the ship to the naval base at Wilhelmshaven, though while en route she ran aground in the lower Elbe river. The hull was damaged in the incident and the necessary repairs further delayed her entry into service; she was not commissioned until 4 February 1902.[5]

Kaiser Karl der Grosse was assigned to II Division of I Squadron on 19 February, the last member of her class to enter active service. With the assignment of Kaiser Karl der Grosse, I Squadron was now fully composed of modern battleships. The squadron went on a training cruise to Britain in April and May, followed by a tour of the

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and Hamburg could be seized. The "hostile" flotilla accomplished these tasks within three days.[8] The maneuvers concluded in the North Sea with a fleet review in the Jade Bight. From 1 to 12 December, the squadron went on its normal winter cruise to Norway.[9]

Kaiser Karl der Grosse underway, c. 1902

In 1903, the fleet, which was composed of only one squadron of battleships (along with its attendant scouting vessels and torpedo boats), was reorganized as the "Active Battle Fleet." Kaiser Karl der Grosse remained in I Squadron along with her sister ships and the newest Wittelsbach-class battleships, while the older Brandenburg-class ships were placed in reserve in order to be rebuilt.[10] The first quarter of 1903 followed the usual pattern of training exercises. The squadron went on a training cruise in the Baltic, followed by a voyage to Spain that lasted from 7 May to 10 June. In July, she joined I Squadron for the annual cruise to Norway. The autumn maneuvers consisted of a blockade exercise in the North Sea, a cruise of the entire fleet first to Norwegian waters and then to Kiel in early September, and finally a mock attack on Kiel. The exercises concluded on 12 September. The winter training cruise began on 23 November in the eastern Baltic and continued into the Skagerrak in early December.[11]

Kaiser Karl der Grosse participated in exercises in the Skagerrak from 11 to 21 January 1904, with her squadron from 8 to 17 March, and with the fleet in the North Sea in May. In July, I Squadron and

Helgoland on 6 September. Three days later, the fleet returned to the Baltic via the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, where it participated in further landing operations with IX Corps and the Guards Corps. On 15 September, the maneuvers came to an end.[13] I Squadron went on its winter training cruise, this time to the eastern Baltic, from 22 November to 2 December.[14]

1905–1914

Map of the North and Baltic Seas in 1911

In January and February 1905, Kaiser Karl der Grosse served briefly as the flagship of the squadron.[5] During this period, she took part in a pair of training cruises with I Squadron during 9–19 January and 27 February – 16 March 1905. Individual and squadron training followed, with an emphasis on gunnery drills. On 12 July, the fleet began a major training exercise in the North Sea.[15] While on the cruise on 18 July, Kaiser Karl der Grosse was detached to visit Antwerp to represent Germany during the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the Belgian Revolution.[5] The rest of the fleet then cruised through the Kattegat and stopped in Copenhagen and Stockholm; Kaiser Karl der Grosse rejoined them on 3 August in Karlskrona. The summer cruise ended on 9 August, though the autumn maneuvers that would normally have begun shortly thereafter were delayed by a visit from the British Channel Fleet that month.[15]

The British fleet stopped in Danzig,

Swinemünde, and Flensburg, where it was greeted by units of the German Navy; Kaiser Karl der Grosse and the main German fleet was anchored at Swinemünde for the occasion. The visit was strained by the growing Anglo-German naval arms race.[15][16] As a result of the British visit, the 1905 autumn maneuvers (6 to 13 September) were shortened considerably, consisting only of exercises in the North Sea. The first exercise presumed a naval blockade in the German Bight, and the second envisioned a hostile fleet attempting to force the defenses of the Elbe.[17] In November, I Squadron cruised in the Baltic. In early December, I and II Squadrons went on their regular winter cruise, this time to Danzig, where they arrived on 12 December. While on the return trip to Kiel, the fleet conducted tactical exercises.[18]

The fleet undertook a heavier training schedule in 1906 than in previous years. The ships were occupied with individual, division and squadron exercises throughout April. Starting on 13 May, major fleet exercises took place in the North Sea and lasted until 8 June with a cruise around the Skagen into the Baltic.[18] The fleet began its usual summer cruise to Norway in mid-July. Kaiser Karl der Grosse and I Squadron anchored in Molde, where they were joined on 21 July by Wilhelm II aboard the steamer Hamburg. The fleet was present for the birthday of Norwegian king Haakon VII on 3 August. The German ships departed the following day for Helgoland to join exercises being conducted there, arriving back in Kiel by 15 August, where preparations for the autumn maneuvers began. On 22–24 August, the fleet took part in landing exercises in Eckernförde Bay outside Kiel. The maneuvers were paused from 31 August to 3 September when Kiel hosted vessels from Denmark and Sweden, along with a Russian squadron from 3 to 9 September.[19] The maneuvers resumed on 8 September and lasted five more days. The ship participated in the uneventful winter cruise into the Kattegat and Skagerrak from 8 to 16 December.[20]

The first quarter of 1907 followed the previous pattern and, on 16 February, the Active Battlefleet was re-designated the

"all-big-gun" battleships, which rendered pre-dreadnoughts like Kaiser Karl der Grosse obsolete, began to enter service.[23] In June and July 1911, the ship underwent a major overhaul.[5] By 1914, the ship had been assigned to V Squadron of the Reserve Fleet, alongside her four sister ships and the battleship Wettin.[24]

World War I

Kaiser Karl der Grosse in a floating dry dock

As a result of the outbreak of World War I, Kaiser Karl der Grosse and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as V Battle Squadron on 5 August 1914. The ships were prepared for war very slowly, and they were not ready for service in the North Sea until the end of August.

Windau, but a shortage of transports forced a revision of the plan. Instead, V Squadron was to carry the landing force, but this too was cancelled after Heinrich received false reports of British warships having entered the Baltic on 25 September.[25] Kaiser Karl der Grosse and her sisters returned to Kiel the following day, disembarked the landing force, and proceeded to the North Sea, where they resumed guard ship duties. Before the end of the year, V Squadron was once again transferred to the Baltic.[26]

Prince Heinrich ordered a foray toward

Rönnebeck.[27]

Footnotes

Notes

  1. Seiner Majestät Schiff
    " (German: His Majesty's Ship).
  2. eszett
    , as Kaiser Karl der Große. Most English-language sources replace the eszett.
  3. ^ 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.[3]

Citations

  1. ^ Sondhaus, pp. 180–189, 216–218, 221–224.
  2. ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 15.
  3. ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
  4. ^ Herwig, pp. 24–26.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 39.
  6. ^ Hurd & Castle, p. 366.
  7. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 39, 47.
  8. ^ German Naval Manoeuvres, pp. 91–96.
  9. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 39, 48.
  10. ^ Herwig, p. 45.
  11. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 48–49.
  12. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 51–52.
  13. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 52.
  14. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 54.
  15. ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54–55.
  16. ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 134.
  17. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 55.
  18. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 58.
  19. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 59.
  20. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 60.
  21. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 60–61.
  22. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 62.
  23. ^ a b Campbell & Sieche, p. 141.
  24. ^ European War Notes: Organization of the German Fleet, p. 1564.
  25. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 62–63.
  26. ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 63.
  27. ^ a b Gröner, p. 16.
  28. ^ Treaty of Versailles Section II, Article 181.

References

Further reading
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