SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II
Lithograph of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900
| |
History | |
---|---|
Germany | |
Name | Kaiser Wilhelm II |
Namesake | Wilhelm II |
Builder | Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven |
Laid down | 26 October 1896 |
Launched | 14 September 1897 |
Commissioned | 13 February 1900 |
Stricken | 17 March 1921 |
Fate | Scrapped in 1922 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Kaiser Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 125.3 m (411 ft 1 in) |
Beam | 20.4 m (66 ft 11 in) |
Draft | 7.89 m (25 ft 11 in) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
Range | 3,420 nmi (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement |
|
Armament |
|
Armor |
|
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II ("His Majesty's Ship Emperor William II")
Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of the Active Battle Fleet until 1906, participating in numerous fleet training exercises and visits to foreign ports. She was replaced as flagship by the new battleship
With the outbreak of
Design
After the German
Kaiser Wilhelm II was 125.3 m (411 ft 1.07 in)
The ship's armament consisted of a main battery of four
Service history
Construction to 1902
Kaiser Wilhelm II's keel was laid on 26 October 1896,
In early July 1900, the four Brandenburg-class battleships, which were assigned to I Division of I Squadron, were ordered to East Asian waters to assist in the suppression of the
On 1 November 1900, Kaiser Friedrich III replaced Kaiser Wilhelm II as the I Squadron flagship; the latter, as the fleet flagship, remained assigned to the squadron for tactical purposes. From 4 to 15 December, Kaiser Wilhelm II and I Squadron went on a winter training cruise to Norway; the ships anchored at Larvik from 10 to 12 December. Kaiser Wilhelm II went into drydock in January 1901 for overhaul and some modernization work.[8] This included the reconstruction of a larger bridge and the removal of some of her searchlights.[9] While the ship was laid up, Admiral Hans von Koester replaced Hoffmann as the fleet commander, a position he would hold until the end of 1906.[10]
The annual training routine began at the end of March 1901 with squadron exercises in the Baltic. On the night of 1–2 April, Kaiser Friedrich III ran hard aground on the
In January 1902, Kaiser Wilhelm II went into dock at Wilhelmshaven for her annual overhaul. In mid-March, Wilhelm II and his wife, Augusta Victoria, came aboard the ship and waited in the mouth of the Elbe for Wilhelm's brother Prince Heinrich, who was returning from the United States. I Squadron then went on a short cruise in the western Baltic before embarking on a major cruise around the British Isles, which lasted from 25 April to 28 May. Individual and squadron maneuvers took place from June to August, interrupted only by a cruise to Norway in July. During these maneuvers, three of Kaiser Wilhelm II's boiler tubes burst, but the damage was repaired by the start of the autumn maneuvers in August.[12] These exercises began in the Baltic and concluded in the North Sea with a fleet review in the Jade. Kaiser Wilhelm II took no active 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. The regular winter cruise followed during 1–12 December.[13]
1903–1905
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. After returning to Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II participated in the
Kaiser Wilhelm II participated in an exercise in the Skagerrak from 11 to 21 January 1904, after which she returned to Kiel. She then went to the Norwegian city of
The fleet reassembled on 6 August and steamed back to Kiel, where it conducted a mock attack on the harbor on 12 August. During its cruise in the North Sea, the fleet experimented with
Kaiser Wilhelm II 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. The fleet then cruised through the Kattegat and stopped in
As a result of the British visit, the 1905 autumn maneuvers were shortened considerably, from 6 to 13 September, and consisted 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.[21] During October, Kaiser Wilhelm II conducted individual training and, in November, joined the rest of I Squadron for a cruise 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.[22]
1906–1914
Kaiser Wilhelm II and the rest of 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
On 26 September 1906, now-
In May 1908, the fleet went on a major cruise into the Atlantic instead of its normal voyage in the North Sea. Kaiser Wilhelm II stopped in
From 3 to 29 April 1911, the ship participated in maneuvers off Rügen. Together with the North Sea reserve division, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sister ships went on a training cruise to Norway, starting on 8 June. During the visit, she stopped in Arendal, Bergen, and Odda. In July, the ship conducted gunnery training near the northern coast of Holstein, followed by training cruises off the coast of Mecklenburg. Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of III Squadron, which was organized for the autumn maneuvers in August.[28] III Squadron was attached to the High Seas Fleet for the maneuvers, which lasted from 28 August to 11 September. The following day, III Squadron was disbanded and Kaiser Wilhelm II returned to service with the Baltic reserve division. In February 1912, Kaiser Wilhelm II was sent to the Fehmarn Belt to assist in freeing several freighters that were stuck in ice. She and her sisters were again decommissioned on 9 May, and remained out of service until 1914.[26]
World War I
As a result of the outbreak of World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as V Battle Squadron on 5 August 1914; Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of the squadron. The ships were readied for war very slowly, and they were not ready for service in the North Sea until the end of August.
Prince Heinrich ordered a foray toward Gotland. On 26 December 1914, the battleships rendezvoused with the Baltic cruiser division in the Bay of Pomerania and then departed on the sortie. Two days later, the fleet arrived off Gotland to show the German flag, and was back in Kiel by 30 December. The squadron returned to the North Sea for guard duties, but was withdrawn from front-line service in February 1915. Shortages of trained crews in the High Seas Fleet, coupled with the risk of operating older ships in wartime, necessitated the deactivation of Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters. During this period, her sister Kaiser Karl der Grosse briefly served as the squadron flagship, but Kaiser Wilhelm II resumed the post starting on 24 February. The following month, on 5 March, her crew was reduced and she steamed to Wilhelmshaven, where she was converted into the headquarters ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet, commencing on 26 April.[31] The ship had its wireless equipment modernized for use by the commander when the fleet was in port.[32]
After the end of the war, Kaiser Wilhelm II continued in her role as headquarters ship for the fleet commander and his staff, along with the commander of the minesweeping operation in the North Sea. She was decommissioned for the last time on 10 September 1920.
Footnotes
Notes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff" (German: His Majesty's Ship).
- ^ 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]
- ^ German warships were ordered under provisional names. Entirely new ships were given a single letter; ships intended to replace older or lost vessels were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".
Citations
- ^ Sondhaus, pp. 180–189, 216.
- ^ a b c Gröner, p. 15.
- ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
- ^ a b c d Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 41.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 16.
- ^ Lyon, p. 247.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 42–43.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 44.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 45.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 44–47.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 47.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 48.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 49.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 51.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 52.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 54.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 134.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 55.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 58.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 59.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 60.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 60–61.
- ^ a b c d Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 62.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 14–16.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 61.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 141.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 63.
- ^ Philbin, p. 48.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 64.
- ^ Treaty of Versailles Section II: Naval Clauses, Article 181.
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.
- 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 (Band 5) [The German Warships: Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present (Vol. 5)] (in German). Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0456-9.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Philbin, Tobias R. III (1982). Admiral von Hipper: The Inconvenient Hero. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN 978-90-6032-200-0.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.
Further reading
- Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2001). Die Panzer- und Linienschiffe der Brandenburg-, Kaiser Friedrich III-, Wittlesbach-, Braunschweig- und Deutschland-Klasse [The Armored and Battleships of the Brandenburg, Kaiser Friedrich III, Wittelsbach, Braunschweig, and Deutschland Classes] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-6211-8.