For the liner of the same name, see SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse ("HMS Emperor William the Great") was a German pre-dreadnought

Pre-dreadnought

Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...

 battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 of the , built around the turn of the 20th Century. The ship was one of the first battleships built by the German Imperial Navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

 (Kaiserliche Marine) as part of a program of naval expansion under Kaiser Wilhelm II. Kaiser Wilhelm der GrosseHer name was spelt Kaiser Wilhelm der Große in German orthography

Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...

, using the eszett (ß

ß

In the German alphabet, ß is a letter that originated as a ligature of ss or sz. Like double "s", it is pronounced as an , but in standard spelling, it is only used after long vowels and diphthongs, while ss is used after short vowels...

, or "sharp S"). was built in Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

, at the Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...

 shipyard. She was laid down in 1898 and completed in May, 1901. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24 centimetres (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turret

Gun turret

A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...

s.

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse served in the active fleet for ten years, during which time she participated in a number of the fleet's training maneuvers. By the early 1910s, however, the new dreadnought battleships had begun to come into service. As a result, the ship was decommissioned and placed in reserve. At the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914, the battleship and her sisters were placed back in active service as the V Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet

High Seas Fleet

The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...

 and tasked with coastal defense. In 1915, the ships were again withdrawn from service and relegated to secondary duties. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was used as a depot ship

Depot ship

A depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...

 in Kiel and eventually a torpedo target ship. After the end of the war, the vessel was sold for scrapping to a German company and broken up in 1920.

Construction

Kaiser Wilhelm II, the emperor of Germany, believed that a strong navy was necessary for the country to expand its influence outside of continental Europe. As a result, he initiated a program of naval expansion in the late 1880s; the first battleships built under this program were the four ships. These were immediately followed by the five s, of which Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a unit. Her keel was laid in 1895, at the Kaiserliche Werft

Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven

Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover. It was founded in 1853, first as Königliche Werft Wilhelmshaven but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...

 in Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

, under construction number 22. She was ordered under the contract name Ersatz König Wilhelm, to replace the obsolete armored frigate . Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was launched on 1 June 1899 and commissioned on 5 May 1901.

The ship was 125.3 m (411.1 ft) long overall and had a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

 of 20.4 m (66.9 ft) and a draft

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

 of 7.89 m (25.9 ft) forward and 8.25 m (27.1 ft) aft. She was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by four naval and eight cylindrical boilers. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosses powerplant was rated at 13000 ihp, which generated a top speed of 17.5 knots (34.3 km/h).

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosses armament consisted of a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 guns in twin gun turret

Gun turret

A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...

s,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. one fore and one aft of the central superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

. 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 tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

s, all in above-water swivel mounts.

Service history

After commissioning in 1901, the ship joined her sister-ships in the I Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet). After her sister had to be docked for repairs, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse replaced her as the I Squadron flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, which was commanded by Prince Heinrich. In late August through mid September, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse conducted extensive training exercises with the rest of the German fleet. That year, Erich Raeder

Erich Raeder

Erich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...

—who would go on to command the Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, was promoted to serve as the watch officer aboard her.

On 31 August 1902, the fleet conducted the annual summer training maneuvers. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was assigned to the "hostile" force, as were several of her sister-ships. The "hostile" force was first tasked with preventing the "German" squadron from passing through the Great Belt

Great Belt

The Great Belt is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen . Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries from the late 19th century until the islands were connected by the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1997–98.-Geography:The Great Belt is the...

 in the Baltic. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and several other battleships were then tasked with forcing an entry into the mouth of the Elbe River, where the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 could be seized. The "hostile" flotilla accomplished these tasks within three days. In 1903, the fleet, which was composed of only one squadron of battleships, was reorganized as the "Active Battle Fleet." Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse remained in the I Squadron along with her sisterships and the newest s, while the older ships were placed in reserve in order to be rebuilt.

In October 1905, the Heimatflotte was again reorganized; Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was reassigned to the I Division of the II Squadron, alongside her sister-ship Kaiser Friedrich III and the older battleship . The balance of the Heimatflotte 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 cruiser

Armored cruiser

The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

s and six protected cruiser

Protected cruiser

The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...

s. In 1907, the newest s were coming into service; along with the s, these provided enough modern battleships to create two full battle squadrons. As a result, the Heimatflotte was renamed the Hochseeflotte

High Seas Fleet

The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...

 (High Seas Fleet).

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was extensively modernized in 1908–1910 at the Kaiserliche Werft

Kaiserliche Werft Kiel

Kaiserliche Werft Kiel was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1867, first as Königliche Werft Kiel but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...

 shipyard in Kiel. During the refit, four of the ship's 15 cm guns and the stern-mounted torpedo tube were removed. Two 8.8 cm guns were added and the arrangement of the tertiary battery was modified. Her superstructure was also cut down to reduce the ship's tendency to roll excessively. The ship's funnels were also lengthened. After she emerged from the reconstruction, the ship was moved to the III Squadron, along with her sister-ships. However, in 1910, the new dreadnought battleships were beginning to come into service with the fleet. Thoroughly obsolete compared to the new "all-big-gun" battleships, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was then decommissioned and placed into reserve.

World War I

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and her sisters were brought back to active service and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron. They were assigned to coastal defense in the Baltic, though they served in this capacity for a very short time. In February 1915, they were again withdrawn from service and placed in reserve. In 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was employed as a depot ship in Kiel. The following year, the ship was used as a torpedo target ship. According to Article 181 of the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

, signed on 28 June 1919, Germany was permitted to retain only six battleships of the " or Lothringen

Braunschweig class battleship

The Braunschweig class battleships were pre-dreadnought battleships of the Kaiserliche Marine . The class comprised five ships: , , , , and...

 types." On 6 December 1919, the vessel was struck from the naval list

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

 and sold to a shipbreaking firm based in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The following year, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was broken up for scrap metal in Kiel-Nordmole.