For other ships of the same name, see SMS Prinz Adalbert

SMS Prinz Adalbert

SMS Prinz Adalbert was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Imperial German Navy, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's third son Prince Adalbert of Prussia. She was the lead ship of her class, which included a second ship, . Prinz Adalbert was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel...

SMS Prinz Adalbert was a German 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...

 built in the early 1900s for the Imperial German 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...

, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's third son Prince Adalbert of Prussia

Prince Adalbert of Prussia

Prince Adalbert of Prussia was a son of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein.-Marriage:He married Princess Adelheid "Adi" of Saxe-Meiningen on 3 August 1914 in...

. She was the lead ship of her class

Prinz Adalbert class armored cruiser

The Prinz Adalbert class was a type of armored cruiser built for the Imperial German Navy in the early 1900s. Two ships of the class were built, , and . Friedrich Carl was commissioned first, on 12 December 1903 and Prinz Adalbert followed on 12 January 1904. They were an improvement upon the...

, which included a second ship, . Prinz Adalbert was built at the Imperial Dockyard

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...

 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...

. She was laid down in 1900 and completed in January 1904, at the cost of 16,371,000 Marks

German gold mark

The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...

. She was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns and was capable of a top speed of 20 kn (10.9 m/s).

Upon commissioning, Prinz Adalbert served as a gunnery training ship, a role she held for the majority of her career. After 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 August 1914, she was assigned to the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic. After her sister ship was sunk in November 1914, she became the 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...

 of the cruiser squadron in the Baltic. She conducted operations against Russian forces in the Baltic, including bombarding the port of Libau

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

. She was torpedoed by a British submarine in July 1915, but was able to return to port and was repaired. She was torpedoed a second time on 23 October 1915; the torpedo detonated her ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship. She sank quickly with heavy loss of life; only three men were rescued from a crew of 675.

Construction

Prinz Adalbert was ordered under the provisional name "B" and built at the Imperial Dockyard

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...

 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...

 under construction number 27. Her keel was laid in 1900 and she was launched on 22 June 1901. Fitting-out

Fitting-out

Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...

 work was somewhat lengthy, but was completed by 12 January 1904, being commissioned into the Imperial German 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...

 the same day. She had cost the Imperial German Government 16,371,000 Goldmarks

German gold mark

The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...

.

Prinz Adalbert displaced 9087 t (8,943.5 LT) as built and 9875 t (9,719 LT) fully loaded, with a length of 126.5 m (415 ft), a beam of 19.6 m (64.3 ft) and a draft of 7.43 m (24.4 ft) forward. She was powered by three vertical triple expansion engines, which developed a total of 17272 ihp and yielded a maximum speed of 20.4 kn (11.1 m/s) on trials. She carried up to 1630 t (1,604.3 LT) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5080 nautical miles (9,408.2 km) at a cruising speed of 12 kn (6.5 m/s).

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged 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, one on either end of the 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 ten 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and four 45 cm (17.7 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.

Service history

After commissioning and sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s, Prinz Adalbert was placed in service as a gunnery training ship, a role she held for the majority of her career. 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 August 1914, Prinz Adalbert was brought into front-line service with the fleet. After her sister ship, was sunk in November 1914, Prinz Adalbert became the 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...

 for Admiral Behring's cruiser squadron in the Baltic Sea. In January 1915, Prinz Adalbert, in company with the light cruiser and commanded by Admiral Behring, conducted a reconnaissance sweep toward the Åland Islands

Åland Islands

The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...

. While on the return voyage, she bombarded Russian positions at Libau

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

. She ran aground off Steinort during the operation, and Augsburg struck a mine off Bornholm

Bornholm

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...

.

After being freed from her grounding, the ship was repaired and was ready for another operation in early May. Rear Admiral Hopman, the commander of the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic, hoisted his flag on Prinz Adalbert for a major assault on Libau, in conjunction with an attempt by the German Army to seize the city. The attack took place on 7 May, and consisted of Prinz Adalbert and the armored cruisers and , the elderly coast defense ship

Coastal defence ship

Coastal defence ships were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrificed speed and range for armour and armament...

 , and the light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s Augsburg, , and . They were escorted by a number of destroyers, torpedo boats, and minesweepers. The IV Scouting Group 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...

 was detached from the North Sea to provide cover for the operation. The bombardment went as planned, though the destroyer struck a mine in Libau's harbor, which blew off her bow and destroyed the ship. German ground forces were successful in their assault however, and took the city.

On 1 July, the minelayer , escorted by the cruisers Roon, Augsburg, and Lübeck and seven destroyers, laid a minefield north of Bogskär

Bogskär

Bogskär is a small group of Baltic Sea islets off the southernmost tip of Finland....

. While returning to port, the flotilla separated into two sections; Augsburg, Albatross, and three destroyers made for Rixhöft while the remainder of the unit went to Libau. Augsburg and Albatross were intercepted by a powerful Russian squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Bakhirev, consisting of three armored and two light cruisers. Commodore von Karpf, the flotilla commander, ordered the slower Albatross to steam for neutral Swedish waters and recalled Roon and Lübeck. Albatross was grounded off Gotland

Gotland

Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...

 and Augsburg escaped, and the Russian squadron briefly engaged Roon before both sides broke contact. Upon being informed of the situation, Hopman sortied with Prinz Adalbert and Prinz Heinrich to support von Karpf. While en route, the cruisers encountered the British submarine , which scored a hit on Prinz Adalbert. The torpedo hit below the conning tower

Conning tower

A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....

 and caused severe damage. Prinz Adalbert took on some 2000 MT (1,968.4 LT) of water; her draft increased significantly, which prevented her from being able to put in to Danzig. She instead had to make the journey back to Kiel for repairs, which she reached on 4 July.

Repairs were finally completed by October 1915. Prinz Adalbert was steaming some 20 miles west of Libau in company with a pair of destroyers on 23 October when she was intercepted by the submarine . E8 fired a spread of torpedoes at a range of approximately 1,200 m (1,300 yd), which detonated the ship's ammunition magazine. The massive explosion destroyed the ship, which sank immediately with the loss of 672 crew. There were only three survivors. The sinking was the greatest single loss of life for the German Baltic forces for the duration of the war.