SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II

Seiner Majestät Schiff "Kaiser Wilhelm II" was the second ship of the "Kaiser Friedrich III" class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven and launched 14th September 1897, and completed 7th October 1898, and commissioned into the fleet as flagship on the 4th February 1902. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" served as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet until 1906.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Kaiser Wilhelm II" was 396 ft 9 in (121 m) at the waterline and 411 ft (125 m) overall. She had a beam of 67 ft (20.4 m), a draught of 27 ft (8.2 m), and displaced 11,599 tons fully loaded. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" was powered by 3 shaft triple expansion engines that produced 14,000 ihp and a top speed of convert|17|kn|km/h.

Armament

"Kaiser Wilhelm II's" armament consisted of a main battery of four 9.4 inch (238mm) 40 cal guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft. She carried a much heavier secondary battery compared to the previous "Brandenburg" class, carrying 15 5.9 inch (150mm) guns, 12 3.4 inch (88mm) guns, and 12 1 pounders, all singly mounted. She also carried six 17.7 inch (450mm) torpedo tubes.

Armor

"Kaiser Wilhelm II" had an armor belt that was twelve inches (305 mm) thick at its strongest area, that which covered the ship's vitals, and tapered to four inches (102 mm) at the thinnest parts, at the bow and stern. The deck armor was three inches (76 mm) thick. The turrets were protected by ten inches of armor plate.

ervice history

"Kaiser Wilhelm II" participated in several maneuvers in the North and Baltic Seas during her tenure as flagship. She also made several port calls in Oslo and in Spain. In 1908, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" led a maneuver into the Atlantic ocean, up to the Azores. After 1910, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" became part of the III Squadron of the High Seas Fleet along with all of her sister ships.

At the start of World War I, "Kaiser Wilhelm II", along with her sister ships, served in V Squadron as coastal defense ships. In 1915, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" became the headquarters ship in Wilhelmshaven. She was stricken on the 6th December 1919 and scrapped 1921 at Ronnebeck.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/pre-dreadnought/sms-kaiser-fredrich-iii.html World War 1 Naval Combat]
* [http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/sms_kaiser_wilhelm_2.htm Kaiserliche Marine]