SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Große

Seiner Majestät Schiff "Kaiser Wilhelm der Große" ("HMS Emperor William the Great") was a German pre-Dreadnought battleship of the "Kaiser Friedrich III" class, built around the turn of the 20th Century. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Große" was built in Kiel, at the Germania shipyard. She was laid down in January, 1898, and completed in May, 1901, at the cost of 20,254,000 Marks.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

"Kaiser Wilhelm der Große" 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 der Große" 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 der Große'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 der Große" 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

Like her sister ships at the start of World War I, "Kaiser Wilhelm der Große" was relegated to coastal defense duties as part of V Battle Squadron of the Kaiserliche Marine, only to be removed from active service by 1915. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Große" served the remainder of the war as a prison ship, and was sold for scrap in 1920.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/pre-dreadnought/sms-kaiser-fredrich-iii.html World War 1 Naval Combat]