SMS Friedrich Carl

Seiner Majestät Schiff "Friedrich Carl" was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Kaiserliche Marine. She was the second ship of the "Prinz Adalbert" class. "Friedrich Carl" was built in Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg. She was laid down in August 1901, and completed in December 1903, at the cost of 15,665,000 Marks.

ervice history

Upon commissioning, "Friedrich Carl" escorted the passenger ship "König Albert" as she carried Kaiser Wilhelm II on a Mediterranean cruise. "Friedrich Carl" joined the fleet in May 1904. She decommissioned in March 1908, but recommissioned in March 1909 as a torpedo trials test ship.

"Friedrich Carl's" participation in World War I was quite short. In August 1914, she was undergoing a refit. By September, she was assigned to the Baltic Sea. On 17 November 1914, she struck two mines laid by Russian destroyers west of Memel (now known as Klaipėda). "Friedrich Carl" stayed afloat for several hours, allowing most of the crew to be rescued by the cruiser "Augsburg". "Friedrich Carl" capsized and sank with the loss of only 8 crew.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/armoured-cruiser/sms-prinz-adalbert.html World War 1 Naval Combat]