Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built around the turn of the 20th century. She was one of the first battleships built by the German Imperial Navy as part of a program of naval expansion under Kaiser Wilhelm II. She served in the main fleet for the first seven years of her career and was eventually used as a depot ship in Kiel and eventually a torpedo target ship. She saw no action during the First World War, but was used for training cruises and maneuvers. After the war, the Treaty of Versailles greatly reduced the size of the German Navy. The vessel was sold for scrap to a German company and broken up in 1920.
About SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in brief
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built around the turn of the 20th century. She was one of the first battleships built by the German Imperial Navy as part of a program of naval expansion under Kaiser Wilhelm II. The ship was decommissioned for a major reconstruction in 1908–10, after which she was assigned to the Reserve Division with her four sister ships. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the battleship and her sisters were placed back in active service as V Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet and deployed to coastal defense in the North Sea. In 1915, the ships were again withdrawn from service and relegated to secondary duties. After the war, the Treaty of Versailles greatly reduced the size of the German Navy. The vessel was sold for scrap to a German company and broken up in 1920. Her armament consisted of a main battery of four 24 cm SK L40 guns in twin turrets, one fore and one aft of the central superstructure on the centerline. She also carried twelve 7-cm machine cannon above-water swivel mounts and six 45 cm torpedo tubes. The main deck was 65mm thick, and the main battery and the conning tower were protected with 250mm armor, and secondary casemates received 150mm armor. She had a cruising radius of 3,420 nmi at a speed of 10 knots.
She was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines that drove three screw propellers. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal. She displaced 11,097 t as designed and up to 11,785 t at full load, and she had a normal crew of 39 officers and 612 enlisted men. The battleship was 125. 3 m long overall and had a beam of 20. 4 m and a draft of 7. 89 m forward and 8. 25 m aft. It had a powerplant rated at 13,000 metric horsepower, which generated a top speed of 17. 5 knots. The ship’s armor was 300mm thick and the ship’s belt was 65 mm thick. It was the first German battleship built in the late 1880s; she was built under the program of expansion of the country’s naval program. The first battleship to be built under this program was the Kaiser Wilhelm I, who believed a strong navy was necessary for the country to expand its influence outside continental Europe. The second battleship followed in early 1896, and a third ship was authorized for the following year’s budget. She served in the main fleet for the first seven years of her career and was eventually used as a depot ship in Kiel and eventually a torpedo target ship. She saw no action during the First World War, but was used for training cruises and maneuvers.
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