SMS Kaiser Friedrich III
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SMS ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' ("His Majesty's Ship ''Emperor Frederick III''") was the
lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...
of the of
pre-dreadnought Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, protec ...
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s. She was laid down at the in
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...
in March 1895, launched in July 1896, and finished in October 1898. The ship was armed with a
main battery A main battery is the primary weapon or group of weapons around which a warship is designed. As such, a main battery was historically a gun or group of guns, as in the broadsides of cannon on a ship of the line. Later, this came to be turreted ...
of four guns in two twin
gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s supported by a
secondary battery A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or pri ...
of eighteen guns.
Sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). 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 i ...
and modifications lasted more than a year, and once she entered active service in October 1899, the ship became the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of Prince Heinrich in I Squadron of the German (Home Fleet). I Squadron was primarily occupied with training exercises throughout each year, and also made numerous trips to other European countries, particularly Great Britain and Sweden–Norway. In 1901, the ship was severely damaged after striking submerged rocks in the Baltic Sea; the incident contributed to design changes in later German battleships to make them more resistant to underwater damage. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was extensively modernized in 1908; her secondary guns were reorganized and her
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. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
was cut down to reduce top-heaviness. After returning to service in 1910, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was placed in the Reserve Formation; she spent the next two years
laid up A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
, being activated only for the annual fleet maneuvers. The years 1913 and 1914 passed without any active service until the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in July 1914. Though obsolete, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s served in a limited capacity as coastal defense ships in V Battle Squadron in the early months of the war, tasked with defending Germany's
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
coastline. The ships conducted two operations in the Baltic but did not encounter any hostile warships. By February 1915, ''Kaiser Friedrich'' was withdrawn from service and eventually decommissioned in November, thereafter being employed as a
prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nat ...
and later as a
barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for s ...
. She was scrapped in 1920.


Design

After the
Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
ordered the four s in 1889, a combination of budgetary constraints, opposition in the (Imperial Diet), and a lack of a coherent fleet plan delayed the acquisition of further battleships. The former Secretary of the (Imperial Navy Office), Leo von Caprivi, became the
Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
in 1890, and (Vice Admiral) Friedrich von Hollmann became Secretary of the . Hollmann requested a new battleship in 1892 to replace the ironclad turret-ship , built twenty years earlier, but the
Franco-Russian Alliance The Franco-Russian Alliance (french: Alliance Franco-Russe, russian: Франко-Русский Альянс, translit=Franko-Russkiy Al'yans), or Russo-French Rapprochement (''Rapprochement Russo-Français'', Русско-Французско ...
, signed the year before, put the government's attention on expanding the Army's budget. Parliamentary opposition forced Hollmann to delay until the following year, when Caprivi spoke in favor of the project, noting that Russia's recent naval expansion threatened Germany's
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
coastline. In late 1893, Hollmann presented the Navy's estimates for the 1894–1895 budget year, again with a request for a replacement for ''Preussen'', which was approved. The new ship abandoned the six-gun arrangement of the ''Brandenburg''s for four large-caliber pieces, the standard arrangement of other navies at the time. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was
long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
and had a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
of forward and aft. She displaced as designed and up to at
full load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s that drove three
screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal and were vented through a pair of tall
funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...
. ''Kaiser Friedrich III''s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . She had a cruising radius of at a speed of . The crew comprised between 658 and 687officers and enlisted men. The ship's armament consisted of a main battery of four SK L/40 guns in twin
gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s, one fore and one aft of the central
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. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
. Her
secondary armament Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...
consisted of eighteen SK L/40 guns carried in a mix of turrets and
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s. Close-range defense against
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s was provided by a battery of twelve SK L/30 quick-firing guns, all mounted in casemates. She also carried twelve machine cannon; these were later removed. There were six
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s, all in above-water swivel mounts. The ship's
belt armor Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to ...
was thick, and the main armor deck was thick. The conning tower and main battery turrets were protected with of armor plating, and the secondary casemates received of armor protection.


Service history


Construction to 1900

''Kaiser Friedrich III''s keel was laid on 5 March 1895 at the ''Kaiserliche Werft'' (Imperial Shipyard) in
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...
, under construction number 22.
Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
Wilhelm II, the son of the ship's namesake, hammered the first
rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
into the keel. She was ordered under the contract name ''Ersatz Preussen'', to replace the elderly
armored frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
''Preussen''. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was launched on 1 July 1896 and Wilhelm II was present again, this time to give the launching speech. The ship was commissioned on 7 October 1898 and began
sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). 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 i ...
in the Baltic Sea. Of major concern was how the three-shaft arrangement would perform on a ship the size of ''Kaiser Friedrich III''; the preceding ''Brandenburg'' class had used two shafts. After the trials were completed in mid-February 1899, ''Kaiser Friedrich'' returned to Wilhelmshaven and was decommissioned so defects identified during the trials could be remedied. The work lasted longer than originally planned, her main battery guns had not yet been delivered, and the ship remained out of service for much of the year. Upon recommissioning on 21 October, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was assigned to II Division of I Squadron of the (Home Fleet), which was commanded by Paul Hoffmann. She took the place of the ironclad , which had been decommissioned the previous day. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' became the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of II Division, commanded by (Rear Admiral)
Wilhelm Büchsel Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Moun ...
. Before she could join her division, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and the
aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...
were sent to escort the Kaiser's yacht ''Hohenzollern'' on a trip to Britain for the Kaiser to visit his grandmother,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
. The ships left Germany on 17 November and stayed in
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
from 18 to 20 November, before proceeding to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
on the 20th, remaining there for three days. On their return they stopped in
Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...
in the Netherlands, from 24 to 29 November, before continuing to
Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, where they arrived on 1 December. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' finally assumed her role as II Division flagship on 24 January 1900, when Büchsel transferred his flag to the ship. On 2 April, I Squadron steamed to Danzig Bay, where they stayed for four days. The next month, they began a cruise into the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
on 7 May; during the trip, the ships made stops in
Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...
in Shetland from 12 to 15 May and
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, Norway, from 18 to 22 May. They arrived back in Kiel four days after leaving Bergen. In early July, the four -class battleships were sent to Asia to suppress the Boxer Uprising, prompting a reorganization of the . ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and were the only battleships available for the annual fleet maneuvers, which were conducted from 15 August to 15 September. They were joined by the armored frigates and and six and s. Throughout the maneuvers, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was assigned to the "German" force, which had to combat a hostile "Yellow"
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
. Thereafter, Büchsel became the deputy commander of I Squadron, but he remained aboard ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' only briefly before transferring his flag to the ironclad ''Württemberg''. Max von Fischel replaced him on 30 September, but ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' went into
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
for her annual overhaul shortly thereafter. On 1 November, Prince Heinrich, who had replaced Hoffmann as I Squadron commander, raised his flag aboard ''Kaiser Friedrich III''; the ship held the role as squadron flagship for the next three years, interrupted only during the annual fleet exercises conducted in August and September, when Admiral Hans von Koester, the (Inspector-General of the Navy), commanded the fleet from ''Kaiser Wilhelm II''. Through November, the ships of the squadron were occupied with individual training. On 17 November 1900, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was steaming to Kiel after conducting training exercises. ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'' attempted to pass ''Kaiser Friedrich III'', so the latter stopped and allowed the former to pass to port. However, the order to resume steaming was given too quickly, and the ship accidentally rammed ''Kaiser Wilhelm II''. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' suffered minor damage to her bow, while her sister was slightly damaged in the steering engine compartment. Repairs were completed within three days, without the need for either vessel to enter drydock. On 4 December, the ships began a winter training cruise, during which they stopped in
Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...
, Norway, from 10 to 12 December. The squadron returned to Germany three days later.


1901 grounding

In early 1901 the ships underwent maintenance. The repairs were completed by mid-March, and the members of the squadron reunited in Kiel. They then began a training cruise into the Baltic Sea, stopping in Danzig on 1 April. There, Koester informed Prince Heinrich about upcoming joint Army–Navy maneuvers. While returning to Kiel on the night of 1–2 April, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' struck an uncharted rock off
Kap Arkona Cape Arkona () is a 45-metre (150-foot) high cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It forms the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park. The protected landscape of Cape Arko ...
, north of the Adlergrund, at around 01:27. The rock breached the starboard side of the hull and damaged four of the ship's
watertight compartment A compartment is a portion of the space within a ship defined vertically between decks and horizontally between bulkheads. It is analogous to a room within a building, and may provide watertight subdivision of the ship's hull important in retaini ...
s, which filled with water and caused the ship to list to port. Eventually, some of water entered the ship. The shock from the collision damaged the ship's boilers and started a fire in the coal bunkers, which spread to the starboard aft boiler room, forcing the crew to shut down the ship's engines. All the ship's ammunition magazines, engine rooms, and storage compartments had to be flooded to prevent the fire from spreading. Three men were seriously injured while fighting the fire, one of whom died of his injuries. The crew were able to suppress the fire and contain the flooding. ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'', which had also had a slight grounding (without damage), came alongside to take off the crew if it became necessary to abandon ship and, once the fires were controlled, attempted to take ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' under tow, but the cables snapped. By this time, the crew had raised steam in the remaining boilers, and the ship proceeded at to Kiel, which she reached on 3 April. There, the ship was thoroughly examined. The dockyard workers found that eight of the ship's boilers had been badly damaged, and many bulkheads had been bent from the pressure of the water. The keel was extensively damaged, with large holes torn in several places. All three of the ship's propellers were damaged as well. Temporary repairs were effected in Kiel, which included sealing the holes with cement and wood. On 23 April, this work was completed, and she left for Wilhelmshaven, where she was decommissioned for permanent repairs on 4 May. The investigation found that the nearby lightship—which was used to navigate the channel at night—was from its assigned location, and there were several uncharted rocks in the area of the accident. Therefore, the investigation concluded that the ship's command staff was not at fault in the accident. The investigators recommended design changes to the s, then still being designed, namely the adoption of a
torpedo bulkhead A torpedo bulkhead is a type of naval armour common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull is struck underneath the belt ar ...
to improve resistance to underwater damage. The changes would not be incorporated in a German battleship until the subsequent
dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
s, as their increased size allowed room for the bulkhead and associated watertight compartments. While ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was decommissioned for repairs, her crew was transferred to her new sister . The work was completed by early November, and on the 11th, the ship was recommissioned. Both her crew and Prince Heinrich returned from ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse''. Divisional exercises followed through the rest of November, and on 2 December, I Squadron began another winter training cruise into the
Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...
and
Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...
. From 7 to 12 December, the ships stopped in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway, where
Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
visited ''Kaiser Friedrich III''. The ships returned to Kiel on 15 December.


1902–1903

The last ironclad left the squadron in February 1902, having been replaced by ''Kaiser Friedrich III''s newly commissioned sister ship . The squadron began a major training cruise on 25 April; that day, while the ships were passing through the
Danish straits The Danish straits are the straits connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. Historically, the Danish straits were internal waterways of Denmark; however, following territorial losses, Øresund and Fehmarn B ...
, there was a serious boiler accident aboard ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'', forcing her to turn back for repairs. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and the rest of the squadron continued into the North Sea, toward Scotland. They passed through the
Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption ...
on 29 April before turning south toward Ireland. The ships stopped briefly in
Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...
on 1 May before proceeding to
Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mil ...
, where they anchored off
Berehaven Castletownbere () is a town in County Cork in Ireland. It is located on the Beara Peninsula by Berehaven Harbour. It is also known as Castletown Berehaven. A regionally important fishing port, the town also serves as a commercial and retail hub ...
five days later. There, Prince Heinrich visited his British uncle,
Prince Arthur Prince Arthur may refer to: * Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187-1203), nephew and possible heir of Richard I of England * Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486–1502), eldest son Henry VII of England * Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850 ...
, and the ships were received by the British
Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
. The German vessels then steamed to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, and then the
Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
, where ''Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse'' rejoined the squadron. They returned to Dublin, where they were visited by
Gerald Cadogan Gerald Anthony Cadogan (born January 16, 1986, in Oakland, California) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football ...
, the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
. The ships began their return voyage to Germany on 24 May, and reached Kiel four days later. For most of June, the ships of the squadron conducted individual training. Alfred von Tirpitz, the State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office, brought the budget committee to view I Squadron in an attempt to convince them of the value of continued naval expansion. Toward the end of the month, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' departed for Britain with Prince Heinrich to represent Germany during the coronation of King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
. The ceremony was delayed, however, and ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' returned to Kiel on 30 June. I Squadron began a training cruise to Norwegian waters on 8 July that ended on 20 July. During the annual gunnery training held after the ships' return to Kiel, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' won the Kaiser's (Shooting Prize) for excellence in gunnery. On 17 August, the fleet assembled in Kiel for the annual training maneuvers. Assigned to the "hostile" force, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' patrolled the
Great Belt The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great B ...
in the Baltic to prevent the "German" squadron from passing through. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and several other battleships then forced an entry into the mouth of the
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
, where the
Kaiser Wilhelm Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the ...
and
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
could be seized. The "hostile" flotilla accomplished these tasks within three days. Starting in November, I Squadron—less the -class ships, which were still occupied with trials—conducted a number of short cruises, culminating in the annual winter cruise that began on 1 December. The ships steamed into the Kattegat and stopped in
Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The town h ...
, Denmark, before continuing to Bergen, where they stayed from 6 to 10 December. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and the rest of the squadron returned to Kiel, arriving two days later. On 2 April 1903, the squadron went to sea again, and began gunnery training two days later. These exercises continued for the rest of the month, interrupted only by heavy storms. A major training cruise followed the next month; on 10 May the ships departed the Elbe and made their way into the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. They cruised south to Spain, passing
Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...
on 14 May and reaching the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
five days later. There, they conducted a reconnaissance exercise off
Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the '' Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...
before anchoring in
Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Penins ...
on 20 May. Prince Heinrich left ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' for a visit to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. After he returned, the squadron departed Spain on 30 May. The ships passed through the Strait of Dover on 3 June and continued into the Kattegat. There, they rendezvoused with the
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...
s of I (Torpedo Boat Flotilla)—commanded by (Lieutenant Commander) Franz von Hipper—for a mock attack on the fortifications at Kiel. Later in June, the ships took part in additional gunnery training and were present at the
Kiel Week The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting ...
sailing
regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
. During Kiel Week, an American squadron that included the battleship and four cruisers visited. After Kiel Week, I Squadron, which had been strengthened with the new cruiser , and I went to sea for more tactical and gunnery exercises in the North Sea from 6 to 28 July. During the maneuvers, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' collided with the torpedo boat . One man aboard ''G112'' was killed in the accident, but the boat remained afloat and was towed to Wilhelmshaven. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' sustained only minor damage. After the exercises, I Squadron stopped in Arendal from 24 to 27 July, while the smaller vessels went to
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
. The ships returned to Kiel on 28 July to prepare for the annual fleet maneuvers, which started on 15 August. Following the exercises, the was reorganized as the (Active Battle Fleet), and Koester replaced Prince Heinrich as the fleet commander; he transferred his flag from ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' to ''Kaiser Wilhelm II''.


1904–1914

In 1904 ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' took part in a training cruise to Britain that included squadron exercises in the northern North Sea and along the Norwegian coast. During the cruise, the ship stopped in
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, Vlissingen, Lerwick, and Molde. The annual autumn fleet maneuvers, conducted from 29 August to 15 September, passed uneventfully for ''Kaiser Friedrich III''. On 1 October, she was transferred to II Squadron, where she served as the flagship. She had informally served in this role since 17 September, as the previous flagship, the coastal defense ship , had been decommissioned. Fischel, by now promoted to , raised his flag aboard the ship during her formal transfer to the squadron. The two squadrons of the fleet ended the year with the usual training cruise into the Baltic, which took place uneventfully. On 12 July 1905, the fleet began its annual summer cruise to northern waters; the ships stopped in
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
from 20 to 24 July and
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
from 2 to 7 August. The trip ended two days later, and was followed by the autumn fleet maneuvers later that month. On 1 October, the position of deputy commander of I Squadron was recreated, and (Captain) Hugo von Pohl was assigned to the role and ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' became his flagship. In December the fleet took its usual training cruise in the Baltic. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' followed the same routine of training exercises through 1906. During gunnery training that year, the ship won the for a second time. The summer cruise went to Norway, including stops in Molde from 20 to 26 July and Bergen from 27 July to 2 August. That year, the autumn fleet maneuvers lasted only a week, from 7 to 15 September. After the maneuvers ended, ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'' replaced ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' as the deputy commander's flagship, though she remained in I Squadron. In December the fleet took its winter cruise into the North Sea instead of the Baltic. In 1907 the ship took part in three major training exercises: the first from 8 May to 7 June; the second from 13 July to 10 August; and the third, the annual fleet maneuvers, from 26 August to 14 September. Directly after the end of the fleet maneuvers, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was decommissioned in the ''Kaiserliche Werft'' in Kiel, being replaced by her sister . While decommissioned, the ship underwent an extensive modernization that lasted until 1909. Four of her 15 cm guns were removed, though two 8.8 cm guns were added. All twelve machine guns were removed, as was the ship's stern-mounted torpedo tube. The superstructure was also cut down to reduce the ship's tendency to roll excessively, and her funnels were lengthened. After completing the reconstruction, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was assigned to the Reserve Formation of the Baltic, spending most of the year out of service. She was reactivated for the annual fleet maneuvers in August and September 1910 with the (High Seas Fleet). The ship was recommissioned on 2 August and assigned to
III Battle Squadron The III Battle Squadron was a unit of the German High Seas Fleet before and during World War I. The squadron saw action throughout the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where it formed the front of the German line ...
, serving as the flagship of Max Rollmann, who came aboard four days later. The squadron was disbanded after the maneuvers on 8 September, and ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was decommissioned again on 15 September. The ship spent most of 1911 in reserve, being activated only for the annual fleet maneuvers. After recommissioning on 31 July, she briefly served as the flagship of the deputy commander of III Squadron, Heinrich Saß. The ships initially trained individually before joining the rest of the fleet on 17 August. The maneuvers lasted until 11 September, after which ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was decommissioned yet again. This was the last time the ship would be activated before the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in July 1914. She and her sister ships were removed from the Reserve Formation in May 1912, having been replaced by the -class vessels.


World War I

At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and her sisters were brought back to active service and mobilized as V Battle Squadron. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was commanded by Alfred Begas. V Squadron was tasked with providing coastal defense in the North Sea. The ships were deployed to the Baltic twice, from 19 to 26 September and 26 to 30 December 1914. For the first operation, the commander of naval forces in the Baltic, Prince Heinrich, initially planned to launch a major amphibious assault on Windau, but a shortage of transports forced a revision of the plan. Instead, V Squadron was to carry the landing force, but this too was cancelled after Heinrich received false reports of British warships having entered the Baltic on 25 September. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and her sisters returned to Kiel the following day, where the landing force disembarked. The ships then proceeded to the North Sea, where they resumed guard ship duties. For their second deployment to the Baltic, Prince Heinrich ordered a foray toward Gotland to attack any Russian warships in the area. On 26 December 1914, the battleships rendezvoused with the Baltic cruiser division in the
Bay of Pomerania The Bay of Pomerania ( pl, Zatoka Pomorska; german: Pommersche Bucht; csb, Pòmòrskô Hôwinga) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the Pomeranian shores of Poland and Germany. It stretches between the northernmost tip of the island ...
and then departed on the sortie. Two days later, the fleet arrived off Gotland to show the flag, and was back in Kiel by 30 December, having failed to locate any Russian vessels. The squadron returned to the North Sea for guard duties, but was withdrawn from front-line service in February 1915. Shortages of trained crews in the High Seas Fleet, and the risk of operating older ships in wartime, necessitated the deactivation of ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and her sisters. The ship had her crew reduced on 6 March in Kiel, where she was assigned as a harbor defense ship. The V Squadron staff came aboard the ship on 25 April, until Begas, by now promoted to , left for . On 20 November, ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was decommissioned for the last time. The ship was disarmed and used as a floating prison moored in Kiel after 1916. The guns from ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' and the rest of the ships of her class were emplaced in coastal batteries: eight guns on the
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
outside Libau, and four each on the islands of
Norderney Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...
and
Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...
. The following year, the ship was moved to
Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
, where she was used as a barracks; later that year she was again moved to Swinemünde. ''Kaiser Friedrich III'' was stricken from the navy list on 6 December 1919 and sold to a
ship breaking Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
firm based in Berlin. The ship was broken up at Kiel-Nordmole in 1920. Her bow ornament () is on display at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.


Notes


Footnotes


Citations


References

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser Friedrich III
Friedrich III Frederick III may refer to: * Frederick III, Duke of Upper Lorraine (died 1033) * Frederick III, Duke of Swabia (1122–1190) * Friedrich III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1220–1297) * Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (1240–1302) * Frederick III of S ...
Ships built in Wilhelmshaven 1896 ships World War I battleships of Germany