SMS Kaiser (1911)
SMS Kaiser
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| History | |
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 German Empire
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| Name: | Kaiser |
| Laid down: | December 1909 |
| Launched: | 22 March 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 1 August 1912 |
| Fate: | Scuttled at Scapa Flow 21 June 1919, raised 1929 and broken up 1930 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kaiser-class battleship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 172.40 m (565 ft 7 in) |
| Beam: | 29 m (95 ft 2 in) |
| Draft: | 9.10 m (29 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: | 3-shaft Parsons turbines, 27,617 ihp (20,594 kW) |
| Speed: | 23.4 knots (43.3 km/h; 26.9 mph) |
| Range: | 7,900 nmi (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Crew: |
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| Armament: |
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SMS Kaiser was the lead ship of the Kaiser class of battleships of the Imperial German Navy. Kaiser was built by the Imperial Dockyard at Kiel, launched on 22 March 1911 and commissioned on 1 August 1912. The ship was equipped with ten 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in five twin turrets, and had a top speed of 23.4 knots (43.3 km/h; 26.9 mph). Kaiser was assigned to the III Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of World War I.
In 1913, Kaiser and her sister König Albert conducted a cruise to South America and South Africa. The ship participated in most of the major fleet operations during the war. She fought at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, during which she was hit once and suffered negligible damage. The ship was also present during Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea in September and October 1917, and at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917.
During peace negotiations after the end of the war in 1918, she was interned with other ships of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow. On 21 June 1919 the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships. The wreck was subsequently raised in 1929 and broken up in Rosyth in 1930.
Ordered under the contract name Ersatz Hildebrand as a replacement for the obsolete coastal defense ship Hildebrand,Kaiser was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in September 1909. The hull was completed by 22 March 1911, when the ship was launched; this date was specifically chosen, as it was the birthday of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm I. His grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, attended the launching ceremony, where German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg gave a speech while Kaiserin (Empress) Augusta Victoria christened the ship. Fitting-out work then began, which was completed by the end of July 1912. On 1 August, the ship was commissioned for sea trials. These were concluded by 7 December; the following day Kaiser joined the fleet as the flagship of V Division. Her crew consisted largely of men who had been transferred from the recently decommissioned battleships Elsass and Braunschweig.
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