SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse
Kaiser Karl der Grosse in 1902
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire
|
|
| Name: | Kaiser Karl der Grosse |
| Namesake: | Charlemagne (Karl der Grosse in German) |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Laid down: | September 1898 |
| Launched: | 18 October 1899 |
| Commissioned: | 4 February 1902 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 November 1915 |
| Struck: | 6 December 1919 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kaiser Friedrich III-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: | Full load: 11,785 t (11,599 long tons) |
| Length: | 125.3 m (411 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 20.4 m (66 ft 11 in) |
| Draft: | 7.89 m (25 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: | 3 shafts triple expansion engines |
| Speed: | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Range: | 3,420 nmi (6,330 km; 3,940 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: |
|
| Armament: |
|
| Armor: |
|
SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse (His Majesty's Ship "Charlemagne") was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built around the turn of the 20th century for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy).Kaiser Karl der Grosse was built in Hamburg, at the Blohm and Voss shipyard. She was laid down in September 1898 and launched in October 1899. A shipyard strike and an accidental grounding delayed her completion until February 1902; she was therefore the last member of her class to enter service. The ship was armed with four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turrets and had a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).
Kaiser Karl der Grosse served with the active fleet until 1908, participating in the normal peacetime routine of training cruises and fleet maneuvers. By 1908, the new "all-big-gun" dreadnought battleships were entering service. As she was completely obsolete, Kaiser Karl der Grosse was withdrawn from active service and placed in the Reserve Division. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the ship was placed back in active duty as a coastal defense ship in the V Battle Squadron, though by February 1915 she was again placed in reserve. Kaiser Karl der Grosse was briefly used as a training ship and ended her career as a prison ship for prisoners of war in Wilhelmshaven. Following the German defeat in November 1918, she was sold to ship-breakers and scrapped in 1920.
Kaiser Karl der Grosse was 125.3 m (411 ft 1 in) long overall and had a beam of 20.4 m (66 ft 11 in) and a draft of 7.89 m (25 ft 11 in) forward and 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in) aft. She displaced up to 11,785 t (11,599 long tons) at full load. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one screw propeller. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal. Kaiser Karl der Grosse's powerplant was rated at 13,000 metric horsepower (12,822 ihp; 9,561 kW), which generated a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). She had a normal complement of 39 officers and 612 enlisted men.
...
Wikipedia