Dreadnought Battleships: Kaiser Class

[Brian James]

Lead Ship,Dreadnought Battleship SMS Kaiser pictured in 1912.
She was built at the Imperial Dockyard at Kiel,launched on March 22nd 1911 and commissioned on August 1st 1912. The ship was equipped with ten 12 in guns in five twin turrets, and had a top speed of 23.4 knots,she was assigned to III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of World War I.
In 1913, Kaser 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 twice and suffered negligible damage.She 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 June 21st 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 raised in 1929 and broken up in Rosyth in 1930.