SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II ("His Majesty's Ship Emperor William II") was the second ship of the of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven and launched 14 September 1897. The ship was completed 7 October 1898 and commissioned into the fleet as flagship on 4 February 1902. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24 cm guns in two twin turrets. She was powered by triple expansion engines that delivered a top speed of 17.5 kn.

Kaiser Wilhelm II served as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet until 1906, when she was replaced by the new battleship SMS Deutschland (1904). After the new dreadnought battleships began entering service in 1910, Kaiser Wilhelm II was decommissioned and put into reserve.

With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she and her sisters were brought back into active duty as coastal defense ships in the V Battle Squadron. Due to her age, however, she was withdrawn from this role in early 1915, after which she served as a command ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet. Following the end of the war in November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II was stricken from the navy list and sold for scrap in the early 1920s. Her bow ornament is preserved at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden.

Construction
Kaiser Wilhelm II's keel was laid in 1896, at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, under construction number 24. She was ordered under the contract name Ersatz Friedrich der Grosse, to replace the elderly armored frigate SMS Friedrich der Grosse (1874). Kaiser Wilhelm II was launched on 14 September 1897 and commissioned on 13 February 1900.

The ship 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. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by four Marine-type and eight cylindrical boilers. Kaiser Wilhelm II's powerplant was rated at 13000 ihp, which generated a top speed of 17.5 kn.

Kaiser Wilhelm II's armament consisted of a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) SK L/40 guns in twin gun turrets, one fore and one aft of the central superstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of eighteen 15 cm (5.9 inch) SK L/40 guns and twelve 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/30 quick-firing guns. The armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm torpedo tubes, all in above-water swivel mounts.

Service history
When Kaiser Wilhelm II was commissioned into the fleet in 1900, she assumed the position of fleet flagship; she held this position until 1906. Kaiser Wilhelm II was assigned to the I Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet), where she was joined by her sister-ships. At 01:30 on 2 January 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm II's sister ship SMS Kaiser Friedrich III struck an underwater obstacle while the two ships were steaming from Danzig to Kiel. The shock from the collision damaged the ship's boilers and started a fire in the coal bunkers. Kaiser Wilhelm II took her sister in tow, although after a period of time, the engines on Kaiser Friedrich III were restarted. The ships reached Kiel, where temporary repairs were conducted.

In September 1902, extensive fleet maneuvers were conducted in the Baltic and North Sea. Kaiser Wilhelm II didn't actively take part in the exercises; she instead served as an observation ship for the commander of the fleet, as well as her namesake, Kaiser Wilhelm II. In 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II was assigned to the II Division of the I Squadron, alongside her sister-ship SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse and the newer battleship SMS Mecklenburg; the Heimatflotte at that time consisted of another division of three battleships in the I Squadron and two more three-ship divisions in the II Squadron. This was supported by a cruiser division composed of two armored cruisers and six protected cruisers.

In 1906, Kaiser Wilhelm II was replaced as fleet flagship by the new battleship SMS Deutschland (1904). The ship served with the active fleet for ten years, by which time the new dreadnoughts were beginning to come into service. Kaiser Wilhelm II was then decommissioned and placed into reserve. While the ship was in reserve, she was assigned to the V Squadron of the Reserve Fleet, along with her four sister ships and the battleship SMS Wettin.

World War I
At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters were brought out of reserve and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron. They were tasked with coastal defense, though they served in this capacity for a very short time. In February 1915, they were again withdrawn from service. Thereafter, Kaiser Wilhelm II was converted into a floating headquarters for the commander of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven. The ship had its wireless equipment modernized for use by the commander when the fleet was in port.

According to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the war, the German navy was significantly reduced in strength. As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II was stricken from the navy list on 17 March 1921 and sold to shipbreakers. By 1922, Kaiser Wilhelm II and her sisters had been broken up for scrap metal. The ship's bow ornament is preserved at the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden.