SMS Kronprinz

SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm in Scapa Flow 1919
History
German Empire
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	November 1911
Launched:	21 February 1914
Commissioned:	8 November 1914
Fate:	Scuttled 21 June 1919 in Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow
General characteristics
Class & type:	König-class battleship
Displacement:	25,796 tonnes (25,389 long tons) design 28,600 tonnes (28,100 long tons) full load
Length:	175.4 m (575 ft 6 in)
Beam:	29.5 m (96 ft 9 in)
Draft:	9.19 m (30 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	3 shafts 3 steam turbines 45,570 shp (33,980 kW)
Speed:	21.2 knots (39.3 km/h; 24.4 mph)
Range:	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement:	1,136
Armament:	10 × 30.5 cm (12.0 in) guns 14 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 10 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor:	Belt: 350 mm (14 in) Turrets and conning tower: 300 mm (12 in) Deck: 30 mm (1.2 in)

SMS Kronprinz^{[lower-alpha 1]} was the last battleship of the four-ship König class of the German Imperial Navy. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 21 February 1914. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 8 November 1914, just over 4 months after the start of World War I. The name Kronprinz (Eng: "Crown Prince") refers to Crown Prince Wilhelm, and in June 1918, the ship was renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in his honor. The battleship was armed with ten 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).

Along with her three sister ships, König, Grosser Kurfürst and Markgraf, Kronprinz took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. Although near the front of the German line, she emerged from the battle unscathed. She was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS J1 on 5 November 1916 during an operation off the Danish coast. Following repairs, she participated in Operation Albion, an amphibious assault in the Baltic, in October 1917. During the operation Kronprinz engaged the Tsesarevich and forced her to retreat.

After Germany's defeat in the war and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, Kronprinz and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow. The ships were disarmed and reduced to skeleton crews while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, days before the treaty was signed, 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. Unlike most of the other scuttled ships, Kronprinz was never raised for scrapping; the wreck is still on the bottom of the harbour.

Construction and design

Plan and elevation view of a ship of the König class, from Jane's Fighting Ships 1919

Kronprinz was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz Brandenburg and built at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel under construction number 182.^{[1][lower-alpha 2]} Her keel was laid in May 1912 and she was launched on 21 February 1914.^[2] The ship was scheduled to be completed in early 1915, but work was expedited after the outbreak of World War I in mid-1914.^[3] Fitting-out work was completed by 8 November 1914, the day she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet.^[4] She had cost the Imperial German Government 45 million Goldmarks.^[1]

Kronprinz displaced 25,796 t (25,389 long tons) as built and 28,600 t (28,100 long tons) fully loaded, with a length of 175.4 m (575 ft 6 in), a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft 0 in) and a draft of 9.19 m (30 ft 2 in). She was powered by three Parsons steam turbines and three oil-fired and twelve coal-fired boilers, which developed a total of 45,570 shaft horsepower (33,980 kW) and yielded a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).^[1]

She was armed with ten 30.5 cm (12.0 in) SK L/50 guns arranged in five twin gun turrets: two superfiring turrets each fore and aft and one turret amidships between the two funnels.^[4] Her secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 quick-firing guns, six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 quick-firing guns and five 50 cm (20 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two on each beam.^[4]

Service history

Illustration of Kronprinz

Kronprinz was completed in November 1914; following her commissioning she joined the III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet.^[5] Kronprinz completed her sea trials on 2 January 1915. The first operation in which she participated was an uneventful sortie by the fleet into the North Sea on 29–30 March. Three weeks later, on 17–18 April, she and her sisters supported an operation in which the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group laid mines off the Swarte Bank. Another sweep by the fleet occurred on 22 April; two days later III Squadron returned to the Baltic for another round of exercises.^[6] On 8 May an explosion occurred in the center turret's right gun. The Baltic exercises lasted until 13 May, at which point the III Squadron returned to the North Sea.^[3] Another minelaying operation was conducted by the II Scouting Group on 17 May, with the battleship again in support.^[6]

Kronprinz participated in a fleet operation into the North Sea which ended without combat from 29 until 31 May 1915. The ship supported a minelaying operation on 11–12 September off Texel. The fleet conducted another sweep into the North Sea on 23–24 October. Several uneventful sorties followed on 5–7 March 1916, 31 March and 2–3 April.^[3] Kronprinz supported a raid on the English coast on 24 April 1916 conducted by the German battlecruiser force of the I Scouting Group. The battlecruisers left the Jade Estuary at 10:55 CET,^{[lower-alpha 3]} and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw.^[7] The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed, but during the approach to Yarmouth, they encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force. A short gun duel ensued before the Harwich Force withdrew. Reports of British submarines in the area prompted the retreat of the I Scouting Group. At this point, Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow, also withdrew to safer German waters.^[8]

Battle of Jutland

Maps showing the maneuvers of the British (blue) and German (red) fleets on 31 May – 1 June 1916

Kronprinz was present during the fleet operation that resulted in the battle of Jutland which took place on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The German fleet again sought to draw out and isolate a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it before the main British fleet could retaliate. Kronprinz was the rearmost ship of the V Division of the III Battle Squadron, the vanguard of the fleet. She followed her sisters König, the lead ship, Grosser Kurfürst, and Markgraf. The III Battle Squadron was the first of three battleship units; directly astern were the Kaiser-class battleships of the VI Division, III Battle Squadron. Directly astern of the Kaiser-class ships were the Helgoland and Nassau classes of the II Battle Squadron; in the rear guard were the obsolescent Deutschland-class pre-dreadnoughts of the I Battle Squadron.^[9]

Shortly before 16:00, the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of David Beatty. The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of Indefatigable, shortly after 17:00,^[10] and Queen Mary, less than half an hour later.^[11] By this time, the German battlecruisers were steaming south to draw the British ships toward the main body of the High Seas Fleet. At 17:30, König's crew spotted both the I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching. The German battlecruisers were steaming to starboard, while the British ships steamed to port. At 17:45, Scheer ordered a two-point turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers, and a minute later, the order to open fire was given.^{[12][lower-alpha 4]}

Kronprinz's sisters opened fire on the British battlecruisers, but Kronprinz was not close enough to engage them. Instead, she and ten other German battleships fired at the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron.^[13] Kronprinz fired at HMS Dublin from 17:51 to 18:00 at ranges of 17,000–18,600 m (55,800–61,000 ft), then shifted her fire to the fast battleship Malaya at 18:08 at a range of 17,000 m. Kronprinz fired first with semi-armor-piercing shells to find the range to her target, then with standard armor-piercing shells. By the time Malaya drew out of range 13 minutes later, only one hit had been reported by Kronprinz's gunners. According to naval historian John Campbell, this hit was more likely "the flash of the Malaya's guns seen through haze and smoke".^[14] During this period, several salvos fell close to Kronprinz, though none struck her.^[15] Kronprinz again reached a firing position against Malaya at 18:30, but was only able to fire for six minutes before the British ship again pulled away.^[16]

Shortly after 19:00, several British destroyers attempted a torpedo attack against the leading ships of the German line. The destroyer Onslow fired a pair of torpedoes at Kronprinz at a range of 7,300 m (24,000 ft), though both missed.^[17] The German cruiser Wiesbaden had been disabled by a shell from the British battlecruiser Invincible, and Rear Admiral Paul Behncke in König ordered his four ships to maneuver to cover the stricken cruiser.^[18] Simultaneously, the British III and IV Light Cruiser Squadrons began a torpedo attack on the German line; while advancing to torpedo range, they smothered Wiesbaden with fire from their main guns. Kronprinz and her sisters fired heavily on the British cruisers, but failed to drive them off.^[19] In the ensuing melee, the British armored cruiser Defence was struck by several heavy caliber shells from the German dreadnoughts. One salvo penetrated the ship's ammunition magazines and, in a massive explosion, destroyed the cruiser.^[20] John Campbell notes that although Defence's destruction is usually attributed to the battlecruiser Lützow, there is a possibility that it was Kronprinz's fire that destroyed the ship.^[21] After the destruction of Defence, Kronprinz shifted her fire to Warrior; the British cruiser was badly damaged and forced to withdraw from the battle. She was unable to reach port, and was abandoned the following morning.^[22]

By 20:00, the German line was ordered to turn eastward to disengage from the British fleet.^[23] Markgraf, directly ahead of Kronprinz, had engine problems and fell out of formation, then fell in behind Kronprinz.^[24] Between 20:00 and 20:30, Kronprinz and the other III Squadron battleships engaged the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron as well as the battleships of the Grand Fleet. Kronprinz attempted to find the range by observing the British muzzle flashes, but the worsening visibility prevented her gunners from acquiring a target. As a result, she held her fire in this period.^[25] Kronprinz was violently shaken by several near misses.^[26] At 20:18, Scheer ordered the fleet to turn away a third time to escape from the murderous British gunfire; this turn reversed the order of the fleet and placed Kronprinz toward the end of the line.^[27] After successfully withdrawing from the British, Scheer ordered the fleet to assume night cruising formation, though communication errors between Scheer aboard Friedrich der Grosse and Westfalen, the lead ship, caused delays. The fleet fell into formation by 23:30, with Kronprinz the 14th vessel in the line of 24 capital ships.^[28]

Around 02:45, several British destroyers mounted a torpedo attack against the rear half of the German line; Kronprinz spotted several unidentified destroyers in the darkness. Kronprinz held her fire, and she and the other battleships turned away to avoid torpedoes.^[29] One torpedo, fired by the destroyer Obedient, exploded about 100 yd (91 m) behind Kronprinz, in the battleship's wake. Both Obedient and Faulknor reported a hit on Kronprinz, though she was undamaged by the near miss.^[30] Heavy fire from the German battleships forced the British destroyers to withdraw.^[31] The High Seas Fleet had managed to punch through the British light forces and subsequently reached Horns Reef by 04:00 on 1 June,^[32] and Wilhelmshaven a few hours later. The I Squadron battleships took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead, while Kronprinz, Kaiser, Kaiserin, and Prinzregent Luitpold stood ready just outside the entrance to Wilhelmshaven.^[33]

In the course of the battle, Kronprinz had fired 144 armor-piercing and semi-armor-piercing rounds from her main battery guns,^[34] though the exact numbers of each are unknown.^[35] The ship did not fire her secondary 15 cm or 8.8 cm guns during the entire engagement.^[36] Of the four König-class ships, only Kronprinz escaped damage during the battle.^[3][37]

Subsequent operations

On 18 August 1916, Kronprinz took part in an operation to bombard Sunderland.^[3] Admiral Scheer attempted a repeat of the original 31 May plan; the two serviceable German battlecruisers—Moltke and Von der Tann—supported by three dreadnoughts, were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers. The rest of the fleet, including Kronprinz, would trail behind and provide cover.^[38] The British were aware of the German plans and sortied the Grand Fleet to meet them. By 14:35, Admiral Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and, unwilling to engage the whole of the Grand Fleet just eleven weeks after the decidedly close call at Jutland, turned his forces around and retreated to German ports.^[39]

Kronprinz participated in two uneventful fleet operations, one a month prior on 16 July to the north of Helgoland, and one into the North Sea on 18–20 October.^[3] Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were sent to the Baltic directly afterward for training, which lasted until 2 November.^[40] Upon returning from the Baltic, Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were ordered to cover the retrieval of a pair of U-boats that were stranded on the Danish coast. On the return trip, on 5 November 1916, Kronprinz was torpedoed by the British submarine J1 near Horns Reef.^[5] The torpedo struck the ship beneath the forward-most gun turret and allowed approximately 250 metric tons (250 long tons; 280 short tons) of water into the ship. Kronprinz maintained her speed and reached port. The following day she was placed in drydock at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven for repairs, which lasted until 4 December.^[41]

After returning to the III Squadron, Kronprinz took part in squadron training in the Baltic before conducting defensive patrols in the German Bight. During training maneuvers on 5 March 1917, Kronprinz was accidentally rammed by her sister ship Grosser Kurfürst in the Heligoland Bight.^[5][41] The collision caused minor flooding; Kronprinz shipped some 600 t (590 long tons; 660 short tons) of water. She again went into the drydock in Wilhelmshaven, from 6 March to 17 May. On 11 September, Kronprinz was detached for training in the Baltic. She then joined the Special Unit for Operation Albion.^[41]

Operation Albion

In early September 1917, following the German conquest of the Russian port of Riga, the German navy decided to eliminate the Russian naval forces that still held the Gulf of Riga. The Admiralstab (the Navy High Command) planned an operation to seize the Baltic island of Ösel, and specifically the Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula.^[42] On 18 September, the order was issued for a joint operation with the army to capture Ösel and Moon Islands; the primary naval component was to comprise the flagship, Moltke, along with the III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. The V Division included the four König-class ships, and was by this time augmented with the new battleship Bayern. The VI Division consisted of the five Kaiser-class battleships. Along with nine light cruisers, three torpedo boat flotillas, and dozens of mine warfare ships, the entire force numbered some 300 ships, supported by over 100 aircraft and six zeppelins. The invasion force amounted to approximately 24,600 officers and enlisted men.^[43] Opposing the Germans were the old Russian pre-dreadnoughts Slava and Tsesarevich, the armored cruisers Bayan, Admiral Makarov, and Diana, 26 destroyers, and several torpedo boats and gunboats. The garrison on Ösel numbered some 14,000 men.^[44]

German troops landing at Ösel

The operation began on 12 October; at 03:00 König anchored off Ösel in Tagga Bay and disembarked soldiers. By 05:50, König opened fire on Russian coastal artillery emplacements,^[45] joined by Moltke, Bayern, and the other three König-class ships. Simultaneously, the Kaiser-class ships engaged the batteries on the Sworbe peninsula; the objective was to secure the channel between Moon and Dagö islands, which would block the only escape route of the Russian ships in the Gulf. Both Grosser Kurfürst and Bayern struck mines while maneuvering into their bombardment positions, with minimal damage to the former. Bayern was severely damaged, and had to be withdrawn to Kiel for repairs.^[44] After the bombardment, Kronprinz departed the area for Putziger Wiek, where she refueled. The ship passed through Irben Strait on 16 October.^[41]

On 16 October, it was decided to detach a portion of the invasion flotilla to clear the Russian naval forces in Moon Sound; these included the two Russian pre-dreadnoughts. To this end, Kronprinz and König, along with the cruisers Strassburg and Kolberg and a number of smaller vessels, were sent to engage the Russian battleships. They arrived by the morning of 17 October, but a deep Russian minefield thwarted their progress. The Germans were surprised to discover that the 30.5 cm guns of the Russian battleships out-ranged their own 30.5 cm guns.^{[lower-alpha 5]} The Russian ships managed to keep the range long enough to prevent the German battleships from being able to return fire, while still firing effectively on the German ships, and the Germans had to take several evasive maneuvers to avoid the Russian shells. By 10:00, the minesweepers had cleared a path through the minefield, and Kronprinz and König dashed into the bay. At around 10:15, Kronprinz opened fire on Tsarevitch and Bayan, and scored hits on both. König, meanwhile, dispatched Slava. The Russian vessels were hit dozens of times, until at 10:30 the Russian naval commander, Admiral Bakhirev, ordered their withdrawal.^[46]

On 18 October, Kronprinz was slightly grounded, though the damage was not serious enough to necessitate withdrawal for repairs.^[41] By 20 October, the fighting on the islands was winding down; Moon, Ösel, and Dagö were in German possession. The previous day, the Admiralstab had ordered the cessation of naval actions and the return of the dreadnoughts to the High Seas Fleet as soon as possible.^[47] On the 26th, Kronprinz was more seriously grounded on the return trip to Kiel. She managed to reach Kiel on 2 November, and subsequently Wilhelmshaven. Repairs were effected from 24 November to 8 January.^[41]

Fate

On 27 January 1918, the Kaiser directed that the ship be renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in honor of the Crown Prince.^[5] The ship was formally renamed on 15 June 1918, the 30th anniversary of the Kaiser's reign.^[4] Kronprinz Wilhelm and her three sisters were to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918, days before the Armistice was to take effect. The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet; Scheer—by now the Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) of the fleet—intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to retain a better bargaining position for Germany, despite the expected casualties. Many of the war-weary sailors felt the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war.^[48] On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships, including Kronprinz Wilhelm, mutinied.^[49] The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation.^[50] Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."^[51]

Map of the scuttled ships showing Kronprinz Wilhelm (#5); click for a larger view

Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, most of the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow.^[50] Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha made clear to von Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions.^[52] The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser Cardiff, which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow. The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British, American, and French warships.^[53] Once the ships were interned, their guns were disabled through the removal of their breech blocks, and their crews were reduced to 200 officers and men.^[54]

The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles. Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships.^[52] Kronprinz Wilhelm sank at 13:15;^[4] The British guard detail panicked in their attempted to prevent the Germans from scuttling the ships;^[55] British soldiers aboard a nearby drifter shot and killed a stoker from Kronprinz Wilhelm.^[41] In total, the guards killed nine Germans and wounded twenty-one. The remaining crews, totaling some 1,860 officers and enlisted men, were imprisoned.^[55]

Kronprinz Wilhelm was never raised for scrapping, unlike most of the other capital ships that were scuttled.^[4] Kronprinz Wilhelm and two of her sisters had sunk in deeper water than the other capital ships, which made a salvage attempt more difficult. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 put a halt to all salvage operations, and after the war it was determined that salvaging the deeper wrecks was financially impractical.^[56] The rights to future salvage operations on the wreck were sold to Britain in 1962.^[4] The depth in which the three battleships sank insulated them from the radiation released by the use of atomic weapons. As a result, Kronprinz Wilhelm and her sisters are one of the few remaining sources of radiation-free steel. The ships have occasionally had steel removed for use in scientific devices.^[56] Kronprinz Wilhelm and the other vessels on the bottom of Scapa Flow are a popular dive site, and are protected by a policy barring divers from recovering items from the wrecks.^[57]

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

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• Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-1-55821-759-1. 
• Campbell, John (1987). "Germany 1906–1922". In Sturton, Ian. Conway's All the World's Battleships: 1906 to the Present. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 28–49. ISBN 978-0-85177-448-0. 
• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6. OCLC 22101769. 
• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7. OCLC 57447525. 
• Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst, New York: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9. OCLC 57239454. 
• Konstam, Angus (2002). The History of Shipwrecks. New York City: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-58574-620-0. 
• Massie, Robert K. (2003). Castles of Steel. New York City: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-40878-5. OCLC 57134223. 
• Preston, Anthony (1972). Battleships of World War I: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Battleships of all Nations, 1914–1918. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-0211-9. OCLC 402382. 
• Staff, Gary (2010). German Battleships: 1914–1918 (Volume 2). Oxford: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-468-8. OCLC 449845203. 
• Tarrant, V. E. (2001) [1995]. Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9. OCLC 48131785.