sms kaiser friedrich iii sms kaiser friedrich iii majesty ship emperor lead ship class pre dreadnought battleships laid finished october ship armed main battery centimeter guns twin gun turrets commissioned october ship flagship squadron ship severely damaged striking underwater obstacle baltic subsequently repaired ship took extensive fleet maneuvers reorganized high seas fleet modernized secondary guns reorganized superstructure cut reduce obsolete beginning world war kaiser friedrich iii sister ships served limited capacity coastal defense ships early months war january withdrawn service employed prison ship scrapped following end war design long overall beam draft forward aft ship powered cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines drove screw propellers steam provided marine type cylindrical boilers burned coal powerplant rated metric horsepower ihp generated speed knots mph armament consisted main battery guns twin gun turrets fore aft central superstructure secondary armament consisted eighteen inch guns quick firing guns carried machine guns later removed armament suite rounded torpedo tubes water swivel mounts ship belt armor thick deck thick conning tower main battery turrets protected armor plating secondary casemates received armor protection service history keel laid march wilhelmshaven construction number kaiser son ship namesake keel ordered contract replace elderly armored frigate launched july present time launching speech ship commissioned october began sea trials baltic_sea commissioning assigned squadron home fleet commander chief squadron raised flag aboard august september conducted series fleet maneuvers north baltic seas class battleships deployed china assist suppression boxer rebellion fleet greatly reduced strength sister kaiser battleships available maneuvers joined armored frigates class coastal defense ships maneuvers assigned german force combat hostile yellow squadron november steaming kiel conducting exercises fleet kaiser attempted pass stopped allowed pass port order resume steaming given quickly ship accidentally rammed kaiser suffered minor damage bow sister slightly damaged compartment housed steering engines repairs completed days need vessel enter drydock collision route danzig kiel january struck underwater obstacle company impact damaged ship watertight compartments filled water caused ship list port shock collision damaged ship boilers started fire coal ship ammunition magazines engine rooms storage compartments flooded order prevent fire spreading men seriously injured fighting fire died injuries kaiser took sister tow hours fire extinguished engines restarted incident refused requests depart ship stating shall leave ship ships reached kiel thoroughly examined dockyard workers found ship boilers badly damaged bulkheads bent pressure water keel extensively damaged large holes torn places ship propellers damaged temporary repairs effected kiel included sealing holes cement wood april ship moved wilhelmshaven completely repaired subsequent investigation found nearby navigate channel night meters assigned location rocks area accident august annual summer maneuvers begun fleet assigned hostile force tasked preventing german squadron passing great belt baltic battleships tasked forcing entry mouth hamburg seized hostile flotilla accomplished tasks days fleet composed squadron battleships reorganized active battle fleet kaiser friedrich iii remained squadron sister ships newest class battleships older class ships placed reserve order rebuilt fleet reorganization october reorganized reassigned alongside sister ship der older battleship consisted division battleships squadron ship divisions squadron supported cruiser division composed armored cruisers protected cruisers divisions organized ship class case later years newest class battleships coming service class battleships provided modern battleships create battle squadrons result renamed high seas fleet taken drydock extensive modernization lasted guns removed guns added machine guns removed ship stern mounted torpedo tube superstructure cut reduce ship tendency roll excessively ship funnels lengthened served active fleet total span years time ship moved new dreadnought battleships beginning come service decommissioned placed reserve world war outbreak world war august sisters brought active service mobilized assigned coastal defense baltic served capacity short time february withdrawn service placed reserve floating prison stationed kiel following year ship moved barracks later year moved stricken navy list december subsequently sold ship breaking firm based berlin ship ultimately broken bow display dresden
SMS Kaiser Friedrich III