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SMS Kaiser (1875)
Encyclopedia
SMS Kaiser was the lead ship
of the s; was her sister ship. Named for the title "Kaiser
" , held by the leader of the then newly created German Empire
, the ship was laid down in the Samuda Brothers
shipyard in London in 1871. The ship was launched in March 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet in February 1875. Kaiser mounted a main battery of eight 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in a central battery amidships.
Kaiser served with the fleet from her commissioning until 1896, though she was frequently placed in reserve throughout her career. The ship was a regular participant in the annual fleet training maneuvers conducted with the exception of the mid-1880s, when she was temporarily replaced by newer vessels. She participated in several cruises in the Baltic and Mediterranean, often escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on official state visits. Kaiser was rebuilt in the early 1890s as an armored cruiser
, though she was too slow to perform satisfactorily in this role. Nevertheless, she spent several years as the flagship of the East Asia Squadron
before returning to Germany in 1899. She was used in secondary roles after 1904, until after the end of World War I
in 1919, when she was broken up for scrap.
shipyard in London
, UK; her keel
was laid in 1871. Kaiser and her sister Deutschland were ordered shortly after the end of the Franco-Prussian War
, under the assumption that the French would quickly attempt a war of revenge. The ship was launched on 19 March 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet on 13 February 1875. Kaiser cost the German government 8,226,000 gold marks
.
The ship was 89.34 metres (293.1 ft) long overall and had a beam of 19.1 m (62.7 ft) and a draft of 7.39 m (24.2 ft) forward. Kaiser was powered by one 2-cylinder single expansion engine, which was supplied with steam by eight coal-fired trunk boilers. The ship's top speed was 14.6 knots (7.9 m/s), at 5779 ihp. She was also equipped with a full ship rig
. Her standard complement consisted of 32 officers and 568 enlisted men.
She was armed with eight 26 cm (10.2 in) L/20 guns mounted in a central battery amidships. As built, the ship was also equipped with a single 21 cm (8.3 in) L/22 gun. After being rebuilt in 1891–1895, her armament was increased by six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/22 and one 8.8 cm L/30 guns, four and later twelve 3.7 cm (1.5 in) auto-cannons, and five 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tubes, all mounted in the ship's hull. Kaisers armor was made of wrought iron
and backed with teak
. The armored belt was 127 millimetre thick; this was backed with 90 to 226 mm (3.5 to 8.9 in) of teak.
. The four-ship squadron remained in German waters for the entirety of the cruise, which finished with a review of the flotilla in Rostock
by Kaiser Wilhelm I in September. The squadron was reactivated the next spring; Rear Admiral Carl Ferdinand Batsch replaced Henk as the squadron commander. Kaiser served as the flagship of Batsch's squadron, which also included Kaisers sister Deutschland, Kronprinz, and .
At around the time Batch's squadron was working up for the summer cruise, Henry Abbott, the German consul in Salonika, then in the Ottoman Empire
, was murdered. Further attacks on German citizens living in the area were feared, and so Batsch was ordered to sail to the Mediterranean Sea
to stage a naval demonstration in June 1876. After arriving with the four ironclads, he was reinforced by three unarmored vessels. After the threat of violence subsided in August, Batsch departed with Kaiser and Deutschland; the other two ironclads remained in the Mediterranean for the rest of the summer.
Kaiser joined the 1877 summer squadron, composed of Deutschland, Friedrich Carl, and the new turret ironclad . The squadron was again sent to the Mediterranean, in response to unrest in the Ottoman Empire related to the Russo-Turkish War; the violence threatened German citizens living there. The squadron, again under the command of Batsch, steamed to the ports of Haifa
and Jaffa
in July 1877, but found no significant tensions ashore. Batsch then departed and cruised the Mediterranean for the remainder of the summer, returning to Germany in October. The newly commissioned and , sister ships of Preussen, replaced Kaiser and Deutschland in the 1878 maneuvers, during which Grosser Kurfürst was accidentally rammed and sank with great loss of life.
Kaiser and her sister Deutschland remained in reserve for the next six years. They were reactivated in the spring of 1883 for the summer maneuvers under the command of Wilhelm von Wickede. Due to their long period out of service, their engines proved troublesome during the training cruise. Regardless, the 1883 cruise was the first year the German navy completely abandoned the use of sails on its large ironclads. Kaiser went into reserve during the 1884 maneuvers, which were conducted by a homogenous squadron composed of the four s. The ship did not see active duty again until August 1887, when she joined König Wihelm and as the I Squadron for three weeks of maneuvers with the rest of the fleet.
In May 1888, Kaiser represented Germany at Barcelona
's World Fair
, which held a naval review. During the summer of 1889, Kaiser joined the fleet that steamed to Great Britain to celebrate the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II; the ship joined her sister Deutschland and the turret ships Preussen and Friedrich der Grosse in the II Division. The fleet then held training maneuvers in the North Sea under command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Hollmann. Kaiser and the rest of the II Division became the training squadron for the fleet in 1889–1890, the first year the Kaiserliche Marine maintained a year-round ironclad force. The squadron escorted Wilhelm II's imperial yacht to the Mediterranean; the voyage included state visits to Italy and the Ottoman Empire. The squadron remained in the Mediterranean until April 1890, when it returned to Germany.
Kaiser participated in the ceremonial transfer of the island of Helgoland from British to German control in the summer of 1890. She was present during the fleet maneuvers in September, where the entire eight-ship armored squadron simulated a Russian fleet blockading Kiel
. The II Division, including Kaiser, served as the training squadron in the winter of 1890–1891. The squadron again cruised the Mediterranean, under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Schröder. Between 1891 and 1895, Kaiser was rebuilt in the Imperial Dockyard
in Wilhelmshaven
. The ship was converted into an armored cruiser
; her heavy guns were removed and replaced with lighter weapons, including one 15 cm (5.9 in), six 10.5 cm (4.1 in), and nine 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns. Her entire rigging equipment was removed and two heavy military masts were installed in place of the rigging. Despite the modernization, she remained quite slow. Deutschland and König Wilhelm were similarly converted.
, which also included the cruisers and and several smaller vessels. During the period of diplomatic tension between Britain and Germany caused by the Kruger telegram
sent by Wilhelm II, Kaiser and several other overseas cruisers were ordered to return to German waters. This order was quickly reversed, as it was decided it would be seen as an act of weakness by Britain. In April 1896, while entering the port of Amoy
, Kaiser struck an uncharted rock. Only minor damage was done to the hull, but the ship was still out of service for twenty-two days for repairs in Hong Kong
. Kaiser served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs
during his tenure as the squadron commander. Diederichs was tasked with locating a suitable concession
to be used as the main port of the East Asia Squadron; after surveying a number of sites aboard Kaiser, Diederichs settled on Kiautschou Bay. In the wake of two violent incidents against Germans in China, Wilhelm II gave Diederichs permission to seize Kiautschou by force in November 1897.
After dusk on 10 November, Kaiser left Shanghai and headed toward Kiautschou. Prinzess Wilhelm and were to leave the following day to allay suspicion. The three ships rendezvoused on the 12th at sea; Diederichs intended to steam into Kiautschou on the 14th and seize the port. At 06:00 on the 14th, Cormoran steamed into the bay to bring the Chinese forts under fire, while Kaiser and Prinzess Wilhelm sent a landing force of some 700 men ashore. In the span of two hours, Diederichs's forces had captured the central and outlying forts and destroyed the Chinese telegraph, preventing them from notifying their superiors of the German attack. After negotiating with General Chang, the commander of the Kiautschou garrison, Diederichs succeeded in forcing the Chinese concession of Kiautschou to Germany, which he proclaimed at 14:20. Diederichs was promoted to Vice Admiral following the successful seizure of the port.
In May 1898, Diederichs sent Kaiser to Nagasaki
for periodic maintenance. The Spanish-American War
, which saw action in the Philippines
at the Battle of Manila Bay, necessitated a German naval presence in the area to protect German nationals. Kaiser was still in Nagasaki undergoing repairs, so Diederichs ordered her and Prinzess Wilhelm, also in dock for maintenance, to meet him in Manila as soon as was possible. Crew transfers during the repair process necessitated Irene and Cormoran to meet in Manila as well; this concentration of five warships in the Philippines caused a serious crisis with the American Navy. Rear Admiral George Dewey
objected to the size of the German force and to a meeting between Diederichs and Governor General Augustin, the Spanish governor of the Philippines. The German naval forces left the Philippines after the fall of Manila in August, though tensions with the United States continued for some time after.
Following his departure from Manila in August 1898, Diederichs took Kaiser south to the Dutch East Indies
. There, the ship represented Germany during celebrations for the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina
. The ship then returned to Hong Kong via Singapore
, before proceeding to Fuchow for gunnery practice. While steaming into the bay, however, the ship ran aground on an uncharted rock. Arcona and Cormoran arrived to tow Kaiser off the rocks, after which Diederichs sent her back to Hong Kong for repairs. Kaiser remained overseas until 1899, when she returned to Germany. She was reduced to a harbor ship on 3 May 1904 and renamed Uranus on 12 October 1905. The ship was stricken from the naval register on 21 May 1906 and used as a barracks ship for in Flensburg
. Uranus was ultimately broken up in 1920 in Harburg
.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the s; was her sister ship. Named for the title "Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
" , held by the leader of the then newly created German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, the ship was laid down in the Samuda Brothers
Samuda Brothers
Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate....
shipyard in London in 1871. The ship was launched in March 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet in February 1875. Kaiser mounted a main battery of eight 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in a central battery amidships.
Kaiser served with the fleet from her commissioning until 1896, though she was frequently placed in reserve throughout her career. The ship was a regular participant in the annual fleet training maneuvers conducted with the exception of the mid-1880s, when she was temporarily replaced by newer vessels. She participated in several cruises in the Baltic and Mediterranean, often escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II on official state visits. Kaiser was rebuilt in the early 1890s as an armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
, though she was too slow to perform satisfactorily in this role. Nevertheless, she spent several years as the flagship of the East Asia Squadron
German East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
before returning to Germany in 1899. She was used in secondary roles after 1904, until after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1919, when she was broken up for scrap.
Construction
Kaiser was ordered by the Imperial Navy from the Samuda BrothersSamuda Brothers
Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate....
shipyard in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK; her keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid in 1871. Kaiser and her sister Deutschland were ordered shortly after the end of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, under the assumption that the French would quickly attempt a war of revenge. The ship was launched on 19 March 1874 and commissioned into the German fleet on 13 February 1875. Kaiser cost the German government 8,226,000 gold marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
.
The ship was 89.34 metres (293.1 ft) long overall and had a beam of 19.1 m (62.7 ft) and a draft of 7.39 m (24.2 ft) forward. Kaiser was powered by one 2-cylinder single expansion engine, which was supplied with steam by eight coal-fired trunk boilers. The ship's top speed was 14.6 knots (7.9 m/s), at 5779 ihp. She was also equipped with a full ship rig
Full rigged ship
A full rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel with three or more masts, all of them square rigged. A full rigged ship is said to have a ship rig....
. Her standard complement consisted of 32 officers and 568 enlisted men.
She was armed with eight 26 cm (10.2 in) L/20 guns mounted in a central battery amidships. As built, the ship was also equipped with a single 21 cm (8.3 in) L/22 gun. After being rebuilt in 1891–1895, her armament was increased by six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/22 and one 8.8 cm L/30 guns, four and later twelve 3.7 cm (1.5 in) auto-cannons, and five 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tubes, all mounted in the ship's hull. Kaisers armor was made of wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
and backed with teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
. The armored belt was 127 millimetre thick; this was backed with 90 to 226 mm (3.5 to 8.9 in) of teak.
Service history
After commissioning in February 1875, Kaiser spent the spring working up her engines to be ready for the annual summer training cruise. She joined the older ironclads and and the new , under the command of Vice Admiral Ludwig von HenkLudwig von Henk
Ludwig von Henk was a German naval officer, who distinguished himself in the Prussian Navy and later in the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire. He retired as a Vice-Admiral....
. The four-ship squadron remained in German waters for the entirety of the cruise, which finished with a review of the flotilla in Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
by Kaiser Wilhelm I in September. The squadron was reactivated the next spring; Rear Admiral Carl Ferdinand Batsch replaced Henk as the squadron commander. Kaiser served as the flagship of Batsch's squadron, which also included Kaisers sister Deutschland, Kronprinz, and .
At around the time Batch's squadron was working up for the summer cruise, Henry Abbott, the German consul in Salonika, then in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, was murdered. Further attacks on German citizens living in the area were feared, and so Batsch was ordered to sail to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to stage a naval demonstration in June 1876. After arriving with the four ironclads, he was reinforced by three unarmored vessels. After the threat of violence subsided in August, Batsch departed with Kaiser and Deutschland; the other two ironclads remained in the Mediterranean for the rest of the summer.
Kaiser joined the 1877 summer squadron, composed of Deutschland, Friedrich Carl, and the new turret ironclad . The squadron was again sent to the Mediterranean, in response to unrest in the Ottoman Empire related to the Russo-Turkish War; the violence threatened German citizens living there. The squadron, again under the command of Batsch, steamed to the ports of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in July 1877, but found no significant tensions ashore. Batsch then departed and cruised the Mediterranean for the remainder of the summer, returning to Germany in October. The newly commissioned and , sister ships of Preussen, replaced Kaiser and Deutschland in the 1878 maneuvers, during which Grosser Kurfürst was accidentally rammed and sank with great loss of life.
Kaiser and her sister Deutschland remained in reserve for the next six years. They were reactivated in the spring of 1883 for the summer maneuvers under the command of Wilhelm von Wickede. Due to their long period out of service, their engines proved troublesome during the training cruise. Regardless, the 1883 cruise was the first year the German navy completely abandoned the use of sails on its large ironclads. Kaiser went into reserve during the 1884 maneuvers, which were conducted by a homogenous squadron composed of the four s. The ship did not see active duty again until August 1887, when she joined König Wihelm and as the I Squadron for three weeks of maneuvers with the rest of the fleet.
In May 1888, Kaiser represented Germany at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
's World Fair
Exposición Universal de Barcelona
The Exposición Universal de Barcelona was Spain's first international Exposition and ran from May 20 to December 9 1888.-Summary:Eugenio Serrano de Casanova tried to launch an expo in 1886, and when that failed the Mayor took over. The fair was hosted on the 115 acre site of Parc de la Ciutadella...
, which held a naval review. During the summer of 1889, Kaiser joined the fleet that steamed to Great Britain to celebrate the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II; the ship joined her sister Deutschland and the turret ships Preussen and Friedrich der Grosse in the II Division. The fleet then held training maneuvers in the North Sea under command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Hollmann. Kaiser and the rest of the II Division became the training squadron for the fleet in 1889–1890, the first year the Kaiserliche Marine maintained a year-round ironclad force. The squadron escorted Wilhelm II's imperial yacht to the Mediterranean; the voyage included state visits to Italy and the Ottoman Empire. The squadron remained in the Mediterranean until April 1890, when it returned to Germany.
Kaiser participated in the ceremonial transfer of the island of Helgoland from British to German control in the summer of 1890. She was present during the fleet maneuvers in September, where the entire eight-ship armored squadron simulated a Russian fleet blockading Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. The II Division, including Kaiser, served as the training squadron in the winter of 1890–1891. The squadron again cruised the Mediterranean, under the command of Rear Admiral Wilhelm Schröder. Between 1891 and 1895, Kaiser was rebuilt in the Imperial Dockyard
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven
Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven was a German shipbuilding company in Wilhelmshaven, Prussian Hanover. It was founded in 1853, first as Königliche Werft Wilhelmshaven but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
in Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
. The ship was converted into an armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
; her heavy guns were removed and replaced with lighter weapons, including one 15 cm (5.9 in), six 10.5 cm (4.1 in), and nine 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns. Her entire rigging equipment was removed and two heavy military masts were installed in place of the rigging. Despite the modernization, she remained quite slow. Deutschland and König Wilhelm were similarly converted.
Service in East Asia
In 1895, Kaiser reinforced the East Asia SquadronGerman East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
, which also included the cruisers and and several smaller vessels. During the period of diplomatic tension between Britain and Germany caused by the Kruger telegram
Kruger telegram
The Kruger telegram was a message sent by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II to Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic, on 3 January 1896. The Kaiser congratulated the president on repelling the Jameson Raid, a sortie by 600 British irregulars from Cape Colony into the...
sent by Wilhelm II, Kaiser and several other overseas cruisers were ordered to return to German waters. This order was quickly reversed, as it was decided it would be seen as an act of weakness by Britain. In April 1896, while entering the port of Amoy
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
, Kaiser struck an uncharted rock. Only minor damage was done to the hull, but the ship was still out of service for twenty-two days for repairs in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Kaiser served as the flagship of Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs
Otto von Diederichs
Ernst Otto von Diederichs was an Admiral of the German Imperial Navy, serving in the predecessor Prussian Navy and the Navy of the North German Confederation.-Education, war and peace:Diederichs entered the Prussian...
during his tenure as the squadron commander. Diederichs was tasked with locating a suitable concession
Concession (territory)
In international law, a concession is a territory within a country that is administered by an entity other than the state which holds sovereignty over it. This is usually a colonizing power, or at least mandated by one, as in the case of colonial chartered companies.Usually, it is conceded, that...
to be used as the main port of the East Asia Squadron; after surveying a number of sites aboard Kaiser, Diederichs settled on Kiautschou Bay. In the wake of two violent incidents against Germans in China, Wilhelm II gave Diederichs permission to seize Kiautschou by force in November 1897.
After dusk on 10 November, Kaiser left Shanghai and headed toward Kiautschou. Prinzess Wilhelm and were to leave the following day to allay suspicion. The three ships rendezvoused on the 12th at sea; Diederichs intended to steam into Kiautschou on the 14th and seize the port. At 06:00 on the 14th, Cormoran steamed into the bay to bring the Chinese forts under fire, while Kaiser and Prinzess Wilhelm sent a landing force of some 700 men ashore. In the span of two hours, Diederichs's forces had captured the central and outlying forts and destroyed the Chinese telegraph, preventing them from notifying their superiors of the German attack. After negotiating with General Chang, the commander of the Kiautschou garrison, Diederichs succeeded in forcing the Chinese concession of Kiautschou to Germany, which he proclaimed at 14:20. Diederichs was promoted to Vice Admiral following the successful seizure of the port.
In May 1898, Diederichs sent Kaiser to Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
for periodic maintenance. The Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, which saw action in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
at the Battle of Manila Bay, necessitated a German naval presence in the area to protect German nationals. Kaiser was still in Nagasaki undergoing repairs, so Diederichs ordered her and Prinzess Wilhelm, also in dock for maintenance, to meet him in Manila as soon as was possible. Crew transfers during the repair process necessitated Irene and Cormoran to meet in Manila as well; this concentration of five warships in the Philippines caused a serious crisis with the American Navy. Rear Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
objected to the size of the German force and to a meeting between Diederichs and Governor General Augustin, the Spanish governor of the Philippines. The German naval forces left the Philippines after the fall of Manila in August, though tensions with the United States continued for some time after.
Following his departure from Manila in August 1898, Diederichs took Kaiser south to the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. There, the ship represented Germany during celebrations for the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
. The ship then returned to Hong Kong via Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, before proceeding to Fuchow for gunnery practice. While steaming into the bay, however, the ship ran aground on an uncharted rock. Arcona and Cormoran arrived to tow Kaiser off the rocks, after which Diederichs sent her back to Hong Kong for repairs. Kaiser remained overseas until 1899, when she returned to Germany. She was reduced to a harbor ship on 3 May 1904 and renamed Uranus on 12 October 1905. The ship was stricken from the naval register on 21 May 1906 and used as a barracks ship for in Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
. Uranus was ultimately broken up in 1920 in Harburg
Harburg
Harburg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg...
.