SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm
Encyclopedia
SMS Kronprinz"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" (His Majesty's Ship) was the last battleship
of the four-ship 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 centimetres (12 in) guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (11.4 m/s).
Along with her three sister ship
s, , and , 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 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 Russian battleship Tsarevitch 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 ship
s 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.
Kronprinz was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz Brandenburg and built at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel
under construction number 182. Her keel was laid in May 1912 and she was launched on 21 February 1914. The ship was scheduled to be completed in early 1915, but work was expedited after the outbreak of World War I
in mid-1914. Fitting-out
work was completed by 8 November 1914, the day she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet
. She had cost the Imperial German Government 45 million Goldmarks
.
Kronprinz displaced 25796 t (28,435.2 ST) as built and 28600 t (31,526.1 ST) fully loaded, with a length of 175.4 m (575.5 ft), a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft) and a draft of 9.19 m (30.2 ft). She was powered by three Parsons steam turbines and three oil-fired and twelve coal-fired boilers, which developed a total of 43,300 hp (32.3 MW) and yielded a maximum speed of 21 kn (41.2 km/h).
She was armed with ten 30.5 cm guns
arranged in five twin gun turret
s: two superfiring
turrets each fore and aft and one turret amidships between the two funnels. Her secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and five 50 cm (19.7 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two on each beam.
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 cruiser
s 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. 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. Another minelaying operation was conducted by the II Scouting Group on 17 May, with the battleship again in support.
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. 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
,The Germans were on Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of UTC
, the time zone commonly used in British works. and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw. 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.
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 s of the VI Division, III Battle Squadron. Directly astern of the Kaiser class ships were the and classes of the II Battle Squadron; in the rear guard
were the obsolescent class pre-dreadnought
s of the I Battle Squadron.
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 , shortly after 17:00, and , less than half an hour later. 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, Königs 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.The compass can be divided into 32 points, each corresponding to 11.25 degrees. A two-point turn to port would alter the ships' course by 22.5 degrees.
Kronprinzs 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. Kronprinz fired at from 17:51 to 18:00 at ranges of 17000 metre, then shifted her fire to the fast battleship 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 Kronprinzs gunners. According to naval historian John Campbell, this hit was more likely "the flash of the Malayas guns seen through haze and smoke". During this period, several salvos fell close to Kronprinz, though none struck her. 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.
Shortly after 19:00, several British destroyers attempted a torpedo attack against the leading ships of the German line. The destroyer fired a pair of torpedoes at Kronprinz at a range of 7300 m (23,950.1 ft), though both missed. The German cruiser had been disabled by a shell from the British battlecruiser , and Rear Admiral Paul Behncke
in König ordered his four ships to maneuver to cover the stricken cruiser. 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. In the ensuing melee, the British armored cruiser was struck by several heavy caliber shells from the German dreadnought
s. One salvo penetrated the ship's ammunition magazines and, in a massive explosion, destroyed the cruiser. John Campbell notes that although Defences destruction is usually attributed to the battlecruiser , there is a possibility that it was Kronprinzs fire that destroyed the ship. After the destruction of Defence, Kronprinz shifted her fire to ; 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.
By 20:00, the German line was ordered to turn eastward to disengage from the British fleet. Markgraf, directly ahead of Kronprinz, had engine problems and fell out of formation, then fell in behind Kronprinz. 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. Kronprinz was violently shaken by several near misses. 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. After successfully withdrawing from the British, Scheer ordered the fleet to assume night cruising formation, though communication errors between Scheer aboard and , 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.
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. One torpedo, fired by the destroyer , exploded about 100 yd (91.4 m) behind Kronprinz, in the battleship's wake
. Both Obedient and reported a hit on Kronprinz, though she was undamaged by the near miss. Heavy fire from the German battleships forced the British destroyers to withdraw. The High Seas Fleet had managed to punch through the British light forces and subsequently reached Horns Reef
by 04:00 on 1 June, and Wilhelmshaven a few hours later. The I Squadron battleships took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead
, while Kronprinz, , , and stood ready just outside the entrance to Wilhelmshaven.
In the course of the battle, Kronprinz had fired 144 armor-piercing and semi-armor-piercing rounds from her main battery guns, though the exact numbers of each are unknown. The ship did not fire her secondary 15 cm or 8.8 cm guns during the entire engagement. Of the four König-class ships, only Kronprinz escaped damage during the battle.
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. Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were sent to the Baltic directly afterward for training, which lasted until 2 November. Upon returning from the Baltic, Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were ordered to cover the retrieval of a pair of U-boat
s that were stranded on the Danish coast. On the return trip, on 5 November 1916, Kronprinz was torpedoed by the British submarine near Horns Reef. The torpedo struck the ship beneath the forward-most gun turret and allowed approximately 250 metric tons (246.1 LT) 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.
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 in the Heligoland Bight
. The collision caused minor flooding; Kronprinz shipped some 600 MT (590.5 LT) 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
.
, 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
. 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. Opposing the Germans were the old Russian pre-dreadnought
s Slava
and Tsarevitch, the armored cruiser
s Bayan, Admiral Makarov, and Diana, 26 destroyers, and several torpedo boats and gunboats. The garrison on Ösel numbered some 14,000 men.
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, 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. After the bombardment, Kronprinz departed the area for Putziger Wiek, where she refueled. The ship passed through Irben Strait on 16 October.
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 and 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. 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.
On 18 October, Kronprinz was slightly grounded, though the damage was not serious enough to necessitate withdrawal for repairs. 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. 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.
(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. 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 and then on several other battleships, including Kronprinz Wilhelm, mutinied. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."
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. 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. The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser
, 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. 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.
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. Kronprinz Wilhelm sank at 13:15; The British guard detail panicked in their attempted to prevent the Germans from scuttling the ships; British soldiers aboard a nearby drifter
shot and killed a stoker from Kronprinz Wilhelm. In total, the guards killed nine Germans and wounded twenty-one. The remaining crews, totaling some 1,860 officers and enlisted men, were imprisoned.
Kronprinz Wilhelm was never raised for scrapping, unlike most of the other capital ships that were scuttled. 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. The rights to future salvage operations on the wreck were sold to Britain in 1962. 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 only remaining sources of radiation-free steel. The ships have occasionally had steel removed for use in scientific devices. 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.
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
of the four-ship 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:
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
"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 centimetres (12 in) guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (11.4 m/s).
Along with her three sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s, , and , Kronprinz took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
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 on 5 November 1916 during an operation off the Danish coast. Following repairs, she participated in Operation Albion
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September-October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa , Hiiumaa and Muhu , then part of the Russian Republic...
, an amphibious assault in the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, in October 1917. During the operation Kronprinz engaged the Russian battleship Tsarevitch 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 ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
were interned by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
. The ships were disarmed and reduced to skeleton crews while the Allied powers
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. On 21 June 1919, days before the treaty was signed, the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
, ordered the fleet to be scuttled
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
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
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...
under construction number 182. Her keel was laid in May 1912 and she was launched on 21 February 1914. The ship was scheduled to be completed in early 1915, but work was expedited after the outbreak 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 mid-1914. Fitting-out
Fitting-out
Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...
work was completed by 8 November 1914, the day she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. She had cost the Imperial German Government 45 million Goldmarks
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...
.
Kronprinz displaced 25796 t (28,435.2 ST) as built and 28600 t (31,526.1 ST) fully loaded, with a length of 175.4 m (575.5 ft), a beam of 19.5 m (64 ft) and a draft of 9.19 m (30.2 ft). She was powered by three Parsons steam turbines and three oil-fired and twelve coal-fired boilers, which developed a total of 43,300 hp (32.3 MW) and yielded a maximum speed of 21 kn (41.2 km/h).
She was armed with ten 30.5 cm guns
30.5 cm SK L/50 gun
The 30.5 cm SK L/50 gunIn Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" denotes that the gun is quick firing, while the L/50 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/50 gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as it is in diameter. was a heavy gun mounted on 16 of...
arranged in five twin gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s: two superfiring
Superfire
The idea of superfire is to locate two turrets in a row, one behind the other, but with the second turret located above the one in front so that the second turret could fire over the first...
turrets each fore and aft and one turret amidships between the two funnels. Her secondary armament consisted of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, six 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and five 50 cm (19.7 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two on each beam.
Service history
Kronprinz was completed in November 1914; following her commissioning she joined the III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. Kronprinz completed her sea trials on 2 January 1915. The first operation in which she participated was an uneventful sortieSortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
by the fleet into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
on 29–30 March. Three weeks later, on 17–18 April, she and her sisters supported an operation in which the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s of the II Scouting Group laid mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
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. 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. Another minelaying operation was conducted by the II Scouting Group on 17 May, with the battleship again in support.
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
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
. 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. Kronprinz supported a raid on the English coast
Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
The Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft was a naval battle fought during the First World War between the German Empire and the British Empire in the North Sea....
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
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
,The Germans were on Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
, the time zone commonly used in British works. and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw. The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft unopposed, but during the approach to Yarmouth, they encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
. 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
Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the German Kaiserliche Marine. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II...
, who had been warned of the sortie of the Grand Fleet from its base in Scapa Flow, also withdrew to safer German waters.
Battle of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
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 s of the VI Division, III Battle Squadron. Directly astern of the Kaiser class ships were the and classes of the II Battle Squadron; in the rear guard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
were the obsolescent class pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
s of the I Battle Squadron.
Shortly before 16:00, the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group
I Scouting Group
The I Scouting Group was a special reconnaissance unit within the German Kaiserliche Marine. The unit was famously commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper during World War I. The I Scouting Group was one of the most active formations in the High Seas Fleet during the war; the unit took part in every...
encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of David Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
. The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of , shortly after 17:00, and , less than half an hour later. 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, Königs 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
Boxing the compass
Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading in a general or colloquial fashion, without...
turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers, and a minute later, the order to open fire was given.The compass can be divided into 32 points, each corresponding to 11.25 degrees. A two-point turn to port would alter the ships' course by 22.5 degrees.
Kronprinzs 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. Kronprinz fired at from 17:51 to 18:00 at ranges of 17000 metre, then shifted her fire to the fast battleship 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 Kronprinzs gunners. According to naval historian John Campbell, this hit was more likely "the flash of the Malayas guns seen through haze and smoke". During this period, several salvos fell close to Kronprinz, though none struck her. 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.
Shortly after 19:00, several British destroyers attempted a torpedo attack against the leading ships of the German line. The destroyer fired a pair of torpedoes at Kronprinz at a range of 7300 m (23,950.1 ft), though both missed. The German cruiser had been disabled by a shell from the British battlecruiser , and Rear Admiral Paul Behncke
Paul Behncke
Paul Behncke was a German admiral during the First World War, most notable for his command of the Third Battle Squadron of the German High Seas Fleet during the Battle of Jutland....
in König ordered his four ships to maneuver to cover the stricken cruiser. 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. In the ensuing melee, the British armored cruiser was struck by several heavy caliber shells from the German dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s. One salvo penetrated the ship's ammunition magazines and, in a massive explosion, destroyed the cruiser. John Campbell notes that although Defences destruction is usually attributed to the battlecruiser , there is a possibility that it was Kronprinzs fire that destroyed the ship. After the destruction of Defence, Kronprinz shifted her fire to ; 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.
By 20:00, the German line was ordered to turn eastward to disengage from the British fleet. Markgraf, directly ahead of Kronprinz, had engine problems and fell out of formation, then fell in behind Kronprinz. 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. Kronprinz was violently shaken by several near misses. 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. After successfully withdrawing from the British, Scheer ordered the fleet to assume night cruising formation, though communication errors between Scheer aboard and , 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.
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. One torpedo, fired by the destroyer , exploded about 100 yd (91.4 m) behind Kronprinz, in the battleship's wake
Wake
A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.-Fluid dynamics:...
. Both Obedient and reported a hit on Kronprinz, though she was undamaged by the near miss. Heavy fire from the German battleships forced the British destroyers to withdraw. The High Seas Fleet had managed to punch through the British light forces and subsequently reached Horns Reef
Horns Reef
Horns Rev is a shallow area in the eastern North Sea, about 15 km / 10 miles off the westernmost point of Denmark, Blåvands Huk...
by 04:00 on 1 June, and Wilhelmshaven a few hours later. The I Squadron battleships took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead
Roadstead
A roadstead is a place outside a harbor where a ship can lie at anchor. It is an enclosed area with an opening to the sea, narrower than a bay or gulf. It has a surface that cannot be confused with an estuary. It can be created artificially by jetties or dikes...
, while Kronprinz, , , and stood ready just outside the entrance to Wilhelmshaven.
In the course of the battle, Kronprinz had fired 144 armor-piercing and semi-armor-piercing rounds from her main battery guns, though the exact numbers of each are unknown. The ship did not fire her secondary 15 cm or 8.8 cm guns during the entire engagement. Of the four König-class ships, only Kronprinz escaped damage during the battle.
Subsequent operations
On 18 August 1916, Kronprinz took part in an operation to bombard Sunderland. Admiral Scheer attempted a repeat of the original 31 May plan; the two serviceable German battlecruisers— and —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. 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.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. Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were sent to the Baltic directly afterward for training, which lasted until 2 November. Upon returning from the Baltic, Kronprinz and the rest of III Squadron were ordered to cover the retrieval of a pair of U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s that were stranded on the Danish coast. On the return trip, on 5 November 1916, Kronprinz was torpedoed by the British submarine near Horns Reef. The torpedo struck the ship beneath the forward-most gun turret and allowed approximately 250 metric tons (246.1 LT) of water into the ship. Kronprinz maintained her speed and reached port. The following day she was placed in drydock at 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:...
for repairs, which lasted until 4 December.
After returning to the III Squadron, Kronprinz took part in squadron training in the Baltic before conducting defensive patrols in the German Bight
German Bight
German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east . To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to...
. During training maneuvers on 5 March 1917, Kronprinz was accidentally rammed by her sister ship in the Heligoland Bight
Heligoland Bight
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...
. The collision caused minor flooding; Kronprinz shipped some 600 MT (590.5 LT) 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
Operation Albion
Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation in September-October 1917 to invade and occupy the Estonian islands of Saaremaa , Hiiumaa and Muhu , then part of the Russian Republic...
.
Operation Albion
In early September 1917, following the German conquest of the Russian port of RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, the German navy decided to eliminate the Russian naval forces that still held the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
. The Admiralstab (the Navy High Command) planned an operation to seize the Baltic island of Ösel
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
, and specifically the Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula
Sõrve Peninsula
Sõrve Peninsula is a peninsula which forms the southernmost section of the Estonian island Saaremaa. Its length is 32 km, and its maximum width 10 km...
. On 18 September, the order was issued for a joint operation with the army to capture Ösel and Moon
Muhu
Muhu , is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km² it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa....
Islands; the primary naval component was to comprise the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
, 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
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
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. Opposing the Germans were the old Russian pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
s Slava
Russian battleship Slava
Slava was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, the last of the five s. Commissioned too late to participate in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, she survived while all of her sister ships were either sunk during the battle or surrendered to the Imperial...
and Tsarevitch, the 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...
s Bayan, Admiral Makarov, and Diana, 26 destroyers, and several torpedo boats and gunboats. The garrison on Ösel numbered some 14,000 men.
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, 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
Hiiumaa
Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...
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
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...
for repairs. After the bombardment, Kronprinz departed the area for Putziger Wiek, where she refueled. The ship passed through Irben Strait on 16 October.
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 and 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. 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
Mikhail Bakhirev
Mikhail Koronatovitsch Bakhirev was a Russian Naval officer and Admiral.Bakhirev was born into a Don Cossack family near Novocherkassk. His father was a sotnik in the cossacks of the Imperial Russian Army.He joined in 1888 as a cadet in the Navy and was on the gunboat Bobr the Far Eastern Fleet...
, ordered their withdrawal.
On 18 October, Kronprinz was slightly grounded, though the damage was not serious enough to necessitate withdrawal for repairs. 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. 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.
Fate
On 27 January 1918, the Kaiser directed that the ship be renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in honor of the Crown Prince. The ship was formally renamed on 15 June 1918, the 30th anniversary of the Kaiser's reign. 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 AdmiralGrand Admiral
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.-France:...
(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. 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 and then on several other battleships, including Kronprinz Wilhelm, mutinied. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation. Informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated "I no longer have a navy."
Ludwig von Reuter
Ludwig von Reuter was a German admiral during World War I, who commanded the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet when it was interned at Scapa Flow at the end of the war. On 21 June 1919 he ordered the scuttling of the fleet to prevent the British from seizing the ships.-Early life:Reuter was...
, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow. Prior to the departure of the German fleet, Admiral Adolf von Trotha
Adolf von Trotha
Adolf von Trotha was a German admiral in the Kaiserliche Marine from Koblenz, Rhenish Prussia.-Family:...
made clear to von Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships, under any conditions. The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
, 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. 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.
The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. 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
Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow
The scuttling of the German fleet took place at the Royal Navy's base at Scapa Flow, in Scotland, after the end of the First World War. The High Seas Fleet had been interned there under the terms of the Armistice whilst negotiations took place over the fate of the ships...
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. Kronprinz Wilhelm sank at 13:15; The British guard detail panicked in their attempted to prevent the Germans from scuttling the ships; British soldiers aboard a nearby drifter
Naval drifter
A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers....
shot and killed a stoker from Kronprinz Wilhelm. In total, the guards killed nine Germans and wounded twenty-one. The remaining crews, totaling some 1,860 officers and enlisted men, were imprisoned.
Kronprinz Wilhelm was never raised for scrapping, unlike most of the other capital ships that were scuttled. 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. The rights to future salvage operations on the wreck were sold to Britain in 1962. 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 only remaining sources of radiation-free steel. The ships have occasionally had steel removed for use in scientific devices. 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.