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153-531: The III Battle Squadron was divided into the V Division and the VI Division. For the first half of the wartime service of these divisions, they contained the König and Kaiser classes , respectively. During this period, the battleship SMS  König served as the flagship of both the squadron and the V Division, while the battleship SMS  Kaiser served as the flagship of the VI Division. On 1 December 1916,

306-446: A double bottom for 88 percent of the length of the hull and 17 watertight compartments . The ships had a crew of 41 officers and 1,043 seamen. While serving as squadron flagship , the ships had an additional 14 officers and 80 men, and as the second command flagship, the ships' usual complement was augmented by another 2 officers and 23 men. The Kaiser -class ships were excellent sea boats, but were very stiff, suffering

459-403: A draft of 9.19 m (30 ft 2 in) fully loaded. The ship displaced 22,979  t (22,616 long tons ) normally, and 25,400 t (25,000 long tons) at full load . Moltke was powered by four Parsons steam turbines , with steam provided by twenty-four coal-fired Schulz-Thornycroft water-tube boilers . The propulsion system was rated at 51,289  shp (38,246 kW) and

612-487: A coal bunker, tore into a casemate deck, and ignited ammunition stored therein. The explosion burned the ammunition hoist down to the magazine. Von der Tann and Moltke changed their speed and direction, which threw off the aim of the V Battle Squadron and earned the battered ships a short respite. While Moltke and Von der Tann were drawing the fire of the V Battle Squadron battleships, Seydlitz and Derfflinger were able to concentrate their fire on

765-566: A half later, the High Seas Fleet under the command of Admiral Reinhard Scheer left the Jade; the force was composed of 16 dreadnoughts. The High Seas Fleet was accompanied by IV Scouting Group, composed of the light cruisers Stettin , München , Hamburg , Frauenlob , and Stuttgart , and 31 torpedo boats of I, III, V, and VII Flotillas, led by the light cruiser Rostock . The six pre-dreadnoughts of II Battle Squadron had departed from

918-539: A hole in the side of the ship and flooded a coal bunker. At 10:30, New Zealand , the fourth ship in Beatty's line, came within range of Blücher and opened fire. By 10:35, the range had closed to 17,500 yards (16,000 m), at which point the entire German line was within the effective range of the British ships. Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to engage their German counterparts. However, confusion aboard Tiger led

1071-424: A lengthy visit to Norway. During this period, Moltke visited Lærdalsøyri , Norway, from 27 July to 3 August. After the unit returned home, Seydlitz joined it on 17 August. KAdm Franz Hipper replaced Bachmann as the unit commander on 30 September, though he did not arrive aboard the ship until 15 October, as he had been on vacation at the time. In November, Moltke was present for fleet exercises in

1224-400: A measure designed to necessitate construction of newer battleships. This meant the six Siegfried -class coastal defense ships, the two Odin -class coastal defense ships, as well as the four Brandenburg -class battleships would have to be replaced. The five Kaiser s were to replace the remaining three Siegfried -class ships: Hildebrand , Heimdall , and Hagen , as well as

1377-563: A measure which not only seriously jeopardized his advance forces off the English coast but also deprived the German Fleet of a signal and certain victory." In early January 1915, it became known that British ships were conducting reconnaissance in the Dogger Bank area. Ingenohl was initially reluctant to destroy these forces, because I Scouting Group was temporarily weakened while Von der Tann

1530-601: A navigational error that led the ship into one of the German minefields. Yorck struck two mines and quickly sank; the coastal defense ship Hagen was able to save 127 men of the crew. It was decided by Ingenohl that another raid on the English coast was to be carried out, in the hopes of luring a portion of the Grand Fleet into combat, where it could be destroyed. At 03:20 on 15 December, Moltke , Seydlitz , Von der Tann , Derfflinger , and Blücher , along with

1683-413: A number of large British warships steaming towards Hipper's ships. Hipper turned south to flee, but was limited to 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph), which was the maximum speed of the older armored cruiser Blücher . The pursuing British battlecruisers were steaming at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and quickly caught up to the German ships. At 09:52, Lion opened fire on Blücher from

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1836-627: A period of about 20 minutes; Warspite was hit 11 times before the Germans lost sight of her. Because her steering gear could not be adequately repaired, Warspite was forced to withdraw from the battle; her absence prompted the Germans to believe they had sunk her. Upon returning to the Jade estuary, the Nassau -class battleships Nassau , Westfalen , and Posen and the Helgoland -class battleships Helgoland and Thüringen took up guard duties in

1989-447: A position off Norderney , at which point he turned his ships northward to avoid the Dutch observers on the island of Terschelling . At 15:38, Seydlitz struck a naval mine , which tore a 50-foot (15 m) hole in her hull, just abaft of the starboard broadside torpedo tube, allowing 1,400 short tons (1,250 long tons) of water to enter the ship. Seydlitz turned back, with

2142-413: A range of 2,000 nautical miles at 12 knots. Electrical power was provided by four double turbo-generators and two diesel generators. They produced a total output of 1,800 kilowatts at 225 volts. The Kaiser -class ships each carried ten 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns mounted in five twin turrets . One turret was mounted fore, two were mounted en echelon amidships, and

2295-401: A range of approximately 20,000 yards (18,300 m); shortly thereafter, Princess Royal and Tiger began firing as well. At 10:09, the British guns made their first hit on Blücher . Two minutes later, the German ships began returning fire, primarily concentrating on Lion , from a range of 18,000 yards (15,460 m). At 10:28, Lion was struck on the waterline, which tore

2448-461: A range of less than 8,000 yards. Kaiser and three König -class battleships concentrated their fire on the two cruisers until one of Defence ' s magazines was detonated, which caused a massive explosion that destroyed the ship. Warrior , badly damaged and afire, managed to limp northward towards the Queen Elizabeth -class battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron. While Warrior

2601-410: A result of his timidity. The captain of Moltke was furious; he stated that Ingenohl had turned back "because he was afraid of eleven British destroyers which could have been eliminated ... under the present leadership we will accomplish nothing." The official German history criticized Ingenohl for failing to use his light forces to determine the size of the British fleet, stating: "he decided on

2754-711: A screening force of 2 armored cruisers, 7 light cruisers, and 54 torpedo boats, departed to provide distant cover. On 26 August 1914, the German light cruiser Magdeburg had run aground in the Gulf of Finland ; the wreck was captured by the Russian navy, which found codebooks used by the German navy, along with navigational charts for the North Sea. These documents were then passed on to the Royal Navy. Room 40 began decrypting German signals, and on 14 December, intercepted messages relating to

2907-517: A second 16-point turn, which reversed course and pointed his ships at the center of the British fleet. The German fleet came under intense fire from the British line, and Scheer sent Moltke , Von der Tann , Seydlitz , and Derfflinger at high speed towards the British fleet, in an attempt to disrupt their formation and gain time for his main force to retreat. By 20:17, the German battlecruisers had closed to within 7,700 yards (7,040 m) of Colossus , at which point Scheer directed

3060-428: A slight loss of speed in heavy swells. They were responsive to commands from the helm; they turned quickly initially, but suffered from severe torque at a hard rudder. With the rudder hard over, the ships would lose up to 66 percent of their speed and heel over as much as 8 degrees. The Kaiser -class ships had a transverse metacentric height of 2.59 m (8.5 ft). The Kaiser -class ships were

3213-450: A south-east course. Continued attacks delayed the turn, but by 6:42, it had been carried out. For about 40 minutes, the two fleets were steaming on a parallel course. At 7:20, Ingenohl ordered a further turn to port, which put his ships on a course for German waters. The Kaiser -class ships took part in another raid on the English coast, again as support for the German battlecruiser force in I Scouting Group. The battlecruisers left

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3366-447: A top speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph). At 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), the ship had a range of 4,120 nautical miles (7,630 km; 4,740 mi). Her crew consisted on 43 officers and 1,010 enlisted men. The ship was armed with a main battery of ten 28 cm (11 in) SK L/50 guns mounted in five twin- gun turrets ; of these, one was placed forward, two were en echelon amidships , and

3519-432: A total of 2240. Firing at a muzzle velocity of 835 m/s (2,740 ft/s), the guns could hit targets at a distance 13,500 m (14,800 yd), and after modifications in 1915, the range was extended to 16,800 m (18,400 yd). The ships were also equipped with eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns . They were eventually rearmed with four 8.8 cm L/45 Flak guns, two of which were later removed. As

3672-506: The König s began firing on the Russian shore batteries at Tagga Bay. Stiff Russian resistance in the Kassar Wick, the entrance to Moon Sound, slowed the German advance. On 14 October, Kaiser was detached from the bombardment force to deal with the Russian destroyers holding up the German minesweepers. Under the cover of Kaiser ' s 30.5 cm guns, the German torpedo boats dashed into

3825-737: The AG Vulcan shipyard in Hamburg. She was launched on 10 June 1911 and commissioned as the flagship of the High Seas Fleet on 15 October 1912. Kaiserin , the third ship of the class, was laid down in the Howaldtswerke in Kiel in November 1910. She was launched on 11 November 1911, and commissioned on 14 May 1913. König Albert was laid down at Schichau in Danzig on 17 July 1910, and launched on 27 April 1912. She

3978-614: The Baltic Sea . The ships of I SG conducted unit maneuvers in February 1914 in the North and Baltic Seas. In late March, the fleet assembled for another period of training exercises that lasted into early May. On 23 June, Hipper transferred his flag to Seydlitz . There was some consideration given to deploying Moltke to the Far East in order to replace the armored cruiser Scharnhorst , but

4131-593: The Battle of Jutland ; König Albert was in dock at the time. Of the four ships that took part in the battle, only Kaiser was damaged, being struck by two heavy-caliber shells. The ships also took part in Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea; during the operation they were reorganized as IV Battle Squadron , under the command of Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon . At the end of the war, all five ships were interned at

4284-593: The German Bight . The second major naval installation was at Kiel , and it was the most important base in the Baltic. Pillau and Danzig housed forward bases further east in the Baltic. The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal through Schleswig-Holstein connected the Baltic and North Seas and allowed the German Navy to quickly shift naval forces between the two seas. Konteradmiral (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Felix Funke served as

4437-614: The High Seas Fleet , was interned at Scapa Flow pending a decision by the Allies as to the fate of the fleet. The ship met her end when she was scuttled , along with the rest of the High Seas Fleet in 1919 to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. The wreck of Moltke was raised in 1927 and scrapped at Rosyth from 1927 to 1929. As the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) continued in its arms race with

4590-525: The Jade Estuary at 10:55 on 24 April 1916, and the rest of the High Seas Fleet followed at 13:40. The battlecruiser Seydlitz struck a mine while en route to the target, and had to withdraw. The other battlecruisers bombarded the town of Lowestoft largely without incident, but during the approach to Yarmouth, they encountered the British cruisers of the Harwich Force . A short artillery duel ensued before

4743-626: The Kattegat ; a serious storm forced Moltke to shelter in Uddevalla , Sweden, from 3 to 6 November. She spent the next several months completing her trials in the Danziger Bucht , and on 1 April 1912 the ship was pronounced ready for service. The navy had intended Moltke to become the flagship of I SG upon entering active service, but she instead received orders for a special voyage. In mid-1911, an American squadron had visited Kiel, and

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4896-522: The Moonsund archipelago , particularly targeting the Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe peninsula of Ösel . On 18 September, the order was issued for a joint Army-Navy operation to capture Ösel and Moon islands; the primary naval component was to comprise the flagship, Moltke , along with III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet. V Division included the four König s, and was by this time augmented with

5049-505: The Versailles Treaty . It became apparent to Reuter that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered his ships be sunk. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers; at 10:00 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships. Friedrich der Grosse

5202-421: The 2nd Battle Squadron. Karpf ordered the ship to swing away, hoping he had not been detected. The British ships in fact had seen Moltke , but had decided to not open fire in order to not reveal their location to the entire German fleet. At 23:55, and again at 00:20, Karpf tried to find a path through the British fleet, but both times was unable to do so. It was not until 01:00, after having steamed far ahead of

5355-425: The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron; at a range of 800 yards (730 m), the cruisers on both sides pummeled each other. KADm Ludwig von Reuter decided to attempt to lure the British cruisers towards Moltke and Seydlitz . However, nearly simultaneously, the heavily damaged British cruisers broke off the attack. As the light cruisers were disengaging, a torpedo fired by Southampton struck Frauenlob , and

5508-597: The Baltic and provided cover for the assault into the Gulf of Riga. On the morning of the 19th, Moltke was torpedoed by the British E-class submarine E1 . The torpedo was not spotted until it was approximately 200 yards (183 m) away; without time to maneuver, the ship was struck in the bow torpedo room. The explosion damaged several torpedoes in the ship, but they did not detonate themselves. Eight men were killed, and 435 metric tons (428 long tons) of water entered

5661-408: The Baltic and provided protection against other units of the Russian fleet. However, the approach of nightfall meant that Deutschland would be unable to mine the entrance to Moon Sound in time, and so the operation was broken off. On 16 August, a second attempt was made to enter the gulf. The dreadnoughts Nassau and Posen , four light cruisers, and 31 torpedo boats breached the defenses to

5814-479: The Baltic before being pronounced for active service on 14 August. Four days later, she took part in the fleet advance on 18–19 August During the operation, I Scouting Group was to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty's battlecruisers. As Moltke was one of only two remaining German battlecruisers still in fighting condition in the Group ( Von der Tann being

5967-576: The Battle of Jutland in May 1916, the III Squadron battleships bore the brunt of British gunfire; the flagship König was hit several times by heavy-caliber shells and damaged badly, but she nevertheless remained in action and returned to port for repairs. The Squadron, with König again in the van , was present for the operations of 18–19 August and on 18–19 October. In October and November 1917,

6120-497: The Battles of Dogger Bank and Jutland in the North Sea in 1915 and 1916, respectively. She also took part in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915 and Operation Albion in 1917 in the Baltic. Moltke was damaged several times during the war: the ship was hit by heavy-caliber gunfire at Jutland, and torpedoed twice by British submarines while on fleet advances. Following the end of the war in 1918, Moltke , along with most of

6273-544: The British Royal Navy in 1907, the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office) considered plans for the battlecruiser that was to be built for the following year. An increase in the budget raised the possibility of increasing the caliber of the main battery from the 28 cm (11 in) guns used in the previous battlecruiser, SMS  Von der Tann , to 30.5 cm (12 in), but Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz ,

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6426-404: The British battlecruisers; between 17:25 and 17:30, at least five shells from Seydlitz and Derfflinger struck Queen Mary , causing a catastrophic explosion that destroyed the ship. Moltke ' s commander, Karpf, remarked that "The enemy's salvos lie well and close; their salvos are fired in rapid succession, the fire discipline is excellent!" By 19:30, the High Seas Fleet, which

6579-536: The British naval base in Scapa Flow . On 21 June 1919, they were scuttled to prevent their seizure by the Royal Navy . The ships were subsequently raised and broken up for scrap between 1929 and 1937. The Kaiser -class ships were ordered under the same Second Naval Law as the preceding Helgoland -class battleships. The law provided that the life expectancy of capital ships was to be reduced from 25 to 20 years,

6732-405: The British ships from pursuing the German battlecruisers when they turned southward. The British battlecruisers opened fire on the old battleships; the German ships turned southwest to bring all of their guns to bear against the British ships. By 22:15, Hipper was finally able to transfer to Moltke , and then ordered his ships to steam at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) towards the head of

6885-502: 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. Shortly thereafter the order was given to commence firing; the Kaiser -class ships, with the exception of Prinzregent Luitpold , were not yet within range to engage the British battlecruisers. Prinzregent Luitpold managed to fire eight salvos at 22,300–21,300 yards (20,400–19,500 m) before

7038-503: The Dogger Bank area. To counter it, Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron , Rear Admiral Archibald Moore's 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron and Commodore William Goodenough 's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron were to rendezvous with Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt 's Harwich Force at 08:00 on 24 January, approximately 30 mi (48 km) north of the Dogger Bank. At 08:14, Kolberg spotted the light cruiser Aurora and several destroyers from

7191-556: The Elbe roads at 02:45, and rendezvoused with the battle fleet at 5:00. Shortly before 16:00, Hipper's force encountered Beatty's battlecruiser squadron. The German ships were the first to open fire, at a range of approximately 15,000 yards (14,000 m). When the British ships began returning fire, confusion amongst the British battlecruisers resulted in Moltke being engaged by both New Zealand and Tiger . The British rangefinders had misread

7344-493: The German code books captured from the beached cruiser Magdeburg , was aware that an operation was taking place, but uncertain as to where the Germans would strike. Therefore, the Admiralty ordered David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, the six battleships of the 2nd Battle Squadron, and a number of cruisers and destroyers to attempt to intercept the German battlecruisers. However, Beatty's task force nearly ran headlong into

7497-504: The German cruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions. This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape. Both the British and the Germans were disappointed that they failed to effectively engage their opponents. Ingenohl's reputation suffered greatly as

7650-422: The German dreadnoughts were forced to continually alter course to avoid being hit. The attack lasted only about an hour, due to fears of mines and submarines. The following morning, two König -class battleships were sent into Moon Sound to destroy the Russian ships stationed there. König sank the pre-dreadnought Slava , while Kronprinz forced the withdrawal of the remaining warships. By 20 October,

7803-459: The German fleet reorganized into a well-ordered formation in reverse order, when the German light forces encountered the British screen shortly after 21:00. The renewed gunfire gained Beatty's attention, so he turned his battlecruisers westward. At 21:09, he sighted the German battlecruisers, and drew to within 8,500 yards (7,800 m) before opening fire at 21:20. The attack from the British battlecruisers completely surprised Hipper, who had been in

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7956-507: The German line. However, only Moltke and Seydlitz were in condition to comply; Derfflinger and Von der Tann could make at most 18 knots, and so these ships lagged behind. Moltke and Seydlitz were in the process of steaming to the front of the line when the ships passed close to Stettin , which forced the ship to drastically slow down to avoid collision. This forced Frauenlob , Stuttgart , and München to turn to port, which led them into contact with

8109-498: The Germans wanted to reciprocate by sending a group of German vessels to the United States. They selected Moltke and the light cruisers Stettin and Bremen . The latter was already stationed in the waters off South America, and was to meet Moltke and Stettin at their destination, as part of a temporary cruiser division commanded by Konteradmiral ( KAdm —Rear Admiral) Hubert von Rebeur-Paschwitz . On 11 May,

8262-488: The Grand Fleet, that Moltke was able to make good her escape. Close to the end of the battle, at 03:55, Hipper transmitted a report to Scheer informing him of the tremendous damage his ships had suffered. By that time, Derfflinger and Von der Tann each had only two guns in operation, Moltke was flooded with 1,000 tons of water, and Seydlitz was severely damaged. Hipper reported: "I Scouting Group

8415-514: The Harwich Force withdrew. Reports of British submarines in the area prompted the retreat of 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. Four of the ships participated in the fleet sortie that resulted in the battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. The operation

8568-413: The Harwich Force. Aurora challenged Kolberg with a searchlight, at which point Kolberg attacked Aurora and scored two hits. Aurora returned fire and scored two hits on Kolberg in retaliation. Hipper immediately turned his battlecruisers towards the gunfire, when, almost simultaneously, Stralsund spotted a large amount of smoke to the northwest of her position. This was identified as

8721-516: The High Seas Fleet, including the III Squadron, were interned at the main British naval base at Scapa Flow , where they were eventually scuttled by their crews on 21 June 1919. Most of the ships were eventually raised by British salvage firms, though three battleships, all from the III Squadron— König , Kronprinz , and Markgraf —remain on the sea floor, too deep to raise. Kaiser-class battleship The Kaiser class

8874-667: The Imperial German Navy SMS Moltke SMS Moltke was the lead ship of the Moltke -class battlecruisers of the German Imperial Navy , named after the 19th-century German Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke . Commissioned on 30 September 1911, the ship was the second battlecruiser of the Imperial Navy. Moltke , along with her sister ship Goeben , was an enlarged version of

9027-508: The Jade Estuary at 10:55 on 24 April, and were supported by a screening force of six light cruisers and two torpedo boat flotillas. The heavy units of the High Seas Fleet sailed at 13:40, with the objective to provide distant support for Boedicker's ships. The British Admiralty was made aware of the German sortie through the interception of German wireless signals, and deployed the Grand Fleet at 15:50. By 14:00, Boedicker's ships had reached

9180-449: The Jade Estuary, arriving at approximately 20:23. On 2 November 1914, Moltke , Hipper's flagship Seydlitz , Von der Tann , and Blücher , along with four light cruisers, left the Jade Estuary and steamed towards the English coast. The flotilla arrived off Great Yarmouth at daybreak the following morning and bombarded the port, while the light cruiser Stralsund laid a minefield. The British submarine D5 responded to

9333-469: The Skagerrak at a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Moltke was the fourth ship in the line of five, ahead of Von der Tann , and to the rear of Seydlitz . II Scouting Group, consisting of the light cruisers Frankfurt , Boedicker's flagship, Wiesbaden , Pillau , and Elbing , and 30 torpedo boats of II, VI, and IX Flotillas, accompanied Hipper's battlecruisers. An hour and

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9486-464: The Sound. During the ensuing clash, the Russian destroyer Grom was disabled and eventually sunk. The Russian 30.5 cm shore batteries at Zerel remained a significant problem, and so while Kaiser was disrupting the Russian destroyers, Kaiserin , König Albert , and Friedrich der Grosse bombarded Zerel at ranges of between 7.5 and 12.5 miles. Russian counter-fire proved accurate, and so

9639-510: The State Secretary of the Navy, opposed the increase, preferring to add a pair of 28 cm guns instead. The Construction Department supported the change, and ultimately two ships were authorized for the 1908 and 1909 building years; Moltke was the first, followed by Goeben . Moltke was 186.6 meters (612 ft 2 in) long overall , with a beam of 29.4 m (96 ft) and

9792-426: The United States. In July 1912, Moltke escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern to Russia to meet Czar Nicholas II . The voyage lasted from 4 to 6 July. Upon returning, Moltke ' s commander was replaced by KzS Magnus von Levetzow , and the ship began her tenure as flagship of I SG, under the command of Vizeadmiral ( VAdm —Vice Admiral) Gustav Bachmann . At that time,

9945-445: The V Battle Squadron, composed of the new Queen Elizabeth -class battleships, which mounted powerful 15 in (38 cm) guns. At 17:06, Barham opened fire on Von der Tann . She was joined a few minutes later by Valiant , Malaya , and Warspite ; the ships concentrated their fire on Von der Tann and Moltke . At 17:16, one of the 15 in shells from the fast battleships struck Moltke , where it pierced

10098-447: The battle. Approximately 15 minutes later, the British battlecruiser Indefatigable was suddenly destroyed by Von der Tann . Shortly thereafter, Moltke fired four torpedoes at Queen Mary at a range between 11,500–10,400 yards (10,500–9,500 m). This caused the British line to fall into disarray, as the torpedoes were thought to have been fired by U-boats. At this point, Hipper's battlecruisers had come into range of

10251-430: The beleaguered German cruisers. Moltke was ready to sail by 12:10, but the low tide prevented the ships from being able to pass over the sand bar at the mouth of the Jade Estuary safely. At 14:10, Moltke and Von der Tann were able to cross the Jade bar; Hipper ordered the German cruisers to fall back to his ships, while Hipper himself was about an hour behind in the battlecruiser Seydlitz . At 14:25,

10404-456: The boilers between 1916 and 1917. The three-shaft ships carried 3,600 metric tons of coal, which enabled a maximum range of 7,900 nautical miles (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Prinzregent Luitpold carried a reduced bunkerage—3,200 metric tons—but was designed to carry 400 tons of oil for the diesel engine. On diesel power alone, Prinzregent Luitpold would have had

10557-493: The bombardment of Hartlepool, Moltke was struck by a 15.2 cm (6 in) shell from a coastal battery, which caused minor damage between decks, but no casualties. Blücher was hit six times and Seydlitz three times by the coastal battery. By 09:45 on the 16th, the two groups had reassembled, and they began to retreat eastward. By this time, Beatty's battlecruisers were in position to block Hipper's chosen egress route, while other forces were en route to complete

10710-519: The bombardment, but struck one of the mines laid by Stralsund and sank. Shortly thereafter, Hipper ordered his ships to turn back to German waters. However, while Hipper's ships were returning to German waters, a heavy fog covered the Heligoland Bight, so the ships were ordered to halt until visibility improved so they could safely navigate the defensive minefields. Yorck left the Jade without permission, and while en route to Wilhelmshaven made

10863-405: The bottom edge of the belt. The main battery gun turrets had 230 mm (9.1 in) faces, and they sat atop barbettes that were equally thick. The contract for "Cruiser G" was awarded on 17 September 1908, and the keel was laid on 23 January 1909. Her launching was scheduled for 22 March 1910, but work was delayed somewhat and the ceremony took place on 7 April 1910. At the launching of

11016-421: The bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside . The ship's armor consisted of Krupp cemented steel . The belt was 280 mm (11 in) thick in the citadel where it covered the ship's ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery spaces. The belt tapered down to 76 mm (3 in) on either end. The deck was 25 to 76 mm (1 to 3 in) thick, sloping downward at the side to connect to

11169-434: The captain to believe he was to fire on Seydlitz , which left Moltke able to fire without distraction. At 10:40, one of Lion ' s 13.5 in (34 cm) shells struck Seydlitz causing nearly catastrophic damage that knocked out both of the rear turrets and killed 159 men. Disaster was averted when the executive officer ordered the flooding of both magazines to avoid a flash fire that would have destroyed

11322-475: The center shaft. However, the diesel power plant was not ready in time to be installed in Prinzregent Luitpold , so the ship sailed with only two shafts. On trials, Prinzregent Luitpold was approximately one half knot slower than her sisters. Steam was provided by 16 Schulz-Thornycroft water-tube boilers , except in Prinzregent Luitpold , which had only 14 boilers. Hollow grates were fitted to

11475-402: The chase and turned back east towards the High Seas Fleet. At this point, Scheer, who had been warned of the Grand Fleet's sortie from Scapa Flow, turned back towards Germany. Moltke , and the rest of Hipper's battlecruisers in I Scouting Group, lay anchored in the outer Jade Roads on the night of 30 May 1916. The following morning, at 02:00  CEST , the ships slowly steamed out towards

11628-478: The chase. On 3 August 1915, Moltke was transferred to the Baltic with I Reconnaissance Group (AG) to participate in the foray into the Riga Gulf . The intention was to destroy the Russian naval forces in the area, including the pre-dreadnought Slava , and to use the minelayer Deutschland to block the entrance to Moon Sound with naval mines. The German forces, under the command of now VAdm Hipper, included

11781-417: The command of Kapitän zur See ( KzS —Captain at Sea) Ernst von Mann . She thereafter began sea trials , and though she had not yet formally entered service, the ship joined I Scouting Group , the fleet's main reconnaissance force. There she replaced the armored cruiser SMS  Roon , which had been decommissioned on 22 September. In early November, the ships of I SG conducted a training cruise in

11934-471: The command of Vice Admiral David Beatty , quickly put the German ships at a disadvantage. Along with the rest of the I Scouting Group battlecruisers, Moltke was stationed in the Wilhelmshaven Roads on the morning of the battle. By 08:50, Hipper had requested permission from Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , the commander of the High Seas Fleet, to send Moltke and Von der Tann to relieve

12087-448: The destruction of Indefatigable , shortly after 17:00, and Queen Mary , less than a half an hour later. By this time, the German battlecruisers were steaming south in order to draw the British ships towards the main body of the High Seas Fleet. At 17:30, König , the leading German battleship, spotted both I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching. The German battlecruisers were steaming down to starboard, while

12240-554: The encirclement. At 12:25, the light cruisers of II Scouting Group began to pass through the British forces searching for Hipper. One of the cruisers in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron spotted Stralsund and signaled a report to Beatty. At 12:30, Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships. Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper's ships, however those were some 50 km (31 mi) ahead. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty's ships, detached to pursue

12393-403: The entire High Seas Fleet. At 6:20, Beatty's destroyer screen came into contact with the German torpedo boat V155 . This began a confused 2-hour battle between the British destroyers and the German cruiser and destroyer screen, frequently at very close range. At the time of the first encounter, the Kaiser -class battleships were less than 10 miles away from the 6 British dreadnoughts; this

12546-424: The first German battleships to be powered by turbines. They used turbines from several different manufacturers as the Reichsmarineamt (RMA) and German shipyards attempted to find an alternative to a Parsons turbine monopoly. Nevertheless, Kaiser and Kaiserin were both equipped with three sets of Parsons turbines. Friedrich der Grosse had three sets of AEG-Curtis turbines, while König Albert

12699-530: The five Kaiser -class ships were transferred to the newly re-formed IV Battle Squadron while the new battleships Bayern and Baden took their place in the III Squadron. The III Battle Squadron operated from one of the two primary bases of the German fleet. The first, in the North Sea , was Wilhelmshaven on the western side of the Jade Bight . The island of Heligoland provided a fortified forward position in

12852-453: The fleet. Directly astern of the Kaiser -class ships were the Helgoland and Nassau -class battleships of I Battle Squadron; in the rear guard were the elderly Deutschland -class pre-dreadnoughts of II Battle Squadron. Shortly before 16:00  CET , 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

13005-412: The forward screen, while Kolberg and Rostock were assigned to the starboard and port, respectively. Each light cruiser had a half-flotilla of torpedo boats attached. Again, interception and decryption of German wireless signals played an important role. Although they were unaware of the exact plans, the cryptographers of Room 40 were able to deduce that Hipper would be conducting an operation in

13158-427: The four Nassau and four Helgoland -class battleships, the battlecruisers Moltke , Von der Tann , and Seydlitz , and a number of smaller craft. On 8 August, the first attempt to clear the gulf was made; the old battleships Braunschweig and Elsass kept Slava at bay while minesweepers cleared a path through the inner belt of mines. During this period, the rest of the German fleet remained in

13311-623: The fourth and fifth turrets were mounted in a superfiring pair aft. The guns were supplied with a total of 860 shells, for 86 rounds per gun. The shells were 894 lb (406 kg), and were fired at a muzzle velocity of 854 meters per second (2,805 feet per second). The guns were placed in Drh LC/1909 mountings, which were very similar to the older LC/1908 gun mounts used in the preceding Helgoland -class ships. The mountings were initially capable of depression to −8 degrees and elevation to 13.5 degrees. At maximum elevation,

13464-424: The gulf. Nassau and Posen engaged in an artillery duel with Slava , resulting in three hits on the Russian ship that prompted her withdrawal. After three days, the Russian minefields had been cleared, and the flotilla entered the gulf on 19 August, but reports of Allied submarines in the area prompted a German withdrawal from the gulf the following day. Throughout the operation, Moltke remained in

13617-452: The guns had a range of up to 16,299 m (17,825 yd). The mountings were later modified to depress to −5.5 degrees and elevate to 16 degrees. This extended the maximum range of 20,400 m (22,300 yd). The ships had a secondary battery of fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 quick-firing guns , each mounted in casemates . The guns each had a supply of one hundred and sixty 99.9 lb (45.3 kg) shells, for

13770-469: The light cruisers Kolberg , Strassburg , Stralsund , and Graudenz , and two squadrons of torpedo boats left the Jade. The ships sailed north past the island of Heligoland, until they reached the Horns Reef lighthouse, at which point the ships turned west towards Scarborough. Twelve hours after Hipper left the Jade, the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 14 dreadnoughts and 8 pre-dreadnoughts and

13923-401: The light cruisers Rostock and Elbing , which had been covering the southern flank, spotted the light cruisers and destroyers of Commodore Tyrwhitt's Harwich Force. Boedicker refused to be distracted by the British ships, and instead trained his ships' guns on Lowestoft. The German battlecruisers destroyed two 6 in (15 cm) shore batteries and inflicted other damage to the town. In

14076-401: The morning, British cruisers from the Harwich Force attacked the German destroyers patrolling the Heligoland Bight. Six German light cruisers— Cöln , Strassburg , Stettin , Frauenlob , Stralsund , and Ariadne —responded to the attack and inflicted serious damage to the British raiders. However, the arrival at approximately 13:37 of the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, under

14229-420: The naval operations were effectively over; the Russian ships had been destroyed or forced to withdraw, and the German army attained its objectives. Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918, the High Seas Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , was interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced

14382-416: The new battlecruiser Seydlitz had not yet commissioned, leaving I SG under strength for the fleet maneuvers scheduled for May. The large armored cruiser Blücher , then serving as the artillery school training ship , was temporarily assigned to I SG to make up the shortfall. Following the maneuvers, the unit cruised with the rest of the High Seas Fleet from 15 July to 10 August, which included

14535-401: The new battleship Bayern . 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, and was supported by over 100 aircraft and six zeppelins . The invasion force amounted to approximately 24,600 officers and enlisted men. Opposing the Germans were

14688-525: The night of 15 December, the main body of the High Seas Fleet encountered British destroyers. Fearing the prospect of a nighttime torpedo attack, Ingenohl ordered the ships to retreat. Hipper was unaware of Ingenohl's reversal, and so he continued with the bombardment. Upon reaching the British coast, Hipper's battlecruisers split into two groups. Seydlitz , Moltke , and Blücher went north to shell Hartlepool, while Von der Tann and Derfflinger went south to shell Scarborough and Whitby. During

14841-490: The old Russian pre-dreadnoughts Slava and Tsesarevich , the armored cruisers Bayan and Admiral Makarov , the protected cruiser Diana , 26 destroyers, several torpedo boats and gunboats, and a garrison on Ösel of some 14,000 men with shore batteries. The operation began on 12 October, when the Kaiser -class battleships engaged the batteries on the Sworbe peninsula. Simultaneously, Moltke , Bayern , and

14994-405: The other battlecruisers followed the move, which put them astern of König . Hipper's badly battered ships gained a temporary moment of respite, and uncertainty over the exact location and course of Scheer's ships led Admiral John Jellicoe to turn his ships eastward, towards what he thought was the likely path of the German retreat. The German fleet was instead sailing west, but Scheer ordered

15147-434: The other two were in a superfiring pair aft. Her secondary armament consisted of twelve 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns placed in individual casemates in the central portion of the ship and twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns , also in individual mounts in the bow, the stern, and around the forward conning tower . She was also equipped with four 50 cm (19.7 in) submerged torpedo tubes , one in

15300-440: The other), three dreadnoughts were assigned to the Group for the operation: Markgraf , Grosser Kurfürst , and the newly commissioned Bayern . Scheer and the rest of the High Seas Fleet, with 15 dreadnoughts of its own, 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, Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet's approach and, unwilling to engage

15453-632: The outer roadstead . Kaiser , Kaiserin , and Prinzregent Luitpold , largely undamaged during the battle, took up defensive positions outside the Wilhelmshaven locks. The other capital ships—those that were still in fighting condition—had their fuel and ammunition stocks replenished. During the battle, Kaiser had fired 224 heavy battery and 41 secondary battery shells; Kaiserin fired 160 and 135 respectively, Prinzregent Luitpold fired 169 and 106 respectively, and Friedrich der Grosse fired 72 and 151 shells, respectively. Kaiser

15606-404: The plan to bombard Scarborough. However, the exact details of the plan were unknown, and it was assumed that the High Seas Fleet would remain safely in port, as in the previous bombardment. Beatty's four battlecruisers, supported by the 3rd Cruiser Squadron and the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron , along with the 2nd Battle Squadron 's six dreadnoughts, were to ambush Hipper's battlecruisers. During

15759-515: The plan was abandoned when it became apparent that Goeben needed a major overhaul and would need to be replaced in the Mediterranean. Moltke was then scheduled to transfer to replace her sister ship, but this plan was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I in July. Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, on 28 August 1914, Moltke participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight. During

15912-524: The previous German battlecruiser design, Von der Tann , with increased armor protection and two more main guns in an additional turret . Compared to her British rivals—the Indefatigable class — Moltke and her sister Goeben were significantly larger and better armored. The ship participated in most of the major fleet actions conducted by the German Navy during the First World War , including

16065-416: The process of boarding Moltke from the torpedo boat G39 . The German ships returned fire with every gun available, and at 21:32 hit both Lion and Princess Royal in the darkness. The maneuvering of the German battlecruisers forced the leading I Battle Squadron to turn westward to avoid collision. This brought the pre-dreadnoughts of II Battle Squadron directly behind the battlecruisers, and prevented

16218-457: The process, a single 6 in shell from one of the shore batteries struck Moltke , but the ship sustained no significant damage. At 05:20, the German raiders turned north, towards Yarmouth, which they reached by 05:42. The visibility was so poor that the German ships fired one salvo each, with the exception of Derfflinger , which fired fourteen rounds from her main battery. The German ships turned back south, and at 05:47 encountered for

16371-452: The range again widened sufficiently to prevent further firing. In the meantime, Kaiser and Friedrich der Grosse , along with the battleships of II Battle Squadron, were within range of the British 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron. However, the massed fire from the ten battleships interfered with accurate spotting, and after only a few salvos fire was largely ceased. At around 19:00, the cruiser Wiesbaden , which had earlier been disabled,

16524-405: The range to their German targets, and so the first salvos fired by the British ships fell a mile past the German battlecruisers. At 16:52, Moltke hit Tiger with two main gun shells, but neither of these hits caused any significant damage. Moltke then fired a further four shells, two of which hit simultaneously on the midships and after turrets, knocking both out for a significant period of

16677-434: The remaining light cruisers— Strassburg , Stettin , Frauenlob , Stralsund , and Ariadne —rendezvoused with the battlecruisers. Seydlitz arrived on the scene by 15:10, while Ariadne succumbed to battle damage and sank. Hipper ventured forth cautiously to search for the two missing light cruisers, Mainz and Cöln , which had already sunk. By 16:00, the German flotilla turned around to return to

16830-410: The rest of I SG served as the covering force for a sweep by II Scouting Group in the direction of Terschelling. On 20 October, Hipper departed the ship. Between September and October 1917, the ship took part in Operation Albion supporting the German invasion of the Russian islands of Ösel , Dagö , and Moon (in present-day Estonia ). Following the successful operation in the Baltic, Moltke

16983-563: The roofs. The 15 cm guns had 17 cm (6.7 in) of armor plating on their mounts, and 8 cm (3.1 in) on their gun shields . Kaiser , the name ship of the class, was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft Kiel in December 1909 under construction number 35. The ship was launched on 22 March 1911, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 1 August 1912. Friedrich der Grosse followed on 26 January 1910, at

17136-449: The screen of light cruisers, at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The four remaining battlecruisers turned south immediately in the direction of Norderney to avoid further mine damage. By 16:00, Seydlitz was clear of imminent danger, so the ship stopped to allow Boedicker to disembark. The torpedo boat V28 brought Boedicker to Lützow . At 04:50 on 25 April, the German battlecruisers were approaching Lowestoft when

17289-401: The second time the Harwich Force, which had by then been engaged by the six light cruisers of the screening force. Boedicker's ships opened fire from a range of 13,000 yards (12,000 m). Tyrwhitt immediately turned his ships around and fled south, but not before the cruiser Conquest sustained severe damage. Due to reports of British submarines and torpedo attacks, Boedicker broke off

17442-410: The ship exploded. The German formation fell into disarray, and in the confusion, Seydlitz lost sight of Moltke . Seydlitz was no longer able to keep up with Moltke ' s 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph), and so detached herself to proceed to the Horns Reef lighthouse independently. By 23:30 on her own, Moltke encountered four British dreadnoughts, from the rear division of

17595-610: The ship on 7 April 1910, Helmuth von Moltke the Younger christened her after his uncle, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder , the chief of staff of the Prussian and later German General Staff during the wars of German unification . On 11 September 1911, a crew composed of dockyard workers transferred the ship from Hamburg to Kiel through the Skagerrak . On 30 September, the ship was commissioned , under

17748-491: The ship to turn off its engines because of seawater contamination. By this time, Blücher was severely damaged after having been pounded by heavy shells. However, the chase ended when there were several reports of U-boats ahead of the British ships; Beatty quickly ordered evasive maneuvers, which allowed the German ships to increase the distance from their pursuers. At this time, Lion ' s last operational dynamo failed, which dropped her speed to 15 knots. Beatty, in

17901-631: The ship took part in squadron and fleet training exercises in the KAttegat and the North Sea in February and March. On 14 March, Bachmann temporarily transferred back to Yorck before returning to Moltke on 1 May. By that time, Goeben and the new light cruiser Breslau had been sent to the Mediterranean Sea in response to the First Balkan War , Von der Tann was out of service for maintenance, Yorck had been decommissioned, and

18054-408: The ship, down to 6 cm (2.4 in) in less important areas. The armored belt was 35 cm (13.8 in) thick in the central citadel , and tapered down to 18 cm (7.1 in) forward and 12 cm (4.7 in) aft. Behind the armored belt, the ships had a torpedo bulkhead 4 cm (1.6 in) thick. The forward conning tower had a roof that was 15 cm (5.9 in) thick;

18207-460: The ship. By this time, the German battlecruisers had zeroed in on Lion and began scoring repeated hits. At 11:01, an 11 in (28 cm) shell from Seydlitz struck Lion and knocked out two of her dynamos. At 11:18, Lion was hit by two 12 in (30 cm) shells from Derfflinger , one of which struck the waterline and penetrated the belt, allowing seawater to enter the port feed tank. This shell eventually crippled Lion by forcing

18360-500: The ship. The ship was repaired at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, between 23 August and 20 September. In January 1916, KzS Johannes von Karpf relieved Levetzow as the ship's commander. Moltke also took part in the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24–25 April. Hipper was away on sick leave, so the German ships were under the command of KAdm Friedrich Boedicker . The German battlecruisers Derfflinger , Lützow , Moltke , Seydlitz and Von der Tann left

18513-402: The ships sailed to New York City , where the crews were well received by both local German clubs and the upper class . The ships departed New York on 13 June, Bremen sailing for Baltimore while Moltke and Stettin returned to Kiel. They arrived there on 24 June, and the following day, the cruiser squadron was dissolved. Moltke was the only German capital ship to ever visit

18666-443: The ships to engage the lead ship of the British line. However, three minutes later, the German battlecruisers turned in retreat, covered by a torpedo boat attack. A pause in the battle at dusk allowed Moltke and the other German battlecruisers to cut away wreckage that interfered with the main guns, extinguish fires, repair the fire control and signal equipment, and ready the searchlights for nighttime action. During this period,

18819-434: The sides were 35 cm thick. Atop the conning tower was the smaller gunnery control tower, which had a curved face that was 40 cm (15.7 in) thick. The aft conning tower was significantly less well-armored; the sides were 20 cm (7.9 in) thick, and the roof was only 5 cm (2 in) thick. The main battery turrets were protected by 30 cm of armor on the sides and 22 cm (8.7 in) of armor on

18972-401: The slower pre-dreadnought battleships of II Battle Squadron, while using his dreadnoughts and battlecruisers to cover their retreat would have subjected his strongest ships to overwhelming British fire. Instead, Scheer ordered his ships to turn 16 points to starboard, which would bring the pre-dreadnoughts to the relative safety of the disengaged side of the German battle line. Moltke and

19125-463: The squadron commander from 1913 to December 1914. On 26 December, Funke was transferred to the II Battle Squadron , whose commander Vizeadmiral ( VAdm –Vice Admiral) Reinhard Scheer , replaced Funke in the III Squadron. Scheer served here until January 1916, when he became the commander of the entire High Seas Fleet. KAdm Paul Behncke replaced him as the squadron commander and led

19278-400: The squadron participated in Operation Albion , the seizure of the Gulf of Riga . During the Battle of Moon Sound , two of the squadron's battleships, König and Kronprinz , sank the Russian battleship Slava and hit the battleship Tsesarevich . In late April 1918, the High Seas Fleet attempted to attack one of the heavily escorted British convoys to Norway, but the operation

19431-407: The stricken Lion , ordered the remaining battlecruisers to "Engage the enemy's rear," but signal confusion caused the ships to solely target Blücher , allowing Moltke , Seydlitz , and Derfflinger to escape. By the time Beatty regained control over his ships, after having boarded Princess Royal , the German ships had too far a lead for the British to catch them; at 13:50, he broke off

19584-547: The two Odin -class ships: Odin and Ägir . The ships of the Kaiser class were 171.8 m (563 ft 8 in) long at the waterline , and 172.4 m (565 ft 7 in) long overall . The ships had a beam of 29 m (95 ft 2 in), a draft of 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in) forward and 8.8 m (28 ft 10 in) aft. They displaced 24,724 metric tons (24,334 long tons; 27,254 short tons) as designed and up to 27,000 t (26,570 long tons; 29,760 short tons) at full load. The ships had

19737-570: The two ships left Kiel, passed through the Canary Islands , and arrived off Cape Henry , Virginia , on 30 May, where Bremen joined them. The three ships then entered Hampton Roads on 3 June; the President of the United States , William Howard Taft , received the ships aboard the presidential yacht USS  Mayflower . Also present was a contingent from the Atlantic Fleet . On 8–9 June,

19890-477: The unit consisted of Moltke , Von der Tann , the armored cruiser Yorck , the light cruisers Stettin , Mainz , Kolberg , Cöln , Dresden , and Berlin , and the aviso Hela , then serving as a tender . The ships took part in the annual fleet maneuvers held in August and September, which concluded with a naval review for Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Bight . On 19 September, Moltke

20043-454: The unit during the Battle of Jutland , while KAdm Hermann Nordmann served as his deputy and the VI Division commander during the engagement. VAdm Hugo Kraft in turn replaced Behncke in April 1918. The III Battle Squadron was organized in 1913 as the new Kaiser -class battleships began to enter service, and it was fully stood up by November 1914, when the last König -class ship joined

20196-481: The unit. The III Squadron led the German battle line during all of the major operations during World War I . These included the support missions for the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group as they bombarded the British coast in attempts to lure out part of the British Grand Fleet , such as the raids on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914 and on Yarmouth and Lowestoft in April 1916. At

20349-410: The whole of the Grand Fleet just 11 weeks after the decidedly close call at Jutland, turned his forces around and retreated to German ports. In September 1916, Karpf left Moltke and KzS Hans Gygas assumed command of the ship, and remained her captain through the end of the war. Moltke took part in another operation in the North Sea on 25–26 September, still with Hipper aboard. She and

20502-521: Was a class of five dreadnought battleships that were built in Germany prior to World War I and served in the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) during the war. They were the third class of German dreadnoughts , and the first to feature turbine engines and superfiring turrets. The five ships were Kaiser , Friedrich der Grosse , Kaiserin , Prinzregent Luitpold , and König Albert . As

20655-412: Was a repeat of earlier plans that intended to draw out a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it. Kaiser , Kaiserin , Prinzregent Luitpold , and Friedrich der Grosse , Scheer's flagship, made up VI Division of III Battle Squadron . III Battle Squadron was the first of three battleship units; however, the König -class battleships of V Division, III Battle Squadron were the vanguard of

20808-555: Was awarded the Kaiser's Schießpreis (Shooting Prize) for large cruisers. Moltke visited Malmö , Sweden, and took part in training exercises later that year. In December, the ship was dry docked in Wilhelmshaven for periodic maintenance that lasted until February 1913. While Moltke underwent maintenance, Bachmann transferred his flag to Yorck until 19 February, when he returned to Moltke . Upon returning to service,

20961-411: Was by that point pursuing the British battlecruisers, had not yet encountered the Grand Fleet. Scheer had been considering retiring his forces before darkness exposed his ships to torpedo boat attack. However, he had not yet made a decision when his leading battleships encountered the main body of the Grand Fleet. This development made it impossible for Scheer to retreat, for doing so would have sacrificed

21114-533: Was cancelled after the battlecruiser Moltke broke down. The III Squadron was to have participated in a final battle with the Grand Fleet in October 1918, in the closing weeks of the war. Mutinies broke out, first in the ships of the I Battle Squadron , when the war-weary crews learned of the suicidal plan; the unrest forced Scheer to cancel the operation. After Germany signed the Armistice at Compiègne , most ships of

21267-410: Was coming under attack from British light forces, and so Scheer ordered his ships to turn in order to cover an attempt to bring the ship under tow. At 19:05, the British armored cruisers Defence and Warrior began firing on the crippled Wiesbaden . However, by 19:15, Hipper's battlecruisers and the battleships of III Battle Squadron appeared on the scene, and began to hammer the British ships at

21420-514: Was commissioned into the fleet on 31 July 1913. Prinzregent Luitpold , the last ship of the class, was laid down in January 1911 at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel. The ship was launched on 17 February 1912 and commissioned on 19 August 1913. In 1913–1914 two Kaiser -class ships, Kaiser and König Albert took part in a major overseas tour to South America and South Africa. The cruise

21573-481: Was customary for capital ships of the period, the Kaiser -class ships were armed with five 50 cm (19.7 in) submerged torpedo tubes . One was mounted in the bow, while the other four were placed on the broadside , two on each flank of the ship. As with all major contemporary German warships, the Kaiser -class ships were protected by Krupp cemented steel armor . The deck armor ranged in thickness, from 10 cm (3.9 in) in more critical areas of

21726-407: Was designed to demonstrate German power projection, as well as to test the reliability of the new turbine engines on long-range operations. Both ships had returned to the German bases in the North Sea by the outbreak of World War I. The first major operation of the war in which the Kaiser -class ships participated was the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 15–16 December 1914. The raid

21879-537: Was hit twice by heavy-caliber shells during the battle, the only ship of the class to have been hit; however the ship suffered only a single wounded casualty. In early September 1917, following the German conquest of the Russian port of Riga , the German navy decided to expunge the Russian naval forces that still held the Gulf of Riga . To this end, the Admiralstab (the Navy High Command) planned an operation in

22032-673: Was in drydock for periodic maintenance. However, KAdm Richard Eckermann , the Chief of Staff of the High Seas Fleet, insisted on the operation, and so Ingenohl relented and ordered Hipper to take his battlecruisers to the Dogger Bank. On 23 January, Hipper sortied, with his flag in Seydlitz , followed by Moltke , Derfflinger , and Blücher , along with the light cruisers Graudenz , Rostock , Stralsund , and Kolberg and 19 torpedo boats from V Flotilla and II and XVIII Half-Flotillas. Graudenz and Stralsund were assigned to

22185-417: Was powered by Schichau turbines. The turbines drove three-bladed screws that were 3.75 m (12.3 ft) in diameter, providing a design speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). The ships had two rudders. Prinzregent Luitpold was equipped with two sets of Parsons turbines on the outer shafts. It was intended that a single 12,000  bhp Germania 6-cylinder 2-stroke diesel engine would drive

22338-509: Was primarily conducted by the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group . The Kaiser -class ships, along with the Nassau , Helgoland , and König classes steamed in distant support of Franz von Hipper 's battlecruisers. Friedrich von Ingenohl , the commander of the High Seas Fleet, decided to take up station approximately in the center of the North Sea, about 130 miles east of Scarborough . The Royal Navy , which had recently received

22491-456: Was raised for scrapping on 20 March 1929; breaking work was conducted in Rosyth by 1930. Prinzregent Luitpold sank five minutes later, at 13:30. She too was raised, on 9 July 1931, and broken up in Rosyth. Kaiserin , the last ship of the class to be sunk, slipped beneath the surface at 14:00. She was raised on 14 May 1936, and broken up that year in Rosyth. See also : List of ships of

22644-474: Was retreating northward under the cover of her own smoke, the battleship Warspite came too close to her sister Valiant , and had to turn to starboard in order to avoid collision. At that moment, a shell from Kaiser struck Warspite ' s steering gear and jammed them, temporarily leaving the ship only able to steam in a large circle. Friedrich der Grosse , König , two Nassau and three Helgoland -class battleships fired on Warspite for

22797-466: Was struck by one of the 15 in shells and put out of action for the remainder of the battle. The ship suffered 16 dead and 20 wounded, the majority of which were due to the hit on the 15 cm gun. Flooding and counter-flooding efforts caused 1,000 tons of water to enter the ship. On 6 June, Hipper transferred his flag back to Moltke , which was under repair from 7 June to 30 July in Hamburg. The ship thereafter conducted training exercises in

22950-601: Was the first ship of the fleet to be scuttled, sinking at 12:16. She was raised on 29 April 1937 and towed to Rosyth for scrapping. The ship's bell was returned to Germany in 1965, and is currently in the Fleet Headquarters in Glücksburg . König Albert followed at 12:54, the second ship of the fleet to sink. The ship was later raised on 31 July 1935 and broken up in Rosyth over the following year. Kaiser sank at 13:25, and

23103-471: Was therefore no longer of any value for a serious engagement, and was consequently directed to return to harbour by the Commander-in-Chief, while he himself determined to await developments off Horns Reef with the battlefleet." During the course of the battle, Moltke had hit Tiger 13 times, and was hit herself 4 times, all by 15 in (38 cm) shells. The No. 5 starboard 15 cm gun

23256-456: Was usual for German battleships of the period, the Kaiser class mounted main guns that were smaller than those of their British rivals: 30.5 cm (12 in), compared to the 34.3 cm (13.5 in) guns of the British Orion class . All five ships saw action in the North Sea during the war; they served together as VI Division of III Battle Squadron . Four were present during

23409-457: Was well within firing range, but in the darkness, neither British nor German admiral were aware of the composition of their opponents' fleets. Admiral Ingenohl, loath to disobey the Kaiser 's order to not risk the battlefleet without his express approval, concluded that his forces were engaging the screen of the entire Grand Fleet , and so 10 minutes after the first contact, he ordered a turn to port on

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