SMS Hannover - Service

Service

Upon her commissioning, Hannover joined the II Battle Squadron. From May to June 1908, Hannover took part in maneuvers in the North Sea. From the following month until August, the fleet conducted a training cruise into the Atlantic. During the cruise, Hannover stopped in Punta Delgado in the Azores from 23 July to 1 August. The annual autumn exercises began in September; after these were completed Hannover was transferred to the I Squadron, where she served as the flagship for two years. In November, fleet and unit exercises were conducted in the Baltic Sea.

The training regimen in which Hannover participated followed a similar pattern over the next five years. This included another cruise into the Atlantic, from 7 July to 1 August 1909. February 1910 saw the I Squadron conduct individual training in the Baltic. The unit was subsequently transferred from Kiel to the base in Wilhelmshaven on 1 April. Fleet maneuvers were conducted shortly thereafter, followed by a summer cruise to Norway, and additional fleet training in the fall. On 3 October 1911, the ship was transferred back to the II Squadron. Due to the Agadir Crisis in July, the summer cruise only went into the Baltic. On 14 July 1914, the annual summer cruise to Norway began, but the threat of war in Europe caused the excursion to be cut short; within two weeks Hannover and the rest of the II Squadron had returned to Wilhelmshaven.