Service History
Kaiser Barbarossa was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in June 1901, just in time for the annual summer maneuvers. Starting in late August 1901, following the return of the four Brandenburg-class battleships from China, Kaiser Barbarossa conducted extensive training exercises with the rest of the fleet. The following year, another round of maneuvers were conducted; by this time, Kaiser Barbarossa had been joined by all four of her sisters. During the exercise, which lasted from 17 August to 18 September, Kaiser Barbarossa and the rest of I Squadron were assigned to play both the role of the German fleet and hostile forces.
In 1903, the fleet, which was composed of only one squadron of battleships, was reorganized as the "Active Battle Fleet." Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse remained in the I Squadron along with her sister ships and the newest Wittelsbach-class battleships, while the older Brandenburg-class ships were placed in reserve in order to be rebuilt. In October 1905, the Heimatflotte was again reorganized, but Kaiser Barbarossa was not assigned to any unit of the fleet. The Heimatflotte in 1905 consisted of two divisions of three battleships each in the I and II Squadrons. This was supported by a cruiser division, composed of two armored cruisers and six protected cruisers. In 1907, the newest Deutschland-class battleships were coming into service; along with the Braunschweig-class battleships, these provided enough modern battleships to create two full battle squadrons. As a result, the Heimatflotte was renamed the Hochseeflotte (High Seas Fleet).
Starting in 1907, Kaiser Barbarossa was dry-docked at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel for an extensive modernization, which lasted until 1910. Four of her 15 cm guns were removed, though two 8.8 cm guns were added. All twelve machine guns were removed, as was the ship's stern-mounted torpedo tube. Kaiser Barbarossa's superstructure was also cut down to reduce the ship's tendency to roll excessively. The ship's funnels were also lengthened. During the reconstruction, the ship was assigned to the II Division of the I Squadron of the High Seas Fleet, along with three of her sister-ships, which were also undergoing reconstruction. After Kaiser Barbarossa emerged from the reconstruction, the ship was moved to the III Squadron, along with her sister ships. However, in 1910, the new dreadnought battleships were beginning to come into service with the fleet. Thoroughly obsolete compared to the new "all-big-gun" battleships, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was then decommissioned and placed into reserve.
Read more about this topic: SMS Kaiser Barbarossa
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