Kaiser Friedrich Class Battleship - Service History

Service History

When Kaiser Wilhelm II was commissioned into the fleet, she assumed the position of fleet flagship; she held this position until 1906. The other four ships joined her in the I Squadron of the Heimatflotte (Home Fleet), where they remained for ten years. The five ships took part in extensive training maneuvers in September 1902 with the rest of the fleet. Throughout the maneuvers the Kaiser Friedrich III class ships operated as the opposing force, with the exception of Kaiser Wilhelm II. As the fleet flagship, Kaiser Wilhelm II hosted Wilhelm II during the several of the mock engagements and served as the observation point for the senior staff.

Between 1907 and 1910, the ships of the class were heavily rebuilt, with the exception of Kaiser Karl der Grosse. During the modernization, the ships had their superstructures cut down. Four 15 cm guns and one torpedo tube were also removed. The ships' 8.8 cm guns were repositioned to the upper decks where the 15 cm guns had been located. Also, the smoke stacks were lengthened.

By 1911, the fleet was reorganized as the Hochseeflotte (High Seas Fleet), and new dreadnought battleships were beginning to enter service. As a result, the Kaiser Friedrich III class ships were transferred to the III Squadron and then placed into reserve. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, the five ships were recalled to active duty and placed in the V Squadron of the fleet. In February 1915, the ships were withdrawn from active service for a second time. The ships were disarmed by 1916 and transferred to secondary roles. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became a torpedo training ship and Kaiser Wilhem II became the headquarters ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven. The other three ships were used as floating prisons. In 1917, Kaiser Friedrich III was transferred to barracks ship duties in Flensburg. All of the ships, with the exception of Kaiser Wilhelm II, were stricken from the navy register on 6 December 1919 and sold for scrapping. Kaiser Wilhelm II followed on 17 March 1921. By 1922, all five ships had been broken up for scrap metal. The bow ornaments from Kaiser Friedrich III and Kaiser Wilhelm II are preserved at the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden.