Construction
Ordered under the contract name Ersatz Hildebrand as a replacement for the obsolete coastal defense ship Hildebrand, Kaiser was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in September 1909. The hull was completed by 22 March 1911, when the ship was launched; this date was specifically chosen, as it was the birthday of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm I. His grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, attended the launching ceremony, where German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg gave a speech while Kaiserin (Empress) Augusta Victoria christened the ship. Fitting-out work then began, which was completed by the end of July 1912. On 1 August, the ship was commissioned for sea trials. These were concluded by 7 December; the following day Kaiser joined the fleet as the flagship of V Division. Her crew consisted largely of men who had been transferred from the recently decommissioned battleships Elsass and Braunschweig.
The ship was 172.4 m (566 ft) long overall and displaced a maximum of 27,000 metric tons (27,000 long tons; 30,000 short tons). She had a beam of 29 m (95 ft) and a draft of 9.1 m (30 ft) forward and 8.8 m (29 ft) aft. Kaiser was powered by three sets of Parsons turbines, supplied with steam by 16 coal-fired boilers. The powerplant produced a top speed of 23.4 knots (43.3 km/h; 26.9 mph). She carried 3,600 metric tons (3,500 long tons; 4,000 short 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 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).
Kaiser was armed with a main battery of ten 30.5 cm SK L/50 guns in five twin turrets. The ship disposed with the inefficient hexagonal arrangement of previous German battleships; instead, three of the five turrets were mounted on the centerline, with two of them arranged in a superfiring pair aft. The other two turrets were placed en echelon amidships, such that both could fire on the broadside. The ship was also armed with fourteen 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns in casemates amidships, eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns in casemates and four 8.8 cm L/45 anti-aircraft guns. The ship's armament was rounded out by five 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes, all mounted in the ship's hull.
Read more about this topic: SMS Kaiser (1911)
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