SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm

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This article is about the WWI German Battleship originally named the Kronprinz in 1911 and then changed to the Kronprinz Wilhelm in 1918. For the WWI German auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm built in 1901, please see German liner Kronprinz Wilhelm.

Career

Laid down:	November 1911
Launched:	21 February 1914
Commissioned:	8 November 1914
Fate:	Scuttled 21 June 1919
General Characteristics
Builder:	Germaniawerft Kiel
Displacement:	28,600 tons
Length:	175.4 m
Beam:	29.5 m
Draft:	9.2 m
Propulsion:	46,000 shp
Speed:	21 knots
Range:	8,000 statute miles at 12 knots
Complement:	1,136
Armament:	10 x 30.5 cm guns 14 x 15 cm guns 10 x 8.8 cm guns 5 x 50 cm torpedo tubes

SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm (His Majesty's Ship Crown Prince William) was a König class battleship in service with the German Imperial Navy during World War I.

She was originally named SMS Kronprinz, but became the second ship to take the name Kronprinz Wilhelm when the Hilfkreuzer Kronprinz Wilhelm, an auxiliary merchant cruiser, was confiscated by the United States in 1917. Kronprinz was the fourth and final member of the König class.

As one of the four most powerful ships in the German High Seas Fleet, Kronprinz played an important role in a number of operations, not least of which was her involvement in the Battle of Jutland. The ship survived the war, only to be surrendered to the British at Scapa Flow, where she was scuttled alongside the rest of the High Seas Fleet by her own crew on 21 June 1919.

The Kronprinz turned upside down when sinking due to the presence of heavy deck armament.It lies on a 35m deep seabed with the hull upright at about 15-20m deep.Large holes pierce the hull where salvaging for valuable metals took place but it is a popular dive site and the guns are visible near the seabed.

SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm

See also