SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a German pre-dreadnought battleship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class, built as part of a program of naval expansion under Kaiser Wilhelm II. She was laid down in January 1898, launched in June 1899, and completed in May 1901, and was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turrets. The vessel served in the Home Fleet and later the High Seas Fleet for the first seven years of her career, participating in training cruises and maneuvers. Placed in reserve in 1910, the battleship was returned to active service in 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, tasked with coastal defense in the North Sea. The ship was deployed briefly to the Baltic but saw no action. In 1915, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was again withdrawn from service and relegated to secondary duties as a depot ship in Kiel and then a torpedo target ship. The vessel was sold for scrapping and broken up in 1920. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battleships of Germany.)