 SMSKaiserin Augusta in 1893 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Irene class |
| Succeeded by | Victoria Louise class |
| History | |
 German Empire | |
| Name | Kaiserin Augusta |
| Namesake | Empress Augusta |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Laid down | 1890 |
| Launched | 15 January 1892 |
| Commissioned | 17 November 1892 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1919 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Protected cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 123.2 m (404 ft)oa |
| Beam | 15.6 m (51 ft) |
| Draft | 6.48 m (21.3 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 21 knots (38.9 km/h) |
| Range | 3,240 nmi (6,000 km; 3,730 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
SMSKaiserin Augusta was a uniqueprotected cruiser, built for the GermanKaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the early 1890s. Named forEmpress Augusta, who died in January 1890, she was laid down in 1890, launched in January 1892, and completed in November of that year. Owing to budgetary restrictions,Kaiserin Augusta was designed to fill both fleet scout and colonial cruiser roles. The ship was initially armed with a main battery of four 15 cm (5.9 in) and eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, which by 1896 was replaced with twelve new model 15 cm guns. She was the first ship in the German Navy to feature a three-shaft propeller arrangement.
Kaiserin Augusta served abroad between 1897 and 1902, primarily in theEast Asia Squadron under the command of AdmiralOtto von Diederichs. During this time, the ship's crew assisted in the suppression of theBoxer Uprising in 1900. In 1902, she returned to Germany for an extensive overhaul that lasted until 1907, after which she went into reserve. Following the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914,Kaiserin Augusta was mobilized to serve as a gunnery training ship. She served in this role throughout the war; the ship was ultimately sold for scrapping in October 1919 and broken up the following year.
Design work onKaiserin Augusta began in 1887 and was completed in 1889. At the time, the Chief of theKaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty), GeneralLeo von Caprivi, favored a fleet ofcruisers to defend German maritime interests. Caprivi, who was supported by then-princeWilhelm, believed that such vessels should, first and foremost, have powerful engines capable of propelling them at great speed. Guns of medium caliber and light armor protection were necessary to make the ships effective combat vessels, and an impressive appearance would enhance the ability of the vessels to "show the flag". New cruisers would be needed to scout for the main battle fleet and to patrolGermany's growing colonial empire. Unlike the BritishRoyal Navy, which had the funding and resources to build specialized scouts and overseas cruisers, budgetary restrictions forced the German Navy to design ships that could fulfill both roles.[1][2]
Up to the mid-1880s, German cruising vessels were primarily intended for overseas service or training duties; theBismarck andCarola classes ofscrew corvettes had little fighting value, and the corvettesNixe andCharlotte were purely training vessels. In 1886, the twoIrene-classprotected cruisers were laid down; these were the first modern cruisers of the German fleet.[3] Senior naval officers debated the type of cruiser that should be built next.Vizeadmiral (VAdm—Vice Admiral)Alexander von Monts andVAdmWilhelm von Wickede, the Chiefs of theMarinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) and theMarinestation der Ostsee (Baltic Sea Naval Station), respectively, favored building a pure fleet scout for the next large cruiser. Caprivi, supported by the Admiralty Council, supported the idea of building a cruiser that placed more of an emphasis on overseas cruising, which would have been a repeat of theIrene class,[4] albeit with less armor protection. Caprivi was of the belief that German cruisers should only be used for commerce raiding, and had no need for armor protection.[5]
For the 1889 fiscal year, approved in early 1888, theReichstag (Imperial Diet) approved the construction of a new cruiser, under the designation "H". Work on the design had already begun in May 1887.Kapitän zur See (KzS—Captain at Sea)Friedrich von Hollmann argued that the new cruiser (of which he believed should be the first of four such vessels) should be capable of not only commerce destruction, but also battle with enemy cruisers and engaging with coastal defenses on foreign stations. Caprivi's faction prevailed initially, but Caprivi resigned in July 1888 following the ascension of the now-Kaiser Wilhelm II. Caprivi and Wilhelm had starkly different views about how the fleet should be oriented, and Caprivi tendered his resignation; Monts replaced him as the admiralty chief. He immediately stopped design work on the vessel and instructed the design staff to prepare a new vessel that could be an effective reconnaissance ship for the main fleet.[4][6]
Wilhelm II overruled Caprivi's decision on omitting armor protection, instructing that an armor deck must be incorporated into the new ship.[7] Chief ConstructorAlfred Dietrich carried out work on the new design.[1] The top speed of the new cruiser, 20knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), required an elongatedhull compared to theIrenes, since the longer, finer hull had improved hydrodynamic efficiency. In this effort, Dietrich was limited by the size of existingdry docks and other port infrastructure. Higher speed came at the cost of reduced maneuverability, which would hamper the ship's ability to fight in a fleet action. Further changes were incorporated, including strengthening the armament, which further delayed the commencement of work on the ship.[8]
Dietrich continued to work on the revised design through late 1888, one of the chief difficulties being the necessary improvements to the propulsion system to retain the desired top speed. The larger, heavier ship would require around 50% more horsepower compared toIrene's propulsion system. The armor deck complicated arrangement of the engines, since mounting vertical engines of the required power needed to reach 20 knots on two shafts would have necessitated a heavyglacis to extend the armor deck over theengine rooms. As a result, Dietrich was forced to adopt a three-shaft arrangement, so that the necessary power output could be divided between three smaller engines; the result was the first major warship in the world to use threescrews. At the same time, the French had also decided on the arrangement for thearmored cruiserDupuy de Lôme, butKaiserin Augusta would be completed first.[9] While it solved the propulsion system arrangement problem, the three-shaft system also improved the handling characteristics of the ship.[1] The arrangement proved to be successful and was repeated with theKaiser Friedrich III-class battleships.[3]
The armament was also an issue to be solved while the design was refined. The naval command initially rejected the15 cm (5.9 in) RK L/30 gun, which was incapable of penetrating deck armor. Sincequick-firing guns had been developed up to 10.5 cm (4.1 in) caliber, the design staff initially opted to standardize on a battery of twelve10.5 cm SK L/35 guns, on the basis that the much-faster-firing guns could smother a target and destroy unarmored sections of the enemy ship. But as the new ship was enlarged, the designers reverted to the larger, but slower 15 cm guns, despite their disadvantages. By 1891, the new15 cm SK L/35 gun had been developed, and Dietrich modified the design forKaiserin Augusta—construction of which had already begun—to incorporate the much-improved weapon. These guns had not been produced in sufficient numbers to equipKaiserin Augusta by the time she was completed, and so she was armed with a mixture of the old 15 cm and 10.5 cm guns.[10]
Kaiserin Augusta was in essence an enlarged version of theavisoGreif, with increased speed, a more powerfulmain battery, and heavier armor.[3]
Kaiserin Augusta was 122.2 meters (400 ft 11 in)long at the waterline and 123.2 m (404 ft 2 in)overall. She had abeam of 15.6 m (51 ft 2 in) and adraft of 6.48 m (21 ft 3 in) forward and 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) aft. She was designed todisplace 6,056metric tons (5,960long tons), and at full combat load the displacement increased to 6,318 t (6,218 long tons). Her hull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames; the outer wall consisted of a single layer of timber planks covered withMuntz metal sheathing to protect the wood from fouling. The hull contained tenwatertight compartments and adouble bottom that ran for 55 percent of the length of the vessel. The ship'ssuperstructure was fairly minimal, consisting of a smallconning tower with abridge erected atop it.Kaiserin Augusta was nearlyflush decked; the upper deck terminated shortly before the stern, where it stepped down to aquarterdeck. She was fitted with two polemasts equipped withfighting tops.[11][12]
Kaiserin Augusta's crew consisted of 13 officers and 417 enlisted men. She carried several smaller boats, including two picket boats, onelaunch, onepinnace, twocutters, twoyawls, and twodinghies. The ship suffered from severepitch androll, though these effects were reduced in heavy winds and a beam sea. Theforecastle shipped excessive amounts of water in a head sea. The ship maneuvered poorly, though this was improved at high speed. The transversemetacentric height was 0.78 m (2 ft 7 in).[11] The ship vibrated excessively at high speeds, earning her the nickname "cocktail shaker"; this was most likely the result of placing the propeller shafts too close to the hull.[9]
The ship was powered by three 3-cylindertriple-expansion steam engines built byAG Germania; each drove a screw that was 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) in diameter. Each engine had its own separate engine room; the central engine was arranged vertically, but the outboard engines were placed horizontally to keep the armor deck as low as possible. The engines were supplied with steam by eight cylindrical doublefire-tube boilers split into three boiler rooms. The boilers were ducted into threefunnels.Kaiserin Augusta was equipped with four electrical generators providing 48 kilowatts at 67 volts. Steering was controlled by a singlerudder.[11][13]
The engines were rated at 12,000metric horsepower (11,840 ihp) and a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), though on trials they reached a half knot better at 14,015 PS (13,823 ihp) during a 6-hour test. Figures for her 1-hourforced draft test are missing from the navy's surviving records, but non-official contemporary sources creditKaiserin Augusta with speeds of up to 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph).[11][13] The recorded speed of 21.5 knots rendered her one of the fastest cruisers in the world at the time,[14] and she was the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time of her completion.[4] Coal storage amounted to 700 t (690 long tons; 770 short tons), and at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), the ship could steam for 3,240nautical miles (6,000 km; 3,730 mi). Another 110 t (110 long tons; 120 short tons) could be carried elsewhere without negatively affecting stability, which would extend her cruising radius.[15]
As built,Kaiserin Augusta was initially armed with a main battery of four 15 cm K L/30 guns with a total of 292 rounds of ammunition. This was supported by asecondary battery of eight 10.5 cm SK L/35 guns with 777 rounds of ammunition. She also carried eight 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns with 1,361 rounds of ammunition and four machine guns. The medium-caliber 15 cm and 10.5 cm guns were mounted insponsonedcasemates in themain deck of the ship. The ship was also equipped with five 35 cm (13.8 in)torpedo tubes with thirteentorpedoes; four were placed in swivel mounts on thebroadside and one was placed in the bow, below thewaterline. In 1893–1895, during a refit to correct defects in her construction, her armament was updated; the old 15 cm and 10.5 cm guns were replaced with twelve 15 cm SK L/35 guns that had a maximum range of 12,600 m (41,300 ft). The guns were supplied with a total of 1,064 shells; like the previous battery, these guns were placed in casemates in the hull. After 1907, the swivel-mounted torpedo tubes were removed, leaving only the tube in the bow with three torpedoes.[11]
The ship's armor consisted primarily of a curved armor deck ofKrupp steel, which sloped downward at the sides to meet the hull 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) below thewaterline. The flat portion 50 mm (2 in) thick on the flat portion. The deck increased in thickness to 75 mm (3 in) on the sides where they covered the propulsion machinery spaces, but the sides were reduced to 50 mm further forward and aft. At the bow, the deck armor extended down to reinforce the bow so that it could be used forramming attacks. The conning tower had 50 mm thick sides and a 20 mm (0.79 in) thick roof. Below the conning tower, a communication tube that received 100 mm (3.9 in) of steel armor protected the steering gear leads and the voice tubes that relayed commands from the bridge. The 8.8 cm guns were fitted with 12 mm (0.47 in)gun shields.[11][16]
Thekeel forKaiserin Augusta waslaid down at theGermaniawerft shipyard inKiel in May 1890.[17] She waslaunched on 15 January 1892, and at the ceremony the vessel was christenedKaiserin Augusta byPrince Heinrich of Prussia, the grandson of the ship's namesake,Empress Augusta. The ship, completed with her provisional armament, wascommissioned to beginsea trials less than a year later on 17 November 1892. The trials were interrupted by the need to send modern cruisers to represent Germany at a celebration ofChristopher Columbus's first voyage across theAtlantic Ocean. Celebrations inGenoa, Italy, earlier that year prompted negative remarks over the German representative, the protected cruiserPrinzess Wilhelm. As a result,Kaiserin Augusta's trials were interrupted in early 1893 to send her and theunprotected cruiserSeeadler toNew York City in the United States for the ceremonies.Kaiserin Augusta left Kiel on 29 March under the command ofKzSWilhelm Büchsel and metSeeadler inHalifax, Canada. There,Kaiserin Augusta tookSeeadler in tow, the latter vessel having run out of coal. The two ships reachedHampton Roads, US on 26 April, whereKaiserin Augusta made a significant impression, having achieved an average speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) on her crossing of the Atlantic. The ships then proceeded to New York for the celebrations before departing on 13 May.Seeadler returned toGerman East Africa whileKaiserin Augusta re-crossed the Atlantic, arriving in Kiel on 2 June.[18][19]
The voyage had revealed structural problems with the ship, and so she was decommissioned for modifications on 21 June. During this period, her standard armament was installed as well. Work was completed by mid-1894, butKaiserin Augusta's engines broke down during initial trials and had to be rebuilt completely. Repairs were not finished until early 1895, and she was finally ready to be recommissioned on 3 April. Further trials followed, and on 9 May she accidentally ran aground in theKieler Förde. She was pulled free by the oldironcladBaden and some shipyardtugboats. After repairs were completed, she participated in the opening ceremonies for theKaiser Wilhelm Canal on 21 June. She led a group of twenty-one unarmored ships, in company with the fourBrandenburg-classbattleships, the fourSachsen-class ironclads, and four of theSiegfried-class coastal defense ships.[20][21]
Two German merchants had been murdered in Morocco; the protected cruiserIrene had been sent to secure an indemnity, but the German government determined that the amount Morocco had agreed to pay was insufficient. In July, the Navy sentKaiserin Augusta, under the command ofKzSOscar von Schuckmann to seek a larger payment; she was joined there by thesteam corvettesMarie andStosch and thecoastal defense shipHagen. I Squadron, which was on a training cruise in theMediterranean Sea, extended their cruise so that it would also be in the region to apply pressure on the Moroccan government. Schuckmann participated in the negotiations, along with the German ambassador. The Germangunboat diplomacy was successful and achieved its aims, but the operation was heavily criticized, especially in Britain, where anti-German sentiment was beginning to rise.Kaiserin Augusta leftTangier on 5 August and arrived in German waters on 18 August, where she joined the annual fleet maneuvers. On 20 December, she finally completed sea trials, and three days later was assigned as aguard ship inWilhelmshaven. While there, she also served as atraining vessel for engine room personnel. From 10 March 1896,Kaiserin Augusta escorted Wilhelm II'syachtHohenzollern on a cruise in the Mediterranean that lasted until 1 May. From late June to 8 November, the ship was occupied with extensive individual and squadron training exercises.[22][23]
In February 1897, aninternational naval demonstration took place off Crete to protest Greece's attempted annexation of the island and prevent another Greco-Turkish war.Kaiserin Augusta was the sole German contribution to the International Squadron, receiving orders to join the fleet on 6 February and arriving inSouda Bay on 21 February.Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain)Leopold Koellner, the ship's commander, was under orders to act on his own discretion, but also in accordance with the warships of the otherGreat Powers.Kaiserin Augusta and other vessels shelled Greek volunteers that were attackingChania on 21 February. On 15 March, she sent fifty men ashore to reinforce the international landing party that had gone ashore to stop the fighting. The ship operated as part of a "Light Division", along with the Italiantorpedo cruiserCaprera, the Austro-Hungarian cruiserTiger, the FrenchdestroyerFaucon, and the RussiangunboatGrosjaschtschi. The ships were tasked with blocking Greek attacks on the area around Souda Bay; for her efforts in stopping their attacks, the Greek volunteers nicknamed her "the damned white ship".[22][24]
Despite the efforts of the Great Powers, theGreco-Turkish War of 1897 broke out on 17 April. Ottoman successes in the conflict threatened to provoke a revolution in Greece, and so the International Squadron sent most of its ships, includingKaiserin Augusta, toPiraeus in an attempt to stabilize the country. On 8 November,Kaiserin Augusta went toSmyrna in the Ottoman Empire, where she received orders to go toEast Asia. The ship returned to Crete on 19 November to retrieve her landing party before embarking on the voyage to Asia.[22] Immediately following the seizure of theJiaozhou Bay Leased Territory in China, AdmiralOtto von Diederichs, the commander of theEast Asia Squadron, requested reinforcements to secure the new colonial territory; he specifically asked forKaiserin Augusta, along with additional ground troops to garrison the port. The ship was joined by the cruisersDeutschland andGefion, which carried the IIISeebataillon, andCormoran.[25] AsKaiserin Augusta had been stationed in the Mediterranean, she arrived first, on 30 December.[26]
Kaiserin Augusta remained inQingdao in the Jiaozhou concession until mid-March 1898, when she left to visit the British colony atHong Kong. She thereafter went on a cruise in theYellow Sea and visitedNagasaki, Japan, where Diederichs temporarily came aboard the vessel. Beginning in November,KzSErnst Gülich served as the ship's commander.[27] Following the outbreak of theSpanish–American War in 1898, Diederichs was ordered to proceed to thePhilippines, where CommodoreGeorge Dewey had defeated a Spanish squadron commanded by Rear AdmiralPatricio Montojo. Diederichs was instructed to protect local German interests, and if possible, seize another colonial concession in the Philippines. With his ships dispersed on various colonial missions or under repair, Diederichs initially concentrated his forces slowly; he recalledKaiserin Augusta to serve as hisflagship while the rest of the force assembled.[28] After the end of theBattle of Manila,Kaiserin Augusta steamed to Hong Kong on 13 August, arriving two days later. There the ship notified Berlin of the defeat of the Spanish garrison. She also carried the former Governor General of the Philippines,Basilio Augustín, out of Manila.[29]
In October, the ship brought a detachment of infantry toTaku at the request of the German ambassador to China. The men then traveled overland toBeijing to guard the Germanlegation there. On 23 November,Kaiserin Augusta participated in the erection ceremony for theIltis monument inShanghai, China that commemorated the men killed in the wrecking of the gunboatIltis. She thereafter returned to Qingdao and went on tours of Chinese and Japanese waters for the rest of the year. On 27 February 1899, the ship was reclassified as a "Grosser Kreuzer" (Large Cruiser). The rest of the year passed uneventfully; in October she went toWeihaiwei for an overhaul that lasted until 5 February 1900. In late March, theBoxer Uprising broke out in China, prompting the European fleets in Asia to send warships to Taku.Kaiserin Augusta sent carried men from IIISeebataillon to Taku. She put sixty men from her crew to assist with AdmiralEdward Seymour's relief force to rescue the Europeans inTientsin. During these operations, the ship'sexecutive officer,KK Oltmann, was killed in battle. On 18 July, part of the landing party returned to the ship, but the rest remained ashore until mid-September.[4]
Kaiserin Augusta served briefly as the squadron flagship, underVAdmEmil Felix von Bendemann, from 26 October to 18 November while the armored cruiserFürst Bismarck was unavailable. She spent 1901 in Chinese and Japanese waters, with no events of note during the year.Fregattenkapitän (FK—Frigate Captain)Johannes Stein served as the ship's commander from January to November 1901, when he was replaced byFKFriedrich von Ingenohl, though he remained aboard only until March 1902. Ingenohl was relieved byKzSCarl Derzewski. On 6 March 1902,Kaiserin Augusta received orders to return to Germany, along with thetorpedo boatsS91 andS92. The vessels arrived back in Kiel on 7 June, andKaiserin Augusta was decommissioned there on 16 June.[30]
Obsolescent by the early 1900s,Kaiserin Augusta went into drydock for an extensive modernization that began in May 1903.[4] During the refit, the ship's generators were replaced with more powerful units that more than doubled electrical output, at 124 kW at 110 V. Herbridge was significantly expanded, with a second deck and extended aft of the foremast. The three funnels were lengthened by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and one searchlight was installed on each of the mast tops. The four swivel-mounted torpedo tubes were also removed during this period.[11] After emerging from the modernization in late 1905, the ship was placed in reserve. She remained out of service until 1914, following the outbreak ofWorld War I in July that year.Kaiserin Augusta was reactivated for use as a gunnery training ship, to replace the more modern armored cruiserSMS Blücher, which joined theHigh Seas Fleet. Her first commander during the war, from August to November, wasKzSFerdinand Bertram.Kaiserin Augusta was stationed in theBaltic Sea and was assigned to the coastal defense division of the Baltic in anticipation of a British attack through theDanish straits.[30][31]
To facilitate the training of gunners, the ship's armament was diversified several times throughout the war. The first change was completed on 30 October, when her 15 cm guns were removed. By the end of 1914, the threat of a direct British attack on the Baltic had receded, and so on 12 December,Kaiserin Augusta was removed from the coastal defense division. The ship largely remained in the relative safety of the western Baltic for the rest of the war. Further alterations were made to her armament as the war progressed. By the end of the conflict, she carried one15 cm SK L/45 gun, four10.5 cm SK L/45 guns, four8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK L/45 guns, four8.8 cm SK L/35 guns, five8.8 cm SK L/30 guns, and one 8.8 cm SK L/30 gun in aU-boat mounting. She served in this capacity for the duration of the war, until she was decommissioned 14 December 1918.[4][2] The ship was formally stricken from thenaval register on 1 October 1919 and sold toNorddeutsche Tiefbauges in Berlin, and broken up the next year in Kiel-Nordmole.[11]
