page_title: Kaiser-class battleship
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: Kaiser-class battleship / Service history
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Großlinienschiff "SMS Prinzregent Luitpold" Großlinienschiff der Kaiser-Klasse "S.M.S. Prinzregent Luitpold" auf See, Ansicht der Backbord-Seite
context_page_description: The Kaiser class was a class of five battleships that were built in Germany prior to World War I and served in the Imperial German Navy during the war. They were the third class of German dreadnoughts, and the first to feature turbine engines and superfiring turrets. The five ships were Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, Prinzregent Luitpold, and König Albert. As was usual for German battleships of the period, the Kaiser class mounted main guns that were smaller than those of their British rivals: 30.5 cm, compared to the 34.3 cm guns of the British Orion class.
  All five ships saw action in the North Sea during the war; they served together as VI Division of III Battle Squadron. Four were present during the Battle of Jutland; König Albert was in dock at the time. Of the four ships that took part in the battle, only Kaiser was damaged, being struck by two heavy-caliber shells. The ships also took part in Operation Albion in the Baltic Sea; during the operation they were reorganized as IV Battle Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon.
  At the end of the war, all five ships were interned at the British naval base in Scapa Flow.
caption: A pre-war illustration of Prinzregent Luitpold underway
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