SMS Prinzregent Luitpold SMS " Prinzregent Luitpold " was the fifth and final vessel of the of battleship s of the Imperial German Navy . " Prinzregent Luitpold " s keel was laid in October 1910 at the Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel . She was launched on 17 February 1912 and was commissioned into the navy on 19 August 1913 . The ship was equipped with ten guns in five twin turrets , and had a top speed of . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was assigned to the III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career ; in December 1916 , she was transferred to the IV Battle Squadron . Along with her four sister ships , , , , and , " Prinzregent Luitpold " participated in all of the major fleet operations of World War I , including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 . The ship was also involved in Operation Albion , an amphibious assault on the Russian - held islands in the Gulf of Riga , in late 1917 . After Germany ' s defeat in the war and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918 , " Prinzregent Luitpold " and most of the capital ship s of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow . The ships were disarmed and reduced to skeleton crews while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles . On 21 June 1919 , days before the treaty was signed , the commander of the interned fleet , Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was raised in July 1931 and subsequently broken up for scrap in 1933 . Construction . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was long overall and displaced a maximum of . She had a beam of and a draft of forward and aft . She had a crew of 41 officers and 1 , 043 enlisted men . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was powered by two sets of Parsons steam turbines , supplied with steam by 14 coal - fired boilers . Unlike her four sisters , the ship was intended to use a diesel engine on the center shaft , but this was not ready by the time work on the ship was completed . The engine was never installed , and so " Prinzregent Luitpold " was slightly slower than her sisters , which were equipped with a third turbine on the center shaft . The powerplant produced a top speed of . She carried of coal , which enabled a maximum range of at a cruising speed of . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was armed with a main battery of ten 30 . 5 cm SK L / 50 gun s in five twin turrets . The ship dispensed with the inefficient hexagonal turret arrangement of previous German battleships ; instead , three of the five turrets were mounted on the centerline , one forward and 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 SK L / 45 guns in casemate s amidships , eight 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 torpedo tubes , all mounted in the hull ; one was in the bow , and the other four were on the broadside . Service history . Ordered under the contract name " Ersatz Odin " as a replacement for the obsolete coastal defense ship , " Prinzregent Luitpold " was laid down at the Howaldtswerke dockyard in Kiel in October 1910 . She was launched on 17 February 1912 and christened by Princess Theresa of Bavaria ; Ludwig III , the last king of Bavaria and the son of the ship ' s namesake , Luitpold , Prince Regent of Bavaria , gave a speech . After fitting - out work was completed , the ship was commissioned into the fleet on 19 August 1913 . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was equipped with facilities for a squadron commander , and became the flagship of the III Battle Squadron upon commissioning . Directly after commissioning , " Prinzregent Luitpold " took part in the annual autumn maneuvers , which followed the fleet cruise to Norway . The exercises lasted from 31 August to 9 September . Unit drills and individual ship training were conducted in October and November . In early 1914 , " Prinzregent Luitpold " participated in additional ship and unit training . The annual spring maneuvers were conducted in the North Sea at the end of March . Further fleet exercises followed in April and May in the Baltic and North Seas . The ship went to Kiel Week that year . Despite the rising international tensions following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June , the High Seas Fleet began its summer cruise to Norway on 13 July . During the last peacetime cruise of the Imperial Navy , the fleet conducted drills off Skagen before proceeding to the Norwegian fjords on 25 July . The following day the fleet began to steam back to Germany , as a result of Austria - Hungary ' s ultimatum to Serbia . On the 27th , the entire fleet assembled off Cape Skadenes before returning to port , where they remained at a heightened state of readiness . War between Austria - Hungary and Serbia broke out the following day , and in the span of a week all of the major European powers had joined the conflict . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was present during the first sortie by the German fleet into the North Sea , which took place on 2 – 3 November 1914 . No British forces were encountered during the operation . A second operation followed on 15 – 16 December . This sortie was the initiation of a strategy adopted by Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl , the commander of the High Seas Fleet . He intended to use the battlecruiser s of Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper ' s I Scouting Group to raid British coastal towns to lure out portions of the British Grand Fleet where they could be destroyed by the High Seas Fleet . Early on 15 December the fleet left port to raid the towns of Scarborough , Hartlepool , and Whitby . That evening , the German battle fleet of some twelve dreadnoughts — including " Prinzregent Luitpold " and her four sisters — and eight pre - dreadnoughts came to within of an isolated squadron of six British battleships . However , skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced von Ingenohl that he was faced with the entire Grand Fleet . Under orders from Kaiser Wilhelm II to avoid risking the fleet unnecessarily , von Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battle fleet back toward Germany . " Prinzregent Luitpold " went into the Baltic for squadron training from 23 to 29 January 1916 . While on the maneuvers , the newer battleship became the III Squadron flagship . Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer , the commander of III Squadron , lowered his flag on 24 January and transferred it to " König " . The Kaiser removed von Ingenohl from his post on 2 February , following the loss of the armored cruiser at the Battle of Dogger Bank the month before . Admiral Hugo von Pohl succeeded him as the commander of the fleet . Pohl continued the policy of sweeps into the North Sea to destroy isolated British formations . On 24 April , " Prinzregent Luitpold " ran aground in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal , though she was freed without causing significant damage . A series of advances into the North Sea were conducted throughout the rest of 1915 ; " Prinzregent Luitpold " was present for the sweeps on 17 – 18 May , 29 – 30 May , 10 August , 11 – 12 September , and 23 – 24 October . The III Squadron completed the year with another round of unit training in the Baltic on 5 – 20 December . Pohl ' s tenure as fleet commander was brief ; by January 1916 hepatic cancer had weakened him to the point where he was no longer able to carry out his duties . He was replaced by Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer in January . Scheer proposed a more aggressive policy designed to force a confrontation with the British Grand Fleet ; he received approval from the Kaiser in February . The first of Scheer ' s operations was conducted the following month , on 5 – 7 March , with an uneventful sweep of the Hoofden . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was also present during an advance to the Amrun Bank on 2 – 3 April . Another sortie was conducted on 21 – 22 April . Battle of Jutland . " Prinzregent Luitpold " was present during the fleet operation that resulted in the battle of Jutland which took place on 31 May and 1 June 1916 . The German fleet again sought to draw out and isolate a portion of the Grand Fleet and destroy it before the main British fleet could retaliate . During the operation , " Prinzregent Luitpold " was the third ship in the VI Division of III Squadron and the eighth ship in the line , directly astern of and ahead of . The VI Division was behind only the V Division , consisting of the four s . The eight - and s of the I and II Divisions in I Squadron followed the VI Division . The six elderly pre - dreadnought s of the III and IV Divisions in II Battle Squadron formed the rear of the formation . Shortly before 16 : 00 , the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group encountered the British 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty . The opposing ships began an artillery duel that saw the destruction of , shortly after 17 : 00 , and , less than half an hour later . By this time , the German battlecruisers were steaming south to draw the British ships toward the main body of the High Seas Fleet . At 17 : 30 , the crew of the leading German battleship , " König " , spotted both the I Scouting Group and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron approaching . The German battlecruisers were steaming to starboard , while the British ships steamed to port . At 17 : 45 , Scheer ordered a two - point turn to port to bring his ships closer to the British battlecruisers , and a minute later , the order to open fire was given . " Prinzregent Luitpold " engaged the nearest target her gunners could make out , one of the s , at a range of some , though her shots fell short . Beatty ' s ships increased speed and at 17 : 51 veered away to further increase the distance to the III Squadron battleships . At 18 : 08 , " Prinzregent Luitpold " shifted her fire to the battleship at a range of , though without any success . By 18 : 38 , " Malaya " disappeared in the haze and " Prinzregent Luitpold " was forced to cease fire . The British destroyers and , which had been disabled earlier in the engagement , lay directly in the path of the advancing High Seas Fleet . " Prinzregent Luitpold " and her three sisters destroyed " Nomad " with their secondary guns while the I Squadron battleships dispatched " Nestor " . At around 19 : 00 , the German battle line came into contact with the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron ; " Prinzregent Luitpold " fired two salvos from her main battery at an unidentified four - funneled cruiser at 19 : 03 but made no hits . Shortly after 19 : 00 , the German cruiser had become disabled by a shell from the British battlecruiser ; Rear Admiral Paul Behncke in " König " attempted to maneuver the III Squadron to cover the stricken cruiser . Simultaneously , the British 3rd and 4th Light Cruiser Squadrons began a torpedo attack on the German line ; while advancing to torpedo range , they smothered " Wiesbaden " with fire from their main guns . The eight III Squadron battleships fired on the British cruisers , but even sustained fire from the battleships ' main guns failed to drive off the British cruisers . The armored cruisers , , and joined in the attack on the crippled " Wiesbaden " . Between 19 : 14 and 19 : 17 , several German battleships and battlecruisers opened fire on " Defence " and " Warrior " . Instead of joining the fire on the much closer cruisers , " Prinzregent Luitpold " engaged the leading battleships of the British line , firing a total of 21 salvos . The gunners reported ranges of , though this was an overestimation that caused the ship ' s salvos to fall past their intended target . By 20 : 00 , the German line was ordered to complete a 180 - degree turn eastward to disengage from the British fleet . The maneuver , conducted under heavy fire , caused disorganization in the German fleet . " Kaiserin " had come too close to " Prinzregent Luitpold " and was forced to haul out of line to starboard to avoid a collision . " Prinzregent Luitpold " came up alongside " Kaiserin " at high speed , which forced " Kaiserin " to remain out of line temporarily . The turn reversed the order of the German line ; " Prinzregent Luitpold " was now the eighth ship from the rear of the German line , leading the III Squadron . At around 23 : 30 , the German fleet reorganized into the night - cruising formation . " Kaiserin " was the eleventh ship , in the center of the 24 - ship line . After a series of night engagements between the leading battleships and British destroyers , the High Seas Fleet punched through the British light forces and reached Horns Reef by 04 : 00 on 1 June . The German fleet reached Wilhelmshaven a few hours later ; the I Squadron battleships took up defensive positions in the outer roadstead , and " Prinzregent Luitpold " , " Kaiserin " , " Kaiser " , and stood ready just outside the entrance to Wilhelmshaven . The remainder of the battleships and battlecruisers entered Wilhelmshaven , where those that were still in fighting condition replenished their stocks of coal and ammunition . In the course of the battle , " Prinzregent Luitpold " fired one - hundred and sixty - nine 30 . 5 cm shells and one - hundred and six 15 cm rounds . She and her crew emerged from the battle completely unscathed . Subsequent operations . In early August , " Prinzregent Luitpold " and the rest of the operational III Squadron units conducted divisional training in the Baltic . On 18 August , Admiral Scheer attempted a repeat of the 31 May operation ; the two serviceable German battlecruisers — and — supported by three dreadnoughts , were to bombard the coastal town of Sunderland in an attempt to draw out and destroy Beatty ' s battlecruisers . The rest of the fleet , including " Kaiser " , would trail behind and provide cover . During the operation , " Prinzregent Luitpold " carried the Commander of U - boat s . On the approach to the English coast , Scheer turned north after receiving a false report from a zeppelin about a British unit in the area . As a result , the bombardment was not carried out , and by 14 : 35 , Scheer had been warned of the Grand Fleet ' s approach and so turned his forces around and retreated to German ports . Another fleet advance followed on 18 – 20 October , though it ended without encountering any British units . Two weeks later , on 4 November , " Prinzregent Luitpold " took part in an expedition to the western coast of Denmark to assist two U - boats — and — that had become stranded there . The fleet was reorganized on 1 December ; the four " König " - class battleships remained in III Squadron , along with the newly commissioned , while the five " Kaiser " - class ships , including " Prinzregent Luitpold " , were transferred to IV Squadron . " Prinzregent Luitpold " became the flagship of the new squadron . In the Wilhelmshaven Roads on 20 January 1917 , the ship struck a steel hawser that became entangled in the ship ' s starboard propeller . In March , " Friedrich der Grosse " was replaced as the fleet flagship by the newly commissioned battleship . " Friedrich der Grosse " in turn replaced " Prinzregent Luitpold " as the flagship of IV Squadron . Steadily decreasing morale and discontent with rations provoked a series of small mutinies in the fleet . On 6 June and 19 July , stokers protested the low quality of the food they were given , and on 2 August , some 800 men went on a hunger strike . The ship ' s officers relented and agreed to form a " Menagekommission " , a council that gave the enlisted men a voice in their ration selection and preparation . One of the ringleaders of the protests , however , was arrested and executed on 5 September . Operation Albion . In early September 1917 , following the German conquest of the Russian port of Riga , the German navy decided to eliminate the Russian naval forces that still held the Gulf of Riga . The " Admiralstab " ( the Navy High Command ) planned an operation to seize the Baltic island of Ösel , and specifically the Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula . On 18 September , the order was issued for a joint operation with the army to capture Ösel and Moon Islands ; the primary naval component was to comprise the flagship , " Moltke " , along with the III and IV Battle Squadrons of the High Seas Fleet . Along with nine light cruisers , three torpedo boat flotillas , and dozens of mine warfare ships , the entire force numbered some 300 ships , supported by over 100 aircraft and six zeppelins . The invasion force amounted to approximately 24 , 600 officers and enlisted men . Opposing the Germans were the old Russian pre - dreadnoughts and , the armored cruiser s , , and , 26 destroyers , and several torpedo boats and gunboats . The garrison on Ösel numbered some 14 , 000 men . The operation began on the morning of 12 October , when " Moltke " and the III Squadron ships engaged Russian positions in Tagga Bay while " Prinzregent Luitpold " and the rest of IV Squadron shelled Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula on Ösel . " Prinzregent Luitpold " , along with " Kaiser " and " Kaiserin " , were tasked with silencing the Russian guns at Hundsort which had taken " Moltke " under fire . The ships opened fire at 05 : 44 , and by 07 : 45 , Russian firing had ceased and German troops were moving ashore . Two days later , Vice Admiral Wilhelm Souchon left Tagga Bay with " Prinzregent Luitpold " , " Friedrich der Grosse " , and " Kaiserin " to support German ground forces advancing on the Sworbe Peninsula . By 20 October , the fighting on the islands was winding down ; Moon , Ösel , and Dagö were in German possession . The previous day , the " Admiralstab " had ordered the cessation of naval actions and the return of the dreadnoughts to the High Seas Fleet as soon as possible . On the 24th , " Prinzregent Luitpold " was detached from the task force and returned to Kiel . After arriving in Kiel , " Prinzregent Luitpold " went into drydock for periodic maintenance , from which she emerged on 21 December . She then proceeded on to Wilhelmshaven , where she resumed guard duty in the Bight . On 17 March 1918 , the ship steamed to the Baltic for training exercises , and the following day the battlecruiser rammed her outside Kiel . The accident caused no serious damage , however . The ship participated in the fruitless advance to Norway on 23 – 25 April 1918 , after which she resumed guard duties in the German Bight . Fate . " Prinzregent Luitpold " and her four sisters were to have taken part in a final fleet action at the end of October 1918 , days before the Armistice was to take effect . The bulk of the High Seas Fleet was to have sortied from their base in Wilhelmshaven to engage the British Grand Fleet ; Scheer — by now the Grand Admiral ( " Großadmiral " ) of the fleet — intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy , to improve Germany ' s bargaining position , despite the expected casualties . But many of the war - weary sailors felt that the operation would disrupt the peace process and prolong the war . On the morning of 29 October 1918 , the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day . Starting on the night of 29 October , sailors on and then on several other battleships mutinied . The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation . Informed of the situation , the Kaiser stated " I no longer have a navy " . Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918 , most of the High Seas Fleet , under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , was interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow . Prior to the departure of the German fleet , Admiral Adolf von Trotha made clear to von Reuter that he could not allow the Allies to seize the ships , under any circumstances . The fleet rendezvoused with the British light cruiser , which led the ships to the Allied fleet that was to escort the Germans to Scapa Flow . The massive flotilla consisted of some 370 British , American , and French warships . Once the ships were interned , their guns were disabled through the removal of their breech blocks , and their crews were reduced to 200 officers and men per ship . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Treaty of Versailles . Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919 , which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty . Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd , Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity . On the morning of 21 June , the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers , and at 11 : 20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships . " Prinzregent Luitpold " sank at 13 : 30 ; she was subsequently raised on 9 July 1931 and broken up by 1933 in Rosyth . Footnotes . Footnotes Citations