SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse SMS " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " ( His Majesty ' s Ship " Charles the Great " ) was a German pre - dreadnought battleship of the , built around the turn of the 20th Century for the German Imperial Navy . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was built in Hamburg , at the Blohm and Voss shipyard . She was laid down in September 1898 , and completed in February 1902 , at the cost of 20 , 385 , 000 Marks . The ship was armed with four guns in two twin gun turret s and had a top speed of . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " served with the active fleet until 1910 , by which time the new " all - big - gun " dreadnought battleship s were entering service . As the ship was completely obsolete , she was withdrawn from active service and placed in the Reserve Fleet . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , the ship was placed back in active duty as a coastal defense ship , though by February 1915 she was again placed in reserve . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " ended her career as a prison ship in Wilhelmshaven . Following the German defeat in November 1918 , the ship was sold to ship - breakers and scrapped in 1920 . Construction . Kaiser Wilhelm II , the emperor of Germany , believed that a strong navy was necessary for the country to expand its influence outside of continental Europe . As a result , he initiated a program of naval expansion in the late 1880s ; the first battleships built under this program were the four ships . These were immediately followed by the five s , of which " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was a member . The ship ' s keel was laid in 1898 at the Blohm and Voss in Hamburg under construction number 136 . She was ordered under the contract name " B " as a new ship of the fleet . The new battleship was launched on 18 October 1899 and commissioned on 4 February 1902 . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward and aft . The vessel was powered by three 3 - cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws . Steam was provided by four Marine - type and eight cylindrical coal - fired boilers . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . The ship ' s armament consisted of a main battery of four 24 cm ( 9 . 4 in ) SK L / 40 guns in twin gun turret s , one fore and one aft of the central superstructure . Her secondary armament consisted of eighteen 15 cm ( 5 . 9 inch ) SK L / 40 guns and twelve 8 . 8 cm ( 3 . 45 in ) SK L / 30 quick - firing guns . The armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm torpedo tubes , all in above - water swivel mounts . Service history . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " joined the German fleet in February 1902 . On 31 August 1902 , the fleet conducted the annual summer training maneuvers . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was assigned to the " hostile " force , as were several of her sister - ships . The " hostile " force was first tasked with preventing the " German " squadron from passing through the Great Belt in the Baltic . " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " and several other battleships were then tasked with forcing an entry into the mouth of the Elbe River , where the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and Hamburg could be seized . The " hostile " flotilla accomplished these tasks within three days . In 1903 , the fleet , which was composed of only one squadron of battleships , was reorganized as the " Active Battle Fleet . " " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " remained in the I Squadron along with her sister ships and the newest s , while the older ships were placed in reserve in order to be rebuilt . In 1905 the fleet was rearranged ; " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " and her sister remained in the I Squadron , while their sisters were moved to the II Squadron . The German Navy in 1905 consisted of four divisions of three battleships each , with two divisions per squadron . This was supported by a cruiser division , composed of two armored cruiser s and six protected cruiser s . In September 1906 , " Karl der Grosse " and the rest of the fleet conducted major training maneuvers in the Baltic . During the exercises , the fleet traveled to Swinemünde to conduct a goodwill operation with the British Channel Fleet , which was anchored in the port at the time . In 1908 , the ship was assigned to the II Division of the I Squadron of the High Seas Fleet , along with three of her sister - ships . The ships of her class were rebuilt between 1908 and 1910 , though " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " did not receive this treatment . However , in 1910 , the new dreadnought battleship s were beginning to come into service with the fleet . Thoroughly obsolete compared to the new " all - big - gun " battleships , " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was then decommissioned and placed into reserve . By 1914 , the ship had been assigned to the V Squadron of the Reserve Fleet , alongside her four sisterships and the battleship . World War I . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " and her sisters were brought back to active service and mobilized as the V Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet . They were assigned to coastal defense in the Baltic , though they served in this capacity for a very short time . In February 1915 , they were again withdrawn from service and placed in reserve . In 1916 , " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was employed as a prison ship in Wilhelmshaven . According to of the Treaty of Versailles , signed on 28 June 1919 , Germany was permitted to retain only six battleships of the " or " Lothringen " types . " On 6 December 1919 , the ship was struck from the naval list and sold to ship - breakers . The following year , " Kaiser Karl der Grosse " was broken up for scrap metal in Rönnebeck . Notes . Footnotes Citations References . 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