Prinz Adalbert class heavy cruisers

The two Prinz Adalbert class heavy cruisers were more heavily armed versions of the SMS Prinz Heinrich, herself the oldest German armoured cruiser to see service in the First World War. The main change made to the two Prinz Adalbert class cruisers was the use of twin 8.3in guns in the main turrets, giving them four main guns compared to the two carried on the older ship. The 8.3in gun was also quicker firing than the 9.4in gun, giving them double the main firepower of the earlier ship. They carried their secondary armament in a central citadel. The lower deck of this citadel was prone to flooding, making six of the ten 5.9in guns useless in anything other than calm weather.

Plans of SMS Prinz Adalbert

The Prinz Adalbert served as an overseas station cruiser until 1904, when she became a gunnery schoolship. Friedrich Carl served overseas until 1909, when she became a torpedo schoolship.  

Both ships served in the Baltic from the start of the First World War where the Friedrich Carl was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Behring. On 16-17 November both ships took part in an attack on the Russian port of Libau. This port had been largely dismantled by the Russians and was protected by minefields, but the Germans believed that it was about to become a base for British submarines. On the morning of 17 November the Friedrich Carl hit two Russian mines, thirty miles off Memel. She was kept afloat until 6.30am, by which time her crew had been evacuated and she was left to sink.

The threat from British submarines in the Baltic actually developed during 1915. Prinz Adalbert was possibly torpedoed in July by the British submarine E 9 (when she was described as a battleship), but returned to Kiel safely. On 23 November E 8 got a chance to attack her, firing a single torpedo from a range of 1,300 yards as the Prinz Adalbert was leaving Libau (now in German hands). The torpedo hit the front of the ship, causing an explosion in the forward magazine. The Prinz Adalbert was destroyed in the blast, with heavy loss of life.  

Before the Battlecruiser - The Big Cruiser in the World’s Navies 1865-1910, Aidan Dodson. Looks at the development and careers of the ‘big cruiser’, the most heavily armed cruisers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a type that eventually evolved in the battlecruiser. Covers the development of the type, its combat experience while still state of the art, its role in the First World War, as well as looking at the technical specifications of all of the ships that fell into this category (Read Full Review)

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