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Prinz Adalbert  

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Prinz Adalbert		27	Kiel KW	1900	22.6.1901	12.1.1904	TS till 1914, sunk 23.10.1915
Friedrich Carl		155	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg	1901	21.6.1902	12.12.1903	TS 3.1909-1914, sunk 17.11.1914

Technical data

Displacement normal, t	9087
Displacement full, t	9875
Length, m	126.5 oa 124.9 wl
Breadth, m	19.6
Draught, m	7.43 mean 7.80 deep load
No of shafts	3
Machinery	3 VTE, 14 Dürr boilers
Power, h. p.	17000
Max speed, kts	20.5
Fuel, t	coal 1630 + oil 200
Endurance, nm(kts)	4970(12)
Armour, mm	belt: 100 - 80, deck: 80 - 40 with 80 - 50mm slopes, main turrets: 150, secondary turrets: 100, casemates: 100, CT: 150
Armament	2 x 2 - 209/37 SK L/40 C/04, 10 x 1 - 149/37 SK L/40 C/97, 12 x 1 - 88/32 SK L/35 C/01, 4 x 1 - 7.9/79, 4 - 450 TT (1 bow, 2 beam, 1 stern)
Complement	586

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Project history

These vessels were very similar to the Prinz Heinrich apart from their three funnels instead of two and four instead of two big guns. Like her they were wood-sheathed, and the armour protection, apart from there being a rather more extensive belt, was virtually the same. The lower part of the central casemate was a weak point, as it flooded easily even in a moderate sea: though a common feature in secondary batteries of the time, and not just in the German Navy, it happened particularly easily in this class, which greatly reduced the ships' fighting ability.

Ship protection

Main belt was 100mm between main barbettes and 80mm abreast them and was backed by 50mm wood. 40mm protective deck was connected with its lower edge by 50mm slopes, outside citadel protective deck had turtleback form and had 80mm flat and 80mm slopes. Fwd CT had 150m sides and 30mm roof, aft CT had only 20mm plating. Main turrets had 150mm sides and 30mm crowns, 4 15cm guns were placed in the turrets with 100mm sides, others were protected by 100mm casemates with 80mm shields, closed by 100mm bulkheads.

Modernizations

None.

Naval service

Prinz Adalbert spent most of her career as a gunnery schoolship, her sister in a similar role for torpedo warfare. Both were sunk in the Baltic, though Prinz Adalbert, torpedoed by the British submarine E8 23.10.1915 off Libava, sank with very heavy loss of life, unlike Friedrich Carl, sunk by Russian mine 17.11.1914 off Memel.