Irene-class cruiser

The ''Irene'' class was a class of protected cruisers built by the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'') in the late 1880s. The class comprised two ships, and ; they were the first protected cruisers built by the German Navy. As built, the ships were armed with a main battery of fourteen guns and had a top speed of . They were modernized in 1899–1905, and their armament was upgraded with new, quick-firing guns.

Both ships served in the East Asia station with the East Asia Squadron; ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' played a major role in the seizure of the Kiautschou Bay concession in November 1897. Both ships returned to Germany at the turn of the 20th century, and remained in European waters until 1914, when they were removed from active service. They were reduced to secondary roles then, and continued to serve until the early 1920s, when they were sold for scrap.

Design

General characteristics

The ships were long at the waterline and long overall. They had a beam of and a draft of forward. They displaced at designed displacement and at full load. The hull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, and the outer hull consisted of wood planking covered with Muntz copper sheathing to prevent fouling. The stem was made of bronze below the waterline and iron above. The hull was divided into 10 watertight compartments and had a double bottom that extended for 49 percent of the length of the hull.

The ships were very good sea boats; they ran very well before the wind, and were very handy. They lost minimal speed in hard turns and suffered from moderate roll and pitch. In heavy seas, the ships were capable of only half speed, as both suffered from structural weakness in the forecastle. They had a transverse metacentric height of . The ships had a crew of 28 officers and 337 enlisted men. The ships carried a number of smaller boats, including two picket boats, one pinnace, two cutters, one yawl, and two dinghies. Searchlight platforms were added to the foremast above the waterline.

Machinery

''Irene''s propulsion system consisted of two horizontal, 2-cylinder double-expansion steam engines that drove a pair of screw propellers. ''Irene'' was equipped with a pair of three-bladed screws in diameter; ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' had slightly larger screws with four blades. Steam was provided by four coal-fired fire-tube boilers, which were ducted into a pair of funnels. ''Irene''s engines were manufactured by Wolfsche, while AG Germania produced those for ''Prinzess Wilhelm''. The ships' engines were rated at and provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . The ships were equipped with a pair of electrical generators that produced at 67 volts. ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' was later equipped with three generators with a combined output of at 110 volts. Steering was controlled by a single rudder.

Armament and armor

The ships were armed with a main battery of four 15 cm RK L/30 guns in single pedestal mounts, supplied with 400 rounds of ammunition in total. They had a range of . The ships also carried ten shorter-barreled 15 cm RK L/22 guns in single mounts. These guns had a much shorter range, at . The gun armament was rounded out by six 3.7 cm revolver cannon, which provided close-range defense against torpedo boats. They were also equipped with three torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes, two launchers were mounted on the deck and the third was in the bow, below the waterline.

The ships were protected with compound steel armor. The armor deck consisted of two layers; on the flat, the layers were and thick, for a total thickness of . On the sides, the deck sloped downward and increased in thickness to 20 mm and , totaling of protection. The coaming was thick and was backed with thick teak. The conning tower had 50 mm thick sides and a 20 mm thick roof. The ships were equipped with cork cofferdams to contain flooding in the event of damage below the waterline.

Modifications

The ships were modernized in Wilhelmshaven between 1899 and 1905. The ships' armament was significantly improved; the four L/30 guns were replaced with 15 cm SK L/35 guns with an increased range of . Eight SK L/35 quick-firing (QF) guns were installed in place of the L/22 guns, and six SK L/40 QF guns were added. The alterations to the ships' guns allowed the number of officers to be reduced to 17, though enlisted ranks increased to 357.

Service history

''Irene'' was the first protected cruiser built by the German navy. She was ordered under the contract name "''Ersatz'' " and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1886. She was launched on 23 July 1887, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the German navy on 25 May 1888. ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' was ordered under the contract name "''Ersatz'' " and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1886. She was launched on 22 September 1887, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the German navy on 13 November 1889.

Both ''Irene'' and ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' saw extensive service with the German fleet. ''Irene'' frequently escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht on cruises throughout Europe. In 1894, ''Irene'' was deployed to East Asian waters; ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' joined her the following year. ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' was one of three ships involved in the seizure of the naval base Kiaochou Bay in November 1897, led by Admiral Otto von Diederichs. ''Irene'' was in dock for engine maintenance at the time, and so she was not present during the operation. As a result of the seizure, the Cruiser Division was reorganized as the East Asia Squadron. Both ships were present in the Philippines in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Manila Bay between American and Spanish squadrons during the Spanish–American War in 1898. Diederichs hoped to use the crisis as an opportunity to seize another naval base in the region, though this was unsuccessful.

''Prinzess Wilhelm'' returned to Germany in 1899 and was modernized in 1899–1903. ''Irene'' followed her sister back to Germany in 1901, and was similarly modified in 1903–1905. Both ships remained in service until early 1914, when they were retired from front-line service and used for secondary duties. ''Irene'' was converted into a submarine tender. She served in this capacity until 1921, when she was sold for scrap and broken up the following year. ''Prinzess Wilhelm'' was reduced to a mine hulk in February 1914 and ultimately broken up for scrap in 1922.

Notes

References

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Further reading

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{{German protected cruisers

Cruiser classes