SMS Prinzregent Luitpold

SMS Prinzregent Luitpold
History
German Empire
Name	Prinzregent Luitpold
Namesake	Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down	October 1910
Launched	17 February 1912
Commissioned	19 August 1913
Fate	Scuttled at Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow 21 June 1919
Notes	Raised in 1931 and broken up for scrapping 1933
General characteristics
Class and type	Kaiser-class battleship
Displacement	Normal: 24,724 t (24,334 long tons) Full load: 27,000 t (27,000 long tons)
Length	172.4 m (565 ft 7 in)
Beam	29.0 m (95 ft 2 in)
Draft	9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Installed power	14 × water-tube boilers 25,644 shp (19,123 kW)
Propulsion	2 × steam turbines 2 × screw propellers
Speed	21.7 knots (40.2 km/h; 25.0 mph)
Range	7,900 nmi (14,600 km; 9,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Crew	41 officers 1,043 enlisted
Armament	10 × 30.5 cm (12 in) guns 14 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 12 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns 5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Belt 350 mm (13.8 in) Conning tower: 400 mm (15.7 in) Turrets: 300 mm (11.8 in)

SMS Prinzregent Luitpold^[a] was the fifth and final vessel of the Kaiser class of dreadnought battleships 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 30.5-centimeter (12 in) guns in five twin turrets, and had a top speed of 21.7 knots (40.2 km/h; 25.0 mph).

Prinzregent Luitpold was assigned to III Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career; in December 1916, she was transferred to IV Battle Squadron. Along with her four sister ships, Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin, and König Albert, 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 West Estonian archipelago, 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 ships 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).