SMS Grosser Kurfürst
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | SMS Grosser Kurfürst | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | battleship | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | German Reich | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Imperial German Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War I | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | North Atlantic Ocean | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Scotland | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 3 km from land |
| Position | 58.8969, -3.1845 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SMS Grosser Kurfürst was the second dreadnought battleship of the four-ship König class. Grosser Kurfürst (or Großer Kurfürst) served in the Imperial German Navy during World War I. The battleship was laid down in October 1911 and launched on 5 May 1913. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 30 July 1914, days before the outbreak of war between Germany and the United Kingdom. Her name means "Great Elector", and refers to Frederick William I, the Prince-elector of Brandenburg. Grosser Kurfürst was armed with ten 30.5-centimeter (12 in) guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph).
Along with her three sister ships, König, Markgraf, and Kronprinz, Grosser Kurfürst took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The ship was subjected to heavy fire at Jutland, but was not seriously damaged. She shelled Russian positions during Operation Albion in September and October 1917. Grosser Kurfürst was involved in a number of accidents during her service career; she collided with König and Kronprinz, grounded several times, was torpedoed once, and hit a mine.
After Germany's defeat and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, Grosser Kurfürst and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow.
Location
- Recorded position: 58.8969, -3.1845 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Atlantic Ocean
- Nearest coast: Scotland
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1913) (revision 1377988453), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- SMS Friedrich der Grosse 0 km
- SMS König Albert 0 km
- SMS Bayern 0 km
- SMS Karlsruhe 1914 · 1 km
- SMS Kronprinz 1916 · 1 km
- SMS Markgraf 1919 · 1 km
Other wrecks of the World War I
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All 163 wrecks of the World War I →
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