SMY Hohenzollern

Imperial Yacht Hohenzollern I (Willy Stöwer, ca. 1888)
History
German Empire
Name	S.M.Y. Hohenzollern I
Builder	Norddeutsche Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Kiel
Laid down	1876
Launched	1878
Renamed	Kaiseradler 1892
Fate	Scrapped in 1912
German Empire
Name	S.M.Y. Hohenzollern II
Builder	AG Vulcan Stettin
Launched	27 June 1892
In service	1893
Out of service	1920
Fate	Scrapped in 1923
German Empire
Name	S.M.Y. Hohenzollern III
Launched	September 1914
Fate	Scrapped in 1923
Notes	Never finished
General characteristics SMY Hohenzollern I
Type	Royal Yacht
Displacement	6,821 t (6,713 long tons) standard 7,718 t (7,596 long tons) full load
Length	88 m (288 ft 9 in)
Beam	17.7 m (58 ft 1 in)
Draft	4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam engine
General characteristics SMY Hohenzollern II
Type	Royal Yacht
Length	120 m (393 ft 8 in)
Beam	14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam engine
Notes	The ship became property of the Weimar Republic

SMY Hohenzollern (German: Seiner Majestät Yacht Hohenzollern) was the name of several yachts used by the German Emperors between 1878 and 1918, named after their House of Hohenzollern.

The first Hohenzollern was built 1876–1878 by Norddeutsche Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Kiel. Her interiors were designed by architect Heinrich Moldenschardt. In 1892 she was renamed Kaiseradler (Imperial eagle) and scrapped in 1912.

Hohenzollern II was launched on 27 June 1892,^[1] the build completed the same year by AG Vulcan Stettin. She was 120 metres (390 ft) long, had a beam of 14 metres (46 ft) and drew 5.6 metres (18 ft), with 9,588 indicated horsepower (7,150 kW).

She was used as the Imperial Yacht and aviso from 1893 to July 1914. From 1894 to 1914, with the exception of 1906, Emperor Wilhelm II used her on his annual prolonged Nordlandfahrt trips to Norway. In total he spent over four years on board.

In June 1914 Hohenzollern II attended the Kiel regatta and on 25 June the last state banquet was held on board to entertain officers of the British fleet whose ships had been invited to attend.^[2]

At the end of July 1914 Hohenzollern II was put out of service in Kiel, the last captain being Kapitän zur See Johannes V. Karpf. The ship became property of the Weimar Republic in 1918. Struck on 27 February 1920, she was scrapped in 1923 in Wilhelmshaven.

She was captained by Erich Raeder during the Edwardian era.

Hohenzollern III was launched in September 1914 in Stettin but never finished due to war. She was struck in 1919 and scrapped in 1923 at Deutsche Werke in Kiel.

The imperial yacht was the subject of the Yacht issue produced for postal use in German colonies.

• Frampton, Viktor; Freivogel, Zvonmir; Kindrachuk, Mark & Smyers, Richard Paul (2010). "Question 25/46: German Imperial Yachts". Warship International. XLVII (3): 209–211. ISSN 0043-0374.
• Warship International Staff (2015). "International Fleet Review at the Opening of the Kiel Canal, 20 June 1895". Warship International. LII (3): 255–263. ISSN 0043-0374.

Media related to Ships named Hohenzollern at Wikimedia Commons

• Klaus Kramer - S.M.Y. Hohenzollern
• https://www.hermann-foettinger.de/Schiffe/HohenzollernIII/Hohenzollern.htm

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