The list of ships of the Imperial German Navy includes all ships commissioned into service with the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine ) of Germany , covering the period from 1871, the creation of the German Empire , through to the end of the Empire in 1918.
A 1902 lithograph of SMS Oldenburg , Germany's last ironclad
Arminius class
Prinz Adalbert class (1,560 tons, 5 x 36pdr guns)
Kronprinz
Friedrich Carl class
König Wilhelm class, (9,750 tons, 33 x 72pdr guns)
Hansa class
Preussen class (6,800 tons)
Kaiser class (7,319 tons, 8 x 26 cm guns)
Sachsen class (7,800 tons, 6 x 26 cm guns)
Oldenburg class (5,250 tons, 8 x 24 cm guns)
Coastal defense ships [ edit ]
Lithograph of SMS Hagen in 1902
Dreadnoughts of the High Seas Fleet steam in a line of battle
Pre-Dreadnoughts
Brandenburg class (10,500 tons, 6 x 28 cm guns)
Kaiser Friedrich III class (11,600 tons, 4 x 24 cm guns)
Wittelsbach class (12,000 tons, 4 x 24 cm guns)
Braunschweig class (13,000 tons, 4 x 28 cm guns)
Deutschland class (13,000 tons, 4 x 28 cm guns)
Dreadnoughts
Main dreadnought classes
Nassau class (19,000 tons, 12 x 28 cm guns)
Helgoland class (23,000 tons, 12 x 30.5 cm guns)
Kaiser class (25,000 tons, 10 x 30.5 cm guns)
König class (26,000 tons, 10 x 30.5 cm guns)
Bayern class (29,000–32,000 tons, 8 x 38 cm guns)
L 20e α class (43,800–48,700 tons, 8 x 42 cm guns)
Seydlitz leads Moltke , Hindenburg , Derfflinger and Von der Tann into internment in Scapa Flow
Von der Tann class (19,400 tons, 8 x 28 cm guns)
Moltke class (23,000 tons, 10 x 28 cm guns)
Seydlitz class (25,000 tons, 10 x 28 cm guns)
Derfflinger class (27,000 tons, 8 x 30.5 cm guns)
Mackensen class (35,000 tons, 8 x 35 cm guns)
SMS Mackensen not completed
SMS Graf Spee not completed
SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich not completed
SMS Fürst Bismarck , not completed
Ersatz Yorck class (38,000 tons 8 x 38 cm guns)
SMS Ersatz Yorck not completed
SMS Ersatz Gneisenau ordered but construction not started
SMS Ersatz Scharnhorst ordered but construction not started
Hertha on a visit to the United States in 1909
Irene class (5,000 tons, 14 x 15 cm guns, 4 x 15 cm guns)
Kaiserin Augusta class (6,000 tons, 4 x 15 cm guns)
Victoria Louise class (5,700 tons, 2 x 21 cm guns, 8 x 15 cm guns)
Scharnhorst steaming at top speed
Fürst Bismarck class (10,700 tons, 4 x 24 cm guns, 12 x 15 cm guns)
Prinz Heinrich class (9,000 tons, 2 x 24 cm guns)
Prinz Adalbert class (9,000 tons, 4 x 21 cm guns)
Roon class (10,000 tons, 4 x 21 cm guns)
Scharnhorst class (11,600 tons, 8 x 21 cm guns)
Blücher class (15,800 tons, 12 x 21 cm guns)
Unprotected cruisers [ edit ]
1902 lithograph of SMS Gefion
Schwalbe class (1,359 tons, 8 x 10.5 cm guns)
Bussard class (1,650 tons, 8 x 10.5 cm guns)
Gefion class (3,700 tons, 10 x 10.5 cm guns)
Karlsruhe underway
Gazelle class (2,700 tons, 10 x 10.5 cm guns)
Bremen class (3,300 tons 10 x 10.5 cm guns, 2 x 15 cm guns)
Königsberg class (1905) (3,400 tons 10 x 10.5 cm guns)
Dresden class (3,700 tons 10 x 10.5 cm guns)
Kolberg class (4,400 tons 12 x 10.5 cm guns, 6 x 15 cm guns)
Magdeburg class (4,500 tons 12 x 10.5 cm guns, 7 x 15 cm guns)
Karlsruhe class (4,900 tons 12 x 10.5 cm guns)
Graudenz class (4,900 tons 12 x 10.5 cm guns, 7 x 15 cm guns)
Pillau class (4,400 tons 8 x 15 cm guns)
Wiesbaden class (5,000 tons 8 x 15 cm guns)
Königsberg class (1915) (5,400 tons 8 x 15 cm guns)
Cöln class (5,600 tons 8 x 15 cm guns)
Minelaying cruisers [ edit ]
Nautilus passing under the Levensau High Bridge in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
I class (12,585 tons, 23–29 aircraft)
I , 1915 passenger ship Ausonia and under conversion as naval vessel 1918, not completed and scrapped 1922
Auxiliary minelayers [ edit ]
SMS Graf von Goetzen , 1915 1,575 t [1 × 10.5 cm (4 in) gun; 1 × 8.8 cm (3 in) gun;2 × 37 mm revolver guns]
Lithograph of Greif (left), Meteor (center), and Jagd (right) by Willy Stöwer
Zieten class (1,152 tons, 6 x 5 cm guns)
Blitz class (1,486 tons, 6 x 8.8 cm guns)
Greif class (2,266 tons, 2 x 10.5 cm guns, 8 x 8.8 cm guns)
Wacht class (1,499 tons, 3 x 10.5 cm guns, 4 x 8.8 cm guns)
Meteor class (1,078 tons, 4 x 8.8 cm guns)
Hela class (2,000 tons, 4 x 8.8 cm guns)
1902 lithograph of Iltis
Camäleon class
Albatross class (786 tons, 2 x 15 cm guns; 2 x 12 cm guns)
Wespe class (1,163 tons, 1 x 30.5 cm gun, 2 x 8.7 cm guns)
SMS Wespe , 1876
SMS Viper , 1876
SMS Biene , 1876
SMS Mücke , 1877
SMS Scorpion , 1877
SMS Basilisk , 1878
SMS Camaeleon , 1878
SMS Crocodill , 1879
SMS Salamander (1880) , 1880
SMS Natter , 1880
SMS Hummel , 1881
Iltis class (1,050 tons, 2 x 10.5 cm guns, 4 x 8.8 cm guns)
A painting of Stosch , Stein , and Gneisenau under sail, by Alexander Kircher
Torpedo-boats and destroyers [ edit ]
Illustration of a division of torpedo boats in 1902
In the Imperial German Navy, there was no clear distinction between torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers , which were all numbered in the same series, the number being preceded by a letter that represented the building contractor. A new numbering series began in 1911; hence years of construction are appended in brackets below, to distinguish the two series.
S90 class (1898–1907)
SMS S90
SMS S91
SMS S92
SMS S93
SMS S94
SMS S95
SMS S96
SMS S97
SMS S98
SMS S99
SMS S100
SMS S101
SMS S102
SMS S103
SMS S104
SMS S105
SMS S106
SMS S107
Illustration of G108 and S102 in 1902
SMS G108
SMS G109
SMS G110
SMS G111
SMS G112
SMS G113
SMS S114
SMS S115
SMS S116
SMS S117
SMS S118
SMS S119
SMS S120
SMS S121
SMS S122
SMS S123
SMS S124
SMS S125
SMS S126
SMS S127
SMS S128
SMS S129
SMS S130
SMS S131
SMS G132
SMS G133
SMS G134
SMS G135
SMS G136
G137 on trials in 1907
S138 class (1906–11)
SMS G138
SMS G139
SMS G140
SMS G141
SMS G142
SMS G143
SMS G144
SMS G145
SMS G146
SMS G147
SMS G148
SMS G149
SMS V150
SMS V151
SMS V152
SMS V153
SMS V154
SMS V155
SMS V156
SMS V157
SMS V158
SMS V159
SMS V160
SMS V161
SMS V162
SMS V163
SMS V164
SMS S165
SMS S166
SMS S167
SMS S168
SMS G169
SMS G170
SMS G171
SMS G172
SMS G173
SMS G174
SMS G175
SMS S176
SMS S177
SMS S178
SMS S179
SMS V180
SMS V181
SMS V182
SMS V183
SMS V184
SMS V185
SMS V186
SMS V187
SMS V188
SMS V189
SMS V190
SMS V191
SMS G192
SMS G193
SMS G194
SMS G195
SMS G196
SMS G197
V1 class (1911–13)
SMS V1
SMS V2
SMS V3
SMS V4
SMS V5
SMS V6
SMS G7
SMS G8
SMS G9
SMS G10
SMS G11
SMS G12
SMS S13
SMS S14
SMS S15
SMS S16
SMS S17
SMS S18
SMS S19
SMS S20
SMS S21
SMS S22
SMS S23
SMS S24
V25 class (1913–15)
B97 class
SMS B97
SMS B98
SMS V99
SMS V100
SMS B109
SMS B110
SMS B111
SMS B112
G101 class
SMS G101
SMS G102
SMS G103
SMS G104
V105 class
S113 class
SMS S113
SMS S114
SMS S115
SMS V116
SMS V117
SMS V118
SMS V119
SMS V120
SMS V121
SMS B122
SMS B123
SMS B124
G96 class (1915–16)
SMS G96
SMS V125
SMS V126
SMS V127
SMS V128
SMS V129
SMS V130
SMS V140
SMS V141
SMS V142
SMS V143
SMS V144
SMS S131
SMS S132
SMS S133
SMS S134
SMS S135
SMS S136
SMS S137
SMS S138
SMS S139
SMS H145
SMS H146
SMS H147
SMS G148
SMS G149
SMS G150
SMS WW151
SMS S152
SMS S153
SMS S154
SMS S155
SMS S156
SMS S157
SMS V158
SMS V159
SMS V160
SMS V161
SMS V162
SMS V163
SMS V164
SMS V165
SMS H166
SMS H167
SMS H168
SMS H169
V170 class (1918)
SMS V170
SMS V171
SMS V172
SMS V173
SMS V174
SMS V175
SMS V176
SMS V177
SMS V203
SMS V204
SMS V205
SMS V206
SMS V207
SMS V208
SMS V209
SMS V210
SMS S178
SMS S179
SMS S180
SMS S181
SMS S182
SMS S183
SMS S184
SMS S185
SMS S211
SMS S212
SMS S213
SMS S214
SMS S215
SMS S216
SMS S217
SMS S218
SMS S219
SMS S220
SMS S221
SMS S222
SMS S223
SMS H186
SMS H187
SMS H188
SMS H189
SMS H190
SMS H191
SMS H192
SMS H193
SMS H194
SMS H195
SMS H196
SMS H197
SMS H198
SMS H199
SMS H200
SMS H201
SMS H202