SMS Fürst Bismarck

SMS Fürst Bismarck (Prince Bismarck) was Germany's first armored cruiser, built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s. Built in response to widespread foreign adoption of the type, Fürst Bismarck was intended to serve abroad in the German colonial empire and as a scout for the main fleet in home waters. The ship traced its origin to a failed design competition in the early 1890s that was heavily influenced by the new emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Though the competition failed to produce a workable design, efforts to produce eventually resulted in the development of Fürst Bismarck, which was in many respects a cruiser version of the contemporary Kaiser Friedrich III class of battleships. Fürst Bismarck carried the same main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in)guns as the battleships, but was faster due to a longer, lighter hull and more powerful engines.

Completion of the ship was rushed in early 1900 due to the outbreak of the Boxer Uprising in China the previous year; Fürst Bismarck arrived there later that year, becoming the flagship of the East Asia Squadron. Most of the initial fighting had taken place by the time the ship arrived, but she participated in a blockade of the Yangtze as part of the campaign to defeat the Boxers. From 1901 to 1909, Fürst Bismarck remained on station as the squadron flagship; most of her time was spent on routine patrols in the region, training exercises with other ships of the squadron, and visits to foreign ports. During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, a pair of damaged Russian warships sheltered at the German naval base at Qingdao, so Fürst Bismarck and other units of the squadron had to intern them for the rest of the conflict.

In April 1909, the new armored cruiser Scharnhorst arrived to relieve Fürst Bismarck, allowing the latter to return to Germany for repairs and a modernization that lasted into 1910. The ship thereafter served as a training vessel, as she was no longer suitable to serve in a combat capacity. During World War I in 1916, she was disarmed before returning to training duties. Following Germany's defeat in late 1918, Fürst Bismarck was struck from the naval register in June 1919 and shortly thereafter sold to ship breakers. Demolition was completed the following year.