Kaiser Wilhelm der Große

The famous German passenger ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Große was modified into an auxiliary cruiser at the outbreak of World War I. Because of its high speed it was seen as an ideal weapon, but the high coal consumption made the ship an easy target for the Royal Navy. After a quite unsuccessful operation near the Canary Islands (2 ship were sunk), the ship was surprised by the old British cruiser Highflyer while being resupplied at Rio de Oro. The German ship capsized and was sunk after a short battle on 26.08.1914. During its operations in the North Atlantic, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Große sunk two ships.