Friedrich Carl was the second member of the Prinz Adalbert class, which were ordered under the Second Naval Law of 1900.
The law called for a force of fourteen armored cruisers that would be able to serve in Germany's colonial empire and scout for the main German fleet in home waters.
The need to fill both roles was the result of budgetary limitations, which prevented Germany from building vessels specialized to each task.
The Prinz Adalbert design was based on that of the previous armored cruiser, Prinz Heinrich with incorporated a more powerful armament and more comprehensive armor protection.

Friedrich Carl was 126.5 m (415 ft) long overall, and she had a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft 4 in) and a draft of 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) forward.
She displaced 9,087 t (8,943 long tons; 10,017 short tons) as built and up to 9,875 t (9,719 long tons; 10,885 short tons) fully loaded.
The ship was powered by three vertical triple expansion engines driving three screws, with steam provided by fourteen coal-fired water-tube boilers.
Her engines were rated at 17,000 metric horsepower (13,000 kW) to yield a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), though she slightly exceeded these figures on speed trials.
She carried up to 1,630 t (1,600 long tons; 1,800 short tons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5,080 nautical miles (9,410 km; 5,850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph).
Her standard crew consisted of 35 officers and 551 enlisted men.

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of the superstructure.
Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns mounted in casemates in a two-story arrangement amidships.
For defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns in both single pedestal mounts and casemates.
Friedrich Carl was also equipped with four 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes submerged below the waterline, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside.

Friedrich Carl was protected by Krupp armor; her armored belt was 100 mm (3.9 in) thick amidships and reduced to 80 mm (3.1 in) forward and aft.
The deck armor was 40 to 80 mm (1.6 to 3.1 in) thick, and her forward conning tower was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick.
The main battery turrets had 150 mm thick sides and the casemate guns were protected with 100 mm of Krupp steel.
Friedrich Carl was the second member of the Prinz Adalbert class, which were ordered under the Second Naval Law of 1900. The law called for a force of fourteen armored cruisers that would be able to serve in Germany's colonial empire and scout for the main German fleet in home waters. The need to fill both roles was the result of budgetary limitations, which prevented Germany from building vessels specialized to each task. The Prinz Adalbert design was based on that of the previous armored cruiser, Prinz Heinrich with incorporated a more powerful armament and more comprehensive armor protection.
Friedrich Carl was 126.5 m (415 ft) long overall, and she had a beam of 19.6 m (64 ft 4 in) and a draft of 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) forward. She displaced 9,087 t (8,943 long tons; 10,017 short tons) as built and up to 9,875 t (9,719 long tons; 10,885 short tons) fully loaded. The ship was powered by three vertical triple expansion engines driving three screws, with steam provided by fourteen coal-fired water-tube boilers. Her engines were rated at 17,000 metric horsepower (13,000 kW) to yield a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), though she slightly exceeded these figures on speed trials. She carried up to 1,630 t (1,600 long tons; 1,800 short tons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5,080 nautical miles (9,410 km; 5,850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph). Her standard crew consisted of 35 officers and 551 enlisted men.
She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of the superstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns mounted in casemates in a two-story arrangement amidships. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns in both single pedestal mounts and casemates. Friedrich Carl was also equipped with four 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes submerged below the waterline, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside.
Friedrich Carl was protected by Krupp armor; her armored belt was 100 mm (3.9 in) thick amidships and reduced to 80 mm (3.1 in) forward and aft. The deck armor was 40 to 80 mm (1.6 to 3.1 in) thick, and her forward conning tower was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick. The main battery turrets had 150 mm thick sides and the casemate guns were protected with 100 mm of Krupp steel.
SMS Friedrich Carl