SMS Dresden ("His Majesty's Ship Dresden")[a] was a German light cruiser built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The lead ship of her class, she was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in 1906, launched in October 1907, and completed in November 1908. Her entrance into service was delayed by accidents during sea trials, including a collision with another vessel which necessitated major repairs. Like the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers upon which her design was based, Dresden was armed with ten 10.5cm (4.1in) SK L/40 guns and two torpedo tubes.
Dresden spent much of her career overseas. After commissioning, she visited the United States in 1909 during the Hudson–Fulton Celebration, before returning to Germany to serve in the reconnaissance force of the High Seas Fleet for three years. In 1913, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Division. She was then sent to the Caribbean to protect German nationals during the Mexican Revolution. In mid-1914, she carried the former dictator Victoriano Huerta to Jamaica, where the British had granted him asylum. She was due to return to Germany in July 1914, but was prevented from doing so by the outbreak of World War I. At the onset of hostilities, Dresden operated as a commerce raider in South American waters in the Atlantic, then moved to the Pacific Ocean in September and joined Maximilian von Spee's East Asia Squadron.
Dresden saw action in the Battle of Coronel in November, where she engaged the British cruiser HMSGlasgow, and at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December, where she was the only German warship to escape destruction. She eluded her British pursuers for several more months, until she put into Robinson Crusoe Island in March 1915. Her engines were worn out and she had almost no coal left for her boilers, so the ship's captain contacted the local Chilean authorities to have Dresden interned. She was trapped by British cruisers, including her old opponent Glasgow. The British violated Chilean neutrality and opened fire on the ship in the Battle of Más a Tierra. The Germans scuttledDresden and the majority of the crew escaped to be interned in Chile for the duration of the war. The wreck remains in the harbor; several artifacts, including her bell and compass, have been returned to Germany.
The 1898 Naval Law authorized the construction of thirty new light cruisers; the program began with the Gazelle class, which was developed into the Bremen and Königsberg classes, both of which incorporated incremental improvements over the course of construction. The primary alteration for the two Dresden-class cruisers, assigned to the 1906 fiscal year, consisted of an additional boiler for the propulsion system to increase engine power.[1][2]
Dresden was 118.3 meters (388ft 1in)long overall with a beam of 13.5m (44ft 3in) and a draft of 5.53m (18ft 2in) forward. She displaced3,664 metric tons (3,606 long tons) as designed and up to 4,268t (4,201 long tons) at full load. The ship had a minimal superstructure, which consisted of a small conning tower and bridge structure. Her hull had a raised forecastle and quarterdeck, along with a pronounced ram bow. She was fitted with two pole masts. She had a crew of 18 officers and 343 enlisted men.[3]
Her propulsion system consisted of two Parsonssteam turbines, which drove a pair of screw propellers. Steam was provided by twelve coal-fired water-tube boilers that were vented through three funnels. The propulsion system was designed to give 15,000 metric horsepower (11,000kW) for a top speed of 24 knots (44km/h; 28mph). Dresden carried up to 860t (850 long tons) of coal, which gave her a range of 3,600 nautical miles (6,700km; 4,100mi) at 14 knots (26km/h; 16mph).[3]
The ship was armed with a main battery of ten 10.5cm (4.1in) SK L/40 guns in single pivot mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle; six were located on the broadside, three on either side; and two were placed side by side aft. The guns could engage targets out to 12,200m (13,300yd). They were supplied with 1,500 rounds of ammunition, for 150 shells per gun. The secondary battery comprised eight 5.2cm (2in) SK L/55 guns, with 4,000rounds of ammunition. She was also equipped with two 45cm (17.7in)torpedo tubes with four torpedoes, mounted on the deck.[3]
The ship was protected by a curved armored deck that was up to 80mm (3.1in) thick. It sloped downward at the sides of the hull to provide defense against incoming fire; the sloped portion was 50mm (2in) thick. The conning tower had 100mm (3.9in) thick sides, and the guns were protected by 50mm (2in) thick gun shields.[3]
Service history
Dresden visiting New York City in October 1909
Dresden was ordered under the contract name ErsatzComet.[b] She was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in 1906 and launched on 5 October 1907. The Oberbürgermeister of her namesake city, Otto Beutler, christened the ship. Fitting-out work then commenced, and Dresden was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 14 November 1908. Following her commissioning, Dresden began her sea trials. On 28 November she accidentally collided with and sank the Swedish galeasCäcilie outside Kiel.[4][5]Dresden's starboard propeller shaft was shoved in 30mm (1.2in),[6] and she required six months of repair work. She resumed sea trials in 1909, but a turbine accident necessitated further repairs, which lasted until September.[4]
Although Dresden had not completed the required testing, her trials were declared over on 7 September, as she had been ordered to visit the United States.[4] The purpose of the voyage was to represent Germany at the Hudson–Fulton Celebration in New York; Dresden was joined by the protected cruisersHertha and Victoria Louise and the light cruiser Bremen.[7]Dresden left Wilhelmshaven on 11 September and stopped in Newport, where she met the rest of the ships of the squadron. The ships arrived in New York on 24 September, remained there until 9 October, and arrived back in Germany on 22 October.[4]
Dresden then joined the reconnaissance force for the High Seas Fleet; the following two years consisted of the peacetime routine of squadron exercises, training cruises, and annual fleet exercises. On 16 February 1910, she collided with the light cruiser Königsberg.[4] The collision caused significant damage to Dresden, though no one on either vessel was injured. She made it back to Kiel for repairs,[8] which lasted eight days. Dresden visited Hamburg on 13–17 May that year. From 14 to 20 April 1912, she was temporarily transferred to the Training Squadron, along with the armored cruiserFriedrich Carl and the light cruiser Mainz. For the year 1911–12, Dresden won the Kaiser's Schießpreis (Shooting Prize) for excellent gunnery amongst the light cruisers of the High Seas Fleet. From September 1912 through September 1913, she was commanded by Fregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain) Fritz Lüdecke, who would command the ship again during World War I.[9]
On 6 April 1913, she and the cruiser Strassburg were sent from Kiel to the Adriatic Sea,[10] where she joined the Mittelmeer-Division (Mediterranean Division), centered on the battlecruiserGoeben and commanded by Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Konrad Trummler. The ships cruised the eastern Mediterranean for several months, and in late August, Dresden was ordered to return to Germany. After arriving in Kiel on 23 September, she was taken into the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) for an overhaul that lasted until the end of December. She was scheduled to return to the Mediterranean Division, but the Admiralstab (Admiralty Staff) reassigned Dresden to the North American station to protect German interests in the Mexican Revolution. The cruiser Bremen, then in North American waters, was also due to return to Germany, but her intended replacement, Karlsruhe, had not yet entered service. On 27 December 1913, Dresden departed Germany and arrived off Vera Cruz on 21 January 1914, under the command of FregattenkapitänErich Köhler.[9] The United States had already sent a squadron of warships to the city, as had several other countries.[11]
Dresden tied to a mooring buoy, location and date unknown
The Admiralstab ordered Hertha, which had been on a training cruise for naval cadets, to join Dresden off Mexico. Bremen was also recalled to reinforce the German naval contingent; after arriving, she was tasked with transferring European nationals to German HAPAG liners. Dresden and the British cruiser HMSHermione rescued 900 American citizens trapped in a hotel in Vera Cruz and transferred them to American warships. The German consul in Mexico City requested additional forces, and so Dresden provided a landing party of a maat (Junior Petty Officer) and ten sailors, armed with two MG 08machine guns.[12] On 15 April 1914, Dresden steamed to Tampico on Mexico's Gulf coast.[13] That month, the German-flagged merchant ship SSYpiranga arrived in Mexico, carrying a load of small arms for the regime of Mexican dictator Victoriano Huerta. The United States had put an arms embargo into effect in an attempt to reduce the violence of the civil war. The US Navy intercepted Ypiranga on 21 April. Dresden arrived, confiscated the merchantman, and pressed her into naval service to transport German refugees out of Mexico. Despite the American embargo, the Germans delivered the weapons and ammunition to the Mexican government on 28 May.[14]
On 20 July, after the Huerta regime was toppled, Dresden carried Huerta, his vice president, Aureliano Blanquet, and their families to Kingston, Jamaica, where Britain had granted them asylum. Upon arriving in Kingston on the 25th, Köhler learned of the rising political tensions in Europe during the July Crisis that followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. By this time, the ship was in need of a refit in Germany, and met with her replacement, Karlsruhe, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the following day. Lüdecke, who had arrived in command of Karlsruhe, traded places with Köhler aboard Dresden. The Admiralstab initially ordered Dresden to return to Germany for overhaul, but the heightened threat of war by the 31st led the staff to countermand the order, instead instructing Lüdecke to prepare to conduct Handelskrieg (trade war) in the Atlantic.[12][15]
World War I
After receiving the order to remain in the Atlantic, Lüdecke turned his ship south while maintaining radio silence to prevent hostile warships from discovering his vessel. On the night of 4–5 August, he received a radio report informing him of Britain's declaration of war on Germany. He chose the South Atlantic as Dresden's operational area, and steamed to the Brazilian coast. Off the mouth of the Amazon River, he stopped a British merchant ship on 6 August.[12] The ship, SSDrumcliffe, whose captain professed to know nothing of Britain's entry into the war, was permitted to proceed unmolested in accordance with the rules set forth in the Hague Convention of 1907. Dresden rendezvoused with the German collierSSCorrientes, a converted HSDG vessel. The cruiser moved to the Rocas Atoll on the 12th, along with the HAPAG steamers Prussia, Baden, and Persia. After departing the atoll, en route to Trindade, Dresden caught the British steamer SSHyades; Lüdecke took off the ship's crew and then sank the merchantman. Dresden captured the British collier SSHolmwood on 24 August and sank her after evacuating her crew. After arriving in Trindade, she rendezvoused with the gunboatEber and several steamers.[16][17]
On 26 August, while steaming off the mouth of the Río de la Plata, she caught two more British steamers, but the poor condition of Dresden's engines curtailed further operations.[18] On 5 September, Dresden put into Hoste Island for engine maintenance until the 16th.[19] While the ship was there, the HAPAG steamer Santa Isabel arrived from Punta Arenas with news of the war, and the heavy merchant traffic off the western coast of South America. Lüdecke decided to steam there, and on 18 September Dresden passed the Strait of Magellan.[18] While en route, Dresden encountered the French steamer SSOrtega; Lüdecke refrained from attacking the transport ship, since she had fled into neutral waters.[19] After steaming up the Chilean coast, she stopped in the Juan Fernández Islands, where she made radio contact with the light cruiser Leipzig,[18] which was operating on the Pacific coast of South America.[20]Dresden saw no further success against British shipping, and on 12 October, she joined Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Maximilian von Spee's East Asia Squadron, which had crossed the Pacific and was coaling at Easter Island.[21] The following day, Lüdecke was promoted to Kapitän zur See (Captain at Sea).[22]
On 18 October, Dresden and the East Asia Squadron, centered on the armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, departed Easter Island for the South American coast. They arrived at Más a Fuera island on 26 October. The following evening, the German cruisers escorted the auxiliary cruiserSSPrinz Eitel Friedrich and the merchant ships SSYorck and SSGöttingen to Chile. The flotilla arrived off Valparaiso on 30 October, and the following evening, Spee received intelligence that a British cruiser was at the Chilean port of Coronel. Spee decided his squadron should ambush the cruiser—HMSGlasgow—when it was forced to leave port due to Chile's neutral status, which required belligerent warships to leave after twenty-four hours. Spee did not realize Glasgow was in the company of Rear AdmiralChristopher Craddock's 4th Cruiser Squadron, which also included the armored cruisers Monmouth and Good Hope and the auxiliary cruiser Otranto.[23]
Early on the morning of 1 November, Spee took his squadron out of Valparaiso, steaming at 14 knots (26km/h; 16mph) south toward Coronel. At around 16:00, Leipzig spotted the smoke column from the leading British cruiser. By 16:25, the other two ships had been spotted. The two squadrons slowly closed the distance, until the Germans opened fire at 18:34, at a range of 10,400m (11,400yd). The German ships engaged their opposite numbers, with Dresden firing on Otranto. After Dresden's third salvo, Otranto turned away; the Germans claimed a hit that caused a fire,[24] though Otranto reported taking no damage.[25] Following Otranto's departure, Dresden shifted her fire to Glasgow, which was also targeted by Leipzig. The two German cruisers hit their British opponent five times.[26]
At around 19:30, Spee ordered Dresden and Leipzig to launch a torpedo attack against the damaged British armored cruisers. Dresden increased speed to position herself off the British bows, and briefly spotted Glasgow as she was withdrawing, but the British cruiser disappeared in the haze and gathering darkness. Dresden then encountered Leipzig; both ships initially thought the other was hostile. Dresden's crew was loading a torpedo when the two ships confirmed each other's identity. By 22:00, Dresden and the other two light cruisers were deployed in a line that searched unsuccessfully for the British cruisers.[27]Dresden had emerged from the battle completely unscathed.[28]
On 3 November, Spee took Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Nürnberg back to Valparaiso for provisioning and to consult with the Admiralstab. Neutrality laws permitted only three belligerent warships in a port at a given time. Dresden and Leipzig remained with the squadron's colliers in Más a Fuera. Spee returned to Más a Fuera on 6 November, and detached Dresden and Leipzig for a visit to Valparaiso, where they also restocked their supplies. The two cruisers arrived on 12 November, left the following day, and met the rest of the squadron at sea on 18 November. Three days later, the squadron anchored in St. Quentin Bay in the Gulf of Penas, where they coaled. The Royal Navy had deployed Vice Admiral Doveton Sturdee's pair of battlecruisers, Invincible and Inflexible, to hunt down the German squadron. They left Britain on 11 November, and arrived in the Falkland Islands on 7 December. There, they joined the armored cruisers Cornwall, Kent, and Carnarvon, and the light cruisers Glasgow and Bristol.[29]
On 26 November, the German East Asia Squadron left St. Quentin Bay, bound for the Atlantic. On 2 December, they caught the Canadian sailing ship Drummuir, which was carrying 2,750t (2,710 long tons) of high-grade Cardiff coal. The following morning, the Germans anchored off Picton Island, where they unloaded the coal from Drummuir into their own auxiliaries. On the morning of 6 December, Spee held a council aboard Scharnhorst to discuss their next moves. With the support of the captains of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, he successfully argued for an attack on the Falklands to destroy the British wireless station and coal stocks there. Lüdecke and the captains of Leipzig and Nürnberg all opposed the plan, and were in favor of bypassing the Falklands and proceeding to the La Plata area to continue to raid British shipping.[30]
On the afternoon of 6 December, the German ships departed Picton Island, bound for the Falklands. On 7 December, they rounded Tierra del Fuego and turned north into the Atlantic. They arrived off the Falklands at around 02:00; three hours later, Spee detached Gneisenau and Nürnberg to land a party ashore. By 08:30, the ships were approaching Port Stanley, when they noticed thick columns of smoke rising from the harbor. After closing to the harbor entrance, they quickly realized they were confronted by a much more powerful squadron, which was just getting up steam. Spee immediately broke off the operation and turned east to flee before the British ships could catch his squadron. By 10:45, Gneisenau and Nürnberg had rejoined the fleet, and the German auxiliaries were detached to seek shelter in the maze of islands off Cape Horn.[31]
The British ships set off in pursuit, and by 12:50, Sturdee's two battlecruisers had overtaken the Germans. A minute later, he gave the order to open fire at the trailing German ship, Leipzig. Spee ordered the three small cruisers to try to escape to the south, while he turned back with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in an attempt to hold off the British squadron. Sturdee had foreseen this possibility, and so had ordered his armored and light cruisers to pursue the German light cruisers. The battlecruisers quickly overwhelmed Spee's armored cruisers, and destroyed them with heavy loss of life. Dresden, with her turbine engines, was able to outpace her pursuers, and was the only German warship to escape destruction. Lüdecke decided to take his ship into the islands off South America to keep a steady supply of coal available.[32]
On 9 December, she passed back around Cape Horn to return to the Pacific.[33] That day, she anchored in Sholl Bay, with only 160t (157 long tons) of coal remaining. Oberleutnant zur See (lieutenant at sea) Wilhelm Canaris convinced the Chilean naval representative for the region to permit Dresden to remain in the area for an extra twenty-four hours so enough coal could be taken aboard to reach Punta Arenas.[34] She arrived there on 12 December, and received 750t (740 long tons) of coal from a German steamer.[33] The Admiralstab hoped Dresden would be able to break through to the Atlantic and return to Germany, but the poor condition of her engines precluded this. Lüdecke instead decided to attempt to cross the Pacific via Easter Island, the Solomon Islands, and the Dutch East Indies and raid commerce in the Indian Ocean.[35]Dresden took on another 1,600t (1,575 long tons) of coal on 19 January.[36] On 14 February, Dresden left the islands off the South American coast for the South Pacific. On 27 February, the cruiser captured the British barqueConway Castle south of Más a Tierra.[33] From December to February, the German liner Sierra Cordoba had supplied Dresden and had accompanied her northward to a final coaling at Juan Fernández Islands just before the cruiser was scuttled.[37]
On 8 March, Dresden was drifting in dense fog when lookouts spotted Kent, which also had her engines off, about 15 nautical miles (28km; 17mi) away. Both ships immediately raised steam, and Dresden escaped after a five-hour chase. The strenuous effort depleted her coal stocks and overtaxed her engines. Lüdecke decided his ship was no longer operational, and determined to have his ship interned to preserve it. The following morning, she put into Más a Fuera, dropping anchor in Cumberland Bay at 8:30. The following day, Lüdecke received by wireless the German Admiralty's permission to let Dresden be interned, and so Lüdecke informed the local Chilean official of his intention to do so.[38][39]
Dresden, flying a white flag, moments prior to her scuttling
On the morning of 14 March, Kent and Glasgow approached Cumberland Bay; their appearance was relayed back to Dresden by one of her pinnaces, which had been sent to patrol the entrance to the bay. Dresden was unable to maneuver, owing to her fuel shortage, and Lüdecke signaled that his ship was no longer a combatant. The British disregarded this message, as well as a Chilean vessel that approached them as they entered the bay. Glasgow opened fire, in violation of Chile's neutrality; Britain had already informed Chile that British warships would disregard international law if they located Dresden in Chilean territorial waters.[40] Shortly thereafter, Kent joined in the bombardment as well. The German gunners fired off three shots in response, but the guns were quickly knocked out by British gunfire.[41]
Lüdecke sent the signal "Am sending negotiator" to the British warships, and dispatched Canaris in a pinnace; Glasgow continued to bombard the defenseless cruiser. In another attempt to stop the attack, Lüdecke raised the white flag, which prompted Glasgow to cease fire. Canaris came aboard to speak with Captain John Luce; the former strongly protested the latter's violation of Chile's neutrality. Luce simply replied that he had his orders, and demanded an unconditional surrender. Canaris explained that Dresden had already been interned by Chile, and thereafter returned to his ship, which had in the meantime been prepared for scuttling.[40]
At 10:45, the scuttling charge detonated in the bow and exploded the forward ammunition magazines. The bow was badly mangled; in about half an hour, the ship had taken on enough water to sink. As it struck the sea floor, the bow was torn from the rest of the ship, which rolled over to starboard. As the rest of the hull settled below the waves, a second scuttling charge exploded in the ship's engine rooms.[42]
Most of the ship's crew managed to escape; only eight men were killed in the attack, with another twenty-nine wounded.[43] The British auxiliary cruiser HMSOrama took fifteen severely wounded men to Valparaiso; four of them died.[18] The destruction of his ship had left Lüdecke in shock, and so Canaris took responsibility for the fate of the ship's crew. They remained on the island for five days until two Chilean warships brought a German passenger ship to take the men to Quiriquina Island, where they were interned for the duration of the war. Canaris escaped from the internment camp on 5 August 1915 and reached Germany exactly two months later.[44] On 31 March 1917, a small group of men escaped on the Chilean barque Tinto; the voyage back to Germany lasted 120 days. The rest of the crew did not return to Germany until 1920.[18]
The wreck lies at a depth of 70 meters (230ft).[45] In 2002, the first survey of the wreck was done by a team led by James P. Delgado for the Sea Hunters documentary produced by the National Underwater and Marine Agency. The team included the archaeologist Dr. Willi Kramer, the first German to visit the wreck since she sank 88 years before.[46]Dresden lies on her starboard side pointed north, toward the beach. The wreck is heavily damaged; much of the upper works, including the bridge, the masts, the funnels, and many of the guns have been torn from the ship. The bow was cut off by the scuttling charges detonated by the ship's crew, and sits upright on the sea floor. The stern is also badly damaged, with the main deck blasted away and many shell holes in the ship's side.[47] Some of the damage to the aft of the ship appears to have been done by an undocumented salvage operation before Delgado's survey. According to German records, Dresden was carrying gold coins from their colony at Qingdao; Delgado speculated that this salvage work was an attempt to retrieve these.[48]
In 1965, the ship's compass and several flags were recovered and returned to Germany, where they are held at the German Naval Academy Mürwik in Flensburg-Mürwik.[49] In 2006, Chilean and German divers found and recovered Dresden's bell, which is now in Germany.[45]C. S. Forester's 1929 novel Brown on Resolution, and two subsequent movies, were inspired by the Dresden's escape and subsequent destruction.[50]
↑ German warships were ordered under provisional names. For new additions to the fleet, they were given a single letter; for those ships intended to replace older or lost vessels, they were ordered as "Ersatz (name of the ship to be replaced)".
Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee was a naval officer of the German Kaiserliche Marine, who commanded the East Asia Squadron during World War I. Spee entered the navy in 1878 and served in a variety of roles and locations, including on a colonial gunboat in German West Africa in the 1880s, the East Africa Squadron in the late 1890s, and as commander of several warships in the main German fleet in the early 1900s. During his time in Germany in the late 1880s and early 1890s, he married his wife, Margareta, and had three children, his sons Heinrich and Otto and his daughter Huberta. By 1912, he had returned to the East Asia Squadron as its commander, and was promoted to the rank of Vizeadmiral the following year.
SMS Scharnhorst was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of her class, which included SMS Gneisenau. Scharnhorst and her sister were enlarged versions of the preceding Roon class; they were equipped with a greater number of main guns and were capable of a higher top speed. The ship was named after the Prussian military reformer General Gerhard von Scharnhorst and commissioned into service on 24 October 1907.
SMS Gneisenau was an armored cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine, part of the two-ship Scharnhorst class. Named for the earlier screw corvette of the same name, the ship was laid down in June 1904 at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and commissioned in March 1908. She was armed with a main battery of eight 21 cm (8.3 in) guns, a significant increase in firepower over earlier German armored cruisers, and she had a top speed of 22.5 knots. Gneisenau initially served with the German fleet in I Scouting Group, though her service there was limited owing to the British development of the battlecruiser by 1909, which the less powerful armored cruisers could not effectively combat.
SMS Leipzig was the sixth of seven Bremen-class cruisers of the Imperial German Navy, named after the city of Leipzig. She was begun by AG Weser in Bremen in 1904, launched in March 1905 and commissioned in April 1906. Armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and two 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, Leipzig was capable of a top speed of 22.5 knots.
SMS Karlsruhe was a light cruiser of the Karlsruhe class built by the German Kaiserliche Marine. She had one sister ship, SMS Rostock; the ships were very similar to the previous Magdeburg-class cruisers. The ship was laid down in 1911, launched in November 1912, and completed by January 1914. Armed with twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns, Karlsruhe had a top speed of 28.5 knots, which allowed her to escape from British cruisers during her career.
SMS Arcona was the ninth member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser and aviso designs, combining the best aspects of both types in what became the progenitor of all future light cruisers of the Imperial fleet. Built to be able to serve with the main German fleet and as a colonial cruiser, she was armed with a battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots. Arcona was a modified version of the basic Gazelle design, with improved armor and additional coal storage for a longer cruising range.
SMS Bremen was the lead ship of the seven-vessel Bremen class of light cruisers, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1900s. She and her sister ships were ordered under the 1898 Naval Law that required new cruisers be built to replace obsolete vessels in the fleet. The design for the Bremen class was derived from the preceding Gazelle class, utilizing a larger hull that allowed for additional boilers that increased speed. Bremen was armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 22 knots.
SMS Wittelsbach was the lead ship of the Wittelsbach class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built for the Imperial German Navy. She was the first capital ship built under the Navy Law of 1898, brought about by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. Wittelsbach was laid down in 1899 at the Wilhelmshaven Navy Dockyard and completed in October 1902. She was armed with a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots.
SMS Wettin was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Wittelsbach class of the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was built by Schichau Seebeckwerft in Danzig. Wettin was laid down in October 1899, and was completed October 1902. She and her sister ships—Wittelsbach, Zähringen, Schwaben and Mecklenburg—were the first capital ships built under the Navy Law of 1898. Wettin was armed with a main battery of four 24 cm (9.4 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots.
The Dresden class was a pair of light cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy in the early part of the 20th century. The class comprised SMS Dresden, the lead ship, and SMS Emden. Both ships were laid down in 1906; Dresden was launched in 1907, and Emden followed in 1908. They entered service in 1908 and 1909, respectively. The design for the ships was an incremental improvement over the preceding Königsberg class, being slightly larger and slightly faster, but with the same primary armament of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns. Dresden and Emden were powered by steam turbines and triple expansion engines, respectively, as part of continued experiments with the new turbine technology.
The Battle of Más a Tierra was a World War I sea battle fought on 14 March 1915, near the Chilean island of Más a Tierra, between a British squadron and a German light cruiser. The battle saw the last remnant of the German East Asia Squadron destroyed, when SMS Dresden was cornered and scuttled in Cumberland Bay.
SMS Nürnberg, named after the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, was a Königsberg-class light cruiser built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sisters included Königsberg, Stettin, and Stuttgart. She was built by the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel, laid down in early 1906 and launched in August of that year. She was completed in April 1908. Nürnberg was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns, eight 5.2 cm (2 in) SK L/55 guns, and two submerged torpedo tubes. Her top speed was 23.4 knots.
SMS Geier was an unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class built for the German Imperial Navy. She was laid down in 1893 at the Imperial Dockyard in Wilhelmshaven, launched in October 1894, and commissioned into the fleet a year later in October 1895. Designed for service in Germany's overseas colonies, the ship required the comparatively heavy armament of eight 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/35 guns and a long cruising radius. She had a top speed of 15.5 kn.
SMS Leipzig was a German flush-deck steam corvette, the lead ship of the Leipzig class, named after the 1813 Battle of Leipzig. She was built for the Kaiserliche Marine in the 1870s, being laid down in early 1875, launched in September that year, and commissioned into the fleet in May 1877. She had one sister ship, SMS Prinz Adalbert. Intended for long cruises abroad, the ship was fitted with a full ship rig to supplement her steam engine if coal was unavailable. She carried a battery of twelve 17 cm (6.7 in) guns.
SMS Emden was the second and final member of the Dresden class of light cruisers built for the German Kaiserliche Marine. Named for the town of Emden, she was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig in 1906. The hull was launched in May 1908, and completed in July 1909. She had one sister ship, Dresden. Like the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers, Emden was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and two torpedo tubes.
SMS Falke was an unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class, built for the Imperial German Navy. She was the second member of the class of six vessels. The cruiser was laid down in 1890, launched in April 1891, and commissioned into the fleet in September of that month. Designed for overseas service, she carried a main battery of eight 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 15.5 knots.
SMS Tiger was the third member of the Iltis class of gunboats built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Other ships of the class were SMS Iltis, SMS Luchs, SMS Eber, SMS Jaguar and SMS Panther.
SMS Alexandrine was a member of the Carola class of steam corvettes built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the 1880s. Intended for service in the German colonial empire, the ship was designed with a combination of steam and sail power for extended range, and was equipped with a battery of ten 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns. Alexandrine was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel in 1882, she was launched in February 1885, and she was completed in October 1886 before being laid up after completing sea trials.
The Carola class was a group of six screw corvettes built by the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1870s and 1880s. The class comprised Carola, the lead ship, Olga, Marie, Sophie, Alexandrine, and Arcona. They were ordered to replace older sailing vessels that were no longer sufficient to protect German interests around the world. Intended for service in the German colonial empire, the ships were designed with a combination of steam and sail power for extended cruising range, and they were equipped with a battery of ten 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns. Relying primarily on sail power for their long-range deployments, the ships were obsolescent before construction began.
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