SMS ("His Majesty's Ship ") was the second member of the seven-vessel of light cruisers, built for the German (Imperial Navy) 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 class was derived from the preceding , utilizing a larger hull that allowed for additional boilers that increased speed. Named for the city of Hamburg, the ship was armed with a main battery of ten guns and had a top speed of .
served with the reconnaissance force of the main fleet for the majority of her early career, and during this period, she frequently escorted , the yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II. During World War I, she served as the deputy flagship of a flotilla of U-boats, and she frequently cruised with the High Seas Fleet during patrols in the North Sea. She was present at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where she was damaged in clashes with British light forces as the German fleet withdrew in the night. Obsolescent by that time, was reduced to a stationary headquarters ship and was also used as an accommodation ship for the rest of the war.
Following Germany's defeat, remained in Germany and was among the vessels permitted to the by the Treaty of Versailles. She was among the first vessels to be recommissioned in 1920 and in 1921, while escorting minesweepers, she engaged Soviet coastal artillery. Her crew assisted in the suppression of unrest in Hamburg in October 1923. Reduced to a training ship in 1926, she embarked on a world cruise, after which she was decommissioned and reduced to a barracks ship. She served in that capacity in Kiel until early 1944, when the Nazi-era moved her to Hamburg to be broken up; British bombers sank the ship in April before she could be dismantled. The wreck was raised after the war in 1949 and was finally scrapped by 1956.
Design
The German 1898 Naval Law called for the replacement of the fleet's older cruising vessels—steam corvettes, unprotected cruisers, and avisos—with modern light cruisers. The first tranche of vessels to fulfill this requirement, the , were designed to serve both as fleet scouts and as station ships in Germany's colonial empire. They provided the basis for subsequent designs, beginning with the that was designed in 1901–1903. The principle improvements consisted of a larger hull that allowed for an additional pair of boilers and a higher top speed.
was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward. She displaced as designed and up to 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 14 officers and 274–287 enlisted men.
Her propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion steam engines driving a pair of screw propellers. Steam was provided by ten coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers, which were vented through three funnels located amidships. Her propulsion system was rated at for a top speed of . carried up to of coal, which gave her a range of at .
The ship was armed with a main battery of ten SK L/40 guns in single 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 . They were supplied with 1,500 rounds of ammunition, for 150 shells per gun. For defense against torpedo boats, she carried ten Maxim guns in individual mounts. She was also equipped with two torpedo tubes with five torpedoes. They were submerged in the hull on the broadside.
The ship was protected by a curved armored deck that was up to thick; it sloped down at the sides to provide a measure of protection against enemy fire. The conning tower had thick sides, and the guns were protected by thick gun shields.
Service history Construction – 1907
, ordered under the contract name "K", was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in August 1902. She was launched of 25 July 1903; at the ceremonies, the First Mayor of Hamburg, Johann Heinrich Burchard christened the ship after the city. A shipyard crew then transferred the unfinished vessel to Kiel for fitting-out. was the first member of her class to enter service, being commissioned on 8 March 1904. The naval command intended to send as an escort for , the yacht for Kaiser Wilhelm II, but delays during her sea trials prevented her from joining until June. She thereafter operated with the yacht for the following three months, beginning with a voyage from Kiel to Hamburg, where Wilhelm II embarked upon for a sailing regatta. The ships then began a cruise to Norway from 7 July to 9 August; upon the Kaiser's return to Germany, he observed the fleet maneuvers in late August and early September aboard , with accompanying him.
Beginning on 28 September, joined the Reconnaissance Unit for the main fleet, taking the place of the light cruiser . She operated with the fleet that autumn and embarked on a winter training cruise in the Baltic Sea at the end of the year. The ship took part in the peacetime routine of unit and fleet exercises in 1905, interrupted by another voyage in company with Wilhelm II aboard to Helgoland in March and another to Pillau and Glücksburg in October. She also took part in a cruise with her steam turbine-equipped sister ship to compare the two vessels' propulsion systems. The years 1906 and 1907 passed uneventfully for , her time occupied with training exercises with the fleet. During this period, (FK—Frigate Captain) Oskar von Platen-Hallermund served as the ship's commander from September 1906 to the end of September 1907, when he was replaced by (KK—Corvette Captain) Ernst Ritter von Mann und Edler von Tiechler.
1908–1914
In February 1908, embarked on a major training cruise into the Atlantic with the other ships of the Reconnaissance Unit. The vessels steamed as far as Spain, where they visited Vigo. The ship once again escorted from 6 March to 19 May. During this period, the two ships—along with the dispatch boat —cruised to the Mediterranean Sea. They stopped in Venice, Italy, and the Greek island of Corfu before departing on 5 May to return to Germany. She then returned to fleet duties, which included a major training exercise in the North Sea and a cruise by the entire High Seas Fleet. was scheduled to be decommissioned during the winter of 1908–1909, as soon as the new cruiser was ready to take her place. But the turbine-powered cruiser proved to have trouble completing her initial testing, which forced to remain in service for another year. Another cruise to Spain took place in February 1909, during which time again stopped in Vigo from 17 to 23 February.
Upon returning to German waters, she was again designated the Kaiser's escort for another Mediterranean cruise. , , and left Kiel on 24 March and arrived in Venice on 4 April. From there, they moved to Corfu on 16 April, where the Kaiser and his family planned to take their vacation. While there, reports of the persecution of Armenian Christians in the Ottoman Empire prompted widespread reaction throughout Europe; several countries dispatched warships to the southern Anatolian peninsula to protect the Armenians and Europeans in the area. was detached as part of the operation and sailed on 21 April to Mersina, arriving there four days later. She was joined by the British battleship and the French armored cruiser , and later by . The ships sent landing parties ashore to protect civilians, distribute food, and establish field hospitals. The situation had calmed by the mid-May, and on the 17th, was detached to return home. She made the voyage, stopping in Port Said, Egypt and Málaga, Spain on the way, and ultimately arriving in Kiel on 28 May.
After returning to Germany, was assigned to the Reconnaissance Unit. Shortly thereafter, was detailed to escort once again, though this time would be in company with the new armored cruiser . The ships left Kiel on 13 June and sailed to Neufahrwasser, where Wilhelm II came aboard . From there, they proceeded into the northern Baltic to Finnish waters, where they met Wilhelm's cousin, Tsar Nicholas of Russia aboard his own yacht. returned to Kiel at the conclusion of the trip on 20 June. She continued to operate in company with for the next month, including during a sailing regatta in early July, the inauguration of the joint German and Swedish passenger ferry service between Sassnitz and Trelleborg. Another summer cruise to Norway followed from 18 July to 3 August, and upon their return to German waters, was detached to resume fleet service. She took part in the annual fleet maneuvers in late August and early September for the first time in her career. She was then decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven on 15 September, as by that time, was finally ready for service.
spent the years 1910 and 1911 in reserve, during which time she was overhauled but not modernized. She was recommissioned on 2 July 1912 to serve as the second command flagship for I U-boat Flotilla, part of the Torpedo-craft Inspectorate. She arrived at the unit on 6 August and thereafter took part in training exercises in the North Sea, followed by the fleet maneuvers later in August and September. She served in this capacity for the next two years, and during this period, KK Hermann Bauer served as the ship's commander from November 1913 to March 1914. At that time, on 15 March, she was transferred to the newly created U-boat Inspectorate.
World War I Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, I U-boat Flotilla was stationed at Helgoland. On 6 August, she and the cruiser escorted a flotilla of U-boats into the North Sea in an attempt to draw out the British fleet, which could then be attacked by the U-boats. The force returned to port on 11 August, without having encountered any British warships. Another such operation took place the next day, also without resulting in contact with enemy vessels. On 21 August, the naval command dissolved both I and II U-boat Flotilla and reorganized the vessels of both units under Bauer's command, who was then given the title (Leader of Submarines). remained the flagship of the unit.
also operated with the High Seas Fleet during this period, generally in company with the light cruisers of IV Scouting Group. The first such operation was the bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby conducted over the course of 15–16 December. IV Scouting Group was tasked with screening the main element of the fleet while the battlecruisers of I Scouting Group shelled the towns; the intention was to lure out a portion of the British fleet that could be defeated in detail. At 06:59 on 16 December, , the armored cruiser , and the light cruiser encountered British destroyers under Commander Loftus William Jones. Jones shadowed the Germans until 07:40, at which point and were detached to sink their pursuers. Reports of the destroyers prompted Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, the German fleet commander, or order the fleet to withdraw. At 08:02, signaled the two light cruisers and ordered them to abandon the pursuit and retreat along with the rest of the High Seas Fleet.