SMS Irene SMS " Irene " was a protected cruiser or " Kreuzerkorvette " of the German Imperial Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) and the lead ship of the . She had one sister , ; the two ships were the first protected cruisers built by the German Navy . " Irene " was laid down in 1886 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin , launched in July 1887 , and commissioned into the fleet in May 1888 . The cruiser was named after Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine , sister - in - law of Kaiser Wilhem II . As built , the ship was armed with a main battery of fourteen guns and had a top speed of . " Irene " saw extensive service with the German fleet in the first years of her career , frequently escorting Kaiser Wilhelm II ' s yacht on cruises throughout Europe . In 1894 , she was deployed to East Asian waters ; she was in dock for engine maintenance in November 1897 when Otto von Diederichs seized the naval base Kiaochou Bay , and so she was not present during the operation . She was present in the Philippines in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Manila Bay between American and Spanish squadrons during the Spanish - American War in 1898 . " Irene " eventually returned to Germany in 1901 . She remained in service until early 1914 , when she was retired from front - line service and converted into a submarine tender . She served in this capacity until 1921 , when she was sold for scrap and broken up the following year . Design . " Irene " was the first protected cruiser built by the German navy . She was ordered under the contract name " " Ersatz " " and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1886 . She was launched on 23 July 1887 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the German navy on 25 May 1888 . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward . She displaced at full combat load . Her propulsion system consisted of two horizontal Wolfsche 2 - cylinder double - expansion steam engines powered by four coal - fired cylindrical double - boilers . These provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . She had a crew of 28 officers and 337 enlisted men . The ship was armed with four 15 cm K L / 30 guns in single pedestal mounts , supplied with 400 rounds of ammunition in total . They had a range of . " Irene " also carried ten shorter - barreled 15 cm K L / 22 guns in single mounts . These guns had a much shorter range , at . The gun armament was rounded out by six 3 . 7 cm revolver cannon . She was also equipped with three torpedo tube s with eight torpedoes , two launchers were mounted on the deck and the third was in the bow , below the waterline . In 1893 , the ship was modernized in Wilhelmshaven in 1903 ; work lasted until 1905 . The ship ' s armament was significantly improved ; the four L / 30 guns were replaced with a new model with an increased range of . Eight 10 . 5 cm SK L / 35 quick - firing ( QF ) guns were installed in place of the L / 22 guns , and six 5 cm SK L / 10 QF guns were added . Service history . In the summer of 1888 , " Irene " joined the fleet that steamed to Great Britain to celebrate the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II . She was assigned to the I Division , along with the ironclad corvettes and and the casemate ironclad . The Kaiser ' s brother , Prince Heinrich commanded the Division , his flag flying in " Irene " . The fleet then held training maneuvers in the North Sea under command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Hollmann . Over the winter of 1889 – 1890 , " Irene " and the II Division of the fleet went into the Mediterranean to escort the Kaiser ' s yacht , " Hohenzollern " . Prince Heinrich remained in command of " Irene " during the cruise . The Kaiser made state visits to Turkey and Italy , and called in ports throughout the region , including Athens and Venice . " Irene " and the rest of the squadron returned to Germany in April 1890 . In August 1890 , " Irene " again escorted " Hohenzollern " to Britain , to participate in the Cowes Regatta . Directly thereafter , the two ships steamed to the island of Helgoland to celebrate the ceremonial transfer from Britain ; there , the entire German fleet joined " Irene " and " Hohenzollern " for the ceremonies . In late November 1894 , " Irene " was dispatched to Casablanca to protest the murder of a German businessman in the city . She then proceeded on to Asian waters to join the German naval presence in the region in the aftermath of the First Sino - Japanese War . Under Rear Admiral Paul Hoffmann , " Irene " became the flagship of the Cruiser Division , along with three older cruisers . By 1895 , she had been joined by her sister , the rebuilt old ironclad , the light cruiser , the corvette , and the gunboat . In 1896 , Otto von Diederichs arrived in Asia to command the Cruiser Division ; he spent the year reconnoitering the region for a suitable naval base . Late in the year , " Irene " had to put into Hong Kong for extensive engine maintenance , which was completed on 30 November . She rejoined the fleet on 3 December . In the meantime , Diederichs had completed the seizure of the Kiaochou Bay concession ; the Cruiser Division was sent reinforcements and promoted to the East Asia Squadron . " Irene " was assigned to the I Division of the Squadron . In the Spring of 1898 , " Irene " was sent to Shanghai for periodic maintenance . During the Spanish - American War in 1898 , " Irene " steamed to Manila in the Philippines in the aftermath of the Battle of Manila Bay ; she arrived in the harbor on 6 May . By 27 June , " Irene " had been joined by several other German warships , including , Diederichs ' s flagship . On the 27th , " Irene " was steaming into Manila Bay when she was stopped by the American revenue cutter " Hugh McCulloch " . On 5 July , Diederichs dispatched " Irene " to survey Subic Bay and to evacuate any German nationals in the area that were threatened by Filipino insurgents . While steaming off Isla Grande , " Irene " encountered the rebel ship " Companie de Filipinas " , which was threatening the Spanish garrison at Isla Grande . The rebel commander came aboard " Irene " to inform her captain of his activities ; Obenheimer informed him that any act of war committed under the rebel flag was an act of piracy under international law . The rebels therefore agreed to return to port . Obenheimer inspected both the Spanish garrison on the island and the nearby rebel base in Olongapo . After unsuccessfully searching for German nationals in the area , " Irene " evacuated the noncombatants on Isla Grande on 7 July ; while steaming out of Subic Bay , " Irene " encountered the American warships and without issue . The American press exaggerated the encounter between " Irene " and the American ships , which prompted Diederichs to decide to send " Irene " away from the area to deflate tensions between the two countries . After returning to Manila and debarking the non - combatants , " Irene " was ordered to depart the Philippines . " Irene " relieved " Arcona " in Kiaochou , which was in turn ordered to steam to the Caroline and Mariana Islands to observe the American capture of Guam . " Irene " coaled in Mariveles before departing for Kiaochou on 9 July . While in Kiaochou , " Irene " conducted crew training . She returned to Manila in November , but remained there only briefly , before she was replaced by " Kaiserin Augusta " . " Irene " returned to Germany after 1901 ; in 1903 she went into drydock at the Imperial Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven for modernization , which was completed by 1905 . She was stricken on 17 February 1914 and used as a submarine tender , based in Kiel . In 1916 , she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven . She remained there until 26 November 1921 , when she was sold for scrapping for 909 , 000 Marks . She was broken up the following year in Wilhelmshaven .