Victoria Louise - class cruiser The " Victoria Louise " class of protected cruiser s was the last class of ships of that type built for the German Imperial Navy . The class design introduced the combined clipper and ram bow and the blocky sides that typified later German armoured cruiser s . The class comprised five vessels , , the lead ship , , , , and . The ships were laid down in 1895 – 1896 , and were launched in 1897 – 1898 and commissioned into the fleet over the following year . The first three ships were long and displaced at combat load ; " Vineta " and " Hansa " were a slightly modified design . They were long and displaced at full load . All five ships were armed with a main battery of two guns and eight guns . The first three ships had a top speed of ; the last two were slightly slower , at . Problems with the Niclausse boiler s installed on " Freya " prompted the Navy to standardize boiler types in future warships . The ships of the class served in various units in the German fleet , including on the America Station , in the East Asia Squadron , and with the home fleet . " Hertha " and " Hansa " participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900 , and " Vineta " was involved in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902 – 1903 . All five ships were modernized between 1905 and 1911 , after which they served as training ships for naval cadets . They were mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , but were quickly withdrawn from front - line service . They served in various secondary roles for the rest of the war . After the end of the conflict , " Victoria Louise " was converted into a merchant ship , but was broken up in 1923 . The other four ships were scrapped in 1920 – 1921 . Design . General characteristics . The first three ships of the " Victoria Louise " class — " Victoria Louise " , " Hertha " , and " Freya " — were long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of and a draft of forward and . These ships displaced as designed and at full combat load . " Vineta " and " Hansa " had slightly different dimensions ; they were long at the waterline and overall . Their beam was and drew forward and aft . Their displacement was also higher than the first three ships , at as designed and at combat load . The ships ' hulls were constructed with longitudinal and transverse steel frames ; a single layer of wood planks were used for the hull . A later of Muntz metal sheathing extended up to above the waterline to protect against fouling of the hull . This sheathing was later removed from " Victoria Louise " , " Hertha " , and " Freya " . The hull was divided into twelve watertight compartments , which were later reduced to eleven , with the exception of " Freya " . The hull also incorporated a double bottom that extended for 60 percent of the length of the hull . The ships ' design set a precedent for later armored cruisers , with large , bulky sides and a combined clipper bow and ram . The ships ' standard crew was 31 officers and 446 enlisted men , with an additional 9 officers and 41 enlisted while serving as a second command flagship . After their reconstruction into training ships , the crew was substantially enlarged to incorporate the trainees , with 26 officers and 658 sailors , 75 of whom were naval cadets and 300 others were cabin boys . The ships carried a number of smaller boats , including three picket boats , one launch , one pinnace , two cutters , two yawls , and three dinghies . After their modernization , the boats were significantly revised ; the number of picket boats was reduced to one , a barge and a launch were added , the dinghies were removed , and five more cutters were added . The ships were good sea boats ; they had an easy motion and were dry as a result of their high forecastle s . They had a tendency to pitch when steaming downwind , however , and made severe leeway in heavy winds because of their large superstructures . They were difficult to maneuver without the center shaft engaged . They lost only around ten percent speed in a head sea or with the rudder hard over . In addition , as the lower coal bunkers were emptied , the ships became increasingly unstable ; with empty bunkers , the ships could heel over as much as fifteen degrees in a hard turn . The modernization of the ships between 1905 and 1911 rectified this problem . They had a transverse metacentric height of . As built , the ships were very hot , and ventilation had to be improved before they were commissioned . Machinery . The propulsion system of all five ships consisted of three vertical 4 - cylinder triple expansion engines built by AG Vulcan . Steam was provided by twelve coal - fired boilers from different manufacturers , with the exception of " Hansa " . " Victoria Louise " and " Vineta " had boilers from Dürr AG , " Freya " had Niclausse boiler s , and " Hertha " had Belleville boiler s . " Hansa " was equipped with eighteen transverse Belleville boilers . The Niclausse boilers in " Freya " proved to be particularly troublesome , which led the Navy to use only Schulz - Thornycroft or Marine - type boilers in future vessels . In the modernizations between 1905 and 1911 , the ships were re - equipped with transverse Marine - type boilers . The ships originally had three funnels , but after their refits , the boilers were trunked into two funnels . The ships ' engines were rated at top speed of for the first three ships and for the last two vessels . As built , the ships carried up to of coal , which gave them a cruising range of at a speed of . The more efficient Marine - type boilers installed in 1905 – 1911 increased cruising range to at the same speed . " Victoria Louise " and " Hertha " were equipped with four electricity generators with a combined output of at 110 Volts ; the last three ships had three generators with a total output of at 110 V . Steering was controlled by a single large rudder . Armament and armor . The ships ' primary armament consisted of two 21 cm SK L / 40 guns in single gun turret s , one forward and one aft . The guns were supplied with 58 rounds of ammunition each . They had a range of . Eight 15 cm SK L / 40 guns rounded out the offensive gun armament . Four of these guns were mounted in turrets amidships and the other four were placed in casemate s . These guns had a range of . Two of the 15 cm guns were removed in the refit . The ships also carried ten 8 . 8 cm SK L / 30 guns , and an eleventh was added during the modernization . Three longer - barreled 8 . 8 cm SK L / 35 guns were also added at that time . The gun armament was rounded out by ten machine guns , which were removed during the refit . The ships were also equipped with three torpedo tube s with eight torpedoes , two launchers were mounted on the broadside and the third was in the bow , all below the waterline . In 1916 , all of the ships of the class were disarmed , with the exception of " Freya " , which was re - equipped with a single 15 cm gun , four 10 . 5 cm SK L / 45 guns , and fourteen 8 . 8 cm guns of both the L / 30 and L / 35 versions , for use as a gunnery training ship . Armor protection for the ships was composed of Krupp steel . The main deck was thick with thick slopes . The forward conning tower had thick sides and a thick roof . The aft conning tower was given only splinter protection , with just thick sides . The 21 cm and 15 cm gun turrets had 100 mm thick sides and 30 mm thick roofs . The casemate guns were also given 100 mm worth of armor protection . The ships were also equipped with cork cofferdam s . Construction . " Victoria Louise " was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1895 , under construction number 116 . She was launched on 29 March 1897 and was commissioned into the fleet on 20 February 1899 . She cost the Imperial government 10 , 714 , 000 gold mark s . Construction of " Hertha " began in 1895 at the AG Vulcan dockyard in Stettin , under construction number 233 . She was launched on 14 April 1897 and was commissioned on 23 July 1898 , the first ship of the class to enter service . Her construction cost 9 , 932 , 000 marks . The keel - laying of " Freya " followed in 1895 at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig . She was launched on 27 April 1897 and was commissioned on 20 October 1898 , at the cost of 11 , 094 , 000 marks . " Vineta " was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig in 1896 . She was launched on 9 December 1897 and was commissioned into the fleet on 13 September 1899 . She cost 10 , 714 , 000 marks . " Hansa " , the last ship of the class , was laid down in 1896 at AG Vulcan under construction number 235 . She was launched on 12 March 1898 and was commissioned on 20 April 1899 , at the cost of 10 , 270 , 000 marks . " Victoria Louise " and " Hansa " were rebuilt at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in 1906 – 1908 and 1907 – 1909 , respectively . The other three ships were modernized at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig : " Hertha " in 1906 – 1908 , " Freya " in 1905 – 1907 , and " Vineta " in 1909 – 1911 . " Freya " was again modified at the Imperial Dockyard in Danzig in 1911 – 1913 , and " Hansa " was rebuilt in 1915 at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel . Service history . " Victoria Louise " . " Victoria Louise " served with the fleet for the first seven years of her career . During this time , she represented Germany during the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901 . In 1906 , she was modernized and after 1908 , used as a training ship for naval cadets . In 1909 , she visited the United States , and at the outbreak of World War I , was mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group . She was attacked unsuccessfully by the British submarine in October 1914 , and at the end of the year she was withdrawn from service . She was used as a minelayer and barracks ship based in Danzig for the rest of the war . " Victoria Louise " was sold in 1919 and converted into a freighter the following year , though she served in this capacity until 1923 , when she was broken up for scrap . " Hertha " . " Hertha " served abroad in the German East Asia Squadron for the first six years of her career ; she served briefly as the Squadron flagship in 1900 . She contributed a landing party to the force that captured the Taku Forts during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 . After returning to Germany in 1905 , she was modernized and used as a training ship in 1908 , following the completion of the refit . She conducted a series of training cruises , and several notable officers served aboard the ship as cadets , including Karl Dönitz and Ernst Lindemann . At the outbreak of World War I , " Hertha " was mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group , but served in front - line duty only briefly . She was used as a barracks ship after 1915 , and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1920 . " Freya " . " Freya " served in the German fleet for the initial years of her career , unlike her sister ships , all of which served abroad on foreign stations . As a result , she led a fairly uneventful career in the fleet . After a modernization in 1905 – 1907 , " Freya " was used as a school ship for cadets , one of whom was Günther Lütjens . While visiting Canada in 1908 , she accidentally rammed and sank a Canadian schooner , killing nine sailors . At the outbreak of World War I , " Freya " was mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group , but served in front - line duty only briefly . She was used as a barracks ship after 1915 , and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1921 . " Vineta " . " Vineta " served abroad in the American Station for the first several years of her career . While on station in the Americas , she participated in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902 – 1903 and bombarded several Venezuelan fortresses . She returned to Germany in 1905 and was used as a torpedo training ship in 1908 . She was modernized in 1909 – 1911 , after which she was used as a school ship for naval cadets . In November 1912 , she participated in an international naval protest of the First Balkan War . At the outbreak of World War I , " Vineta " was mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group like her sisters , but served in front - line duty only briefly . She was used as a barracks ship after 1915 , and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1920 . " Hansa " . " Hansa " served abroad in the East Asia Squadron for the first six years of her career . Along with " Hertha " , she contributed a landing party to the force that captured the Taku Forts during the Boxer Rebellion . In August 1904 , she participated in the internment of the Russian battleship " Tsesarevich " after the Battle of the Yellow Sea during the Russo - Japanese War . After returning to Germany in 1906 , she was modernized and used as a training ship in 1909 , following the completion of the refit . At the outbreak of World War I , " Hansa " was mobilized into the 5th Scouting Group , but served in front - line duty only briefly . She was used as a barracks ship after 1915 , and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1920 .