SMS Gazelle SMS " Gazelle " was the lead ship of the ten - vessel , built by the Imperial German Navy . She was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel , laid down in 1897 , launched in March 1898 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in June 1901 . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Gazelle " was capable of a top speed of . Initially assigned to overseas service , " Gazelle " participated in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902 – 1903 . She returned to German waters in 1904 , and served with the fleet until 1914 . She was employed as a coastal defense ship after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . She served in this role until the night of 25 – 26 January 1916 , when she was mined off Cape Arkona . Deemed not worthy of repairs , " Gazelle " was reduced to a minelayer hulk , a role she served in through the end of the war . In August 1920 , she was stricken from the naval register and sold for scrap . Construction . " Gazelle " was ordered under the contract name " G " and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1897 and launched on 31 March 1898 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 15 June 1901 . 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 triple - expansion engine s manufactured by AG - Germania . They were designed to give , for a top speed of . The engines were powered by eight coal - fired Niclausse boiler s . " Gazelle " carried of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men . The ship was armed with ten 10 . 5 cm SK L / 40 guns in single mounts . Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle , six were located amidships , three on either side , and two were placed side by side aft . The guns could engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1 , 000 rounds of ammunition , for 100 shells per gun . She was also equipped with three torpedo tube s with eight torpedo es . One was submerged in the hull in the bow and two were mounted in deck launchers on the broadside . The ship was protected by an armored deck that was thick . The conning tower had thick sides , and the guns were protected by thick shields . Service history . After her commissioning , " Gazelle " was sent overseas from 1902 to 1904 . She was assigned to the American Squadron ; starting in December 1902 , " Gazelle " participated in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902 – 1903 . A British merchant ship had been boarded and its crew arrested by Venezuelan forces on 13 December ; in response , British forces bombarded the forts at Puerto Cabello , and enlisted the German squadron to assist them in punishing the Venezuelans . " Gazelle " and were tasked with blockading the Venezuelan coast , in cooperation with the British squadron . In January 1904 , she conducted a goodwill visit to the port of New Orleans , along with the protected cruiser and two other warships . During this period she was commanded by then " Korvettenkapitän " Reinhard Scheer , the later commander of the High Seas Fleet . After returning to Germany , she served with the High Seas Fleet until 1914 , when she was reduced to a coastal defense vessel . She served in the Baltic Sea in the first two years after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 . On 17 November , while patrolling in the Baltic , " Gazelle " was attacked by the British submarine . The submarine fired a pair of torpedoes at the cruiser , but both missed . On the night of 25 – 26 January 1916 , she struck Russian mines to the north of Cape Arkona . The mine explosion tore off both of her screws and she had to be towed back to port . On 22 February , the German Navy decided the old cruiser was not worth repairing , and so she was placed out of service . She was converted into a hulk for minelayer s , first at Danzig and then at Cuxhaven . In 1918 , she was moved to Wilhelmshaven . After the end of the war , " Gazelle " was formally stricken from the naval register on 28 August 1920 and broken up for scrap in Wilhelmshaven .