SMS Medusa SMS " Medusa " was the seventh member of the ten - ship , built by the Imperial German Navy . She was built by the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen , laid down in early 1900 , launched in December 1900 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in July 1901 . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Medusa " was capable of a top speed of . " Medusa " served in all three German navies over the span of over forty years . She served as a fleet scout in the period before World War I , and during the first two years of the conflict , she was used as a coastal defense ship . She was one of six cruisers Germany was allowed to keep by the Treaty of Versailles , and she served in the early 1920s in the " Reichsmarine " . She was withdrawn from service in 1924 and used in secondary duties , but in 1940 , the " Kriegsmarine " converted " Medusa " into a floating anti - aircraft battery . She defended the port of Wilhelmshaven until the closing days of the war , when she was scuttled by her crew . The wreck was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1948 – 1950 . Construction . " Medusa " was ordered under the contract name " E " and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in early 1900 and launched on 5 December 1900 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 26 July 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 . They were designed to give , for a top speed of . The engines were powered by ten coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . " Medusa " 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 two torpedo tube s with five torpedo es . They were submerged in the hull 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 , " Medusa " was assigned to the fleet reconnaissance forces . In 1905 , she was assigned to the Cruiser Division , alongside her sisters and and the armored cruiser . She served in the fleet scout role up to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , at which point she was employed as a coastal defense vessel . In 1917 , she four of her guns removed , and she was used as an auxiliary ship for the old ironclad , which was being used as a training ship for naval cadets . " Medusa " survived the war and was one of six light cruisers Germany was permitted to keep in service by the Treaty of Versailles . The ship served in the " Reichsmarine " from 1920 to 1924 ; in 1922 , " Medusa " was assigned to the Active Squadron in the Baltic Station , alongside the battleship . In 1924 she was withdrawn from service . On 29 March 1929 , she was stricken from the naval register and thereafter used as a barracks ship in Wilhelmshaven . In July 1940 , during World War II , " Medusa " was converted into a floating anti - aircraft battery in Wilhelmshaven . Her armament at that point consisted of one 10 . 5 cm SK C / 32 gun , four 10 . 5 cm SK C / 33 guns , two 3 . 7 cm SK C / 30 guns , and four 2 cm guns . She was then assigned to Naval Anti - aircraft Group 222 , and remained in the harbor at Wilhelmshaven for the duration of the war . Her crews scuttled the ship on 3 May 1945 , days before the end of the war in Europe . The wreck was ultimately salvaged in 1948 – 1950 and broken up for scrap .