Irene - class cruiser The " Irene " class was a class of protected cruiser s built by the German Imperial Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) in the late 1880s . The class comprised two ships , and ; they were the first protected cruisers built by the German Navy . As built , the ships were armed with a main battery of fourteen guns and had a top speed of . They were modernized in 1899 – 1905 , and their armament was upgraded with new , quick - firing guns . Both ships served in the East Asia station with the East Asia Squadron ; " Prinzess Wilhelm " played a major role in the seizure of the Kiautschou Bay concession in November 1897 . Both ships returned to Germany at the turn of the 20th century , and remained in European waters until 1914 , when they were removed from active service . They were reduced to secondary roles then , and continued to serve until the early 1920s , when they were sold for scrap . Design . General characteristics . The ships were long at the waterline and long overall . They had a beam of and a draft of forward . They displaced at designed displacement and at full combat load . The hull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames , and the outer hull consisted of wood planking covered with Muntz copper sheathing to prevent fouling . The stem was made of bronze below and iron above . The hull was divided into 10 watertight compartments and had a double bottom that extended for 49 percent of the length of the hull . The ships were very good sea boats ; they ran very well before the wind , and were very handy . They lost minimal speed in hard turns and suffered from moderate roll and pitch . In heavy seas , the ships were capable of only half speed , as both suffered from structural weakness in the forecastle . They had a transverse metacentric height of . The ships had a crew of 28 officers and 337 enlisted men ; after their modernization after the turn of the century , the ships ' crews comprised 17 officers and 357 enlisted men . The ships carried a number of smaller boats , including two picket boats , one pinnace , two cutters , one yawl , and two dinghies . Searchlight platforms were added to the foremast above the waterline . Machinery . " Irene " s propulsion system consisted of two horizontal Wolfsche 2 - cylinder double - expansion steam engines powered by four coal - fired cylindrical double - boilers . " Prinzess Wilhelm " s engines were produced by AG Germania . " Irene " was equipped with a pair of three - bladed screws in diameter ; " Prinzess Wilhelm " had slightly larger screws with four blades . The ships ' engines were rated at and provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at . The ships were equipped with a pair of electrical generators that produced at 67 volts . " Prinzess Wilhelm " was later equipped with three generators with a combined output of at 110 volts . Steering was controlled by a single rudder . Armament and armor . The ships were 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 . The ships 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 . They were 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 . The ships were modernized in Wilhelmshaven between 1899 and 1905 . The ships ' 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 . The ships were protected with compound steel armor . The armored deck was plus thick with 20 mm thick slopes . The coaming was thick on thick teak . The conning tower had thick sides and a 20 mm thick roof . The ships were equipped with cork cofferdam s . Service history . " 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 . " Prinzess Wilhelm " was ordered under the contract name " " Ersatz " " and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1886 . She was launched on 22 September 1887 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the German navy on 13 November 1889 . Both " Irene " and " Prinzess Wilhelm " saw extensive service with the German fleet . " Irene " frequently escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II ' s yacht on cruises throughout Europe . In 1894 , " Irene " was deployed to East Asian waters ; " Prinzess Wilhelm " joined her the following year . " Prinzess Wilhelm " was one of three ships involved in the seizure of the naval base Kiaochou Bay in November 1897 , led by Admiral Otto von Diederichs . " Irene " was in dock for engine maintenance at the time , and so she was not present during the operation . As a result of the seizure , the Cruiser Division was reorganized as the East Asia Squadron . Both ships were 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 . Diederichs hoped to use the crisis as an opportunity to seize another naval base in the region , though this was unsuccessful . " Prinzess Wilhelm " returned to Germany in 1899 and was modernized in 1899 – 1903 . " Irene " followed her sister back to Germany in 1901 , and was similarly modified in 1903 – 1905 . Both ships remained in service until early 1914 , when they were retired from front - line service and used for secondary duties . " Irene " was converted into a submarine tender . She served in this capacity until 1921 , when she was sold for scrap and broken up the following year . " Prinzess Wilhelm " was reduced to a mine hulk in February 1914 and ultimately broken up for scrap in 1922 .