SMS Karlsruhe ( 1916 ) SMS " Karlsruhe " was a light cruiser of the " Königsberg class " , built for the " Kaiserliche Marine " ( Imperial Navy ) during World War I . She was named after the earlier " Karlsruhe " , which had sunk in November 1914 , from an accidental explosion . The new cruiser was laid down in 1914 at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Kiel , launched in January 1916 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in November 1916 . Armed with eight 15 cm SK L / 45 guns , the ship had a top speed of . She saw relatively limited service during the war , due to her commissioning late in the conflict . She was present during a brief engagement with British light forces in August 1917 , though she did not actively participate in the battle . She joined the large task force assigned to Operation Albion in October 1917 , but did not see significant action during that operation either . She was assigned to what was to have been the final sortie of the High Seas Fleet in the closing days of the war , but a large - scale mutiny in significant parts of the fleet forced the cancellation of the plan . " Karlsruhe " was interned in Scapa Flow after the end of the war , and scuttled there on 21 June 1919 . Unlike most of the other ships sunk there , her wreck was never raised . Construction . " Karlsruhe " was ordered under the contract name " Ersatz " and was laid down at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Kiel in 1915 . She was launched on 31 January 1916 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 15 November 1916 . 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 sets of steam turbines powered by ten coal - fired and two oil - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . These provided a top speed of and a range of at . The ship was armed with eight 15 cm SK L / 45 guns in single pedestal mounts . Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle , four were located amidships , two on either side , and two were arranged in a super - firing pair aft . They were supplied with 1 , 040 rounds of ammunition , for 130 shells per gun . " Karlsruhe " also carried two L / 45 anti - aircraft guns mounted on the centerline astern of the funnels . She was also equipped with a pair of torpedo tube s with eight torpedoes in deck - mounted swivel launchers amidships . She also carried 200 mines . The ship was protected by a waterline armored belt that was thick amidships . The conning tower had thick sides , and the deck was covered with 60 mm thick armor plate . Service history . On 16 August 1917 , " Karlsruhe " participated in a mine - sweeping operation in the North Sea . The minesweepers were clearing Route Yellow , one of the channels in the minefields used by U - boat s to leave and return to port . " Karlsruhe " was joined by the cruiser and three torpedo boat s . At 12 : 55 , lookouts on one of the minesweepers spotted a British squadron of three light cruisers and sixteen destroyer s approaching . The minesweepers fled south under cover of smoke screens , after which the British broke off the attack . " Karlsruhe " and the rest of the escort failed to come to their aid , however , and the commander of the operation was subsequently relieved of command . In early September 1917 , following the German conquest of the Russian port of Riga , the German navy decided to eliminate the Russian naval forces that still held the Gulf of Riga . The " Admiralstab " ( Navy High Command ) planned Operation Albion to seize the Baltic island of Ösel , and specifically the Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula . On 18 September , the order was issued for a joint operation with the army to capture Ösel and Moon Islands ; the primary naval component comprised the flagship , the battlecruiser , along with the III and IV Battle Squadrons of the High Seas Fleet . The invasion force amounted to approximately 24 , 600 officers and enlisted men . " Karlsruhe " and the rest of the II Scouting Group provided the cruiser screen for the task force . The operation began on the morning of 12 October , when " Moltke " and the III Squadron ships engaged Russian positions in Tagga Bay while the IV Squadron shelled Russian gun batteries on the Sworbe Peninsula on Ösel . On 18 – 19 October , " Karlsruhe " and the rest of the II Scouting Group covered minesweepers operating off the island of Dagö , but due to an insufficient number of minesweepers and bad weather , the operation was postponed . By 20 October , the islands were under German control and the Russian naval forces had either been destroyed or forced to withdraw . The " Admiralstab " then ordered the naval component to return to the North Sea . In October 1918 , " Karlsruhe " and the rest of the II Scouting Group were to lead a final attack on the British navy . " Karlsruhe " , , and were to bombard targets in Flanders while , , , and were to attack merchant shipping in the Thames estuary , to draw out the British Grand Fleet . Admirals Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy , to secure a better bargaining position for Germany , whatever the cost to the fleet . On the morning of 29 October 1918 , the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day . Starting on the night of 29 October , sailors on and then on several other battleships mutinied . The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation . Following the capitulation of Germany in November 1918 , most of the High Seas Fleet ' s ships , under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow . " Karlsruhe " was among the ships interned . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty . Von Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919 , which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty . Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd , Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity . On the morning of 21 June , the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers , and at 11 : 20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships ; " Karlsruhe " sank at 15 : 50 . She was never raised for scrapping . The rights to her wreck were sold in 1962 .