SMS Undine SMS " Undine " was the last member of the ten - ship , built by the Imperial German Navy . She was built by the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel , laid down in 1901 , launched in December 1902 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in January 1904 . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Undine " was capable of a top speed of . " Undine " was initially used as a artillery training ship for the gunners of the German fleet . In November 1904 , she accidentally rammed and sank the torpedo boat while on maneuvers off Kiel ; thirty - three men were killed in the incident . After the outbreak of World War in August 1914 , " Undine " was deployed to the Baltic Sea for use as a coastal defense ship . She was attacked by the British submarine on 7 November and was hit by two torpedo es , the second of which detonated the ship ' s ammunition magazines . " Undine " exploded and sank , but only 14 men were killed in the attack . Construction . " Undine " was ordered under the contract name " J " and was laid down at the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel in 1901 and launched on 11 December 1902 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 5 January 1904 . 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 Howaldtswerke . They were designed to give , for a top speed of . The engines were powered by eight coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . " Undine " carried of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 14 officers and 256 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 , 500 rounds of ammunition , for 150 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 , " Undine " was assigned to the training squadron for use as a gunnery training ship . On the night of 17 November 1904 , " Undine " collided with the torpedo boat while on maneuvers just outside Kiel . " S26 " , along with the rest of her unit , the IV Torpedo Boat Flotilla , was conducting a mock night attack on " Undine " . The cruiser was steaming with her lights off , and when the torpedo boats approached , " Undine " turned her search lights on , which blinded the crew of " S26 " . The torpedo boat inadvertently ran in front of " Undine " , and the latter rammed and sank the former . One officer and thirty - two enlisted men aboard " S26 " were killed in the accident . After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , " Undine " was employed as a coastal defense ship in the Baltic . On 7 November 1915 , " Undine " was steaming north of Arkona with a pair of destroyers when she was attacked by the British submarine , under the command of Lieutenant Commander Francis Cromie . " E19 " launched a pair of torpedoes at " Undine " at a range of , both of which hit . The second torpedo detonated her ammunition magazines and blew up the ship . " Undine " sank quickly at 13 : 08 ; only fourteen men were killed in the attack , and the majority of her crew was rescued by the escorting destroyers . The loss of " Undine " came on the heels of the sinking of the armored cruiser two weeks earlier . These two losses were significant enough to compel the German Navy to curtail the movements of the fleet in the Baltic for the remainder of the year .