SMS Hamburg SMS " Hamburg " ( " His Majesty ' s Ship " Hamburg " " ) was the second of seven s of the Imperial German Navy , named after the city of Hamburg . She was begun by AG Vulcan Stettin in Stettin in 1902 , launched on 25 July 1903 and commissioned on 8 March 1904 . Throughout her over 40 - year long career , she served with the Imperial Navy , the " Reichsmarine " , and the " Kriegsmarine " . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Hamburg " was capable of a top speed of . " Hamburg " served with the High Seas Fleet for the first eight years on active duty . For the rest of her career , she served with U - boat flotillas , first as a flagship for the I U - boat Flotilla and later as a barracks ship for U - boat crews during World War I . she returned to fleet duty with the " Reichsmarine " after the end of the war , but returned to barracks ship duties starting in 1936 , though 1944 . She was towed to her namesake city in early July 1944 for scrapping , but was sunk by British bombers toward the end of the month . The wreck was raised in 1949 and subsequently dismantled in 1956 . Construction . " Hamburg " was ordered under the contract name " K " and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1902 and launched on 25 July 1903 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 8 March 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 , designed to give for a top speed of . The engines were powered by ten coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . " Hamburg " carried up to of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 14 officers and 274 – 287 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 up to thick . The conning tower had thick sides , and the guns were protected by thick shields . Service history . After her commissioning , " Hamburg " served with the fleet . She was assigned to I Subdivision of the Cruiser Division of the Active Fleet . The unit consisted of the light cruisers and and the armored cruiser , the flagship . The ships were attached to the I Squadron of the Active Fleet . A second subdivision , composed of an armored cruiser and three light cruisers was attached to the II Squadron . In April 1909 , " Hamburg " was cruising in the Mediterranean . On 21 April , she was dispatched from Corfu to Mersin , where rioting threatened German interests . She was joined there the following day by several British and French warships , including the battleship . By 1912 , she was withdrawn from front - line service for use as the second command flagship for the I U - boat Flotilla . After the outbreak of World War I , she rejoined the fleet , but continued in her role as the I Flotilla flagship . On 6 August , she and the cruiser escorted a flotilla of U - boat s into the North Sea in an attempt to draw out the British fleet , which could then be attacked by the U - boats . The force returned to port on 11 August , without having encountered any British warships . On 15 – 16 December , " Hamburg " participated in the bombardment of Scarborough , Hartlepool and Whitby . She was assigned to the cruiser screen of the High Seas Fleet , which was providing distant cover to Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper ' s battlecruisers while they were conducting the bombardment . Following reports of British destroyers from " Hamburg " and the armored cruiser , Admiral von Ingenohl ordered the High Seas Fleet to turn to port and head for Germany . At 06 : 59 , " Hamburg " , " Roon " , and encountered Commander Jones ' destroyers . Jones shadowed the Germans until 07 : 40 , at which point " Hamburg " and " Stuttgart " were detached to sink their pursuers . At 08 : 02 , " Roon " signaled the two light cruisers and ordered them to abandon the pursuit and retreat along with the rest of the High Seas Fleet . " Hamburg " was assigned to the IV Scouting Group during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 . The IV Scouting Group , under the command of Commodore Ludwig von Reuter , departed Wilhelmshaven at 03 : 30 on 31 May , along with the rest of the fleet . Tasked with screening for the fleet , " Hamburg " and the torpedo boat were positioned on the port side of the fleet , abreast of the II Battle Squadron . " Hamburg " and the IV Scouting Group were not heavily engaged during the early phases of the battle , but around 21 : 30 , they encountered the British 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron ( 3rd LCS ) . Reuter ' s ships were leading the High Seas Fleet south , away from the deployed Grand Fleet . Due to the long range and poor visibility , only " München " and " Stettin " were able to engage the British cruisers . " Hamburg " only fired one salvo , since the haze rendered it impossible to spot the fall of shot . Reuter turned his ships hard to starboard , in order to draw the British closer to the capital ship s of the German fleet , but the 3rd LCS refused to take the bait and disengaged . Later in the war , " Hamburg " was reduced to a barracks ship for the U - boat flotilla in Wilhelmshaven . She was among the six light cruisers Germany was permitted to retain by the Treaty of Versailles . In the service of the newly reorganized " Reichsmarine " , " Hamburg " served in the active fleet starting in 1920 . In 1922 , " Hamburg " was assigned to the North Sea Squadron , with the old battleship and the cruiser . She remained in the fleet until 1923 , when she was withdrawn from active service for use as a training cruiser for naval cadets . She served in this capacity from 1924 to 1927 ; she remained in the " Reichsmarine " inventory until she was stricken from the naval register on 31 March 1931 . She was again used as a barracks ship for submarine crews starting in 1936 by the " Kriegsmarine " , this time in Kiel . She continued in this duty until 1944 , when the " Kriegsmarine " decided to break her up for scrap . She was towed to her namesake city on 7 July 1944 for dismantling , where she was later sunk by British bombers on 27 July . The wreck was raised in 1949 and ultimately broken up in 1956 .