SMS Prinz Adalbert ( 1901 ) SMS " Prinz Adalbert " was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Imperial German Navy , named after Prince Adalbert of Prussia ( 1811 - 1873 ) , former Commander - in - Chief of the Prussian navy . She was the lead ship of her class , which included a second ship , . " Prinz Adalbert " was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel . She was laid down in 1900 and completed in January 1904 , at the cost of 16 , 371 , 000 Marks . She was armed with a main battery of four guns and was capable of a top speed of . Upon commissioning , " Prinz Adalbert " served as a gunnery training ship , a role she held for the majority of her career . After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , she was assigned to the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic . After her sister ship was sunk in November 1914 , she became the flagship of the cruiser squadron in the Baltic . She conducted operations against Russian forces in the Baltic , including bombarding the port of Libau . She was torpedoed by a British submarine in July 1915 , but was able to return to port and was repaired . She was torpedoed a second time on 23 October 1915 ; the torpedo detonated her ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship . She sank quickly with heavy loss of life ; only three men were rescued from a crew of 675 . Construction . " Prinz Adalbert " was ordered under the provisional name " " B " " and built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel under construction number 27 . Her keel was laid in 1900 and she was launched on 22 June 1901 . The launching ceremony was attended by the Kaiser , Wilhelm II , his wife Kaiserin Augusta Victoria , his brother Admiral Prince Henry of Prussia and the young sailor Prince Adalbert of Prussia . The ceremony of christening the ship was performed by Princess Irene of Prussia , wife of Prince Henry , who then delivered a speech . Fitting - out work was somewhat lengthy , but was completed by 12 January 1904 , being commissioned into the Imperial German Navy the same day . She had cost the Imperial German Government 16 , 371 , 000 " Goldmarks " . " Prinz Adalbert " displaced as built and fully loaded , with a length of , a beam of and a draft of forward . She was powered by three vertical triple expansion engines , which developed a total of and yielded a maximum speed of on trials . She carried up to of coal , which enabled a maximum range of up to at a cruising speed of . She was armed with four guns arranged in two twin gun turret s , one on either end of the superstructure . Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm ( 5 . 9 in ) guns , twelve guns and four underwater torpedo tubes , one in the bow , one in the stern , and one on both beams . Service history . After commissioning and sea trials , " Prinz Adalbert " was placed in service as a gunnery training ship , a role she held for the majority of her career . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , " Prinz Adalbert " was brought into front - line service with the fleet . After her sister ship , was sunk in November 1914 , " Prinz Adalbert " became the flagship for Admiral Behring ' s cruiser squadron in the Baltic Sea . In January 1915 , " Prinz Adalbert " , in company with the light cruiser and commanded by Admiral Behring , conducted a reconnaissance sweep toward the Åland Islands . While on the return voyage , she bombarded Russian positions at Libau . She ran aground off Steinort during the operation , and " Augsburg " struck a mine off Bornholm . After being freed from her grounding , the ship was repaired and was ready for another operation in early May . Rear Admiral Hopman , the commander of the reconnaissance forces in the Baltic , hoisted his flag on " Prinz Adalbert " for a major assault on Libau , in conjunction with an attempt by the German Army to seize the city . The attack took place on 7 May , and consisted of " Prinz Adalbert " and the armored cruisers and , the elderly coast defense ship , and the light cruiser s " Augsburg " , , and . They were escorted by a number of destroyers , torpedo boats , and minesweepers . The IV Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet was detached from the North Sea to provide cover for the operation . The bombardment went as planned , though the destroyer struck a mine in Libau ' s harbor , which blew off her bow and destroyed the ship . German ground forces were successful in their assault however , and took the city . On 1 July , the minelayer , escorted by the cruisers " Roon " , " Augsburg " , and " Lübeck " and seven destroyers , laid a minefield north of Bogskär . While returning to port , the flotilla separated into two sections ; " Augsburg " , " Albatross " , and three destroyers made for Rixhöft while the remainder of the unit went to Libau . " Augsburg " and " Albatross " were intercepted by a powerful Russian squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Bakhirev , consisting of three armored and two light cruisers . Commodore Johannes von Karpf , the flotilla commander , ordered the slower " Albatross " to steam for neutral Swedish waters and recalled " Roon " and " Lübeck " . " Albatross " was grounded off Gotland and " Augsburg " escaped , and the Russian squadron briefly engaged " Roon " before both sides broke contact . Upon being informed of the situation , Hopman sortied with " Prinz Adalbert " and " Prinz Heinrich " to support von Karpf . While en route , the cruisers encountered the British submarine , which scored a hit on " Prinz Adalbert " . The torpedo hit below the conning tower and caused severe damage . " Prinz Adalbert " took on some of water ; her draft increased significantly , which prevented her from being able to put in to Danzig . She instead had to make the journey back to Kiel for repairs , which she reached on 4 July . Repairs were finally completed by October 1915 . " Prinz Adalbert " was steaming some 20 miles west of Libau in company with a pair of destroyers on 23 October when she was intercepted by the submarine . " E8 " fired a spread of torpedoes at a range of approximately 1 , 200 m ( 1 , 300 yd ) , which detonated the ship ' s ammunition magazine . The massive explosion destroyed the ship , which sank immediately with the loss of 672 crew . There were only three survivors . The sinking was the greatest single loss of life for the German Baltic forces for the duration of the war .