SMS Wiesbaden SMS " Wiesbaden " was a light cruiser of the built by the German " Kaiserliche Marine " ( Imperial Navy ) . She had one sister ship , ; the ships were very similar to the previous s . The ship was laid down in 1913 , launched in January 1915 , and completed by August 1915 . Armed with eight 15 cm SK L / 45 guns , " Wiesbaden " had a top speed of and displaced at full load . " Wiesbaden " saw only one major action , the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 . The ship was badly damaged by gunfire from the battlecruiser . Immobilized between the two battle fleets , " Wiesbaden " became the center of a hard - fought action that saw the destruction of two British armored cruisers . Heavy fire from the British fleet prevented evacuation of the ship ' s crew . " Wiesbaden " remained afloat until the early hours of 1 June and sank sometime between 01 : 45 and 02 : 45 . Only one crew member survived the sinking ; the wreck was located by German Navy divers in 1983 . Design . " Wiesbaden " was ordered under the contract name " " Ersatz " " and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1913 and launched on 20 January 1915 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 23 August 1915 , after being rushed through trials . 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 Marine steam turbines driving two propellers . They were designed to give . These were powered by twelve coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers and two oil - fired double - ended boilers . These gave the ship a top speed of . " Wiesbaden " carried of coal , and an additional of oil that gave her a range of at . " Wiesbaden " had a crew of 17 officers and 457 enlisted men . 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 placed in a superfiring pair aft . The guns could engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1 , 024 rounds of ammunition , for 128 shells per gun . The ship ' s antiaircraft armament initially consisted of four L / 44 guns , though these were replaced with a pair of 8 . 8 cm SK L / 45 anti - aircraft guns . She was also equipped with four torpedo tube s with eight torpedo es . Two were submerged in the hull on the broadside and two were mounted on the deck amidships . She could also carry 120 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 up to 60 mm thick armor plate . Service history . Commanded by Captain Fritz Reiss , " Wiesbaden " was assigned to the II Scouting Group of light cruisers under " Konteradmiral " Friedrich Bödicker , which took part in the Battle of Jutland on 30 May and 1 June 1916 . " Wiesbaden " s sister ship served as Bödicker ' s flagship . The unit was assigned to screen for the battlecruiser s of " Vizeadmiral " Franz von Hipper ' s I Scouting Group . At the start of the battle , " Wiesbaden " was cruising to starboard , which placed her on the disengaged side when , , and " Frankfurt " first engaged the British cruiser screen . At around 18 : 30 , " Wiesbaden " and the rest of the II Scouting Group encountered the cruiser ; they opened fire and scored several hits on the ship . As both sides ' cruisers disengaged , Rear Admiral Horace Hood ' s three battlecruisers intervened . His flagship scored a hit on " Wiesbaden " that exploded in her engine room and disabled the ship . " Konteradmiral " Paul Behncke , the commander of the leading element of the German battle line , ordered his dreadnought s to cover the stricken " Wiesbaden " . Simultaneously , the light cruisers of the British 3rd and 4th Light Cruiser Squadrons attempted to make a torpedo attack on the German line ; while steaming into range , they battered " Wiesbaden " with their main guns . The destroyer steamed to within of " Wiesbaden " and fired a single torpedo at the crippled cruiser . It hit directly below the conning tower , but the ship remained afloat . In the ensuing melee , the armored cruiser blew up and was fatally damaged . " Wiesbaden " launched her torpedoes while she remained immobilized , but with no success . Shortly after 20 : 00 , the III Flotilla of torpedo boats attempted to rescue " Wiesbaden " s crew , but heavy fire from the British battle line drove them off . Another attempt to reach the ship was made , but the torpedo boat crews lost sight of the cruiser and were unable to locate her . The ship finally sank sometime between 01 : 45 and 02 : 45 . Only one crew member survived the sinking ; he was picked up by a Norwegian steamer the following day . Among the 589 killed was the well - known writer of poetry and fiction dealing with the life of fishermen and sailors , Johann Kinau , known under his pseudonym of Gorch Fock , who has since then been honored by having two training windjammer s of the Kriegsmarine and the German Navy , respectively , named after him . The wreck of " Wiesbaden " was found in 1983 by divers of the German Navy , who removed both of the ship ' s screws . The ship lies on the sea floor upside down , and was the last German cruiser sunk at Jutland to be located .