SMS Nürnberg ( 1916 ) SMS " Nürnberg " was a " Königsberg " class light cruiser built during World War I by Germany for the Imperial Navy . She had three sisters : , , and . The ship was named after the previous light cruiser " Nürnberg " , which had been sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands . The new cruiser was laid down in 1915 at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen , launched in April 1916 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in February 1917 . Armed with eight 15 cm SK L / 45 guns , the ship had a top speed of . " Nürnberg " saw relatively limited service during the war , due to her commissioning late in the conflict . She participated in Operation Albion in October 1917 against the Russian Navy in the Baltic . The following month , she was engaged in the Second Battle of Helgoland Bight , but was not significantly damaged during the engagement . She was assigned to the final , planned operation of the High Seas Fleet that was to have taken place in the closing days of the war , though a major mutiny forced the cancellation of the plan . After the end of the war , the ship was interned in Scapa Flow . In the scuttling of the German fleet in June 1919 , British ships managed to beach " Nürnberg " and she was later refloated and sunk as a gunnery target in 1922 . Construction . " Nürnberg " was ordered under the contract name " Ersatz " and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1915 . She was launched on 14 April 1916 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 15 February 1917 . 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 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 , two were located on either side amidships , and two were arranged in a super firing pair aft . They were supplied with 1 , 040 rounds of ammunition , for 130 shells per gun . " Nürnberg " 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 . Operation Albion . 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 " ( the Navy High Command ) planned an operation 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 was to comprise the flagship , , 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 . " Nürnberg " and the rest of the II Scouting Group , commanded by Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter , 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 . After the beginning of the bombardment , " Nürnberg " entered Tagga Bay with the II Transport Section and began landing troops , while " Königsberg " covered the landing of the I Transport Section . On 18 – 19 October , the rest of the II Scouting Group covered minesweepers operating off the island of Dagö , but due to insufficient minesweepers and bad weather , the operation was postponed . On the 19th , " Nürnberg " , , and were sent to intercept two Russian torpedo boat s reported to be in the area . Reuter could not locate the vessels , and broke off the operation . By 20 October , the islands were under German control and the Russian naval forces had either been destroyed or forced to withdraw . The " Admiralstab " ordered the naval component to return to the North Sea . Second Battle of Helgoland Bight . On 17 November , " Nürnberg " , " Königsberg " , , and were assigned to cover a minesweeping operation in the Helgoland Bight , still under the command of Reuter . The force was supported by two battleships — and . Six British battlecruisers supported a force of light cruisers that attacked the German minesweepers . " Königsberg " and the other three cruisers covered the fleeing minesweepers before retreating under a smoke screen . " Nürnberg " opened fire on the British cruisers at 08 : 55 , at a range of . Heavy smoke and fog obscured the British ships , however , and " Nürnberg " was quickly forced to cease firing . At around 10 : 00 , " Nürnberg " came under heavy fire from the British cruisers , as well as the powerful battlecruisers and , armed with guns . " Nürnberg " was not hit directly , but shell splinters from near misses rained down on her deck and killed one man and wounded four more , one of whom later died of his wounds . One of her rangefinder s was also damaged by the shell fragments . She returned fire briefly before the haze again concealed the British ships . " Kaiser " and " Kaiserin " intervened at almost exactly the same time , prompting the British to break off the engagement immediately . Within an hour , the German forces were reinforced by several capital ships , including the battlecruiser ; after realizing the British had fled , the German forces returned to port . Fate . In October 1918 , Admirals Reinhard Scheer and Franz von Hipper planned a final , climactic attack on the British by the High Seas Fleet . The planned operation called for raids on Allied shipping in the Thames estuary and Flanders to draw out the Grand Fleet . The German fleet would then attack the Grand Fleet and do as much damage as possible in order to enhance Germany ' s military position in the coming peace talks . " Nürnberg " , and were assigned to the force tasked with attacking Flanders . 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 spread to the rest of the fleet and 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 Reuter , were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow . " Nürnberg " was among the ships interned . The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty . 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 . British sailors used explosive charges to blast away " Nürnberg " s anchor chains so she could be dragged aground before she sank . The ship was refloated in July and eventually expended as a target ship on 7 July 1922 off the Isle of Wight .