SMS Leipzig ( 1875 ) SMS " Leipzig " was a flush - deck corvette , the lead ship of her class , built by the German Imperial Navy ; she had one sister ship , . She was named after the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 rather than after the city of Leipzig . She was laid down in 1874 , launched in 1875 , and completed in 1877 . She was converted into a ' cruiser frigate ' ( ) in 1884 . She served abroad until 1893 and frequently became involved in German colonialism and gunboat diplomacy . She was thereafter hulked in Wilhelmshaven , where she was scuttled on 5 November 1919 . She was raised and broken up in 1921 . Service history . World tours . After her commissioning , the ship was sent on a world tour as a training ship , under the command of " " Karl Paschen . In March 1878 she formed part of the German naval demonstration in Corinto / Nicaragua during the ' Eisenstuck Affair ' - at the end of this crisis , she visited Mexican and American ports . In July 1878 she visited Japan , followed by Chinese ports in April 1879 . She then sailed back to Germany via Singapore , Cape Town and Plymouth , arriving in Kiel on 27 September 1879 . After some modifications ( including the addition of four torpedo tubes ) , " Leipzig " set out on her second world tour on 19 October 1882 . In June the following year she was assigned to the German East Asia Squadron and at the end of 1883 she transported Zappe , the German Consul - General in Shanghai , to Chemulpo to sign the first German - Korean trade agreement . During that trip some of the ship ' s officers and its military band also visited the court of king Taiwen - kun in Seoul . In March 1884 " Leipzig " left the Squadron and set out for Germany , but suffered problems off Borneo or near Sandakan and had to put into Singapore for seven weeks ' repairs . During this time an epidemic fever broke out on board , meaning part of the crew had to disembark . On resuming her voyage home , " Leipzig " was ordered to join the German occupation of Cameroon and Togo in southwest Africa . On 6 August 1884 , she arrived off Angra Pequeña in support of the proclamation of the German seizure of southwest Africa . On 30 August 1884 she was sent to anchor off Fernando Po to support the German Imperial Commissioner Gustav Nachtigal . He commanded her to hoist the German flag to secure German domination in various coastal towns in Cameroon - she did so on 5 September 1884 at Porto Seguro and Little Popo , as well as later in Togo . On 9 October 1884 the ship arrived back in Wilhelmshaven . Refit . On 25 November 1884 , " Leipzig " was reclassed as a ' frigate cruiser ' and began a refit , receiving a new engine plant and a second chimney . Since the ship was intended as the flagship of the Cruiser Squadron , the refit also altered the cabins , to allow her to host an admiral . After several technical difficulties caused by the refit , the ship only returned to service in April 1888 . Cruiser Squadron . From 1888 to 1892 she was flagship of the German East Asia Squadron , initially under vice - admiral Karl August Deinhard . As such she took part in the suppression of the Abushiri Revolt in German East Africa . On 8 May 1889 a landing party from the ship also took part in the storming of the Buschiri lager near Bagamojo . Another landing party from the ship took part in the capture of Pangani on 8 July 1889 . After the end of the uprising , the ship put into Cape Town for an overhaul . After a time in the Mediterranean , " Leipzig " set out for the Far East in the early 1890s , under the squadron ' s new commander rear admiral Victor Valois . This was a routine period , including visits to New Zealand and Samoa and at the start of 1891 some visits to Chinese ports . In May 1891 Valois was ordered to protect German interests in Chile against the Chilean Civil War . She ran out of coal on the way there and had to be towed for 97 hours . As the war came to a head in 1891 , " Leipzig " and the British corvette sent a joint landing party to Valparaíso to protect the British and German quarters of the city . At the end of the Civil War , " Leipzig " visited various South American ports and then Cape Town . In March 1892 she anchored in Delagoa Bay , from which the Cruiser Squadron ' s new commander Friedrich von Pawelsz led a delegation to Paul Kruger , the new president of the Boer Republic of Transvaal . Hulk . During a second visit to Cape Town later in 1892 , the ship turned out to be in need of another major overhaul due to heavy wear and tear . She was replaced as flagship of the Cruiser Squadron and in spring 1932 returned to Wilhelmshaven , where an inspection declared her unfit for overseas service . However , it assessed her hull as sufficiently sound to be used as a hulk , a role in which she served for another twenty - five years . The German Navy ' s radio - telegraphy school was established on board her and during the First World War she served as her quarter ' s submarine training school . On 5 May 1919 she suddenly keeled over to one side - nobody was on board at the time and nobody was hurt . She was raised in 1921 then scrapped .