SMS Stralsund SMS " Stralsund " was a " Magdeburg " class light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine . Her class included three other ships : , , and . She was built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen from 1910 to December 1912 , when she was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet . The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 10 . 5 cm SK L / 45 guns and had a top speed of . " Stralsund " was assigned to the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career . She saw significant action in the early years of World War I , including several operations off the British coast and the Battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank , in August 1914 and November 1915 , respectively . She was not damaged in either action . The ship was in dockyard hands during the Battle of Jutland , and so she missed the engagement . After the end of the war , she served briefly in the " Reichsmarine " before being surrendered to the Allies . She was ceded to the French Navy , where she served as " Mulhouse " until 1925 . She was formally stricken in 1933 and broken up for scrap two years later . Design . " Stralsund " was ordered under the contract name " " Ersatz " " and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1910 and launched on 4 November 1911 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 10 December 1912 . 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 AEG - Vulcan steam turbines driving two propellers . They were designed to give , but reached in service . These were powered by sixteen coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers , although they were later altered to use fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate . These gave the ship a top speed of . " Stralsund " carried of coal , and an additional of oil that gave her a range of approximately at . " Stralsund " had a crew of 18 officers and 336 enlisted men . The ship was armed with twelve 10 . 5 cm SK L / 45 guns in single pedestal mounts . Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle , eight were located amidships , four on either side , and two were side by side aft . The guns had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees , which allowed them to engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1 , 800 rounds of ammunition , for 150 shells per gun . She was also equipped with a pair of torpedo tube s with five torpedo es submerged in the hull on the broadside . 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 . " Stralsund " spent the majority of her career in the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet . On 16 August , some two weeks after the outbreak of World War I , " Stralsund " and conducted a sweep into the Hoofden to search for British reconnaissance forces . The two cruisers encountered a group of sixteen British destroyer s and a light cruiser at a distance of about . Significantly outnumbered , the two German cruisers broke contact and returned to port . The ship ' s first major action was the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914 . British battlecruiser s and light cruiser s raided the German reconnaissance screen in the Heligoland Bight . At 12 : 30 , " Stralsund " , , and arrived to reinforce Rear Admiral Leberecht Maass , and quickly turned the tide against the British light cruisers . Shortly thereafter , the British battlecruisers intervened and sank " Ariadne " and Maass ' s flagship . " Stralsund " and the rest of the surviving light cruisers retreated into the haze and were reinforced by the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group . " Stralsund " and " Danzig " returned and rescued most of the crew of " Ariadne " . She also participated in the raid on Yarmouth on 2 – 3 November 1914 , as reconnaissance screen for the I Scouting Group . While the battlecruisers bombarded the town of Yarmouth , " Stralsund " laid a minefield , which sank a steamer and the submarine which had sortied to intercept the German raiders . After completing the bombardment , the German squadron returned to port without encountering British forces . " Stralsund " was also present during the raid on Scarborough , Hartlepool and Whitby , again screening for the I Scouting Group . In the withdrawal after bombarding the towns , the Germans were nearly intercepted by British forces ; the cruiser spotted " Stralsund " and several torpedo boat s . Confusion aboard the British flagship allowed the German squadron to escape , however . On 25 December , the British launched the Cuxhaven Raid , an air attack on the German naval base in Cuxhaven and the Nordholz Airbase . " Stralsund " engaged one of the attacking seaplane s , but was unable to shoot it down . The ship was again part of the reconnaissance screen for the I Scouting Group at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915 . " Stralsund " and were assigned to the front of the screen and and steamed on either side of the formation ; each cruiser was supported by a half - flotilla of torpedo boats . At 08 : 15 , lookouts on " Stralsund " and " Kolberg " spotted heavy smoke from large British warships approaching the formation . As the main German fleet was in port and therefore unable to support the battlecruisers , Hipper decided to retreat at high speed . The British battlecruisers were able to catch up to the Germans , however , and in the ensuing battle , the large armored cruiser was sunk . " Stralsund " was not available for the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 as she was being rearmed with 15 cm SK L / 45 guns . The refit was completed at the " Kaiserliche Werft " shipyard in Kiel . The twelve 10 . 5 cm guns were replaced with seven 15 cm weapons and two 8 . 8 cm SK L / 45 guns . On 2 February 1918 , " Stralsund " struck a mine laid by British ships in the North Sea . The dreadnought and several other ships steamed out to escort " Stralsund " back to port . The ship was unavailable for the major fleet operation on 23 – 24 April 1918 to intercept a British convoy to Norway . After the war , " Stralsund " served briefly with the reorganized " Reichsmarine " in 1919 . The Treaty of Versailles specified that the ship was to be disarmed and handed over to the Allies within two months of the signing of the treaty . She was ceded to France as a war prize under the transaction name " Z " . The ship was formally handed over in Cherbourg on 3 August 1920 . The ship was renamed " Mulhouse " and served briefly with the French Navy until a refit in 1925 in Brest . By this time , she was thoroughly worn out and was therefore placed in reserve shortly after completing the refit . On 15 February 1933 , " Mulhouse " was stricken from the naval register and broken up for scrap in Brest in 1935 . The ship ' s bell was later returned to Germany and is now on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial .