SMS Nymphe SMS " Nymphe " was the third member of the ten - ship , built by the Imperial German Navy . She was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel , laid down in 1898 , launched in November 1899 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in September 1900 . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Nymphe " was capable of a top speed of . The ship had a long , if uneventful , career that spanned over thirty years and saw service in both the Imperial Navy and the " Reichsmarine " . She served as a coastal defense ship during the first two years of World War I before being reduced to a barracks ship . She returned to active duty with the " Reichsmarine " in 1924 and served until 1929 . She was stricken in August 1931 and broken up for scrap the following year . Construction . " Nymphe " was ordered under the contract name " A " and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in 1898 and launched on 21 November 1899 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 20 September 1900 . 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 triple - expansion engine s manufactured by AG - Germania . They were designed to give , for a top speed of . The engines were powered by ten coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . " Nymphe " carried of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men . The ship was armed with ten 10 . 5 cm SK L / 40 guns in single mounts . Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle , six were located amidships , three on either side , and two were placed side by side aft . The guns could engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1 , 000 rounds of ammunition , for 100 shells per gun . She was also equipped with two torpedo tube s with five torpedo es . They were submerged in the hull on the broadside . The ship was protected by an armored deck that was thick . The conning tower had thick sides , and the guns were protected by thick shields . Service history . After her commissioning in 1900 , " Nymphe " served with the High Seas Fleet in home waters . She also served as a training ship for naval cadets . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , she was reduced to a coastal defense ship , a role she served in up to 1916 . She was then withdrawn from active service and used as a barracks ship and training vessel , based in Kiel . She was among the six cruisers permitted to the newly reorganized " Reichsmarine " by the Treaty of Versailles . In 1924 , the ship was significantly modernized at the Deutsche Werke in Wilhelmshaven . Her ram bow was rebuilt into a clipper bow , which increased her overall length to . Her old 10 . 5 cm SK L / 40 guns were replaced with newer SK L / 45 guns in U - boat mountings and two torpedo tubes in deck - mounted launchers were installed . " Nymphe " served on active duty with the " Reichsmarine " from 1925 to 1929 , when she was withdrawn from service a second time . She was formally stricken from the naval register on 31 March 1931 , and she was sold for scrapping on 29 August , for 61 , 500 Reichsmarks . She was broken up the following year in Hamburg .