SMS Emden ( 1908 ) SMS " Emden " ( " His Majesty ' s Ship " Emden " " ) was the second and final member of the of light cruiser s built for the Imperial German Navy ( " Kaiserliche Marine " ) . She was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft ( Imperial Dockyard ) in Danzig in 1906 , was launched in May 1908 , and completed in July 1909 . She had one sister ship , . Like the preceding " Königsberg " - class cruisers , " Emden " was armed with ten guns and two torpedo tube s . " Emden " spent the majority of her career overseas in the German East Asia Squadron , based in Tsingtao , China . In 1913 , she came under the command of Karl von Müller , who would captain the ship during her career in World War I . At the outbreak of hostilities , " Emden " captured a Russian steamer and converted her into the commerce raider . " Emden " rejoined the East Asia Squadron , after which she was detached for independent raiding in the Indian Ocean . The cruiser spent nearly two months operating in the region , and captured nearly two dozen ships . In late October , " Emden " launched a surprise attack on Penang ; in the resulting Battle of Penang , she sank the Russian cruiser " Zhemchug " and the French destroyer " Mousquet " . Müller then took " Emden " to raid the Cocos Islands , where he landed a contingent of sailors to destroy British facilities . There , " Emden " was attacked by the Australian cruiser . The more powerful Australian ship quickly inflicted serious damage and forced Müller to run his ship aground to prevent her from sinking . Out of a crew of 376 , 133 were killed in the battle . Most of the survivors were taken prisoner , though the landing party , led by Hellmuth von Mücke commandeered an old schooner and eventually returned to Germany . " Emden " s wreck was quickly destroyed by wave action , but was not broken up for scrap until the 1950s . Design . " Emden " 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 steam engines , designed to give for a top speed of . The engines were powered by twelve coal - fired Marine - type water - tube boilers . " Emden " carried up to of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 18 officers and 343 enlisted men . " Emden " was the last German cruiser to be equipped with triple - expansion engines ; all subsequent cruisers used the more powerful steam turbines . 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 , 500 rounds of ammunition , for 150 shells per gun . She was also equipped with two torpedo tube s with four torpedo es , mounted on the deck . She was also fitted to carry fifty naval mine s . The ship was protected by an armored deck that was up to thick . The conning tower had thick sides , and the guns were protected by thick shields . Service history . " Emden " was laid down in 1906 at the Kaiserliche Werft ( Imperial Dockyard ) in Danzig . She was launched on 26 May 1908 and fitting - out work was completed by 10 July 1909 , when she was commissioned into the fleet . On 1 April 1910 " Emden " was assigned to the East Asian Station , based at Tsingtao in Germany ' s Kiautschou concession in China . " Emden " left Kiel on 12 April 1910 , bound for Asia . In January 1911 , " Emden " and the cruiser were deployed to the Caroline Islands to put down the Sokehs Rebellion . In 1913 , " Korvettenkapitän " ( Corvette Captain ) Karl von Müller became the ship ' s commanding officer ; he was shortly thereafter promoted to " Fregattenkapitän " ( Frigate Captain ) . World War I . During the July Crisis , " Emden " was the only German cruiser in Tsingtao ; " Vizeadmiral " ( Vice Admiral ) Maximilian von Spee ' s two armored cruiser s , and , were cruising in the South Pacific and was en route to replace " Nürnberg " off the coast of Mexico . On 31 July , with war days away , Müller decided to put to sea to begin commerce raiding once war had been formally declared . Two days later , on 2 August , Germany declared war on Russia , and the following day , " Emden " captured the Russian steamer " Ryazan " . The Russian vessel was sent back to Tsingtao , where she was converted into the auxiliary cruiser . On 5 August , Spee ordered Müller to join him at Pagan Island in the Marianas Islands ; " Emden " left Tsingtao the following day along with the auxiliary cruiser " Prinz Eitel Friedrich " and the collier . The ships arrived in Pagan on 12 August . The next day , Spee learned that Japan would enter the war on the side of the Triple Entente and had dispatched a fleet to track his squadron down . Spee therefore decided to take the East Asia Squadron to South America , where it could attempt to break through to Germany , harassing British merchant traffic along the way . Müller suggested that one cruiser be detached for independent operations in the Indian Ocean , since the squadron would be unable to attack British shipping while it was crossing the Pacific . Spee agreed , and allowed Müller to operate independently , since " Emden " was the fastest cruiser in the squadron . Independent raider . On 14 August , " Emden " and " Markomannia " left the company of the East Asia Squadron , bound for the Indian Ocean . Since the cruiser was already operating in the western Indian Ocean around the Gulf of Aden , Müller decided he should cruise in the shipping lanes between Singapore , Colombo , and Aden . " Emden " steamed toward the Indian Ocean by way of the Molucca and Banda Seas . While seeking to coal off Jampea Island , the Dutch coastal defense ship " Tromp " stopped " Emden " and made clear that she would enforce Dutch neutrality . Müller therefore decided to steam into the Lombok Strait . There , " Emden " s radio - intercept officers picked up messages from the British armored cruiser . To maintain secrecy , " Emden " s crew rigged up a dummy funnel to give her the appearance of a British light cruiser . She then steamed up the coast of Sumatra toward the Indian Ocean . On 5 September , " Emden " entered the Bay of Bengal , achieving complete surprise , since the British assumed she was still with Spee ' s squadron . She operated on shipping routes there without success , until 10 September , when she moved to the Colombo – Calcutta route . There , she captured the Greek collier " Pontoporros " , which was carrying equipment for the British . Müller took the ship into his service and agreed to pay the crew . " Emden " captured five more ships ; four were sunk , and the fifth , a steamer named " Kabinga " , was used to carry the crews from the other vessels . On 13 September , Müller released " Kabinga " and sank two more British prizes . Off the Ganges estuary , " Emden " caught a Norwegian merchantman ; upon searching her , the Germans determined she was not carrying contraband and therefore released her . The Norwegians informed Müller that Entente warships were operating in the area , and so he decided to return to the eastern coast of India . " Emden " thereafter stopped and released an Italian freighter , whose crew relayed news of the incident to a British vessel , which in turn informed British naval authorities in the region . The result was an immediate cessation of shipping and the institution of a blackout . Vice Admiral Martyn Jerram ordered " Hampshire " , , and the Japanese protected cruiser " Chikuma " to search for " Emden " . The British armored cruiser and the Japanese armored cruiser " Ibuki " were sent to patrol likely coaling stations . In late September , Müller decided to bombard Madras . Müller believed the attack would demonstrate his freedom of maneuver and decrease British prestige with the local population . At around 20 : 00 on 22 September , " Emden " entered the port , which was completely illuminated , despite the blackout order . " Emden " closed to within from the piers before she opened fire . She set fire to two oil tanks and damaged three others , and damaged a merchant ship in the harbor . In the course of the bombardment , " Emden " had fired 130 rounds . The following day , the British again mandated that shipping stop in the Bay of Bengal ; during the first month of " Emden " s raiding career in the Indian Ocean , the value of exports there had fallen by 61 . 2 percent . From Madras , Müller had originally intended to rendezvous with his colliers off Simalur Island in Indonesia , but he instead decided to make a foray to the western side of Ceylon . On 25 September , " Emden " sank a pair of British merchantmen and two days later , captured the collier " Buresk " , which was carrying a cargo of high - grade coal . A German prize crew went aboard " Buresk " and she was thereafter used to support " Emden " s operations . Later that day , the German raider sank two more British vessels . Low on fuel , " Emden " proceeded to the Maldives to coal . She arrived there on 29 September and remained for a day while her crew replenished her coal stocks . The raider then cruised the routes between Aden and Australia and between Calcutta and Mauritius for two days without success . " Emden " thereafter steamed to Diego Garcia for engine maintenance and to rest her crew . Curiously , the British garrison at Diego Garcia had not yet learned of the state of war between Britain and Germany , and so treated " Emden " to a warm reception . She remained there until 10 October , during which time her bottom was cleaned of fouling . She then resumed searching for merchant ships in the area west of Colombo . While operating there , " Emden " picked up " Hampshire " s wireless signals again , and so departed for the Chagos Archipelago on 13 October . Meanwhile , the British had captured " Markomannia " on 12 October , depriving " Emden " of one of her colliers . On 15 October , " Emden " captured a British steamer off Minikoi and sank her the next day . Over the next five days , she captured five more vessels ; one was used as a collier , three were sunk , and the fifth was sent to port with the crews of the other vessels . On 20 October , Müller decided it was time to move to a new area of operations . Attack on Penang . Müller decided his next course of action would be a surprise attack on Penang in British Malaya . " Emden " coaled in the Nicobar Islands and departed for Penang on the night of 27 October , with the departure timed to allow her to arrive off the harbor at dawn . She approached the harbor entrance at 03 : 00 on 28 October , steaming at a speed of , with her fourth dummy funnel erected to disguise her identity . " Emden " s lookouts quickly spotted a warship in the port with her lights illuminated ; it turned out to be the Russian protected cruiser " Zhemchug " , a veteran of the Battle of Tsushima . " Zhemchug " had put into Penang for repairs to her boilers ; only one was in service , which meant that she could not get underway , nor were her ammunition hoists powered . Only five rounds of ready ammunition were permitted for each gun , with a sixth chambered . " Emden " pulled alongside " Zhemchug " at a distance of ; Müller ordered a torpedo to be fired at the Russian cruiser . Immediately thereafter , he gave the order for the 10 . 5 cm guns to open fire . " Emden " quickly inflicted grievous damage on her adversary ; she turned around to make another pass at " Zhemchug " . One of the Russian gun crews managed to get their weapon into action , but scored no hits . Müller ordered a second torpedo to be fired into the burning " Zhemchug " while his guns continued to batter her . The second torpedo caused a tremendous explosion that tore the ship apart . By the time the smoke cleared , " Zhemchug " had already slipped beneath the waves , her masts the only parts of the ship still above water . The destruction of " Zhemchug " killed 81 Russian sailors and wounded 129 , of whom seven later died of their injuries . The elderly French cruiser " D ' Iberville " and the destroyer " Fronde " opened fire on " Emden " , but their shots were wildly inaccurate . Müller then decided to depart , owing to the risk of encountering superior warships . Upon leaving the harbor , he shelled an approaching British ship , " Glen Turret " , and sent an inspection party aboard . After determining that she was not a warship nor auxiliary , Müller apologized for attacking her and released her . Meanwhile , the French destroyer " Mousquet " approached " Emden " , but the latter quickly destroyed the former . " Emden " stopped to pick up survivors from " Mousquet " and departed at around 08 : 00 . One officer and thirty - five sailors were plucked from the water . Another French destroyer tried to follow , but lost sight of the German raider in a rainstorm . On 30 October , " Emden " stopped the British steamer " Newburn " and put the French sailors aboard her after they signed statements promising not to return to the war . The attack on Penang was a significant shock to the Entente powers , and caused them to delay the large convoys from Australia , since they would need more powerful escorts . Battle of Cocos . After releasing the British steamer , " Emden " turned south to Simalur , where she met the captured collier " Buresk " . Müller then decided to attack the British coaling station in the Cocos Islands ; he intended to destroy the wireless station there and draw away British forces searching for him in the Indian Ocean . While en route to the Cocos , " Emden " spent two days combing the Sunda Strait for merchant shipping , though without success . She thereafter proceeded to the Cocos , arriving off Direction Island at 06 : 00 on the morning of 9 November . Since there were no British vessels in the area , Müller sent ashore a landing party led by " Kapitänleutnant " ( First Lieutenant ) Hellmuth von Mücke , " Emden " s executive officer . The party consisted of another two officers , six non - commissioned officers , and thirty - eight sailors . Though " Emden " was using jamming , the British wireless station was able to transmit the message " Unidentified ship off entrance . " The message was received by the Australian light cruiser , which was away , escorting a convoy . " Sydney " immediately headed for the Cocos Islands at top speed . " Emden " picked up wireless messages from the then unidentified vessel approaching , but believed her to be away , giving them much more time than they actually had . At 09 : 00 , lookouts aboard " Emden " spotted a smoke cloud on the horizon , and thirty minutes later identified it as a warship approaching at high speed . Mücke ' s landing party was still ashore , and there was no time left to recover them . " Sydney " closed to a distance of before turning to a parallel course with " Emden " . The German cruiser opened fire first , and straddled the Australian vessel with her third salvo . " Emden " s gunners were firing rapidly , with a salvo every ten seconds ; Müller hoped to overwhelm " Sydney " with a barrage of shells before her heavier armament could take effect . Two shells hit " Sydney " , one of which disabled the aft fire control station ; the other failed to explode . It took slightly longer for " Sydney " to find the range , and in the meantime , " Emden " turned toward her opponent in an attempt to close to torpedo range . " Sydney " s more powerful guns soon found the range and inflicted serious damage . The wireless station was destroyed and the crew for one of the forward guns was killed early in the engagement . At 09 : 45 , Müller turned his ship toward " Sydney " in another attempt to reach a torpedo firing position . Five minutes later , a shell hit disabled the steering gear , and other fragments jammed the hand steering equipment . " Emden " could only be steered with her propellers . " Sydney " ss gunfire also destroyed the rangefinder s and caused heavy casualties amongst " Emden " s gun crews . Müller made a third attempt to close to torpedo range , but " Sydney " quickly turned away . Shortly after 10 : 00 , a shell from " Sydney " detonated ready ammunition near the starboard No . 4 gun and started a serious fire . A fourth and final attempt to launch a torpedo attack was made shortly thereafter , but " Sydney " was able to keep the range open . By 10 : 45 , " Emden " s guns had largely gone silent ; her superstructure had been shredded and the two rear - most funnels had been shot away , along with the foremast . Müller realized that his ship was no longer able to fight , and so he decided to beach " Emden " on North Keeling Island to save the lives of his crew . At 11 : 15 , " Emden " was run onto the reef , and her engines and boilers were flooded . Her breech block s and torpedo aiming gear were thrown overboard to render the weapons unusable , and all signal books and secret papers were burned . " Sydney " turned to capture the collier " Buresk " , whose crew scuttled her when the Australian cruiser approached . " Sydney " then returned to the wrecked " Emden " and inquired if she surrendered . The signal books had been destroyed by fire and so the Germans could not reply , and since her flag was still flying , " Sydney " resumed fire . The Germans quickly raised white flag s and the Australians ceased fire . In the course of the action , " Emden " had scored sixteen hits on " Sydney " , killing three of her crew and wounding another thirteen . " Emden " had suffered much higher casualties : 133 officers and enlisted men were killed , out of a crew of 376 . Most of her surviving crew , including Müller , were taken into captivity the following day . The wounded men were sent to Australia , while the uninjured were interned at a camp in Malta ; the men were returned to Germany in 1920 . Mücke ' s landing party , however , evaded capture . They had observed the battle , and realized that " Emden " would be destroyed . Mücke therefore ordered the old schooner " Ayesha " to be prepared for sailing . The Germans departed before " Sydney " reached Direction Island , and sailed to Padang in the Dutch East Indies . From there , they traveled to Yemen , which was then part of the Ottoman Empire , an ally of Germany . They then traveled overland to Constantinople , arriving in June 1915 . There , they reported to " Vizeadmiral " Wilhelm Souchon , the commander of the ex - German battlecruiser . Over a raiding career spanning three months and , " Emden " had destroyed two Entente warships and sank or captured sixteen British steamers and one Russian merchant ship , totaling . Another four British ships were captured and released , and one British and one Greek ship were used as colliers . In 1915 , a Japanese company proposed that " Emden " be repaired and refloated , but an inspection by the elderly flat - iron gunboat concluded that wave damage to " Emden " made such an operation unfeasible . By 1919 , there were reports that the wreck had almost completely broken up and disappeared beneath the waves . The wreck was eventually broken up " in situ " in the early 1950s by a Japanese salvage company , though parts of the ship remain scattered around the area .