SMS Leipzig (1905)

Leipzig underway before the war
History
German Empire
Name	Leipzig
Namesake	Leipzig
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Laid down	1904
Launched	21 March 1905
Commissioned	20 April 1906
Fate	Sunk at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914
General characteristics
Class and type	Bremen-class light cruiser
Displacement	Normal: 3,278 t (3,226 long tons) Full load: 3,816 t (3,756 long tons)
Length	Length overall: 111.1 meters (365 ft)
Beam	13.3 m (43.6 ft)
Draft	5.61 m (18.4 ft)
Installed power	10 × water-tube boilers 10,000 PS (9,900 ihp)
Propulsion	2 × screw propellers 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Range	4,690 nmi (8,690 km; 5,400 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	14 officers 274–287 enlisted men
Armament	10 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns 10 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Maxim guns 2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Deck: 80 mm (3.1 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in) Gun shields: 50 mm (2 in)

SMS Leipzig ("His Majesty's Ship Leipzig")^[a] was the sixth of seven Bremen-class cruisers of the Imperial German Navy, named after the city of Leipzig. She was begun by AG Weser in Bremen in 1904, launched in March 1905 and commissioned in April 1906. Armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and two 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, Leipzig was capable of a top speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph).

Leipzig spent her career on overseas stations; at the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, she was cruising off the coast of Mexico. After rejoining with the East Asia Squadron, she proceeded to South American waters, where she participated in the Battle of Coronel, where the German squadron overpowered and sank a pair of British armored cruisers. A month later, she again saw action at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, which saw the destruction of the East Asia Squadron. Leipzig was chased down and sunk by the cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Cornwall; the majority of her crew was killed in the battle, with only 18 survivors.
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