SMS Mainz

Mainz, c. 1910
History
German Empire
Name	Mainz
Namesake	Mainz
Builder	AG Vulcan Stettin
Laid down	September 1907
Launched	23 January 1909
Commissioned	1 October 1909
Fate	Sunk during the Battle of Heligoland Bight, 28 August 1914
General characteristics
Class and type	Kolberg-class cruiser
Displacement	Normal: 4,362 metric tons (4,293 long tons) Full load: 4,889 t (4,812 long tons)
Length	130.5 m (428.1 ft)
Beam	14 m (45.9 ft)
Draft	5.38–5.58 m (17 ft 8 in – 18 ft 4 in)
Installed power	20,200 shp (15,100 kW) 15 × boilers
Propulsion	2 × screw propellers 2 × steam turbines
Speed	26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range	3,630 nmi (6,720 km; 4,180 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement	18 officers 349 enlisted men
Armament	12 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 guns 4 × 5.2 cm (2.0 in) SK L/55 guns 2 × 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor	Deck: 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) Gun shields: 50 mm (2 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in)

SMS Mainz was a Kolberg-class light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) during the First World War. She had three sister ships, SMS Kolberg, Cöln, and Augsburg. She was built by the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin; her hull was laid down in 1908 and she was launched in January 1909. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in October 1909. She was armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns and had a top speed of 25.5 kn (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph).

After her commissioning, she served with II Scouting Group, part of the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet. She was assigned to patrols off the island of Heligoland at the outbreak of World War I in early August 1914. At the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914, the German patrol forces were attacked by superior British forces, including five battlecruisers and several light cruisers. Mainz was initially stationed in support of the forces on the patrol line. She attempted to reinforce the beleaguered German forces, and encountered a much stronger force of British cruisers and destroyers. They scored several damaging hits with gunfire and a torpedo that disabled Mainz and prompted her commander to abandon ship. The British rescued 348 men from the crew before the ship rolled over and sank. Eighty-nine men were killed in the battle, including her commanding officer.