class cruiser class unprotected cruisers built german kaiserliche_marine late 1880s early 1890s class comprised ships lead ship designed service germany colonial empire class emphasized long range cruising radius relatively heavy armament cruisers kaiserliche_marine equipped auxiliary sailing rig ships equipped centimeter guns ships served abroad majority careers primarily africa south pacific suppression uprisings china participated seizure concession china involved venezuela crisis broken scrap remaining ships service following outbreak world war august based engines scuttled harbor longer operational briefly operated british shipping pacific having hawaii neutral united_states united_states entered war april seized commissioned navy served escort accidentally sunk following collision freighter june converted storage start war destroyed accidental explosion member class survive war scrapped design class designed service abroad germany colonial possessions improvement preceding class unprotected cruisers design class prepared ships significantly larger faster class mounted battery guns carried type guns rest carried newer quick firing model cruiser class german kaiserliche_marine equipped sailing rig subsequent unprotected cruiser entirely steam powered general characteristics ships class differed slightly characteristics ships meters long waterline long overall beam draft forward aft displaced metric tons long tons designed long tons combat load ships long waterline overall length earlier sister ships beam draft forward aft displaced long tons designed long tons load ship long waterline long overall beam draft forward aft cruisers hulls constructed transverse steel frames yellow pine upper deck layer metal covered hull protect wood stem constructed steel timber bronze naval ram fitted bow hull divided watertight compartments double installed boiler rooms ships good sea boats rolled badly main guns caused severe vibration laid ships entered service redesigned slightly suffer bad vibration turns wind steaming low speed ships crew officers enlisted men carried number smaller boats including picket boat cutter propulsion propulsion system consisted horizontal cylinder triple expansion steam engines powered coal fired cylindrical boilers engines rated indicated horsepower placed engine rooms engines drove pair bladed screws wide diameter boilers divided boiler rooms single funnel ships fitted auxiliary schooner barque rig total surface area steering controlled single rudder ship equipped pair electricity generators combined output kilowatts volts propulsion system provided speed mph ships exceeded design speeds sea trials reaching knots mph ships carried long tons short tons coal designed accommodate long tons short tons coal additional storage spaces provided range nautical miles knots mph armament ship armed guns single pedestal mounts supplied rounds ammunition total range subsequent ships equipped newer quick firing versions guns newer guns longer range guns placed forecastle broadside gun port quarterdeck use second pair guns instead simply mounting upper deck gun armament rounded revolver cannon ships equipped torpedo tubes mounted deck instead larger torpedo tubes ship carried torpedoes ships service history ships class spent majority careers abroad primarily germany colonial possessions africa pacific visited united_states march protected cruiser celebrations anniversary columbus crossing atlantic july year assigned assisted suppression revolt british corvette 1890s assigned germany colonies suppressed local uprisings november took seizure concession china present caribbean spanish american war took active role conflict modernized germany participated suppression boxer rebellion china including blockade chinese coast december protected cruiser joined british forces venezuela crisis forces seized british merchant ship cruisers helped british warships bombard coastal fortifications blockade coast modernized returned major dockyard work suppressed january light cruiser leipzig second balkan war broke stationed eastern mediterranean_sea observe hostilities stricken naval register october broken following year hamburg danzig respectively outbreak world war august converted storage hulk wilhelmshaven accidental explosion april destroyed ship wreck raised purpose kiel survived war broken scrap hamburg stationed scuttled harbor engines poor condition operated british merchant shipping pacific following onset hostilities october running low coal isolated sources support steamed hawaii interned navy united_states declared war germany april seized commissioned uss use escort vessel sunk merchant ship june
Bussard-class cruiser