Leipzig underway before the war
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History | |
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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 | |
Length | Length overall: 111.1 meters (365 ft) |
Beam | 13.3 m (43.6 ft) |
Draft | 5.61 m (18.4 ft) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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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 |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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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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