SMS Medusa

SMS Medusa was the seventh member of the ten-ship Gazelle-class cruiser, built by the Imperial German Navy. She was built by the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen, laid down in early 1900, launched in December 1900, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in July 1901. Armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm guns and two 45 cm torpedo tubes, Medusa was capable of a top speed of 21.5 kn.

Medusa served in all three German navies over the span of over forty years. She served as a fleet scout in the period before World War I, and during the first two years of the conflict, she was used as a coastal defense ship. She was one of six cruisers Germany was allowed to keep by the Treaty of Versailles, and she served in the early 1920s in the Reichsmarine. She was withdrawn from service in 1924 and used in secondary duties, but in 1940, the Kriegsmarine converted Medusa into a floating anti-aircraft battery. She defended the port of Wilhelmshaven until the closing days of the war, when she was scuttled by her crew. The wreck was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1948–1950.

Construction
Medusa was ordered under the contract name "E" and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in early 1900 and launched on 5 December 1900, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 26 July 1901. The ship was 104.8 m long overall and had a beam of 12.2 m and a draft of 4.84 m forward. She displaced 2972 t at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion engines. They were designed to give 8000 shp, for a top speed of 21.5 kn. The engines were powered by ten coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers. Medusa carried 560 t of coal, which gave her a range of 3560 nmi at 10 kn. She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men.

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 12200 m. They were supplied with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, for 100 shells per gun. She was also equipped with two 45 cm torpedo tubes with five torpedoes. They were submerged in the hull on the broadside. The ship was protected by an armored deck that was 20 to 25 mm thick. The conning tower had 80 mm thick sides, and the guns were protected by 50 mm thick shields.

Service history
After her commissioning, Medusa was assigned to the fleet reconnaissance forces. In 1905, she was assigned to the Cruiser Division, alongside her sisters SMS Ariadne and SMS Amazone and the armored cruiser SMS Prinz Heinrich. She served in the fleet scout role up to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, at which point she was employed as a coastal defense vessel. In 1917, she four of her guns removed, and she was used as an auxiliary ship for the old ironclad SMS König Wilhelm, which was being used as a training ship for naval cadets.

Medusa survived the war and was one of six light cruisers Germany was permitted to keep in service by the Treaty of Versailles. The ship served in the Reichsmarine from 1920 to 1924; in 1922, Medusa was assigned to the Active Squadron in the Baltic Station, alongside the battleship SMS Hannover. In 1924 she was withdrawn from service. On 29 March 1929, she was stricken from the naval register and thereafter used as a barracks ship in Wilhelmshaven. In July 1940, during World War II, Medusa was converted into a floating anti-aircraft battery in Wilhelmshaven. Her armament at that point consisted of one 10.5 cm SK C/32 gun, four 10.5 cm SK C/33 guns, two 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns, and four 2 cm guns. She was then assigned to Naval Anti-aircraft Group 222, and remained in the harbor at Wilhelmshaven for the duration of the war. Her crews scuttled the ship on 3 May 1945, days before the end of the war in Europe. The wreck was ultimately salvaged in 1948–1950 and broken up for scrap.