SMS Mainz
Mainz circa 1910
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| History | |
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 German Empire
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| Name: | Mainz |
| Namesake: | Mainz |
| Laid down: | 1907 |
| Launched: | 23 January 1909 |
| Completed: | 1 October 1909 |
| Fate: | Sunk during the Battle of Heligoland Bight, 28 August 1914 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kolberg-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 4,915 metric tons (4,837 long tons) |
| Length: | 130.5 m (428.1 ft) |
| Beam: | 14 m (45.9 ft) |
| Draft: | 5.58 m (18.3 ft) |
| Installed power: | 19,000 ihp (14,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| 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: |
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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 the 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.
Mainz was ordered under the contract name Ersatz Jagd and was laid down in 1907 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin. She was launched on 23 January 1909 and christened by the mayor of Mainz, Karl Emil Göttelmann, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 1 October 1909. The ship was 130.5 meters (428 ft) long overall and had a beam of 14 m (46 ft) and a draft of 5.58 m (18.3 ft) forward. She displaced 4,915 t (4,837 long tons; 5,418 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two sets of AEG-Curtiss steam turbines driving two 3.45-meter (11.3 ft) propellers. They were designed to give 19,000 shaft horsepower (14,000 kW). These were powered by fifteen coal-fired Marine water-tube boilers. These gave the ship a top speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph). Mainz carried 1,010 t (990 long tons; 1,110 short tons) of coal that gave her a range of approximately 3,630 nautical miles (6,720 km; 4,180 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). Mainz had a crew of eighteen officers and 349 enlisted men.
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