 Nautilus passing under the Levensau High Bridge in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal shortly after entering service
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nautilus class |
| Builders | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Operators |  Imperial German Navy |
| Preceded by | SMS Pelikan |
| Succeeded by | Brummer class |
| Built | 1905–1908 |
| In commission | 1907–1919 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minelaying cruiser |
| Displacement | 2,345 t (2,308 long tons) |
| Length | 98.20 m (322 ft 2 in) o/a |
| Beam | 11.20 m (36 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 4.42 m (14 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Range | 3,530 nautical miles (6,540 km; 4,060 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Complement | 11 officers, 197 men |
| Armament |
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The Nautilus class was a pair of minelaying cruisers built by the Imperial German Navy. Nautilus was laid down in 1905 and completed by 1907, and SMS Albatross was laid down in 1907, and completed in 1908. Both ships were built by the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, but to slightly different designs. Nautilus had a clipper bow, while Albatross had a bow similar to contemporary German light cruisers. The ships were armed with a battery of 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and had a capacity of 168–288 naval mines.
The two ships served with the High Seas Fleet after entering service, with only one in the fleet at a time, usually trading service with the fleet either for refits or mine warfare training. After the start of World War I, the ships laid several minefields, both to protect the German coast and also to interfere with British naval operations. In 1915, Albatross was transferred to the Baltic Sea to operate against the Russian Baltic Fleet, where she was eventually ambushed by Russian cruisers and forced to beach in the Battle of Åland Islands in July. Nautilus took part in Operation Albion in 1917 and was rearmed in 1918 to support amphibious operations, but she did not see action in that role.
Albatross was returned to Germany after the war ended in 1918, and both vessels were stricken from the naval register in 1919. Albatross, never repaired from the damage sustained in 1915, was sold for scrap immediately, but Nautilus was retained as a hulk until 1928, when she too was broken up.