SMS Gneisenau
"Gneisenau" was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany in 1904, under construction number 144. She was launched on 14 June 1906, and commissioned into the fleet nearly two years later on 6 March 1908. The ship cost the German government 19,243,000 goldmarks. The ship had been designed for service with the High Seas Fleet, though it was found to be too weak for service with the battle fleet; instead it was deployed overseas, a role in which it performed well.
SS Gneisenau (1935)
"Gneisenau" was the second of three sister ships built for NDL. DeSchiMAG in Bremen built "Gneisenau" and , while Blohm + Voss in Hamburg built the third sister, .