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.
SMS Prinz Heinrich
SMS "Prinz Heinrich" was a unique German armored cruiser built at the turn of the 20th century for the German "Kaiserliche Marine" (Imperial Navy), named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's younger brother Prince Heinrich. The second vessel of that type built in Germany, "Prinz Heinrich" was constructed at the "Kaiserliche Werft" (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel, being laid down in December 1898, launched in March 1900, and commissioned in March 1902. "Prinz Heinrich"s design was a modification of the previous armored cruiser, , and traded a smaller main battery and thinner armor for higher speed. All subsequent German armored cruisers were incremental developments of "Prinz Heinrich".