Victoria Louise-class cruiser

The Victoria Louise class was the last class of protected cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy. It comprised five vessels, Victoria Louise, Hertha, Freya, Vineta and Hansa, laid down in 1895 and 1896 and launched in 1897 and 1898. Their design introduced the combined clipper and ram bow and the blocky sides typical of later German armored cruisers. They carried two 21 cm guns and eight 15 cm guns and reached 19.5 knots in the first three ships and 18.5 knots in the last two. All five had three vertical 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines built by AG Vulcan, and Hertha and Hansa were also built at Vulcan's Stettin yard. The ships served on the America Station, with the East Asia Squadron and in the home fleet.