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SMS Seeadler was a German unprotected cruiser of the Bussard class. Built at the Imperial Shipyard in Danzig in late 1890, Seeadler was armed with a main battery of eight 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph). She spent almost her entire career abroad, mostly in German East Africa and German New Guinea. Decommissioned in 1914, during World War I Seeadler was used as a mine storage hulk outside Wilhelmshaven. On 19 April 1917, her cargo of mines exploded and destroyed the ship.
Seeadler is shown here during a visit to the United States for the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage to the Americas.Photograph: Detroit Photographic Co.; restoration: Adam Cuerden