German cruiser Emden

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see German ship Emden.

Emden in China, 1931
Class overview
Preceded by
Succeeded byKönigsberg class
History
Germany
NameEmden
NamesakeEmden
Ordered1921
Laid down8 December 1921
Launched6 January 1925
Commissioned15 October 1925
FateScuttled 3 May 1945, scrapped 1949
General characteristics
TypeLight cruiser
Displacement
  • Standard: 5,300 long tons (5,400 t)
  • Full load
    : 6,990 long tons (7,100 t)
Length155.1 m (508 ft 10 in)
Beam14.2 m (46 ft 7 in)
Draft5.3 m (17 ft 5 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed29.5 knots (54.6 km/h; 33.9 mph)
Range6,700 nmi (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		6
Complement
  • 19–30 officers
  • 445–653 enlisted men
Armament
Armor

Emden was a light cruiser built for the German Navy (Reichsmarine) in the early 1920s. She was the only ship of her class and was the first large warship built in Germany after the end of World War I. She was built at the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in December 1921 and her completed hull was launched in January 1925. Emden was commissioned into the fleet in October 1925. Her design was heavily informed by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and the dictates of the Allied disarmament commission. Displacement was capped at 6,000 long tons (6,100 t), though like all German warships built in the period, Emden exceeded the size limitations. She was armed with a main battery of surplus 15 cm (5.9 in) guns left over from World War I, mounted in single gun turrets, as mandated by the Allied powers. She had a top speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph).

Emden spent the majority of her career as a training ship; in the inter-war period, she conducted several world cruises to train naval cadets, frequently visiting East Asia, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean region. In 1937 and 1938, she briefly participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War. At the outbreak of war, she laid minefields off the German coast and was damaged by a British bomber that crashed into her. She participated in the invasion of Norway in April 1940 as part of the force that captured the Norwegian capital at Oslo.

The ship thereafter resumed training duties in the Baltic Sea. These lasted with minor interruptions until September 1941, when she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and tasked with supporting German operations during the

invasion of the Soviet Union. Training duties resumed in 1942 and lasted until late 1944, when she took part in minelaying operations in the Skagerrak. Damaged in a grounding accident in December 1944, she went to Königsberg for repairs. In January 1945, she participated in the evacuation of East Prussia to escape the advancing Soviet Army. While undergoing repairs in Kiel, Emden was repeatedly damaged by British bombers and later run aground outside the harbor to prevent her from sinking. In the final days of the war, she was blown up to prevent her capture. The wreck was ultimately broken up
in place by 1950.

Design

SMS Karlsruhe, the basis of Emden's design

According to Article 181 of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty that ended World War I, the German Navy was permitted only six light cruisers. Article 190 limited new cruiser designs to 6,000 long tons (6,100 t) and prohibited new construction until the vessel to be replaced was at least twenty years old.[1] Since the six cruisers that German retained had been launched between 1899 and 1902, the oldest ships—Niobe, Amazone, Nymphe, Thetis, and Medusa—could be replaced immediately.[2] Design work on the first new light cruiser, ordered as "Ersatz Niobe", began in 1921.[3]

The Navy hoped to finish the ship as quickly as possible and to keep costs to a minimum, and so requested permission from the

Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control to use steam turbines, boilers, and conning towers from scrapped vessels to complete Ersatz Niobe. The NIACC rejected the request. The Navy also hoped to use an armament of four twin-gun turrets for the new ship. The NIACC rejected the twin-turret design, but allowed the use of 15 cm (5.9 in) guns from existing stocks of spare barrels. Nominally within the 6,000-ton limit of the Versailles Treaty, Emden in fact exceeded the restriction by almost 1,000 long tons (1,000 t) fully loaded. In 1923, after work on Emden had already begun, the Germans proposed using the definition for standard displacement adopted in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which was significantly less than full-load displacement. The Allied powers approved of the change, [4][5] and thus Emden, which had a standard displacement of just under the 6,000-ton limit, was retroactively made legal.[3]

The ship was based on the blueprints from the late-war cruiser Karlsruhe, primarily due to personnel shortages in the design staff and the closure of the Navy's Ship Testing Institute, and the blueprints for Karlsruhe were still available.[6] Completed to a dated design, she proved to be something of a disappointment in service, primarily owing to her weak broadside of just six 15 cm guns.[2][7] Nevertheless, the ship incorporated major advances over the earlier designs, including large-scale use of welding in her construction and a significantly more efficient propulsion system that gave her a cruising radius fifty percent larger than that of the older ships,[3] which proved to be quite useful on the extended training cruises of the 1920s and 1930s.[5]

General characteristics

Recognition drawing of Emden from the Office of Naval Intelligence

Emden was 150.5 meters (494 ft)

armored belt that was 50 mm (2 in) thick; her armored deck was 20 to 40 mm (0.79 to 1.57 in) thick, and her conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides.[3]

The ship had a standard crew of nineteen officers and 464 enlisted men. While serving on cadet training cruises, her crew numbered twenty-nine officers and 445 enlisted, with 162 cadets. After 1940, her standard crew was increased to twenty-six officers and 556 enlisted, and after being reduced to a training ship, her crew numbered thirty officers and 653 enlisted men. Emden carried six boats. The German Navy regarded the ship as a good sea boat, with slight lee helm and gentle motion in a swell. The cruiser was maneuverable, but was slow going into a turn. Steering was controlled by a single large rudder. She lost speed only slightly in a head sea, but lost up to sixty percent in hard turns. She had a metacentric height of .79 m (2 ft 7 in).[3]

Machinery

Emden was powered by two sets of

kilowatts (560 hp) at 220 Volts.[3]

Armament

The ship's main battery was to have been eight 15 cm SK L/55 guns in twin turrets, but the Allied disarmament authority refused to permit this armament. Instead, she was equipped with existing stocks of 15 cm SK L/45 guns in single turrets.[3] The guns were C/16 models; they fired a 45 kg (99 lb) shell at a muzzle velocity of 835 meters per second (2,740 ft/s).[8] They could elevate to 40 degrees and had a maximum range of 17,600 m (57,700 ft). The eight guns were supplied with a total of 960 rounds of ammunition. Emden was also equipped with two 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns, and a third was later added. These guns had between 900 and 1,200 rounds of ammunition in total. As designed, she was to have carried eight deck-mounted 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes in dual launchers, but only four tubes were fitted as built. In 1934, these were replaced with more powerful 53.3 cm (21 in) tubes. The ship carried twelve torpedoes.[3]

In 1938, the ship's anti-aircraft battery was strengthened. She received two and later four

2 cm Flak guns. The capacity to carry 120 mines was also added. In 1942, two of the four torpedo launchers were removed, and she was rearmed with a new model of 15 cm gun.[3] This gun was the Tbts KC/36 model, and was designed for use on destroyers. It fired a slightly smaller 40 kg (88 lb) shell at a higher muzzle velocity—875 m/s (2,870 ft/s). The gun could elevate to 47 degrees for a maximum range of 23,500 m (77,100 ft).[9] By 1945, the ship's anti-aircraft battery consisted of nine 3.7 cm guns and six 2 cm guns.[3]

Service history

Construction – 1931

Emden in port, showing the Iron Cross worn to honor her namesake.

Emden was

sea trials after entering service, and these were interrupted with alterations in the Reichsmarinewerft that included a reconstruction of the battle mast. After these were completed in 1926, she conducted individual training and made numerous visits to foreign ports in northern European waters. In August and September 1926, she took part in annual fleet maneuvers, and in October she returned to the shipyard again to have her aft funnel increased in height to match the forward one. Emden was at that time allocated to the Training Inspectorate of the Navy.[10]

Emden embarked on her first long-range training cruise on 14 November 1926 from Wilhelmshaven. The ship traveled to south around Africa and across the Indian Ocean, where she stopped in the Cocos Islands, where the wreck of the original Emden was still present. The crew held a memorial service there on 15 March 1927 before continuing on to East Asian waters. She visited ports in Japan before crossing the northern Pacific Ocean to Alaska and then steamed down the western coast of North America, calling in various harbors along the way. Emden continued south through Central and South American waters, crossing into the Atlantic Ocean and turning north; the ship was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 25 December. She returned to Germany by way of the Azores and Vilagarcía, Spain, arriving in Wilhelmhaven on 14 March 1928.[10]

The ship spent much of the rest of the year preparing for the next major cruise, which began on 5 December. By this time, the ship had come under the command of Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain) Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, who had come aboard in September. The ship steamed down to the Mediterranean Sea and stopped in Istanbul, Turkey, before traveling south through the Suez Canal, across the Indian Ocean to the Dutch East Indies, and then to Australia. Emden then crossed the Pacific to Hawaii before proceeding to the west coast of the United States. She then steamed south to the Panama Canal, which she transited to the Caribbean Sea. The ship then crossed to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands before returning to Wilhelmshaven, which she reached on 13 December 1929.[11]

Emden departing Shanghai in 1931

On 13 January 1930, Emden left Wilhelmshaven on her third voyage abroad. She steamed into the Atlantic and stopped in Madeira before crossing over to tour several ports in the Caribbean, including Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, New Orleans and Charleston in the US, Kingston, Jamaica, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship recrossed the Atlantic, stopping in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the way, before arriving back in Wilhelmshaven on 13 May 1930. There, she went into the shipyard for an extensive overhaul. In October, Fregattenkapitän (FK—Frigate Captain) Robert Witthoeft-Emden took command of the ship.[12]

Emden embarked on her next overseas cruise on 1 December. The ship initially cruised to

East London, where a group of the ship's officers went to Johannesburg; there, they were received by J. B. M. Hertzog, the Prime Minister of South Africa. On the way back to Germany, the ship stopped in Lobito and Luanda in Portuguese Angola, Las Palmas, and Santander, Spain. She reached Wilhelmshaven on 8 December 1931.[12]

1932–1939

On 1 January 1932, Emden, under the command of FK

Porto Amelia in Portuguese Mozambique, Mombasa, Kenya, Victoria, Seychelles, Trincomalee, and Cochin. On the way back home, she entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal and visited Alexandria, Cartagena, Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, and Vigo, before anchoring in the Schillig roadstead outside Wilhelmshaven on 12 June 1935.[13]

Emden in Lisbon in 1935

Emden started her sixth major training cruise on 23 October, under the command of

Bombay, India. Another trip through the Suez Canal brought the ship back to the Mediterranean; she stopped in Algeciras, Spain on 15 April 1937, passed through the English Channel three days later, and reached Voslapp, Germany on the 19th. The ship finally returned to Wilhelmshaven on 23 April.[13]

On 11 October 1937, Emden began her eighth major cruise, departing Wilhelmshaven for the Mediterranean under the command of FK

Belawan and Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies. On her return to the Mediterranean, she briefly rejoined the non-intervention patrols off the Spanish coast from 14 to 21 March 1938. She then continued on to Amsterdam and ultimately arrived back in Wilhelmshaven on 23 April.[13]

In June, KzS

Sudeten crisis. Indeed, a planned visit to Havana, Cuba was cancelled and Emden was recalled to Germany. She stopped in Funchal from 10 to 15 September on the way back to Wilhelmshaven, though before she arrived the Munich Agreement that ended the crisis had been signed, and so international tensions decreased enough to allow Emden to continue the training cruise. The ship turned south and entered the Mediterranean and later the Black Sea. She was present in Istanbul from 19 to 23 October, when the funeral for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of Turkey, was held. Emden returned to Germany by way of Rhodes and Vigo, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 16 December. From 29 March to 15 April 1939, Emden was used as a fishery protection ship. During this period, she visited Reykjavík. In May, Wever left the ship and his place was taken by KzS Werner Lange.[14]

World War II

After the outbreak of

starboard, and it was N6199 from No. 110 Squadron flown by F/O Emden.[15] However, according to more detailed analyses, the cruiser was attacked by aircraft from No. 107 squadron. Borisenko states that Emden was hit by the Blenheim N6189 flown by F/O Herbert Lightoller,[16] while Tetera claims that N6188 flown by P/O W. Murphy struck the ship, while Lightoller's aircraft fell on the pier.[17] Borisenko states that Lightoller's aircraft in fact hit the cruiser's port board, while the bombs it had released exploded in the water on her starboard side, causing additional superficial damage.[16][17] There are different casualty numbers quoted, but the newest research by Tetera indicates eleven men from Emden killed, including two officers, and another thirty wounded; these were among the first casualties of the German fleet during the war.[16][17]

Emden then transferred to the Baltic, where she was assigned to commerce protection duties. She returned to Wilhelmshaven for periodic maintenance from 2 December to 3 January 1940, after which she resumed training duties. During the shipyard period, a degaussing coil was installed just above the waterline to protect the ship from magnetic mines and her anti-aircraft armament was strengthened. After the work was completed, Emden returned to training duties through the winter of 1939–1940.[18][19][20]

Operation Weserübung

View from Emden's deck, following behind Blücher and Lützow on the way to Oslo, 8 April 1940
Main article: Operation Weserübung

As Germany assembled forces for the invasion of Norway, codenamed

Strander Bucht outside Kiel. At 03:00 on 8 April, Group 5 left Strander Bucht and steamed to the Oslofjord, where they arrived at midnight.[19][21]

After reaching the approaches to the fjord, Emden transferred 350 of the men to the R-boats to allow them to go ashore. The element of surprise was lost, however, and on entering the narrows in the fjord, Blücher was engaged and sunk by Norwegian coastal defenses at

Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) Erich Raeder visited the ship on 17 May. Emden arrived back in Swinemünde on 8 June, where she resumed training duties.[22][21]

Baltic operations

Emden underway in the Oslofjord in late summer 1941

From 7 November 1940 to 15 February 1941, the ship was in dry dock for maintenance. In September, she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet, centered on the newly commissioned

his resignation.[25]

While on sea trials after the 1942 overhaul, Emden reached a speed of 26.9 knots (49.8 km/h; 31.0 mph), significantly less than her original top speed. By that time, the ship had been in service for sixteen years and retained her original engines. Due for an engine replacement, the war situation prevented the work from being done and Emden soldiered on. The year 1943 passed uneventfully for Emden, though she received a strengthened anti-aircraft battery that included 10.5 cm (4.1 in) and a pair of 4 cm (1.6 in)

Bofors guns. The ship took part in a pair of minelaying operations in the Skagerrak in late 1944, the first from 19 to 21 September and the second from 5 to 6 October. The increasing frequency of Allied air attacks on the minelaying operations led to their cancellation in late October. For the rest of the year, she was occupied with escorting convoys in the Baltic. On 1 November 1944, Emden assisted the cruiser Köln, which had run aground. Emden herself ran aground in the Oslofjord on 9 December, though she was refloated the following day. She left Oslo on 23 December and steamed to Königsberg for repairs, arriving two days later.[25][26]

After entering the dry dock at the

icebreakers, where they were transferred to the transport ship MS Pretoria. In Pillau, Emden's engines were put back in working order, though she was only able to use one of her propellers. Emden then steamed as fast as was possible to Kiel, where she arrived on 6 February. There, she went into drydock at the Deutsche Werke shipyard for repairs.[26][27]

While in Deutsche Werke, Emden was under continuous air attacks. An air raid on 11 March set the forward deck and port side torpedo launchers on fire with

Heikendorfer Bucht. She had a 15 degree list to port, but the crew managed to stop the flooding and seal the hull. To prevent her from sinking, she was run aground in the shallows, and was decommissioned on 26 April 1945. To prevent her capture by the advancing Allied armies, her crew destroyed the ship with explosives on 3 May, five days before the end of World War II in Europe. The wreck was broken up for scrap in situ over the following five years.[26][27] Her bow ornament is currently on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.[28]

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emden (ship, 1925).
  1. ^ Treaty of Versailles Part V, Section II: Naval Clauses, Articles 181 and 190
  2. ^ a b Sieche, p. 229.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gröner, p. 118.
  4. ^ O'Brien, p. 112.
  5. ^ a b Paloczi-Horvath, p. 73.
  6. ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 51.
  7. ^ Paloczi-Horvath, p. 71, 73.
  8. ^ Friedman, p. 143.
  9. ^ Campbell, p. 243.
  10. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 55.
  11. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54–55.
  12. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54–56.
  13. ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54, 56.
  14. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 54, 56–57.
  15. ^ Whitley, p. 76.
  16. ^ a b c Borisenko, pp. 48–49.
  17. ^ a b c Tetera, p. 63.
  18. ^ Rohwer, p. 2–3.
  19. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 57.
  20. ^ Koop & Schmolke, pp. 44–45.
  21. ^ a b Koop & Schmolke, p. 45.
  22. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 57–58.
  23. ^ Rohwer, pp. 102–103.
  24. ^ Rohwer, p. 99.
  25. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 58.
  26. ^ a b c Koop & Schmolke, p. 46.
  27. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 58–59.
  28. ^ Gröner, p. 119.

References

Further reading

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_cruiser_Emden&oldid=1217794144"