Königsberg-class cruiser (1927)

A member of the Königsberg class in 1936
Class overview
Name	Königsberg
Operators	Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Preceded by	Emden
Succeeded by	Leipzig class
In service	1929–1945
Completed	3
Lost	3
General characteristics [a]
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	6,000 long tons (6,100 t) (standard) 7,700 long tons (7,800 t) ( full load )
Length	174 m (571 ft)
Beam	15.3 m (50 ft)
Draft	6.28 m (20.6 ft)
Installed power	6 × water-tube boilers 65,000 shaft horsepower (48,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × MAN 10-cylinder diesel engines 4 × geared steam turbines 2 screw propellers
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 19 kn (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	21 officers 493 enlisted men
Armament	9 × 15 cm SK C/25 guns 2 × 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns 12 × 50 cm torpedoes 120 mines
Armor	Belt : 50 mm (2 in) Deck: 40 mm (1.6 in) Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in)

The Königsberg class, sometimes referred to as the K class, was a class of light cruisers of the German Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine. The class comprised three ships named after German cities: Königsberg, Karlsruhe, and Köln, all built between 1926 and 1930. These ships were the first of the Reichsmarine with a modern cruiser design; their predecessor, Emden, was based on World War I-era designs. They were armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm (5.9 in) guns and with twelve 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes.

All three ships of the class were used extensively as training cruisers throughout the 1930s. They went on numerous overseas cruises and participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–1939. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the three ships laid defensive minefields in the North Sea. They all saw action in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, in April 1940; Königsberg was damaged by Norwegian coastal guns outside Bergen and sunk by British bombers the following day. Karlsruhe was sunk by the British submarine HMS Truant; only Köln survived the attack on Norway.

After returning to Germany, Köln operated Flettner Fl 282 helicopters as an experiment. She provided gunfire support to German ground forces during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, and returned to Norway in 1942. Ultimately, she was sunk in Wilhelmshaven in March 1945 by American bombers. Her guns were still above water, which allowed her to support the defending German army against British ground forces until the final days of the war.

Design

General characteristics

The ships of the Königsberg class were 169 meters (554 ft)

Their propulsion system consisted of four

The ships' anti-aircraft batteries were revised and improved throughout the course of their careers. The original single-mounted 8.8 cm guns were replaced with twin mounts for the new

The ships were protected by an armored deck that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick amidships and tapered down to 20 mm (0.79 in) on either end. They had an armored belt that was 50 mm (2 in) thick and capped with 70 mm (2.8 in) thick bulkheads on either end of the belt. Underwater protection consisted of a 15 mm (0.59 in) torpedo bulkhead and a 20 mm collision bulkhead. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) sides and a 30 mm (1.2 in) roof. The ships' gun turrets had 30 mm faces and 20 mm roofs, sides, and rears. The barbettes for the turrets were also 30 mm thick. Karlsruhe was later fitted with increased armor protection, consisting of a 10 to 14 mm (0.39 to 0.55 in) outer plating that consisted of the new Wotan weich steel, and an upper deck that was 16 mm (0.63 in), also Wotan weich.^[1]

Construction

Service history

All three ships of the Königsberg class served as training cruisers for naval cadets throughout the 1930s. They conducted numerous cruises in European waters, and both Karlsruhe and Köln traveled to other continents. They were all modified throughout the decade, and had their anti-aircraft armament repeatedly improved, along with other alterations. The three ships took part in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–1939, and after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, they laid a series of defensive minefields in the North Sea.^[6]

The three ships then participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, in April 1940. Königsberg and Köln were assigned to the assault on Bergen,^[7][8] while Karlsruhe joined the attack on Kristiansand. Königsberg came under heavy fire from a 21 cm (8.3 in) battery outside Bergen, and was badly damaged; after the port was captured, she moved into harbor for temporary repairs. She was ordered to return to Germany, but was attacked the next morning by British bombers and hit by at least five bombs. She sank slowly enough for the majority of her crew to escape; there were only eighteen men killed in the attack.^[9]

Karlsruhe meanwhile suppressed Norwegian coastal guns outside Kristiansand and successfully landed her contingent of ground troops. After Karlsruhe left port, the British submarine HMS Truant attacked the German cruiser and hit her with a pair of torpedoes. The torpedo hits knocked out Karlsruhe's power and thus prevented her crew from pumping out the water that was rapidly flooding the ship. Her crew was taken off by an escorting torpedo boat, which then fired a pair of torpedoes into the stricken cruiser to ensure she sank quickly.^[5][10] Her wreck was later discovered in 2017 and its identity confirmed in September 2020; it lies at a depth of 490 m (1,610 ft), some 13 nmi (24 km; 15 mi) off the coast of Norway.^[11]

Köln was the only ship of the class to survive the operations off Norway. After returning to Germany, she was modified to serve as a testbed for the Flettner Fl 282 helicopter. She thereafter served in the Baltic, providing gunfire support to advancing German troops in 1941. In mid 1942, she returned to Norwegian waters, and unsuccessfully attempted to attack Convoy PQ 18 along with several other German warships. She was then ordered back to Germany, where she served in a variety of roles, including training ship and convoy escort, before again returning to Norway.^[12] She was damaged by British bombers in December 1944 and forced to return to Germany for repairs.^[13] While in dock in Wilhelmshaven in March 1945, she was attacked and sunk by American heavy bombers. She sank on an even keel, with her guns still above water, which permitted their use against advancing British forces until the final days of the war.^[14][15]

Notes

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Footnotes

Citations

References

• ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6
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• ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8
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• Sieche, Erwin (1992). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 218–254.
  ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5
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• ISBN 978-1-84176-503-7
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• Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 5. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag.
  ISBN 978-3-7822-0456-9
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• Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2002). German Light Cruisers of World War II: Emden, Königsberg, Karlsruhe, Köln, Leipzig, Nürnberg. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 978-1-55750-310-7
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• Whitley, M. J. (1987). German Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 978-0-87021-217-8
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