Karlsruhe-class cruiser

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SMS Karlsruhe
Class overview
BuildersGermaniawerft and Howaldtswerke
Operators Imperial German Navy
Preceded byMagdeburg class
Succeeded byGraudenz class
Built1911–1914
In service1914–1916
Planned2
Completed2
Lost2
General characteristics
TypeLight cruiser
Displacement
  • Normal
    : 4,900 t (4,800 long tons)
  • Full load
    : 6,191 t (6,093 long tons)
Length142.20 m (466 ft 6 in)
Beam13.70 m (44 ft 11 in)
Draft5.38 m (17 ft 8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed29.3 kn (54.3 km/h; 33.7 mph)
Complement
  • 18 officers
  • 355 enlisted men
Armament
Armor

The Karlsruhe class of

Imperial Navy before the start of World War I. The ships—SMS Karlsruhe and Rostock—were very similar to the previous Magdeburg-class cruisers, mounting the same armament and similar armor protection, though they were larger and faster than the earlier ships. Both vessels were laid down in 1911, and launched one day apart, on 11 and 12 November 1912. Karlsruhe joined the fleet in January 1914, but fitting out
work lasted slightly longer on her sister; Rostock was commissioned the following month.

Both of the ships had short service careers. Karlsruhe was assigned to overseas duty in the Caribbean, arriving on station in July 1914, days before the outbreak of World War I. Once the war began, she armed the passenger liner SS Kronprinz Wilhelm so it could raid British shipping. After a moderately successful commerce raiding career, during which Karlsruhe sank sixteen merchant ships and successfully evaded British cruisers, she sank after an accidental internal explosion on 4 November 1914. Most of her crew were killed in the sinking, but the survivors returned to Germany on one of Karlsruhe's attendant colliers by December.

Rostock served as a torpedo boat flotilla leader with the High Seas Fleet following her commissioning; her flotilla frequently screened for the battlecruisers in the I Scouting Group, including during the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and operations off the British coast in early 1916. She saw heavy action during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 as part of the screen for the main battle fleet. In the ferocious night fighting that occurred as the German fleet punched through the British rear-guard, Rostock was torpedoed by a British destroyer, which immobilized the ship. She was taken under tow by several torpedo boats, but early on the morning of 1 June, the cruiser HMS Dublin located the cruiser. To prevent her capture by the British, the Germans scuttled the ship after taking off her crew.

Design

The design for the Karlsruhe class was prepared in 1910, and was an incremental improvement over the previous

Howaldtswerke dockyard in Kiel, under construction number 560. Launching ceremonies took place on 12 November 1912, a day after her sister. She was completed on 5 February 1914, the date she joined the fleet.[1]

Dimensions and machinery

The Karlsruhe class ships were 139 meters (456 ft)

double bottom that extended for 45 percent of the length of the hull. The ships had a crew of eighteen officers and 355 enlisted men. Karlsruhe and Rostock carried a number of smaller vessels, including one picket boat, one barge, one cutter, two yawls, and two dinghies. After 1915, Rostock had spotting tops installed on her masts. The German Navy regarded the two ships as good sea boats. They suffered from slight weather helm in a swell and made severe leeway. They were maneuverable but were slow steering into a turn. With the rudder hard over, they lost up to 60 percent speed. Their transverse metacentric height was 0.79 m (2 ft 7 in).[1]

Karlsruhe and Rostock were powered by two sets of Marine-type

kilowatts, respectively, at 220 volts.[2]

Armament and armor

Karlsruhe and Rostock were armed identically to the previous Magdeburg-class cruisers. They carried a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 guns in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, eight were located amidships, four on either side, and two were side by side aft. The guns had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees, which allowed them to engage targets out to 12,700 m (41,666 ft 8 in).[3] They were supplied with 1,800 rounds of ammunition, for 150 shells per gun. The ships were also equipped with a pair of 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with five torpedoes submerged in the hull on the broadside. They could also carry 120 mines.[1]

The ships' armor was also identical to the preceding class. They were protected by a waterline

amidships; the belt was reduced to 18 mm (0.71 in) forward. The stern was not armored. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides and a 20 mm (0.79 in) thick roof. The deck was covered with 60 mm thick armor plate forward, 40 mm (1.6 in) amidships, and 20 mm aft. Sloped armor 40 mm thick connected the deck to the belt armor.[1]

Service history

Karlsruhe coaling in San Juan

SMS Karlsruhe

Main article: SMS Karlsruhe

After her commissioning, Karlsruhe was assigned to overseas duties in the Caribbean, where she was to relieve the cruiser Dresden.[4] She arrived in the area in July 1914, days before the outbreak of World War I.[5] Once the war began, she armed the passenger liner SS Kronprinz Wilhelm so it could operate as a commerce raider, but while the ships were transferring equipment, British cruisers located them and pursued Karlsruhe.[6] Her superior speed allowed her to escape, after which she operated off the northeastern coast of Brazil.[7]

Karlsruhe refueled at Puerto Rico, a possession of the then neutral United States before steaming to Brazil. Off the Brazilian coast, she captured or sank sixteen ships totaling 72,805 gross register tons (GRT) while eluding her pursuers. The ship's captain then decided to operate against the shipping lanes to Barbados.[7] While en route on 4 November 1914, a spontaneous internal explosion destroyed the ship and killed the majority of the crew, including her captain. The survivors used one of Karlruhe's colliers to return to Germany in December 1914.[8]

SMS Rostock

Rostock
Main article: SMS Rostock

Rostock served with the High Seas Fleet as a leader of torpedo boat flotillas for the duration of her career.[2] She served with the screens for both Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group on operations against the British coast and the Battle of Dogger Bank. During the battle, British battlecruisers ambushed the German squadron and sank the armored cruiser Blücher. In April 1916, she again screened the battlecruisers during the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, during which Rostock and five other cruisers briefly engaged the British Harwich Force.[9]

She was assigned to the screen for the battle fleet during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916. She saw major action at Jutland and frequently engaged British light forces, including assisting in the destruction of the destroyers HMS Nomad and Nestor.[10] Rostock's participation in the battle culminated in her torpedoing by destroyers shortly after midnight. She was taken under tow by German torpedo boats, but the following morning the cruiser HMS Dublin came upon the retreating ships. To prevent Rostock's capture, the Germans set scuttling charges aboard her and took off the crew before firing torpedoes into the disabled cruiser to ensure she sank.[11]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Gröner, pp. 107–109.
  2. ^ a b Gröner, p. 109.
  3. ^ Campbell & Sieche, pp. 140, 160.
  4. ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 160.
  5. ^ Halpern, p. 78.
  6. ^ Bennett, p. 75.
  7. ^ a b Halpern, p. 79.
  8. ^ Bennett, p. 131.
  9. ^ Tarrant, pp. 38–42, 53–54.
  10. ^ Tarrant, pp. 114, 287.
  11. ^ Campbell, pp. 291, 295, 316.

References

  • ISBN 978-1-84415-300-8
    .
  • Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 978-1-55821-759-1
    .
  • Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189.
    ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5
    .
  • ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6
    .
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7
    .
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks.
    ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9
    .

Further reading
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