Leipzig-class cruiser
Nürnberg before the outbreak of war
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Class overview | |
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Operators | |
Preceded by | Königsberg class |
Succeeded by | M-class cruiser (planned) |
Built | 1928–1934 |
In commission | 1931–1959 |
Completed | 2 |
Retired | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Light cruiser |
Displacement |
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Length |
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Beam | 16.3 m (53 ft) |
Draft |
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Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
Range | 3,900 nautical miles (7,200 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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Aircraft carried | 2 × Arado 196 floatplanes |
The Leipzig class was a class of two light cruisers of the German Reichsmarine and later Kriegsmarine; the class comprised Leipzig, the lead ship, and Nürnberg, which was built to a slightly modified design. The ships were improvements over the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers, being slightly larger, with a more efficient arrangement of the main battery and improved armor protection. Leipzig was built between 1928 and 1931, and Nürnberg followed between 1934 and 1935.
Both ships participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and 1937. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, they were used in a variety of roles, including as minelayers and escort vessels. On 13 December, both ships were torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Salmon. They were thereafter used in secondary roles, primarily as training ships, for most of the rest of the war. Leipzig provided some gunfire support to German Army troops fighting on the Eastern Front.
Both ships survived the war, though Leipzig was in very poor condition following an accidental collision with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen late in the war. Leipzig was therefore used as a barracks ship before being scuttled in 1946. Nürnberg, however, emerged from the war largely unscathed, and as a result, was seized by the Soviet Navy as war reparations, and commissioned into the Soviet fleet as Admiral Makarov; she continued in Soviet service until the late 1950s, and was broken up for scrap by 1960.
Design
General characteristics
The two ships of the Leipzig class were not identical, prompting some naval historians to classify them as separate designs, rather than as a
The ships'
Leipzig initially had a crew of 26 officers and 508 enlisted men. Later in her career, the crew grew to 30 officers and 628 sailors and then again to 24 officers and 826 sailors. She could also accommodate an admiral's staff of 6 officers and 20 enlisted men when she was serving as a flagship. Nürnberg's crew started as 25 officers and 648 ratings, and over the course of her career swelled to 26 officers and 870 enlisted men. The ships carried two picket boats, two barges, two launches, and two cutters.[2]
Both ships carried one
Machinery and handling
The ships' propulsion system consisted of two
The ships had extensive electrical generator systems. Leipzig had three power plants that each had a 180 kilowatt turbo-generator and a 180 kW diesel generator; this gave the ship a combined output of 1,080 kW at 220 volts. Nürnberg had four generators which comprised two 300 kW turbo-generators and two 350 kW diesel generators, for a total output of 1,300 kW, also at 220 volts.[2]
Steering was controlled by a single balanced rudder, which gave the ships excellent maneuverability. The rudder was augmented with special steering system on the engine transmissions; they had gears that could drive half of the engines astern and half forward allowed the screws to assist in turning the ship at sharper angles. The ships tended toward lee helm in general conditions, but in heavy wind, they suffered from weather helm. Both vessels also suffered from severe leeway at low speeds, and the effect was especially pronounced for Nürnberg, owing to her larger superstructure.[2]
Armament and armor
Leipzig and Nürnberg were armed with a
Leipzig used
Modifications
After the outbreak of war, both ships were fitted with a
Leipzig had her anti-aircraft armament modernized to bring her closer to the standard of weaponry fitted to her sister. After 1934, two additional 8.8 cm guns were added, with another pair later. Starting in 1941, eight 3.7 cm guns were installed, along with fourteen 2 cm guns. After 1944, she only carried eight of the 2 cm guns.
Construction
Name | Builder[1] | Laid down[1] | Launched[1] | Commissioned[1] | Fate |
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Leipzig | Kriegsmarinewerft, Wilhelmshaven | 28 April 1928 | 10 October 1929 | 8 October 1931 | Scuttled, 16 December 1946 |
Nürnberg | Deutsche Werke, Kiel | 4 November 1933 | 6 December 1934 | 2 November 1935 | Transferred to Soviet Navy as Admiral Makarov, 5 November 1945 |
Service history
Leipzig
In the 1930s, Leipzig was used as a training cruiser, as well as to make goodwill visits to foreign ports. She participated in non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War. In late 1939, after the start of World War II, she performed escort duties for warships in the Baltic and North seas.[10][11] Leipzig was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Salmon on 13 December while on one of these operations. The cruiser was badly damaged, and the necessary repairs took almost a year to complete. She thereafter resumed her duties as a training ship. She provided gunfire support to the advancing Wehrmacht troops as they invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.[12]
In a heavy fog in October 1944, Leipzig collided with the
Nürnberg
Following her commissioning, Nürnberg participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War; she completed her patrols without major incident and returned to Germany in mid-1937. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she was used to lay defensive minefields off the German coast in the North Sea.
After the end of the war, Nürnberg was seized by the Royal Navy and ultimately awarded to the Soviet Union as war reparations. In December 1945, a Soviet crew took over the ship, and the following month took her to Tallinn, where she was renamed Admiral Makarov. She served in the Soviet Navy, first in the 8th Fleet, then as a training cruiser based in Kronstadt. Her ultimate fate is unclear, but by 1960, she had been broken up for scrap. Nürnberg was the second-largest warship of the Kriegsmarine to survive the war intact, after the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, and she was the only vessel to see service after the war, albeit in a foreign navy.[17]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Sieche, p. 231.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gröner, p. 122.
- ^ a b Whitley No. 1, p. 235.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Williamson, p. 35.
- ^ Williamson, pp. 35, 40.
- ^ Whitley No. 1, p. 236.
- ^ Williamson, pp. 35–36.
- ^ Whitley No. 1, pp. 236–238.
- ^ Williamson, p. 36.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 9.
- ^ Williamson, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Williamson, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Whitley No. 2, p. 250.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 10–11.
- ^ Whitley No. 2, pp. 252–254.
- ^ Whitley No. 2, pp. 254–255.
References
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
- 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.
- Whitley, M. J. (1983). "Lesser Known Warships of the Kriegsmarine No. 1: The Light Cruiser Nürnberg". Warship. VI (23). London: Conway Maritime Press: 234–238. ISBN 978-0-87021-981-8.
- Whitley, M. J. (1983). "Lesser Known Warships of the Kriegsmarine No. 2: The Light Cruiser Nürnberg". Warship. VI (24). London: Conway Maritime Press: 250–255. ISBN 978-0-87021-981-8.
- ISBN 978-1-84176-503-7.
Further reading
- 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.
- 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. 6. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0237-4.
- 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.
- Whitley, M. J. (1987). German Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-217-8.