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Leichter Kreuzer Königsberg in
1930
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History
The three K-class Light Cruisers were the first
modern cruisers of the German navy after World War I. For the first
time, the main artillery of a German CL was mounted in real turrets
and not in single mounts as before. An interesting detail was
that the afterwards turrets were mounted off the centerline to give
them a better arc of fire. To preserve weight, about 85% of the hull
was welded, but this causes one of the major drawbacks for those
ships, their structural weakness.
With the idea of commerce war in mind, those ships
should have been used in the North Atlantic, but their much too
short endurance and structural problems made this kind of duty
impossible. The first of the three ships, the Kreuzer B
(later Königsberg ) was laid down on April 12th 1926 and
completed three years later. The Kreuzer C (Karlsruhe
) joined the fleet in November 1929 while the Kreuzer D (Köln
) was commissioned in January 1930.
All three cruisers made several voyages in many
countries of the world before World War II to "show the
flag". During the war they did see action in the North and
Baltic Sea. Two of them were sunk during Operation "Weserübung",
the invasion of Norway, while the third was sunk at the end of
the war.
|
| Construction
Data |
Dimensions |
Commanders |
| Laid
down: |
Reichsmarinewerft
Wilhelmshaven, 12.04.1926 |
| Launched: |
26.03.1927 |
| Commissioned: |
17.04.1929 |
| Fate: |
sunk
by FAA bombers 10.04.1940 (Bergen) |
| Costs: |
38
Mio Reichsmark |
|
| Size
(Max): |
7700
t |
| Length
(Total): |
174,0 m |
| Length
(Waterline): |
169,0
m |
| Beam: |
15,2
m |
| Draft: |
6,28
m |
| Crew: |
514-850 |
|
| FK
Wolf von Troth: |
17.04.1929
- Jun 1929 |
| FK Witthoeft-Emden: |
Jun
1929 - Sep 1930 |
| FK
Hermann Densch: |
Sep
1930 - Sep 1932 |
| FK/KzS
Otto von Schrader: |
Sep
1932 - Sep 1934 |
| FK/KzS
Hubert Schmundt: |
Sep
1934 - Sep 1935 |
| FK/KzS
Theodor Paul: |
Sep
1935 - Feb 1937 |
| KzS
Robin Schall- Emden: |
Feb 1937 - Nov 1938 |
| KzS
Ernst Schürlen: |
Nov 1938 - Jun 1939 |
| KzS
Kurt Hoffmann: |
Jun
1939 - 14.09.1939 |
| KzS
Heinrich Ruhfus: |
15.09.1939 - 10.04.1940 |
|
|
Weapons |
Armour and
Aircraft |
Engines
& Performance |
| 15
cm C/25 (5,9"): |
9 |
| 8,8
cm L/45 C/32: |
2
(6 since 1940) |
| 3,7
cm L/83 C/30: |
8
(since 1934) |
| 2
cm MG L/83: |
8
(18 since 1945) |
| 53,3
cm Torpedoes: |
12
(50 cm until 1934) |
| Mines: |
120 |
|
| Deck: |
40
mm |
| Belt: |
50-70
mm |
| Command
Tower: |
100
mm |
| Turrets: |
20-20
mm |
|
| Shafts: |
3 |
| Engines: |
4 |
| Type: |
MAN 10-cyl. diesel |
| Turbines: |
2 |
| Type: |
Geared
turbines |
| Total
Performance: |
68200
shp |
| Speed: |
32,5
kn |
| Range: |
7300
miles at 17 kn |
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Operational
History
| 17.04.1929: |
Commissioned,
tests and trials in the North and Baltic Sea. |
| August
1929: |
Final
construction in Wilhelmshaven. |
| 02.04
- 19.06.1930: |
First
international voyage to the Mediterranean, the Königsberg
visits Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain and Portugal. |
| January
- March 1931: |
Refits
in Kiel, followed by a visit to Norway. |
| Dec
1931 - Feb 1932: |
Refits
and repairs. |
| 1933: |
Fleet
operations and trials, a visit to Stockholm. |
| Jan
- Feb 1934: |
Refits
and trials. After that voyages to Kristiansand, Portsmouth and
Reval. At the end of the year, the Königsberg
was attached to the torpedo school in the Baltic Sea. |
| Jan
- Feb 1935: |
Refits
and repairs. |
| June
1936: |
Voyage
to Helsinki. |
| Nov
1936 - 15.01.1937: |
Operations
at the Spanish coast during the civil war. |
| Summer
1937: |
Visit
to Norway. |
| -September
1939: |
The
Königsberg is used as a training ship at the torpedo
school in the Baltic Sea. |
| September
1939: |
Sent
to the Baltic Sea, later this month the cruiser was used for
mining operations in the North Sea. (Operation "Westwall") |
| April
1940: |
Operation
"Weserübung":
Part of Squadron 3 together with CL Köln , training
ship Bremse and the torpedo boats Wolf and Leopard
, transports troops from Wilhelmshaven to Bergen |
| 09.04.1940: |
Königsberg
and artillery training ship Bremse are damaged by
Norwegian shore batteries. CL Köln and the
torpedo boats Wolf and Leopard return to
Germany while the damaged Königsberg stays in Bergen |
| 10.04.1940: |
15
Skua dive bombers of the British Fleet Air Arm, 7 of No 800
Squadron and 9 from No 803 Squadron, launched from
Hatston (Orkneys) sink the Königsberg with three
direct hits. Although the ship is still afloat for some
time, it cannot be saved and capsized in Bergen harbor. |
| 17.07.1942: |
Wreck
is raised but still capsized. |
| March
1943: |
After
the wreck is turned in the upright direction, it is used as a
pier for U-Boats. |
| 22.09.1944: |
The
Königsberg capsized again. |
| after
1945: |
The
wreck is broken down in Bergen. |
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