German cruiser Karlsruhe
 The off-centerline positioning of the aft turrets of the Karlsruhe can be seen in this photograph (1934) |
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| Career |   |
|---|---|
| Name: | KMS Karlsruhe |
| Namesake: | Karlsruhe, Germany |
| Builder: | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Laid down: | 27 July 1926 |
| Launched: | 20 August 1927 |
| Commissioned: | 6 November 1929 |
| Out of service: | May 1938 |
| Reinstated: | November 1939 |
| Fate: | Damaged by torpedoes fired by HMS Truant and later sunk on 9 April 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Königsberg |
| Displacement: | 8,130 tons full load |
| Length: | 174 m (571 ft) overall[1] |
| Beam: | 15.2 m (50 ft)[2] |
| Draught: | 5.7 m (19 ft)[2] |
| Propulsion: | two propeller shafts driven by four MAN 10-cylinder diesels (cruising) or two geared turbines;68000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)[2] |
| Range: | 5,200 nautical miles (9,600 km) (turbines) 8,000 nmi (15,000 km) (diesel)[2] |
| Complement: | 1550[2] |
| Armament: | 9 × 15 cm (5.9 in) guns in triple turrets[1] 6 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) anti-aircraft guns 8 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns[1] 8 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft guns 12 × 53.3 centimetres (21.0 in) torpedo tubes 120 mines[2] |
| Armour: | command tower: 100 mm deck: 40 mm[1], turrets: 20 mm[1], belt: 50-70 mm[1], internal boiler room sides |
| Aircraft carried: | two Heinkel He 60 floatplanes[2] |
Karlsruhe was a light cruiser of the German K class which was in service during the interwar period and World War II. The other ships in this class was the German cruiser Königsberg and the German cruiser Köln. The K class were the first cruisers of the German navy to employ electric arc welding techniques and newly designed triple 15 cm (5.9 in) gun turrets were installed. Karlsruhe served as a training vessel for most of its service time and was out of service and in overhaul when World War II started in September 1939, but was recommissioned the following November. In April 1940 she sailed for Norway as part of the German invasion force and landed troops in Kristiansand, after which she was torpedoed by HMS Truant on 9 April and severely damaged. The crew transferred to accompanying torpedo boats and the ship was finally sunk by two German torpedoes.
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[edit] Construction and design
Karlsruhe was laid down in Kiel in July 1926. As with her sister ships, the treaty of Versailles restrictions applying to her construction resulted in a number of structural weaknesses and only a modest range without refuelling. She was conceived as a Spähkreuzer, scouting for the main battle fleet. Thus her main armament was concentrated aft, in order to engage pursuing enemy ships. Her main artillery, nine 15 cm SK C/25, were mounted in three turrets.[2] In order to compensate for the positioning of two turrets, ‘Bruno’ and ‘Caesar’, aft, they were put slightly off the centre-line of the ship, enabling them to be directed further towards the bow.[3] The original single barrelled 8.8 cm anti aircraft guns where first replaced by twin mounted ones in 1936 before being changed for 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns in 1938.[4] In addition, eight 3.7 cm SK C/30 and eight 2 cm MG L/83 provided defence against attacks from the air.
Propulsion was provided by two propeller shafts with three-blade propellers powered by two high-pressure and two low-pressure turbines fired by six oil boilers.[3] For fuel efficiency, two diesel engines were fitted in the aftermost engine compartment for cruising.[3] Launched on 20 August 1927, Karlsruhe was eventually commissioned on 6 November 1929.
[edit] Service
Karlsruhe was first designated as a training ship and made five cruises until 1936. That year she was severely damaged during a tropical storm on the American West coast, and had to stop at Naval Base San Diego for major repairs before returning to Germany in June 1936.
In January and February 1937, she took part in the non-intervention patrols off the coasts of Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Civil War, but returned to the Baltic Sea for training purposes after that. In May 1938 she was put out of service and underwent major overhaul at Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven which lasted until November 1939.[4]
In early April 1940, Karlsruhe took part in the invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) as part of Task Force (Gruppe) 4, carrying troops together with the torpedo boats Seeadler, Greif and Luchs. Sailing from Bremerhaven on 8 April 1940, she arrived off Kristiansand early next morning. Fog prevented her from entering the harbour immediately.[5] When the fog finally lifted, she encountered a Norwegian coastal battery, which was suppressed and eventually surrendered. After disembarking her troops in Kristiansand in the early hours of 9 April, she headed back to Germany.[5] However, the British submarine HMS Truant, lying in wait outside Kristiansand, attacked Karlsruhe on her way back, hitting her with two torpedoes that struck her at the bow and at the base of the main mast,[5] thus disabling both engines and power stations. The crew was ordered off the ship by the captain and was picked up by the torpedo boat Greif, which then fired two more torpedoes, sinking the crippled cruiser at 58°4′N 8°4′E / 58.067°N 8.067°E around 22:50 in the evening .
Captain Friedrich Rieve later was reprimanded in an enquiry into the sinking of the Karlsruhe. Since it had been established that the ship had been afloat for more than two hours after being torpedoed the board came to the conclusion that not nearly enough effort had been made to save the ship, especially since it took two more torpedoes to finally sink her.[6]
[edit] Commanders[2]
- Fregattenkapitän Eugen Lindau: November 1929 - September 1931
- Kapitän zur See Erwin Wassner: September 1931 - December 1932
- Fregattenkapitän Wilhelm Harsdorf von Enderndorf: December 1932- September 1934
- Kapitän zur See Günther Lütjens: September 1934 - September 1935
- Kapitän zur See Leopold Siemens: September 1935 - September 1937
- Kapitän zur See Erich Fröste: September 1937 - May 1938
- Kapitän zur See Friedrich Rieve: November 1939 - April 1940
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Karlsruhe Technical Data at www.german-navy.de
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gordon Williamson (2003): German Light Cruisers, 1939-45. Osprey: Oxford, ISBN 1841765031, p. 18
- ^ a b c Gordon Williamson (2003): German Light Cruisers, 1939-45. Osprey: Oxford, ISBN 1841765031, p. 13
- ^ a b Gordon Williamson (2003): German Light Cruisers, 1939-45. Osprey: Oxford, ISBN 1841765031, p. 19
- ^ a b c Gordon Williamson (2003): German Light Cruisers, 1939-45. Osprey: Oxford, ISBN 1841765031, p. 20
- ^ Gordon Williamson (2003): German Light Cruisers, 1939-45. Osprey: Oxford, ISBN 1841765031, p. 21
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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