German cruiser Königsberg
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| Career |   |
|---|---|
| Built By: | Reichsmarinewerft, Wilhelmshaven |
| Laid down: | 12 April 1926 |
| Launched: | 26 March 1927 |
| Commissioned: | 17 April 1929 |
| Fate: | sunk 10 April 1940 at Bergen, Norway |
| Penant: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Type: | light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 7700 tons |
| Length: | 174 metres (overall) |
| Beam: | 15.2 metres |
| Draught: | 6.28 metres |
| Propulsion: | 3 shafts driven by 4 MAN 10-cylinder diesels (cruising) or 2 geared turbines;68000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots |
| Range: | 7300 miles at 17 knots |
| Complement: | 514 - 850 |
| Armament (WWII): | 9 5.9 inch (150 mm) guns (3 × 3) 6 3.5 inch (88 mm) 8 37 mm anti-aircraft (4 × 2) 21 inch torpedo tubes (4 × 3) 120 mines |
| Armour: | command tower: 100 mm deck: 40 mm, turrets: 20 mm, belt: 50-70 mm, internal boiler room sides |
| Aircraft: | Heinkel He 60: 2 |
Königsberg was a light cruiser of the K class in the German Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine. Her sisterships were Köln and Karlsruhe.
After a number of foreign visits in the 1930s, the ship operated along the Spanish coast from November 1936 to January 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Her design and construction rendered her poorly suited to commerce raiding or deep-water operations, and when war broke out in September 1939 she was assigned to duty as a torpedo training ship in the Baltic and subsequently used for mining operations in the North Sea (Operation "Westwall").
In early April 1940, Königsberg participated in the occupation of Norway (Operation "Weserübung"), transporting troops from Wilhelmshaven to Bergen, Norway, together with her sistership Köln, the artillery training ship Bremse and the torpedo boats Wolf and Leopard. Königsberg and Bremse were damaged by Norwegian shore batteries on 9 April 1940, causing them to remain in port while the other ships returned to Germany. The next day, 15 Blackburn Skua dive bombers of the British Fleet Air Arm (7 of 800 Naval Air Squadron and 9 of 803 Naval Air Squadron, launched from Hatston, Orkney) scored three direct hits on Königsberg. The ship capsized and sank in Bergen harbor.
The wreck was raised on 17 July 1942, and after being righted in March 1943 was used as a pier for U-boats. The wreck capsized again on 22 September 1944, and was broken up after the end of World War II in Bergen.
[edit] Commanding Officers
FK Wolf von Trotha - 17 April 1929 - 24 June 1929
FK Robert Withoeft-Emden - 24 June 1929 - 2 September 1929 (acting)
FK Robert Withoeft Emden - 2 September 1929 - 27 September 1930
FK Hermann Densch - 27 September 1930 - 25 September 1932
FK / KzS Otto von Schrader - 25 September 1932 - 25 September 1934 (Promoted KzS on 1 April 1933.)
FK / KzS Hubert Schmundt - 25 September 1934 - 27 September 1935 (Promoted KzS on 1 October 1934.)
FK / KzS Theodor Paul - 27 September 1935 - 16 February 1937 (Promoted KzS during tenure of command; exact date unknown.)
KzS Robin Schall-Emden - 16 February 1937 - 2 November 1938
KzS Ernst Scheurlen - 2 November 1938 - 27 June 1939
KzS Kurt Caesar Hoffmann - 27 June 1939 - 15 September 1939
KzS Heinrich Ruhfus - 14 September 1939 - 10 April 1940
[edit] External links
| K-class cruiser |
| List of Kriegsmarine ships |
