Light Cruiser Königsberg

Königsberg

Country	Germany
Ship Class	K-class Light Cruiser
Builder	Kriegsmarinewerft
Yard Number	108
Slip/Drydock Number	I
Ordered	8 Apr 1925
Laid Down	12 Apr 1926
Launched	26 Mar 1927
Commissioned	17 Apr 1929
Sunk	10 Apr 1940
Displacement	7,700 tons standard
Length	571 feet
Beam	50 feet
Draft	21 feet
Machinery	Four MAN 10-cyl diesel engines, two geared turbines, four shafts
Power Output	68,000 shaft horsepower
Speed	32 knots
Range	7,300nm at 17 knots
Crew	850
Armament	9x150mm, 6x88mm, 8x37mm anti-aircraft, 21in torpedo tubes, 120 mines
Armor	100mm command tower, 40mm deck, 20mm turrets, 50-70mm belt
Aircraft	2

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLight cruiser Königsberg was constructed after WW1. She, along with her sisterships, shared various strengths and weaknesses. For the first time in German cruiser design history, guns were mounted in turrets instead of in single mounts; the rear turrets were also of an interesting design, placed off-center in order to achieve a better arc of fire. The preserve weight, about 85% of the hull was welded, which actually became a major weakness of the ship as it made her too weak for deep water operations. She operated off Spanish coast between Nov 1936 and Jan 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. When the European War started, she was a torpedo training ship in the Baltic Sea and then was used as a minelayer in the North Sea. During the invasion of Norway in Apr 1940, she transported troops for the invasion. On 10 Apr 1940, she was attacked by 15 British dive bombers and received three direct hits. She capsized and sank in Bergen harbor. The wreck was raised on 17 Jul 1942 and was used as a submarine pier.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Oct 2006

Photographs

View looking aft on Königsberg from the port side searchlight platform while the ship was underway, circa 1930

See all 22 photographs of Light Cruiser Königsberg

Königsberg Operational Timeline

17 Apr 1929	Königsberg was commissioned into service.
10 Apr 1940	Fleet Air Arm Skua dive bombers sank the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbour in Norway. She was the first major warship to be sunk by dive bombing in the war.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Sally Kraus says:
28 Sep 2007 01:35:41 AM

cool site.

2. Henning Nielsen says:
7 Jul 2008 03:04:46 PM

Dear Sir
thank you for the impressive amount of information on this site. Perhaps you should add that the Königsberg was the first major warship to be sunk by air attack (British Skua dive bombers).

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