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{{Short description|Königsberg-class cruiser}} | |||
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{{Use shortened footnotes|date=October 2022}} | |||
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{{Good article}} | |||
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{|{{Infobox ship begin | |||
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}} | |||
!align ="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background-color: navy;"|Career | |||
{{Infobox ship image | |||
!align ="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background-color: navy;"|] | |||
| Ship image = File:German light cruiser Köln underway during late 1930s.jpg | |||
|- | |||
| Ship image size = 300px | |||
|Class | |||
| Ship caption = | |||
|] | |||
}} | |||
|- | |||
{{Infobox ship career | |||
|Commissioned: | |||
| Hide header = | |||
|January ] | |||
| Ship country = ] | |||
|- | |||
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Weimar Republic|naval}} {{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}} | |||
|Fate: | |||
| Ship name = {{lang|de|Köln}} | |||
|Sunk on ] ] | |||
| Ship namesake = | |||
|- | |||
| Ship ordered = | |||
!colspan=2 style="color: white; background-color: navy"|'''General Characteristics''' | |||
| Ship builder = {{lang|de|]}} ] | |||
|- | |||
| Ship laid down = | |||
|Displacement: | |||
| Ship launched = 23 May 1928 | |||
|8350 tons full load | |||
| Ship acquired = | |||
|- | |||
| Ship commissioned = 15 January 1930 | |||
|Length: | |||
| Ship decommissioned = | |||
|174 m | |||
| Ship in service = | |||
|- | |||
| Ship out of service = | |||
|Beam: | |||
| Ship struck = | |||
|15.3 m | |||
| Ship reinstated = | |||
|- | |||
| Ship honours = | |||
|Draught: | |||
| Ship fate = Sunk by American aircraft on 30 March 1945 | |||
|6.28 m | |||
| Ship notes = | |||
|- | |||
}} | |||
|Propulsion: | |||
{{Infobox ship characteristics | |||
|2 steam turbines, 6 boilers, + 2 MAN diesel, 2 shafts, 69 800 shp | |||
| Hide header = | |||
|- | |||
| Header caption = {{efn|name=Characteristics|}} | |||
|Speed: | |||
| Ship class = {{sclass|Königsberg|cruiser (1927)|0}} ] | |||
|32 knots | |||
| Ship displacement = {{convert|7700|LT|MT|lk=on}} | |||
|- | |||
| Ship length = {{convert|174|m|ft|abbr=on}} | |||
|Range: | |||
| Ship beam = {{convert|15.3|m|ft|abbr=on}} | |||
|7300 nm at 17 knots | |||
| Ship draft = {{convert|6.28|m|ft|abbr=on}} | |||
|- | |||
|Ship propulsion= | |||
|Complement: | |||
*2 × MAN 10-cylinder ]s | |||
|850 | |||
*4 × geared ]s | |||
|- | |||
*2 ]s | |||
|Armament: | |||
|Ship power= | |||
|3 x 3 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns<br>6 x 88 mm guns<br>8 x 37 mm guns<br>8 x 20 mm guns (later 18)<br>12 x 533 mm ]<br>120 ] | |||
*6 × ]s | |||
|- | |||
*{{convert|65000|shp|lk=in}} | |||
|Aircraft: | |||
| Ship speed = {{convert|32|kn|lk=in}} | |||
|2 ] ]s | |||
| Ship range = {{convert|5700|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|19|kn}} | |||
| Ship complement = *21 officers | |||
*493 enlisted men | |||
| Ship armament = | |||
*9 × ] | |||
*2 × ] | |||
*12 × {{cvt|50|cm}} ]s | |||
*120 ] | |||
| Ship armor = *]: {{convert|50|mm|abbr=on|0}} | |||
*]: {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} | |||
*]: {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} | |||
}} | |||
|} | |} | ||
'''{{lang|de|Köln}}''' was a ], the third member of the {{sclass|Königsberg|cruiser (1927)|4}} that was operated between 1929 and March 1945, including service in ]. She was operated by two ] navies, the {{lang|de|]}} and the {{lang|de|]}}. She had two ]s, {{ship|German cruiser|Königsberg||2}} and {{ship|German cruiser|Karlsruhe||2}}. {{lang|de|Köln}} was built by the {{lang|de|]}} in ]; she was ] in August 1926, ] in May 1928, and commissioned into the {{lang|de|Reichsmarine}} on 15 January 1930. She was armed with a main battery of nine ] (5.9-inch) guns in three triple turrets and had a top speed of {{convert|32|kn|lk=in}}. | |||
'''''Köln ''''' was a German ] prior to and during ], one of three ] named after cities starting with the letter K. This ship was named after the city of ] (]). The others in her class were the '']'' and the ]. The K-class cruisers were designed in the 1920s and built in accordance to the 6,000 ton limit for cruisers imposed on Germany by the ]. To stay within this limit, 85% of the ships were welded instead of bolted. This caused problems, as the welding did not withstand the stress of long-term journeys as well as had been hoped. | |||
Like her sister ships, {{lang|de|Köln}} served as a training ship for naval cadets in the 1930s, and joined the ] during the ] during the latter part of the decade. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she conducted several operations in the ], but did not encounter any British warships. She participated in the attack on ] during ] in April 1940, and she was the only member of her class to survive the operation. In 1942, she was modified to carry a ] ] experimentally. Later in 1942, she returned to Norway, but did not see significant action. She remained there until early 1943, when she returned to Germany in order to be decommissioned as decreed by Hitler after the failure of the Kriegsmarine in ]; {{lang|de|Köln}} returned to service in 1944, escorting Germans ships to Norway and laying mines. In March 1945, she was sunk by ] in ]. She remained on an even keel, with her gun turrets above water; this allowed her to provide ] to defenders of the city until the end of the war in May 1945. | |||
==Combat history== | |||
==Design== | |||
''Köln'' patrolled Spanish waters during the ]. During ] she participated in Baltic operations and in the Invasion of ] (]). After the invasion of Norway the ship undertook primarily mining operations and attacks on Allied convoys. In ] ], after a ] attack, the heavy cruiser ] and ''Köln'' had to be withdrawn from service for extensive repairs. ''Köln'' remained out of service from ] ] to ] ] when she was recommissioned to train cadets. On ], ] she was heavily damaged in a bombing raid, the power stations and starboard engine both being destroyed. ''Köln'' then sailed for Wilhelmshaven for repairs. She arrived at Wilhelmshaven in ] ] and suffered through two more bombing raids. ''Köln'' was severely damaged in the final night of British bombing of the port on ] ]. The ship sank on even keel. The turrets remained above water and continued to shell the oncoming Allied advance. The ''Köln'' was scrapped in 1946. | |||
{{Main|Königsberg-class cruiser (1927)|l1=Königsberg-class cruiser}} | |||
] | |||
{{lang|de|Köln}} was {{convert|174|m|sp=us}} ] and had a ] of {{convert|15.2|m|abbr=on}} and a maximum ] of {{convert|6.28|m|abbr=on}}. She ] {{convert|7700|LT|lk=on}} at ]. The ship had a ] ] that extended for most of the length of the ship, ending just aft of the ] rear turret. Her ] consisted of a ] forward with a heavy, tubular ] and a secondary conning tower further aft. {{lang|de|Köln}} had a crew of 21 officers and 493 enlisted men.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Sieche|p=230}} | |||
==External links== | |||
Her propulsion system consisted of four ]s and a pair of 10-cylinder four-stroke ]s. Steam for the turbines was provided by six Marine-type, double-ended, oil-fired ]s, which were vented through a pair of ]. The ship's propulsion system provided a top speed of {{convert|32|kn}} and a range of approximately {{convert|5700|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|19|kn}}. {{sfn|Gröner|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Sieche|p=230}} | |||
* | |||
* | |||
The ship was armed with a ] of nine ] guns mounted in three triple ]s. One was located forward, and two were placed in a ] aft. The rear gun turrets were offset to increase their ]. They were supplied with 1,080 rounds of ammunition, for 120 shells per gun. The ship was also equipped with two ] anti-aircraft guns in single mounts; they had 400 rounds of ammunition each. {{lang|de|Köln}} also carried four triple ] mounts located amidships; they were supplied with twenty-four {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} ]es. She was also capable of carrying 120 ]s. The ship was protected by an armor ] that was {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} thick amidships and an ] that was {{convert|50|mm|abbr=on|0}} thick. The ] had {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} thick sides.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Sieche|p=230}} | |||
] | |||
==Service history== | |||
] | |||
] | |||
{{lang|de|Köln}} was ordered as "Cruiser D" under the contract name {{lang|de|] Arcona}}, as a replacement for the old cruiser {{SMS|Arcona|1902|2}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=119}} The ] for {{lang|de|Köln}} was laid on 7 August 1926 at the {{lang|de|]}} shipyard in ]. She was launched on 23 May 1928, and commissioned into the {{lang|de|]}} on 15 January 1930, the last member of her class to be completed.{{sfn|Sieche|p=230}} She spent the year conducting ]s and training in the ]. In 1930, she was modified with two dual ] anti-aircraft guns to replace the original single mounts, the rear ] was enlarged, and a ] for the anti-aircraft guns was installed aft. These new guns were unsatisfactoy and were replaced with three pairs of ] in 1931. One ] was also installed.{{Sfn|Stehr|Breyer|1999|pp=18-19}} {{lang|de|Köln}} departed on a cruise into the Atlantic in early 1932 for more extensive sea trials. After returning to Germany, she took on her first crew of naval cadets for a world cruise, departing Germany in late 1932. The tour lasted a full year; she stopped in ports across the globe, including in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea.{{sfn|Williamson|pp=22–23}} In Australia the tour stops included Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart, with the crew taking place in several publicised football games against local teams that included a ] team in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.anmm.gov.au/objects/23361|title=Crew of the German cruiser KOLN and the Royal Australian Naval soccer teams|access-date=18 March 2018|publisher=Australian National Maritime Museum|year=2013|archive-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319085021/http://collections.anmm.gov.au/objects/23361|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Winter|first=Christine|date=2008-02-26|title="A Good-Will Ship": The Light Cruiser Köln Visits Rabaul (1933)|journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History|language=en|volume=54|issue=1|pages=44–54|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.2008.00483.x|doi-access=free|hdl=1885/37746|hdl-access=free}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
] | |||
In 1935, the ship had an ] installed, along with cranes to handle ]s. A pole mast was also installed on the rear side of the aft funnel. {{lang|de|Köln}} continued to serve as a training ship until early 1936, when she was transferred to fishery protection duty. Later that year, she joined the ] off Spain during the ]. After the German heavy cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Deutschland||2}} was attacked by ] in the so-called ], {{lang|de|Köln}} transported wounded crew members from {{lang|de|Deutschland}} back to Germany. {{lang|de|Köln}} conducted a further four patrols off Spain before returning to fishery protection in the ] in 1938. Late in the year, she went into drydock for a refit in ].{{sfn|Williamson|pp=22–23}} | |||
] | |||
In March 1939, {{lang|de|Köln}} sailed to ] (now ], Lithuania), in connection with the annexation of the ] district, which ] be returned by ]. Later in the year, she joined the ] {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} and the heavy cruisers {{lang|de|Deutschland}}, {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Scheer||2}}, and {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Graf Spee||2}} for a major series of maneuvers in the Atlantic.{{sfn|Williamson|p=23}} | |||
===World War II=== | |||
====1939–1941==== | |||
In the final days of August 1939, {{lang|de|Köln}} was stationed in the western Baltic to prevent Polish vessels from fleeing after the planned ] on 1 September; she was unsuccessful in this task.{{sfn|Williamson|p=24}} Between 3 and 20 September she participated in laying the 'Westwall' defensive minefield in the German ].{{Sfn|Rohwer||p=2}} {{lang|de|Köln}} joined {{lang|de|Gneisenau}} and nine ]s for a sortie through the ] and ] towards the Norwegian coast on 7 October. The goal was to feint a breakout into the Atlantic which would keep pressure on the British to continue convoying, and to relieve pressure from the raiding operation of the {{lang|de|Admiral Graf Spee}}. The goal was also to draw the ] out of ] and lure them into range of the ]. The German force is found by British air reconnaissance on 8 April at the Norwegian south coast and promptly returns home, arriving on 10 October in Kiel. The Home fleet left Scapa Flow to intercept the German Force but did not find anything. A total of 148 German aircraft are deployed to attack the Home Fleet but they achieve nothing. The British launched an air attack consisting of 12 ] bombers, though it too failed to hit any of the German warships. The Home Fleet did not return to Scapa Flow so when {{GS|U-47|1938|2}} penetrated the harbour defenses of Scapa Flow on 14 October to attack the Home Fleet, it found only the old battleship {{HMS|Royal Oak|08|6}} lying at anchor.{{Sfn|Rohwer||p=6}}{{Sfn|Bekker||pp=33-34}} | |||
]On 20–22 November, {{lang|de|Köln}} and the cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Leipzig||2}} escorted the battleships {{lang|de|Gneisenau}} and {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} on the first leg of their sortie into the North Atlantic. On the 22nd, {{lang|de|Köln}} and {{lang|de|Leipzig}} were detached to join an unsuccessful patrol for ] merchant ships in the Skagerrak along with {{lang|de|Deutschland}} and three ]s. The patrol lasted until 25 November, and failed to locate any Allied freighters.{{sfn|Rohwer|pp=6, 9–10|}} On 13 December, {{lang|de|Köln}}, {{lang|de|Leipzig}}, and {{ship|German cruiser|Nürnberg||2}} sortied into the North Sea under the command of vice-admiral ] in order to meet five destroyers returning from an minelaying operation off ] and escort them home. The force was attacked at 10h45 by the British submarine {{HMS|Salmon|N65|6}} which scored a hit on both {{lang|de|Leipzig}} and {{lang|de|Nürnberg}}, and then the roles were reversed when the five destroyers had to escort the cruisers back to Germany.{{sfn|Rohwer|pp=10-11|}}{{Sfn|Bekker||pp=61-62}} | |||
{{lang|de|Köln}} took part in ], the invasion of ], in April 1940. She was assigned Group 3, tasked with the assault on ], along with her sister {{lang|de|Königsberg}}.{{sfn|Rohwer|p=18}} She reached the harbor unscathed, but {{lang|de|Königsberg}} was not so lucky; she was badly damaged by Norwegian coastal guns. {{lang|de|Köln}} nevertheless supported the German infantry ashore with her main guns. After the port was secured, she returned to Germany, along with a pair of destroyers. In late 1940, she went into drydock for further modifications. A ] coil was installed, along with a ] landing platform on top of turret "Bruno". She thereafter served as a testbed for the ] helicopter, a task she performed until 1942.{{sfn|Williamson|pp=23–24, 33}} | |||
] | |||
While still conducting experiments with the FI 282 in September 1941,{{sfn|Williamson|p=33}} {{lang|de|Köln}} became part of the Baltic fleet. which was assigned to guard the Baltic sea against a possible breakout of the Soviet fleet. On 23 September she left ] together with the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, the cruisers {{lang|de|Admiral Scheer}} and {{lang|de|Nürnberg}}, three destroyers and five torpedo boats. The fleet patrolled in the ] and after the Soviet fleet was neutralized by the ] in harbour, all ships returned to ] by 29 September.{{Sfn|Rohwer|pp=102-103|}} As part of ], {{lang|de|Köln}} participated in a diversionary attack on the east coast of the Baltic island ] in the ] during the night of 12 October, so that German forces could land against a weakened defense on the south coast. On 13 October, the Soviet ] {{ship|Soviet submarine|Shch-322||2}} tried to attack {{lang|de|Köln}}, but the cruiser's escorts forced the Soviet submarine to break off the attack. The next day, {{lang|de|Köln}} provided gunfire support to ground troops attacking ] positions on ].{{Sfn|Rohwer|pp=107-108|}} Toward the end of 1941, she was transferred to the North Sea, and went into drydock for her last major modification. This consisted of the installation of a FuMO 21 radar set on the forward command center roof.{{sfn|Williamson|pp=23, 33}} | |||
====1942–1945==== | |||
On 9 July 1942, {{lang|de|Köln}} and the destroyer {{ship|German destroyer|Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt||2}} departed Kiel to join the growing naval presence in Norway. On their way to ] the ships laid a defensive minefield in the Skagerrak. Between 14 and 15 July {{lang|de|Köln}} and the destroyers {{lang|de|Friedrich Eckoldt}}, {{ship|German destroyer|Z14 Friedrich Ihn||2}} and {{ship|German destroyer|Z24||2}} repeated the minelaying operation. On 17 July {{lang|de|Köln}} and {{lang|de|Friedrich Eckoldt}} arrived in ].{{sfn|Rohwer|p=179}} | |||
On 13 September, she and the heavy cruisers {{lang|de|Admiral Scheer}} and {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper||2}} and two destroyers moved from ] to ] in preparation of ], an attack on the Arctic ]. While en route, the flotilla was attacked by the British submarine {{HMS|Tigris|N63|6}}, but the torpedoes passed behind the German ships. PQ-18 had an escort including an ], and ever since the near-torpedoing by aircraft of the British carrier {{HMS|Victorious|R38|6}} of the flagship of the German fleet, the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, Hitler was reluctant to risk his ]s in an attack on a convoy and insisted the aircraft carrier be first disabled by the ] before the ships could mount an action. As a consequence permission was not given for the flotilla to proceed with the operation, instead PQ-18 was attacked by U-boats and bombers, which sank thirteen freighters.{{sfn|Rohwer|pp=195–196}}{{Sfn|Kemp||pp=102-111}} | |||
] | |||
The next Arctic ] did not sail until end of December. As in the Arctic winter and darkness carrier escort was impossible, the Kriegsmarine was determined to attack the convoy in Operation Regenbogen, resulting in the ].{{Sfn|Kemp||pp=115-118}} The two available light cruisers {{lang|de|Köln}} and {{lang|de|Nürnberg}} did not participate in the battle as they were not considered full battle worthy.{{Sfn|Brennecke||pp=225}} The German Navy failed to destroy JW-51B and was repulsed by the inferior British convoy escort. In the aftermath of that failed operation, a furious Hitler proclaimed that the ''Kriegsmarine's'' capital ships would be paid off and dismantled, and their guns used to reinforce the fortifications of the ]. Admiral ] persuaded Hitler to retain a battle group consisting of the battleships {{lang|de|Tirpitz}} and {{lang|de|Scharnhorst}}, and the heavy cruiser {{lang|de|Lützow}}. But the light cruisers {{lang|de|Köln}} and {{lang|de|Leipzig}} and the damaged {{lang|de|Admiral Hipper}} were to be decommissioned and the other cruisers were relocated to the training squadron.{{Sfn|Bekker||pp=279-291}} | |||
{{lang|de|Köln}} left Altenfjord on 23 January 1943 in company with {{lang|de|Admiral Hipper}} and the destroyer {{ship|German destroyer|Z4 Richard Beitzen||2}} to return to Germany. The three ships stopped in Narvik on 25 January, and in Trondheim from 30 January to 2 February.{{sfn|Rohwer|p=227}} After resuming the voyage south, the ships searched for Norwegian blockade runners in the Skagerrak on 6 February before putting into port at Kiel on 8 February.{{sfn|Rohwer||pp=227–228}} {{lang|de|Köln}} was decommissioned in Kiel on 17 February. She was sent to drydock in early 1944 for an overhaul to prepare her to return to combat duty; this was completed by 1 July. The cruiser served briefly as a training ship before escorting German merchant vessels in Norway.{{sfn|Williamson|p=33}} | |||
On the night of 13–14 December,{{sfn|Rohwer|p=378}} {{lang|de|Köln}} was attacked by British bombers in ]; several near misses caused damage to her propulsion system that required repair in Germany.{{sfn|Williamson|p=33}} She then proceeded to Wilhelmshaven, where she was again attacked by Allied bombers repeatedly.{{sfn|Williamson|p=33}} On 30 March, ] from the ] attacked the harbor;{{sfn|Rohwer|p=404}} {{lang|de|Köln}} was hit and sank on an even keel. Since her guns remained above water, the ship was used as an artillery battery to defend the city from advancing Allied forces. She served in this capacity until the end of the war in May. She was partially dismantled ''in situ'' after the end of the war, and finally raised in 1956 for scrapping.{{sfn|Williamson|p=34}} | |||
== Notes == | |||
=== Footnotes === | |||
{{Notelist | |||
| notes = | |||
{{efn | |||
| name = Characteristics | |||
| These statistics are for the ship as completed; over the course of her career, armament, crew size, and other characteristics of the ship changed. | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
=== Citations === | |||
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{Commons category|Köln (ship, 1928)}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Bekker |first=Cajus |title=Verdammte See |publisher=Gerhard Stalling Verlag |year=1971 |isbn=3-548-03057-2 |location=Oldenburg |language=de |ref={{sfnref|Bekker}}}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Brennecke |first=Jochen |title=Eismeer Atlantik Ostsee. Die Einsätze des Schweren Kreuzers Admiral Hipper |publisher=Heyne |year=2003 |isbn=3-453-87084-0 |location=Munchen |language=de |trans-title=Arctic, Atlantic, Baltic: The Operations of the Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper |ref={{sfnref|Brennecke}}}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
| last = Gröner | |||
| first = Erich | |||
|author-link=Erich Gröner | |||
| year = 1990 | |||
| title = German Warships: 1815–1945 | |||
| volume = I: Major Surface Vessels | |||
| publisher = Naval Institute Press | |||
| location = Annapolis | |||
| isbn = 978-0-87021-790-6 | |||
| ref ={{sfnRef|Gröner}} | |||
}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Kemp |first=Paul |title=Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters |publisher=Casell |year=1993 |isbn=0-304-35451-1 |ref={{sfnRef|Kemp}}}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
|last=Rohwer | |||
|first=Jürgen | |||
|author-link = Jürgen Rohwer | |||
|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two | |||
|publisher=Naval Institute Press | |||
|location=Annapolis | |||
|year=2005 | |||
|edition=Third Revised | |||
|isbn=978-1-59114-119-8 | |||
|ref={{sfnref|Rohwer}} | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
| last = Sieche | |||
| first = Erwin | |||
| chapter = Germany | |||
| pages = 218–254 | |||
| editor-last1 = Gardiner | |||
| editor-first1 = Robert | |||
| editor-last2 = Chesneau | |||
| editor-first2 = Roger | |||
| year = 1992 | |||
| title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 | |||
| publisher = Conway Maritime Press | |||
| location = London | |||
| isbn = 978-0-85177-146-5 | |||
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bJBMBvyQ83EC | |||
| ref = {{sfnRef|Sieche}} | |||
}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Stehr |first=Werner F.G. |title=Leichte und mitlere Artillerie auf deutschen Kriegsschiffen |last2=Breyer |first2=Siegfried |date=1999 |publisher=Podzun Pallas |isbn=3-7909-0664-6 |series=Marine-Arsenal |volume=Sonderheft band 18 |location=Wölfersheim-Berstadt |language=de}} | |||
* {{Cite book | |||
|last=Williamson | |||
|first=Gordon | |||
| author-link = Gordon Williamson (writer) | |||
|title=German Light Cruisers 1939–1945 | |||
|year=2003 | |||
|publisher=Osprey Publishing | |||
|isbn=978-1-84176-503-7 | |||
|location=Oxford | |||
|ref={{sfnref|Williamson}} | |||
}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* {{cite book | |||
| last1 = Hildebrand | |||
| first1 = Hans H. | |||
| last2 = Röhr | |||
| first2 = Albert | |||
| last3 = Steinmetz | |||
| first3 = Hans-Otto | |||
| year = 1993 | |||
| title = Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart | |||
| trans-title=The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present | |||
| volume = 5 | |||
| language=de | |||
| publisher = Mundus Verlag | |||
| location = Ratingen | |||
| isbn=978-3-7822-0456-9 | |||
| ref = {{sfnRef|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz}} | |||
|name-list-style=amp | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
|last1=Koop | |||
|first1=Gerhard | |||
|last2=Schmolke | |||
|first2=Klaus-Peter | |||
|title=German Light Cruisers of World War II: Emden, Königsberg, Karlsruhe, Köln, Leipzig, Nürnberg | |||
|year=2002 | |||
|location=Annapolis | |||
|publisher=Naval Institute Press | |||
|isbn=978-1-55750-310-7 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
|last=Whitley | |||
|first=M. J. | |||
|title=German Cruisers of World War Two | |||
|year=1987 | |||
|location=Annapolis | |||
|publisher=Naval Institute Press | |||
|isbn=978-0-87021-217-8 | |||
}} | |||
{{K class cruiser}} | |||
{{March 1945 shipwrecks}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{Coord missing|North Sea}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koln}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 23:24, 15 December 2024
Königsberg-class cruiser
History | |
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Germany | |
Name | Köln |
Builder | Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven |
Launched | 23 May 1928 |
Commissioned | 15 January 1930 |
Fate | Sunk by American aircraft on 30 March 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Königsberg-class cruiser |
Displacement | 7,700 long tons (7,800 t) |
Length | 174 m (571 ft) |
Beam | 15.3 m (50 ft) |
Draft | 6.28 m (20.6 ft) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
Range | 5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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Köln was a light cruiser, the third member of the Königsberg class that was operated between 1929 and March 1945, including service in World War II. She was operated by two German navies, the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine. She had two sister ships, Königsberg and Karlsruhe. Köln was built by the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down in August 1926, launched in May 1928, and commissioned into the Reichsmarine on 15 January 1930. She was armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm SK C/25 (5.9-inch) guns in three triple turrets and had a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).
Like her sister ships, Köln served as a training ship for naval cadets in the 1930s, and joined the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War during the latter part of the decade. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she conducted several operations in the North Sea, but did not encounter any British warships. She participated in the attack on Bergen during Operation Weserübung in April 1940, and she was the only member of her class to survive the operation. In 1942, she was modified to carry a Flettner Fl 282 helicopter experimentally. Later in 1942, she returned to Norway, but did not see significant action. She remained there until early 1943, when she returned to Germany in order to be decommissioned as decreed by Hitler after the failure of the Kriegsmarine in Operation Regenbogen; Köln returned to service in 1944, escorting Germans ships to Norway and laying mines. In March 1945, she was sunk by American bombers in Wilhelmshaven. She remained on an even keel, with her gun turrets above water; this allowed her to provide gunfire support to defenders of the city until the end of the war in May 1945.
Design
Main article: Königsberg-class cruiserKöln was 174 meters (571 ft) long overall and had a beam of 15.2 m (50 ft) and a maximum draft of 6.28 m (20.6 ft). She displaced 7,700 long tons (7,800 t) at full load. The ship had a forecastle deck that extended for most of the length of the ship, ending just aft of the superfiring rear turret. Her superstructure consisted of a conning tower forward with a heavy, tubular mast and a secondary conning tower further aft. Köln had a crew of 21 officers and 493 enlisted men.
Her propulsion system consisted of four steam turbines and a pair of 10-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines. Steam for the turbines was provided by six Marine-type, double-ended, oil-fired water-tube boilers, which were vented through a pair of funnels. The ship's propulsion system provided a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) and a range of approximately 5,700 nautical miles (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).
The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm (5.9 in) SK C/25 guns mounted in three triple gun turrets. One was located forward, and two were placed in a superfiring pair aft. The rear gun turrets were offset to increase their arc of fire. They were supplied with 1,080 rounds of ammunition, for 120 shells per gun. The ship was also equipped with two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns in single mounts; they had 400 rounds of ammunition each. Köln also carried four triple torpedo tube mounts located amidships; they were supplied with twenty-four 50 cm (20 in) torpedoes. She was also capable of carrying 120 naval mines. The ship was protected by an armor deck that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick amidships and an armor belt that was 50 mm (2 in) thick. The conning tower had 100 mm (3.9 in) thick sides.
Service history
Köln was ordered as "Cruiser D" under the contract name Ersatz Arcona, as a replacement for the old cruiser Arcona. The keel for Köln was laid on 7 August 1926 at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven. She was launched on 23 May 1928, and commissioned into the Reichsmarine on 15 January 1930, the last member of her class to be completed. She spent the year conducting sea trials and training in the Baltic Sea. In 1930, she was modified with two dual 8.8 cm SK C/25 anti-aircraft guns to replace the original single mounts, the rear superstructure was enlarged, and a fire control system for the anti-aircraft guns was installed aft. These new guns were unsatisfactoy and were replaced with three pairs of 8.8 cm SK C/32 in 1931. One SL-1 stabilized anti-aircraft fire control director was also installed. Köln departed on a cruise into the Atlantic in early 1932 for more extensive sea trials. After returning to Germany, she took on her first crew of naval cadets for a world cruise, departing Germany in late 1932. The tour lasted a full year; she stopped in ports across the globe, including in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. In Australia the tour stops included Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart, with the crew taking place in several publicised football games against local teams that included a Royal Australian Navy team in Sydney.
In 1935, the ship had an aircraft catapult installed, along with cranes to handle float planes. A pole mast was also installed on the rear side of the aft funnel. Köln continued to serve as a training ship until early 1936, when she was transferred to fishery protection duty. Later that year, she joined the non-intervention patrols off Spain during the Spanish Civil War. After the German heavy cruiser Deutschland was attacked by Republican bombers in the so-called "Deutschland incident", Köln transported wounded crew members from Deutschland back to Germany. Köln conducted a further four patrols off Spain before returning to fishery protection in the North Sea in 1938. Late in the year, she went into drydock for a refit in Kiel.
In March 1939, Köln sailed to Memel (now Klaipėda, Lithuania), in connection with the annexation of the Memelland district, which Germany had demanded be returned by Lithuania. Later in the year, she joined the battleship Gneisenau and the heavy cruisers Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, and Admiral Graf Spee for a major series of maneuvers in the Atlantic.
World War II
1939–1941
In the final days of August 1939, Köln was stationed in the western Baltic to prevent Polish vessels from fleeing after the planned German invasion of Poland on 1 September; she was unsuccessful in this task. Between 3 and 20 September she participated in laying the 'Westwall' defensive minefield in the German North Sea. Köln joined Gneisenau and nine destroyers for a sortie through the Kattegat and Skagerrak towards the Norwegian coast on 7 October. The goal was to feint a breakout into the Atlantic which would keep pressure on the British to continue convoying, and to relieve pressure from the raiding operation of the Admiral Graf Spee. The goal was also to draw the Home Fleet out of Scapa Flow and lure them into range of the Luftwaffe. The German force is found by British air reconnaissance on 8 April at the Norwegian south coast and promptly returns home, arriving on 10 October in Kiel. The Home fleet left Scapa Flow to intercept the German Force but did not find anything. A total of 148 German aircraft are deployed to attack the Home Fleet but they achieve nothing. The British launched an air attack consisting of 12 Wellington bombers, though it too failed to hit any of the German warships. The Home Fleet did not return to Scapa Flow so when U-47 penetrated the harbour defenses of Scapa Flow on 14 October to attack the Home Fleet, it found only the old battleship HMS Royal Oak lying at anchor.
On 20–22 November, Köln and the cruiser Leipzig escorted the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst on the first leg of their sortie into the North Atlantic. On the 22nd, Köln and Leipzig were detached to join an unsuccessful patrol for Allied merchant ships in the Skagerrak along with Deutschland and three torpedo boats. The patrol lasted until 25 November, and failed to locate any Allied freighters. On 13 December, Köln, Leipzig, and Nürnberg sortied into the North Sea under the command of vice-admiral Günther Lütjens in order to meet five destroyers returning from an minelaying operation off Newcastle and escort them home. The force was attacked at 10h45 by the British submarine HMS Salmon which scored a hit on both Leipzig and Nürnberg, and then the roles were reversed when the five destroyers had to escort the cruisers back to Germany.
Köln took part in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway, in April 1940. She was assigned Group 3, tasked with the assault on Bergen, along with her sister Königsberg. She reached the harbor unscathed, but Königsberg was not so lucky; she was badly damaged by Norwegian coastal guns. Köln nevertheless supported the German infantry ashore with her main guns. After the port was secured, she returned to Germany, along with a pair of destroyers. In late 1940, she went into drydock for further modifications. A degaussing coil was installed, along with a helicopter landing platform on top of turret "Bruno". She thereafter served as a testbed for the Flettner Fl 282 helicopter, a task she performed until 1942.
While still conducting experiments with the FI 282 in September 1941, Köln became part of the Baltic fleet. which was assigned to guard the Baltic sea against a possible breakout of the Soviet fleet. On 23 September she left Swinemunde together with the battleship Tirpitz, the cruisers Admiral Scheer and Nürnberg, three destroyers and five torpedo boats. The fleet patrolled in the Sea of Åland and after the Soviet fleet was neutralized by the Luftwaffe in harbour, all ships returned to Gotenhafen by 29 September. As part of Operation Beowulf, Köln participated in a diversionary attack on the east coast of the Baltic island Dagö in the Gulf of Riga during the night of 12 October, so that German forces could land against a weakened defense on the south coast. On 13 October, the Soviet submarine Shch-322 tried to attack Köln, but the cruiser's escorts forced the Soviet submarine to break off the attack. The next day, Köln provided gunfire support to ground troops attacking Soviet positions on Ristna. Toward the end of 1941, she was transferred to the North Sea, and went into drydock for her last major modification. This consisted of the installation of a FuMO 21 radar set on the forward command center roof.
1942–1945
On 9 July 1942, Köln and the destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt departed Kiel to join the growing naval presence in Norway. On their way to Kristiansand the ships laid a defensive minefield in the Skagerrak. Between 14 and 15 July Köln and the destroyers Friedrich Eckoldt, Z14 Friedrich Ihn and Z24 repeated the minelaying operation. On 17 July Köln and Friedrich Eckoldt arrived in Trondheim.
On 13 September, she and the heavy cruisers Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper and two destroyers moved from Narvik to Altenfjord in preparation of Operation Doppelschlag, an attack on the Arctic Convoy PQ 18. While en route, the flotilla was attacked by the British submarine HMS Tigris, but the torpedoes passed behind the German ships. PQ-18 had an escort including an escort carrier, and ever since the near-torpedoing by aircraft of the British carrier HMS Victorious of the flagship of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, Hitler was reluctant to risk his capital ships in an attack on a convoy and insisted the aircraft carrier be first disabled by the Luftwaffe before the ships could mount an action. As a consequence permission was not given for the flotilla to proceed with the operation, instead PQ-18 was attacked by U-boats and bombers, which sank thirteen freighters.
The next Arctic convoy JW 51B did not sail until end of December. As in the Arctic winter and darkness carrier escort was impossible, the Kriegsmarine was determined to attack the convoy in Operation Regenbogen, resulting in the Battle of the Barents Sea. The two available light cruisers Köln and Nürnberg did not participate in the battle as they were not considered full battle worthy. The German Navy failed to destroy JW-51B and was repulsed by the inferior British convoy escort. In the aftermath of that failed operation, a furious Hitler proclaimed that the Kriegsmarine's capital ships would be paid off and dismantled, and their guns used to reinforce the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. Admiral Karl Dönitz persuaded Hitler to retain a battle group consisting of the battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst, and the heavy cruiser Lützow. But the light cruisers Köln and Leipzig and the damaged Admiral Hipper were to be decommissioned and the other cruisers were relocated to the training squadron.
Köln left Altenfjord on 23 January 1943 in company with Admiral Hipper and the destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen to return to Germany. The three ships stopped in Narvik on 25 January, and in Trondheim from 30 January to 2 February. After resuming the voyage south, the ships searched for Norwegian blockade runners in the Skagerrak on 6 February before putting into port at Kiel on 8 February. Köln was decommissioned in Kiel on 17 February. She was sent to drydock in early 1944 for an overhaul to prepare her to return to combat duty; this was completed by 1 July. The cruiser served briefly as a training ship before escorting German merchant vessels in Norway.
On the night of 13–14 December, Köln was attacked by British bombers in Oslofjord; several near misses caused damage to her propulsion system that required repair in Germany. She then proceeded to Wilhelmshaven, where she was again attacked by Allied bombers repeatedly. On 30 March, B-24 Liberators from the Eighth Air Force attacked the harbor; Köln was hit and sank on an even keel. Since her guns remained above water, the ship was used as an artillery battery to defend the city from advancing Allied forces. She served in this capacity until the end of the war in May. She was partially dismantled in situ after the end of the war, and finally raised in 1956 for scrapping.
Notes
Footnotes
- These statistics are for the ship as completed; over the course of her career, armament, crew size, and other characteristics of the ship changed.
Citations
- ^ Gröner, pp. 119–120.
- ^ Sieche, p. 230.
- Gröner, p. 119.
- Stehr & Breyer 1999, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Williamson, pp. 22–23.
- "Crew of the German cruiser KOLN and the Royal Australian Naval soccer teams". Australian National Maritime Museum. 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- Winter, Christine (2008-02-26). ""A Good-Will Ship": The Light Cruiser Köln Visits Rabaul (1933)". Australian Journal of Politics & History. 54 (1): 44–54. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8497.2008.00483.x. hdl:1885/37746.
- Williamson, p. 23.
- Williamson, p. 24.
- Rohwer, p. 2.
- Rohwer, p. 6.
- Bekker, pp. 33–34.
- Rohwer, pp. 6, 9–10.
- Rohwer, pp. 10–11.
- Bekker, pp. 61–62.
- Rohwer, p. 18.
- Williamson, pp. 23–24, 33.
- ^ Williamson, p. 33.
- Rohwer, pp. 102–103.
- Rohwer, pp. 107–108.
- Williamson, pp. 23, 33.
- Rohwer, p. 179.
- Rohwer, pp. 195–196.
- Kemp, pp. 102–111.
- Kemp, pp. 115–118.
- Brennecke, pp. 225.
- Bekker, pp. 279–291.
- Rohwer, p. 227.
- Rohwer, pp. 227–228.
- Rohwer, p. 378.
- Rohwer, p. 404.
- Williamson, p. 34.
References
- Bekker, Cajus (1971). Verdammte See (in German). Oldenburg: Gerhard Stalling Verlag. ISBN 3-548-03057-2.
- Brennecke, Jochen (2003). Eismeer Atlantik Ostsee. Die Einsätze des Schweren Kreuzers Admiral Hipper [Arctic, Atlantic, Baltic: The Operations of the Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper] (in German). Munchen: Heyne. ISBN 3-453-87084-0.
- Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Kemp, Paul (1993). Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters. Casell. ISBN 0-304-35451-1.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 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.
- Stehr, Werner F.G.; Breyer, Siegfried (1999). Leichte und mitlere Artillerie auf deutschen Kriegsschiffen. Marine-Arsenal (in German). Vol. Sonderheft band 18. Wölfersheim-Berstadt: Podzun Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0664-6.
- Williamson, Gordon (2003). German Light Cruisers 1939–1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. 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.
- 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.
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