German cruiser Nürnberg

The "Nürnberg", was a German light cruiser of the "Leipzig" class named after the city of Nuremberg. Some sources consider the "Leipzig" and "Nürnberg" to be of separate, single ship, classes. After World War II, "Nürnberg" was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed "Admiral Makarov".

While covering minelaying operations off the British North Sea coast, the ship was torpedoed during the night of 12 December/13 December 1939 by HMS "Salmon" - as was her older (and smaller) sistership "Leipzig". She was under repair until May 1940, and so missed the Norwegian campaign. From July 1940 through January 1945, "Nürnberg" served either in and off Norway or in German home waters. At the end of the war the ship was surrendered in Copenhagen.

Assigned as a war prize to the Soviet Navy, she was entered on the Soviet navy records on 5 November 1945 and assigned to the Baltic Fleet. In January 1946, she and five other formerly German ships - destroyer ("Erich Steinbrink", torpedo boats "T33" and "T107", dispatch vessel "Blitz" and the target ship "Hessen", (a disarmed World War I battleship) - sailed for Libau (Liepāja), then in the Latvian SSR. On arrival on 5 January 1946, "Nürnberg" was renamed "Admiral Makarov". She then served as flagship of the 8th (Northern Baltic) fleet, based at Tallinn, until 1955. When the main boilers broke down in February 1957, she was re-classified a training cruiser and based at Kronstadt and, in February 1959, stricken from the navy records and scrapped.

Commanding officers (Germany)

* Chief Equipping Officer - KzS Hubert Schmundt - 27 September 1935 - 2 November 1935
* KzS Hubert Schmundt - 2 November 1935 - 13 October 1936
* KzS Theodor Riedel - 13 October 1936 - 8 October 1937
* KzS Walter Krastel - 8 October 1937 - 5 November 1938
* KzS Heinz Degenhardt - 5 November 1938 - 11 November 1938
* FK Walter Hennecke - 11 November 1938 - 19 November 1938 (acting)
* KzS Otto Kluber - 19 November 1938 - 7 August 1940
* KzS Leo Kreisch - 7 August 1940 - 19 March 1941
* KzS Ernst von Studnitz - 19 March 1941 - 6 June 1943
* KzS Gerhardt Bohmig - 6 June 1943 - 7 October 1944
* KzS Hellmuth Gressler - 7 October 1944 - 6 January 1946

External links

* [http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/lightcruiser/nurnberg/index.html German Naval History - Light Cruiser "Nürnberg"]
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/pages/cruisers/nurnberg.htm Maritimequest "Nürnberg" photo gallery]