- German cruiser Königsberg
"Königsberg" was a
light cruiser of the "K" class in the GermanReichsmarine andKriegsmarine . 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 tocommerce raiding or deep-water operations, and when war broke out in September 1939 she was assigned to duty as atorpedo training ship in the Baltic and subsequently used for mining operations in theNorth Sea (Operation "Westwall").Norway
In early April 1940, "Königsberg" participated in Gruppe 3 of the invasion 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 Norwegiancoastal artillery batteries atKvarven Fort on9 April 1940 , causing them to remain in port while the other ships returned to Germany. The next day, 16Blackburn Skua dive bombers of the BritishFleet Air Arm (7 of800 Naval Air Squadron and 9 of803 Naval Air Squadron , launched fromRNAS Hatston ,Orkney ) scored three direct hits on "Königsberg". The ship capsized and sank in Bergen harbor.The wreck was raised on17 July 1942 , and after being righted in March 1943 was used as a pier forU-boat s. The wreck capsized again on22 September 1944 , and was broken up after the end of World War II in Bergen.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
ee also
*
List of shipwrecks in 1940 Notes
External links
* [http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/lightcruiser/konigsberg/index.html German Naval History - Light Cruiser "Königsberg"]
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