Köln class light cruiser

The "Köln class" of light cruisers was Germany's last class commissioned before her defeat in World War I. Originally planned to contain ten ships, only two were completed; "Köln" and "Dresden". Five were launched, but not completed: "Wiesbaden", "Magdeburg", "Leipzig", "Rostock" and "Frauenlob", while another three were laid down but not launched: "Ersatz Köln", "Ersatz Emden" and "Ersatz Karlsruhe".

Construction

"Köln" was built at Blohm und Voss, while "Dresden" was constructed at Howaldtswerke in Kiel. The ships were laid down between mid 1915 to early 1916. "Köln" and "Dresden" were completed by early 1918, while the other ships of the class, in varying degrees of completion, were put on hold and eventually scrapped.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

The class design was 149.8m at the waterline, and 155.5m overall. The ships had a beam of 14.2m, and a draught of 6.22m, and displaced 6,195 tons at standard load, and 8252 tons at full load. The ships were propelled by two shaft Navy turbines, which produced 31,000shp, and a top speed of 27.5 knots, although in trials, "Köln" achieved 48,708shp on her turbines, and a top speed of 29.3 knots, while "Dresden" pushed her turbines to 49,428shp, but a top speed of only 27.8 knots.

Armor

The "Köln" class was protected by an armored belt, 2.5 inches thick at its strongest point, and .5 inches at its thinnest. The ships' deck was protected by 1 inch to 2.5 inches of armor plate.

Armament

The ships were armed with eight 5.9 inch (150mm) guns in single turrets, three 3.4 inch (88mm) guns in single turrets, and four 23.6 inch (600mm) torpedo tubes. The ships also carried 200 mines.

ervice history

The two completed ships of the "Köln" class, "Köln" and "Dresden", were assigned to the II Scouting Group in 1918, but their careers were cut short by the German surrender on 11 November 1918. They were interned after the war at Scapa Flow, but were successfully scuttled by their crews on 21 June 1919. The other incomplete ships were later sold for scrap.

External links

* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/cruisers/sms-coln.html World War 1 Naval Combat]