German cruiser Emden

The German light cruiser "Emden" was the only ship of its class. The third cruiser to bear the name "Emden" was the first new warship built in Germany after World War I.

Ordered in 1921, construction was delayed first by Allied objections to the design and then by the German hyperinflation in 1923. The original design envisaged the eight convert|6|in|mm|0|sing=on guns being installed in four twin-turrets and would have made "Emden" one of the most advanced cruisers of her time. But the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany the development of new weapons, including new turrets. Like most navies, the German navy had never before used twin-turrets for such small guns. All previous designs were for 8 inch or larger guns and were too heavy for a 6000-ton cruiser as allowed by the Treaty. This forced a redesign of the ship with the guns placed in 8 less effective single-gun turrets, making "Emden" look very similar to her WWI predecessors.

The ship was finally launched on 6 January 1925 and commissioned on 15 October 1925.

Used primarily as a training vessel, "Emden" made several cruises into the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean between 1926 and 1939. For a time, until his promotion to Captain and transfer to the 1st U-boat flotilla in 1935, "Emden" was commanded by Karl Dönitz, who recalled the cruises in his autobiography, "Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days".

On 4 September 1939, following the outbreak of World War II, the ship was damaged in a British air raid on Wilhelmshaven: a Bristol Blenheim bomber was hit by AA-fire and crashed into the foreship of "Emden", killing 9 German sailors of World War II. By a strange coincidence the British pilot's name was Flying Officer H. L. Emden. [http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/facts.html]

After repairs "Emden" participated in laying minefields in the North Sea for much of 1939. During the invasion of Norway ("Operation Weserübung") "Emden" was part of the ill-fated "Kriegsschiffgruppe 5", tasked with taking Oslo. The group's flagship, the heavy cruiser "Blücher", was sunk by the Oscarsborg coastal fortress inside Oslofjord and the heavy cruiser "Lützow" (ex pocket battleship "Deutschland") was severely damaged by a torpedo hit from a British submarine off the Danish coast on her way back to Germany.

"Emden" spent the rest of the war in the Baltic Sea, mostly on training cruises. From January 1945 on she helped evacuate German troops and civilians from East Prussia to northern Germany and Denmark. On one of these trips, she also brought back the coffins of former German President Paul von Hindenburg and his wife.

In the night from 9 April to 10 April 1945 "Emden" was severely damaged in an air attack at Kiel. She was towed with a 15° list into the "Heikendorfer Bucht" and beached there on 14 April. The ship was decommissioned on 26 April 1945, scuttled on 3 May and scrapped after the war.

Commanding Officers

* KzS Richard Foerster - 15 October 1925 - 23 September 1928
* FK / KzS Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière - 23 September 1928 - 11 October 1930 (Promoted KzS 1 October 1930.)
* FK / KzS Robert Witthoeft-Emden - 11 October 1930 - 22 March 1932 (Promoted KzS 1 April 1931.)
* FK / KzS Werner Grassmann - 22 March 1932 - 1 April 1933 (Promoted KzS 1 July 1933.)

REFIT - 1 April 1933 - 29 September 1934

* FK Karl Dönitz - 29 September 1934 - 21 September 1935
* KzS Johannes Bachmann - 21 September 1935 - 25 August 1936
* KzS Walter Georg Lohmann - 25 August 1936 - 20 June 1937
* KzS Bernard Liebetanz - 20 June 1937 - 30 July 1937
* FK / KzS Leopold Burkner - 30 July 1937 - 15 June 1938 (Promoted KzS 1 November 1937.)
* KzS Paul Wever - 15 June 1938 - 5 May 1939
* KzS Werner Lange - 5 May 1939 - 26 August 1940
* KzS Hans Mirow - 26 August 1940 - 19 July 1942
* KzS Friedrich Traugott Schmitt - 19 July 1942 - 9 September 1943
* KzS Hans Hengist - 9 September 1943 - 1 March 1944
* FK / KzS Hans-Eberhard Meisner - 1 March 1944 - January 1945 (Promoted KzS 1 April 1944.)
* KzS Wolfgang Kahler - January 1945 - March 1945
* FK Wickmann - April 1945 - 3 May 1945

External links

* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/germany/pages/cruisers/emden.htm Maritimequest Emden photo gallery]
* [http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/lightcruiser/emden/index.html German Naval History - Light Cruiser "Emden"]
* [http://www.fregatte-emden.de/dieschiffe/index.html Cruisers EMDEN, Frigates EMDEN] de icon