Magdeburg class light cruiser

The "Magdeburg" class of light cruisers was a group of four ships built for the German Imperial Navy before World War I. The ships were all laid down in 1910, and completed by the end of 1912. One ship of the class, "Breslau", is famous for escaping through the Mediterranean Sea at the start of the First World War, before being transferred to Turkish service.

Design

Dimensions and machinery

The ships of the class were 130 m at the waterline, and 130.5 m overall. The ships had a beam of 14 m, a draught of 5.48 m, and displaced 4,362 tonnes normally, and 4,915 tonnes at a full load. cite web|title=WWI Naval Combat|url=http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/cruisers/sms-magdeberg.html|accessdate=19 February|accessyear=2008] The ships had different power plants; "Magdeburg" and "Stralsund" had 3 shaft Bergmann turbines, which delivered 25,000 shp and a top speed of convert|27|kn|km/h. "Breslau" had 4 shaft AEG-Vulcan turbines, which also produced convert|25000|shp|abbr=on and a top speed of convert|27|kn|km/h, while "Strassburg" had 2 shaft Navy turbines, which also delivered the same horsepower and speed.

Armament

The ships of the class were all originally armed with twelve 105mm (4.1 in) guns in single mounts, along with two 500mm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes, and 120 mines. In 1915, "Stralsund" was rearmed with seven 150mm (5.9 in) guns and two 88mm (3.4 in) anti-aircraft guns, with "Strassburg" receiving the same rearmament in 1916. "Breslau", by that time in Ottoman service as the "Midilli", was re-equipped with two 150 mm guns in 1916, and by 1917, had a full armament of eight 150 mm guns.

ervice history

The lead ship of the class, "Magdeburg", led a short service life. The ship ran aground near the Odensholm lighthouse in the Baltic Sea on 26 August 1914. Efforts to refloat the ship failed; the Russian cruisers "Bogatyr" and "Pallada" arrived and destroyed the ship with gunfire.

"Breslau" was assigned to the Mediterranean Division at the start of World War I. On 4 August, the ship bombarded Bona, three days later, the ship indecisively engaged the British light cruiser HMS "Gloucester". On 16 August, the ship was sold to the Ottoman Empire, but retained her German crew. The ship operated in the Black Sea, participating in several raids and battles with the Russian fleet. On 20 January 1918, "Breslau" attempted to raid British naval forces near the Dardenelles; she sank two British monitors, but was sunk after she struck 5 mines.

"Straßburg" was assigned to the II Scouting Group at the start of World War I. On 28 August 1914, she took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and was moderately damaged. After the end of the war, the ship was ceded to Italy, and sunk by air attack during World War II.

"Stralsund" was also assigned to the II Scouting Group, alongside her sistership "Strassburg". She participated in the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, as part of the support for Admiral Hipper's battlecruisers in the I Scouting Group. After the war, "Stralsund" was ceded to France as war reparations, and sold for scrap in 1933.

References