Karlsruhe file photo [8730]

Karlsruhe

CountryGermany
Ship ClassK-class Light Cruiser
BuilderDeutsche Werke Kiel
Yard Number207
Slip/Drydock NumberII
Ordered8 Apr 1925
Laid Down27 Jul 1926
Launched20 Aug 1927
Commissioned6 Nov 1929
Sunk9 Apr 1940
Displacement8,130 tons standard
Length571 feet
Beam50 feet
Draft20 feet
Machinery4 MAN 10-cylinder diesel engines, 2 geared turbines, 3 shafts
Power Output68,000 shaft horsepower
Speed30 knots
Range5,200nm at 19 knots
Crew820
Armament3x3x15cm SK C/25 guns, 6x88mm AA guns, 8x3.7cm SK C/30 AA guns, 8x20mm AA guns, 12x533mm torpedoes, 120 mines
Armor100mm command tower, 40mm deck, 20mm turrets, 50-70mm belt
AircraftTwo He 60 floatplanes

Contributor:

ww2dbaseUpon commissioning in late 1929, light cruiser Karlsruhe served as a training ship. In the early 1930s, she embarked on a world cruise; during that cruise, weakness in her hull plating resulted in a pause in her voyage for structural repairs at San Diego, California, United States. She undertook further long voyages during the 1930s. In Jan and Feb 1937, under the command of Captain Leopold Siemens, she patrolled off of the Spanish and Portuguese coast during the Spanish Civil War as part of the international naval blockade. Between 21 May 1938 and 13 Nov 1939, she underwent a refit. On 13 Nov 1939, she was placed under the command of Captain Friedrich Rieve. In the morning of 9 Apr 1940, as a member of Task Force 4, she fired her guns at defensive positions at Kristiansand in southern Norway while carrying invasion troops. That evening, en route for Germany, she was discovered by the British submarine Truant shortly after departing Kristiansand. Truant fired a spread of torpedoes at her; one hit, disabling her powerplant. Her crew was picked up by torpedo boat Grief, which scuttled the crippled Karlsruhe with two torpedoes at 2250 hours.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Oct 2009

Photographs

Aerial view of German light cruiser Karlsruhe underway off San Diego, California, United States, 27 Mar 1934; note off-centerline positioning of turrets

Karlsruhe Operational Timeline

6 Nov 1929 Karlsruhe was commissioned into service.




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More on Karlsruhe
Event(s) Participated:
» The Spanish Civil War
» Invasion of Denmark and Norway

Light Cruiser Karlsruhe Photo Gallery
Aerial view of German light cruiser Karlsruhe underway off San Diego, California, United States, 27 Mar 1934; note off-centerline positioning of turrets


Famous WW2 Quote
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Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939


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