Karlsruhe (ship, 1927)
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The light cruiser Karlsruhe was a German warship that was built for the Reichsmarine of the Weimar Republic and later used by the Kriegsmarine in World War II . She was the second of three Königsberg- class ships built . The ship was named after the city of Karlsruhe .
history
Construction and commissioning
After the Königsberg and before the Köln , the third warship named Karlsruhe was launched on August 20, 1927 . The baptismal address was given by the Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe , Finter, while the actual baptism act was performed by Mrs. Köhler, the widow of the commander of the SMS Karlsruhe , frigate captain Erich Köhler , who fell on November 4, 1914 . The shipyard test drives were completed with the transfer trip from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven on October 15, 1929 under the shipyard flag. The commissioning of the Karlsruhe took place on November 6, 1929 in Wilhelmshaven under the command of frigate captain Lindau.
The main difference between the Karlsruhe and its sister ships was the two- storey Vormars control station; it served to train artillery officers.
Time as a training ship
The cruiser was used from May 1930 to June 1936 for the inspection of the naval education system almost exclusively as a training ship for officer cadets on five extended voyages through all the world's oceans. On the fifth training voyage from 1935 to 1936, during a multi-day hurricane on the crossing from Japan to the United States , the ship had to call into a repair dock in San Diego at the beginning of April 1936 . With this trip, the service as a training ship for the Karlsruhe ended. With effect from July 1, 1936, the ship was assigned to the reconnaissance forces and thus to its actual purpose. During the Spanish Civil War , the Karlsruhe was ordered to operate in Spanish waters in January / February and June 1937. She patrolled the coastal waters of Spain and Portugal , otherwise these two voyages remained without special events.
The modification
Even with earlier small conversions, u. a. Deckhouses changed several times, the front mast removed and replaced by a rod at the top of the battle mast (1931), the antenna spars on both sides of the rear funnel replaced by a telescopic mast (1935).
In order to improve structural defects and the resulting poor sea behavior , she was temporarily decommissioned on May 20, 1938 and then rebuilt in the Wilhelmshaven Navy shipyard . The ship was widened by 1.60 m and more armored. The foremars control room lost one floor, the chimneys were given caps, the rear one was shortened and received a three-legged mast, and new cranes were installed. The side pillars at the level of the rear chimney, to which the four large spotlights were attached, were removed, and the Marseilles spotlights on both chimneys were moved. When the war broke out, the renovation work was not yet finished, and it was not until November 13, 1939 that the Karlsruhe could be put back into service, initially to carry out tests.
Deployment and demise
With a new and insufficiently trained crew, the ship then took part in the Weser exercise in April 1940 . Under the command of Captain Rieve, the cruiser had the task of securing the landing of German troops in Kristiansand .
On the march back in the Skagerrak on April 9 at around 7:58 p.m., the British submarine Truant was hit by a torpedo . Both machines, the electrical system, the rudder and the bilge were put out of operation. The ship was quickly flip side and began to sink. At around 9 p.m. the crew climbed onto the torpedo boats Luchs and Seeadler . When the ship until the Schanz was weggesackt, Captain Rieve gave the torpedo boat Greif to sink the cruiser by torpedo the command. This order was carried out at 10:50 p.m., two torpedoes were shot down and hit the Karlsruhe , which sank at position 58 ° 4 ' N , 8 ° 4' E near Kristiansand.
Commanders
November 6, 1929 to September 25, 1931 | Frigate captain / sea captain Eugen Lindau |
September 26, 1931 to December 8, 1932 | Frigate captain / sea captain Erwin Waßner |
December 9, 1932 to September 15, 1934 | Frigate Captain Wilhelm Freiherr Harsdorf von Enderndorf |
September 16, 1934 to September 23, 1935 | Sea captain Günther Lütjens |
September 24, 1935 to September 28, 1937 | Frigate captain / sea captain Leopold Siemens |
September 29, 1937 to May 20, 1938 | Sea captain Erich Förste |
November 13, 1939 to April 10, 1940 | Sea captain Friedrich Rieve |
Known crew members
- Carl-Heinz Birnbacher (1910–1991) was Deputy Commander of the Fleet from 1968 to 1970 as Rear Admiral of the German Navy
- Albrecht Brandi (1914–1966), cadet in 1936, perhaps as early as 1935, was among other things submarine commander of the Navy , bearer of the knight's cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds
- Heinrich Gerlach (1906–1988) was Vice Admiral in command of the fleet from 1963 to 1966
- Robert Gysae (1911–1989), was from 1967 to 1970 as Flotilla Admiral in command of the North Sea Marine Division
- Walter Heck (1910–1987), was from 1969 to 1970 as Flotilla Admiral sub-department head in the command staff of the armed forces
- Bernd Klug (1914–1976), was from 1966 to 1968 as flotilla admiral in command of the Mürwik Naval School
- Günter Kuhnke (1912–1990) was Head of the Naval Office from 1966 to 1972 as Rear Admiral
- Heinz Kühnle (1915–2001) was the fourth inspector of the Navy from 1971 to 1975
- Bernhard Rogge (1899–1982), was from 1957 to 1962 as Rear Admiral in command of Defense Area I.
- Karl E. Smidt (1903–1984), from 1961 to 1963, as Rear Admiral, was NATO Commander-in-Chief of the German fleet with authority over the North and Baltic Seas
- Erich Topp (1914–2005), cadet from 1934 to 1935, was submarine commander of the Navy and rear admiral of the German Navy
literature
- Gröner, Erich / Dieter Jung / Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945 . tape 1 : Armored ships, ships of the line, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, gunboats . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4800-8 , p. 147-149 .
- Ulrich Elfrath u. a., The German Kriegsmarine 1935-1945 , 1998, parts 1 and 4, ISBN 3-8289-5314-X