List of German cruisers

This list includes all German cruisers . These include the armored cruisers , but not the battle cruisers of the Imperial Navy . Both types were referred to as large cruisers . Also not listed are the units of the Germany class that were designated as heavy cruisers from 1940 onwards .

class	Ships				Type	image
	Number in service / planned	Surname	Operating time *	in service at
Gripping	1/1	SMS Greif	1887 - 1912	Kaiserl. marine	Aviso from 1899: Small (unprotected) cruiser
Irene class	2/2	SMS Irene SMS Princess Wilhelm	1888 - 1914 1889 - 1914	Kaiserl. marine	Kreuzerkorvette from 1893: Kreuzer II. Class from 1899: Small (protected) cruiser
Swallow class	2/2	SMS Schwalbe SMS Sperber	1888 - 1919 1889 - 1912	Kaiserl. marine	Cruiser from 1893: Cruiser IV. Class from 1899: Small (unprotected) cruiser
Watch class	2/2	SMS Watch SMS Hunt	1888 - 1901 † 1889 - 1910	Kaiserl. marine	Aviso from 1899: Small (protected) cruiser
Buzzard class	6/6	SMS buzzard SMS falcon SMS sea eagle SMS condor SMS cormoran SMS vulture	1890 - 1912 1891 - 1912 1892 - 1917 † 1892 - 1920 1893 - 1914 † ² 1895 - 1917 §	Kaiserl. Navy US Navy	Cruiser from 1893: Cruiser IV. Class from 1899: Small (unprotected) cruiser
Meteor class	2/2	SMS Meteor SMS Comet	1891 - 1911 1893 - 1911	Kaiserl. marine	Aviso from 1899: Small (protected) cruiser
Empress Augusta	1/1	SMS Empress Augusta	1892 - 1919	Kaiserl. marine	Cruiser corvette from 1893: Cruiser II. Class from 1899: Large (protected) cruiser
Gefion	1/1	SMS Gefion	1894 - 1919	Kaiserl. marine	Cruiser corvette from 1893: Kreuzer III. Class from 1899: Small (protected) cruiser
Hela	1/1	SMS Hela	1896 - 1914 †	Kaiserl. marine	Aviso from 1899: Small (protected) cruiser
Victoria Louise class	5/5	SMS Victoria Louise SMS Hertha SMS Freya SMS Vineta SMS Hansa	1899 - 1919 1898 - 1919 1900 - 1920 1899 - 1919 1899 - 1919	Kaiserl. marine	Large (protected) cruiser
Prince Bismarck	1/1	SMS Prince Bismarck	1900 - 1919	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Gazelle class	10/10	SMS Gazelle SMS Niobe SMS Nymph SMS Thetis SMS Ariadne SMS Medusa SMS Amazone SMS Woman praise SMS Arcona SMS Undine	1900 - 1920 1900 - 1925 § / 1943 † 1900 - 1932 1901 - 1930 1901 - 1914 † 1901 - 1917 1901 - 1945 1903 - 1916 † 1903 - 1930 1904 - 1915 †	Kaiserl. Marine Reichsmarine Kgl. Yugosl. Marine Regia Marina Kriegsmarine	Small cruiser
Prince Heinrich	1/1	SMS Prince Heinrich	1902 - 1920	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Prince Adalbert class	2/2	SMS Prince Adalbert SMS Friedrich Carl	1904 - 1915 † 1903 - 1915 †	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Bremen class	7/7	SMS Bremen SMS Hamburg SMS Berlin SMS Lübeck SMS Munich SMS Leipzig SMS Danzig	1904 - 1915 † 1904 - 1944 † 1905 - 1947 † 1905 - 1919 1905 - 1919 1906 - 1914 † 1907 - 1918	Kaiserl. Navy Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine	Small cruiser
Roon class	2/2	SMS Roon SMS Yorck	1906 - 1921 1905 - 1914 †	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Königsberg class	4/4	SMS Königsberg SMS Nuremberg SMS Stuttgart SMS Stettin	1907 - 1915 † 1908 - 1914 † 1908 - 1920 1907 - 1920	Kaiserl. marine	Small cruiser
Scharnhorst class	2/2	SMS Scharnhorst SMS Gneisenau	1907 - 1914 † 1908 - 1914 †	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Nautilus class	2/2	SMS Nautilus SMS Albatross	1907 - 1919 1908 - 1921	Kaiserl. marine	Mine cruiser
Dresden class	2/2	SMS Dresden SMS Emden	1908 - 1915 † ² 1909 - 1914 †	Kaiserl. marine	Small cruiser
Blucher	1/1	SMS Blücher	1909 - 1915 †	Kaiserl. marine	Large cruiser ( armored cruiser )
Kolberg class	4/4	SMS Kolberg SMS Mainz SMS Cöln SMS Augsburg	1910 - 1920 § 1909 - 1914 † 1911 - 1914 † 1910 - 1920	Kaiserl. Navy French Navy	Small cruiser
Magdeburg class	4/4	SMS Magdeburg SMS Breslau SMS Strasbourg SMS Stralsund	1912 - 1914 † 1912 - 1914 § 1912 - 1920 § 1912 - 1920 §	Kaiserl. Marine Osman. Marine Regia Marina Franz. Marine	Small cruiser
Karlsruhe class	2/2	SMS Karlsruhe SMS Rostock	1914 † 1914 - 1916 †	Kaiserl. marine	Small cruiser
Graudenz class	2/2	SMS Graudenz SMS Regensburg	1914 - 1920 § 1915 - 1920 §	Kaiserl. Marine Regia Marina Franz. Marine	Small cruiser
Pillau class	2/2	SMS Pillau SMS Elblag	1914 - 1920 § 1915 - 1916 †	Kaiserl. Marine Regia Marina	Small cruiser
Wiesbaden class	2/2	SMS Wiesbaden SMS Frankfurt	1915 - 1916 † 1915 - 1919	Kaiserl. marine	Small cruiser
Brummer class	2/2	SMS Brummer SMS brake	1916 - 1919 † ³ 1916 - 1919 † ³	Kaiserl. marine	Mine cruiser
Königsberg class	4/4	SMS Königsberg SMS Karlsruhe SMS Emden SMS Nuremberg	1916 - 1919 § 1916 - 1919 † ³ 1916 - 1919 1917 - 1919	Kaiserl. Navy French Navy	Small cruiser
Cologne class	2/10	SMS Cöln SMS Wiesbaden SMS Dresden SMS Magdeburg SMS Leipzig SMS Rostock SMS Frauenlob replacement Cologne replacement Emden replacement Karlsruhe	1918 - 1919 † ³ not completed 1918 - 1919 † ³ not completed not completed not completed not completed - - -	Kaiserl. marine	Small cruiser
Emden	1/1	Emden	1925 - 1945 †	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine	Light cruiser
Königsberg class	3/3	Koenigsberg Karlsruhe Cologne	1929 - 1940 † 1929 - 1940 † 1930 - 1945 †	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine	Light cruiser
Leipzig class	2/2	Leipzig Nuremberg	1931 - 1945 ( 1946 † ²) 1935 - 1945 §	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine	Light cruiser
Admiral Hipper class	3/5	Admiral Hipper Blücher Prince Eugen Seydlitz Lützow	1939 - 1945 † ² 1939 - 1940 † 1940 - 1945 ( 1946 †) not completed not completed	Navy	Heavy cruiser
M-Class (1939)	0/6	Light cruiser M Light cruiser N Light cruiser O Light cruiser P Light cruiser Q Light cruiser R	not completed not completed - - - -		Light cruiser
Spähkreuzer 40 (1941)	0/6	SP 1 SP 2 SP 3 SP 4 SP 5 SP 6	not completed not completed not completed - - -		Reconnaissance cruiser

* Operating time corresponds to the period between completion and deletion from the fleet register or decommissioning.

Legend

† - decreased

† ² - sunk or blown up by myself

† ³ - sunk in Scapa Flow itself

§ - reused after sale, confiscation or handover by another navy

See also

• List of ships of the Imperial Navy
• List of ships of the Kriegsmarine
• List of German battleships and battle cruisers

Remarks

1. ↑ Interned in Hawaii in 1914, confiscated by the USA in 1917 and taken over as USS Carl Schurz .
2. ↑ 1925 sold to Yugoslavia, after being converted into service as a school cruiser Dalmacija ; 1941 Italian war booty as RN Cattaro , briefly German again in 1943 under the original name.
3. ↑ Handed over to France in 1920, in service there as Colmar from 1922–27 .
4. ↑ Sunk after the explosion.
5. ↑ Sunk after colliding with SMS Posen .
6. ↑ Official name of the class. Also known generally as the K- Class.
7. ↑ 1945 as spoils of war to the Soviet Union, 1946-1959 in service as Admiral Makarow .
8. ↑ Sold to the Soviet Union in unfinished condition in 1940.