Königsberg-class cruiser (1915)

The design for the Königsbergs was prepared in 1913. The design was an incremental improvement over the previous Wiesbaden class, with a larger hull and greater displacement, but with the same armament, speed, and armor protection.[1] By 1916, thirteen German light cruisers had been lost in the course of World War I;[2] after they were commissioned, the ships of the Königsberg class took the names of four of these lost cruisers.[3]

Königsberg was ordered as Ersatz Gazelle and laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1914. She was launched on 18 December 1915 and commissioned eight months later on 12 August 1916. Emden, ordered as Ersatz Nymphe, followed her sister at AG Weser, also in 1914. She was launched on 1 February 1916 and commissioned into the fleet on 16 December 1916. Karlsruhe was ordered as Ersatz Niobe and laid down in 1915 at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel. Launching ceremonies took place on 31 January 1916, and after fitting-out work was completed, she was commissioned on 15 November 1916. The last ship of the class, Nürnberg, was laid down as Ersatz Thetis at the Howaldtswerke shipyard in Kiel in 1915. She was launched on 14 April 1916 and commissioned on 15 February 1917.[4]

In addition to providing the basis for the follow-on Cöln-class cruisers,[2] the Königsberg design was also the starting point for the light cruiser Emden built by the Reichsmarine in the 1920s, since blueprints for Karlsruhe were still available. This was a result of personnel shortages in the design staff and the closure of the Navy's Ship Testing Institute, which prevented the development of a new design.[5]

SMS Karlsruhe in Scapa Flow

On 17 November 1917, Königsberg and Nürnberg saw action at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.[7] Along with two other cruisers from II Scouting Group and the dreadnought battleships Kaiser and Kaiserin, Königsberg and Nürnberg escorted minesweepers clearing paths in minefields laid by the British. During the engagement, the battlecruiser HMS Repulse scored a hit on Königsberg, which did minimal damage but started a serious fire. The British broke off the attack when the German battleships arrived on the scene, after which the Germans also withdrew.[8] All four ships participated in Operation Albion, an amphibious operation against the islands in the Gulf of Riga. Emden served as the flagship for the Leader of Torpedoboats, while the other three ships were assigned to II Scouting Group.[9]

In October 1918, three of the ships and the rest of II Scouting Group were to lead a final attack on the British navy. Königsberg Cöln, Dresden, and Pillau were to attack merchant shipping in the Thames estuary while Karlsruhe, Nürnberg, and Graudenz were to bombard targets in Flanders, to draw out the British Grand Fleet.[10] Großadmiral Reinhard Scheer, the commander in chief of the fleet, intended to inflict as much damage as possible on the British navy, in order to secure a better bargaining position for Germany, whatever the cost to the fleet. On the morning of 29 October 1918, the order was given to sail from Wilhelmshaven the following day. Starting on the night of 29 October, sailors on Thüringen and then on several other battleships mutinied. The unrest ultimately forced Hipper and Scheer to cancel the operation.[11] When informed of the situation, the Kaiser stated, "I no longer have a navy."[12]

Emden in Scapa Flow

Following the Armistice that ended the fighting, Königsberg took Rear Admiral Hugo Meurer to Scapa Flow to negotiate with Admiral David Beatty, the commander of the Grand Fleet, for the place of internment of the German fleet. The accepted arrangement was for the High Seas Fleet to meet the combined Allied fleet in the North Sea and proceed to the Firth of Forth before transferring to Scapa Flow, where they would be interned.[13] Most of the High Seas Fleet's ships, including Karlsruhe, Emden, and Nürnberg, were interned in the British naval base in Scapa Flow, under the command of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter.[14] Königsberg instead remained in Germany.[4]

The unruly crew of Friedrich der Grosse, the fleet flagship, forced Reuter to transfer to Emden, where a Sailors' Council cooperated with the ship's captain to run the ship.[15] The fleet remained in captivity during the negotiations that ultimately produced the Versailles Treaty. Reuter believed that the British intended to seize the German ships on 21 June 1919, which was the deadline for Germany to have signed the peace treaty. Unaware that the deadline had been extended to the 23rd, Reuter ordered the ships to be sunk at the next opportunity. On the morning of 21 June, the British fleet left Scapa Flow to conduct training maneuvers, and at 11:20 Reuter transmitted the order to his ships.[16]

Karlsruhe sank at 15:50; the rights to salvaging the ship were sold in 1962.[4] She has not been raised for scrapping, however.[17] Emden was boarded by British sailors who beached her before she could be completely sunk. After being refloated, she was ceded to France and used as a test ship for explosives before being broken up in 1926. Nürnberg was also beached by British sailors. She was eventually sunk off the Isle of Wight as a gunnery target. Königsberg was meanwhile stricken from the naval register on 20 July 1920 and ceded to France. She was renamed Metz and served with the French Navy until 1933. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1936.[4]

• Bennett, Geoffrey (2005). Naval Battles of the First World War. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military Classics. ISBN 978-1-84415-300-8.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
• Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
• Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2014). German Light Cruisers of World War II: Warships of the Kriegsmarine. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848321946.
• Staff, Gary (2008). Battle for the Baltic Islands. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-787-7.
• Tarrant, V. E. (1995). Jutland: The German Perspective. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-304-35848-9.
• van der Vat, Dan (1986). The Grand Scuttle. Worcester: Billing & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-86228-099-0.
• Woodward, David (1973). The Collapse of Power: Mutiny in the High Seas Fleet. London: Arthur Barker Ltd. ISBN 978-0-213-16431-7.

• Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2004). Kleine Kreuzer 1903–1918: Bremen bis Cöln-Klasse [Small Cruisers 1903–1918: The Bremen Through Cöln Classes] (in German). München: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-6252-3.