German cruiser Königsberg

	Königsberg in 1936
History
Germany
Name	Königsberg
Builder	Reichsmarinewerft, Wilhelmshaven
Laid down	12 April 1926
Launched	26 March 1927
Commissioned	17 April 1929
Fate	Sunk 10 April 1940 at Bergen, Norway
General characteristics
Class and type	Königsberg-class light cruiser
Displacement	7,700 long tons (7,800 t)
Length	174 m (571 ft)
Beam	15.3 m (50 ft)
Draft	6.28 m (20.6 ft)
Installed power	6 × water-tube boilers; 65,000 shaft horsepower (48,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 × MAN 10-cylinder diesel engines; 4 × geared steam turbines; 2 screw propellers;
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	21 officers; 493 enlisted men;
Armament	9 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SL C/25 guns; 2 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns; 12 × 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes; 120 mines;
Armor	Belt: 50 mm (2 in); Deck: 40 mm (1.6 in); Conning tower: 100 mm (3.9 in);

Königsberg was a German light cruiser that was operated between 1929 and April 1940, including service in World War II. She was the lead vessel of her class and was operated by two German navies, the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine. She had two sister ships, Karlsruhe and Köln. Königsberg was built by the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down in April 1926, launched in March 1927, and commissioned into the Reichsmarine in April 1929. She was armed with a main battery of nine 15 cm SK C/25 guns in three triple turrets and had a top speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).

Königsberg served as a training ship for naval cadets throughout the 1930s, and joined the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she laid defensive minefields in the North Sea and then participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway in April 1940. While attacking Bergen, she was badly damaged by Norwegian coastal artillery, and sunk by Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua fighter-bombers the following day in the harbor. The wreck was eventually raised in 1942 and broken up for scrap in 1947.

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