class cruiser class referred class class light cruisers kriegsmarine class comprised ships named german cities built ships modern cruiser design predecessor based world war era designs armed main battery guns torpedo tubes ships class extensively training cruisers 1930s went numerous overseas cruises participated non intervention patrols spanish civil war outbreak world war september ships laid defensive minefields north_sea saw action invasion norway april damaged norwegian coastal guns outside bergen sunk british bombers following day sunk british submarine hms survived attack norway returning germany operated helicopters experiment provided gunfire support german ground forces operation invasion soviet_union returned norway ultimately sunk wilhelmshaven march american bombers guns water allowed support defending german army british ground forces final days war design general characteristics ships class meters long waterline long overall beam maximum draft design displacement metric tons long tons short tons standard displacement defined long tons displaced long tons combat load ships hulls constructed longitudinal steel frames incorporated extensive save weight percent hulls hull divided nineteen watertight compartments double extended percent length hull class cruisers standard crew officers enlisted men later increased officers enlisted men world war crew size rose officers men ships carried number smaller vessels including picket boats barges launches cutter ships moderately good sea boats suffered slight lee helm degrees rudder hard lost little speed head sea hard turn lost percent speed 1930s members class modified carry pair float planes reconnaissance equipped aircraft catapult launch planes cranes recover landed water ships initially carried float planes replaced later decade float planes aircraft stored catapult time second plane placed storage ships hangar store machinery propulsion system consisted steam turbines pair cylinder stroke diesel engines turbines split engine rooms rooms directly aft turbines steam turbines provided marine type double ended oil fired boilers engines powered pair bladed screws wide ships diameter ships propulsion system provided speed mph rated shaft horsepower ships exceeded shp speed trials ships carried long tons short tons fuel oil designed store long tons short tons gave range approximately nautical miles mph nmi mph steering controlled single rudder ships turbo generators diesel generators electricity generators combined output kilowatts volts armament ships armed guns mounted triple gun turrets turret located forward placed superfiring pair aft rear gun turrets offset increase arc fire supplied rounds ammunition shells gun built ships equipped anti aircraft guns single mounts rounds ammunition class carried triple torpedo tube mounts located amidships supplied torpedoes replaced models ships capable carrying naval mines ships anti aircraft batteries revised improved course careers original single mounted guns replaced twin mounts new guns twin mount installed bringing number guns guns installed mid-1930s guns added ship survive end war ultimately armed eighteen guns provisions mount guns respectively armor ships protected armored deck thick amidships tapered end armored belt thick capped thick bulkheads end belt underwater protection consisted torpedo bulkhead collision bulkhead conning tower sides roof ships gun turrets faces roofs sides barbettes turrets thick later fitted increased armor protection consisting outer plating consisted new steel upper deck construction service history ships class served training cruisers naval cadets 1930s conducted numerous cruises european waters traveled continents modified decade anti aircraft armament repeatedly improved alterations ships took non intervention patrols spanish civil war outbreak world war september laid series defensive minefields north_sea ships participated invasion norway april assigned assault bergen joined attack came heavy fire battery outside bergen badly damaged port captured moved harbor temporary repairs ordered return germany attacked morning british bombers hit bombs sank slowly majority crew escape eighteen men killed attack suppressed norwegian coastal guns outside successfully landed contingent ground troops left port british submarine hms attacked german cruiser hit pair torpedoes torpedo hits knocked power prevented crew pumping water rapidly flooding ship crew taken escorting torpedo boat fired pair torpedoes stricken cruiser ensure sank quickly ship class survive operations norway returning germany modified serve helicopter served baltic providing gunfire support advancing german troops mid returned norwegian waters unsuccessfully attempted attack convoy german warships ordered germany served variety roles including training ship convoy escort returning norway damaged british bombers december forced return germany repairs dock wilhelmshaven march attacked sunk american heavy bombers sank keel guns water permitted use advancing british forces final days war
Königsberg-class cruiser (1927)