Light Cruisers: Emden

[Brian James]

Light Cruiser Emden pictured departing Honolulu on February 17th 1936.
She was the only ship of her Class and was the first large warship built in Germany after the end of World War I. She was built at the Reichsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in December 1921 and her completed hull was launched in January 1925. Emden was commissioned into the fleet in October 1925. Her design was heavily downgraded by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and the dictates of the Allied disarmament commission. Displacement was capped at 6,000 long tons (6,100 t), though like all German warships built in the period, Emden exceeded the size limitations. She was armed with a main battery of surplus 5.9 in guns left over from World War I, mounted in single gun turrets, as mandated by the Allied powers. She had a top speed of 29 knots.
Emden spent the majority of her career as a Training Ship; in the inter-war period, she conducted several world cruises to train naval cadets, frequently visiting East Asia, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean region. In 1937 and 1938, she briefly participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War. At the outbreak of war, she laid minefields off the German coast and was damaged by a British bomber that crashed into her. She participated in the invasion of Norway in April 1940 as part of the force that captured the Norwegian capital at Oslo.
Thereafter she resumed training duties in the Baltic Sea. These lasted with minor interruptions until September 1941, when she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and tasked with supporting German operations during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Training duties resumed in 1942 and lasted until late 1944, when she took part in Minelaying operations in the Skagerrak. Damaged in a grounding accident in December 1944, she went to Königsberg for repairs. In January 1945, she participated in the evacuation of East Prussia to escape the advancing Soviet Army. While undergoing repairs in Kiel, Emden was repeatedly damaged by British bombers and later run aground outside the harbour to prevent her from sinking. In the final days of the war, she was blown up to prevent her capture. The wreck was ultimately broken up in place by 1950.

[designeraccd]

She was basically a WW1 design that the Armistice Commission refused to allow twin 5.9" turrets on! Hence the old style shielded single 5.9s Like the handful of other CLs the Germans had in WW2 she never fought any surface actions against other warships, but still performed some useful work in Norway and the Baltic. Her design was based on that of the WW1 KARLSHURE.

Emden's second world cruise was done under the command of the famous WW1 U-boat commander, Arnauld de la Periere; later in 1934 Karl Donitz assumed command. In Jan., 1945 she carried the remains of Field Marshall von Hindenburg and his wife from Konigsberg as the soviets closed in on the city. EMDEN was subjected to bombing raids at Kiel during March and April, 1945. These raids did cause serious damage to the cruiser, causing her to be decommissioned on 26 April, 1945. DFO

[Brian James]

Sole ship of her class,Light Cruiser Emden pictured c1942.

[Brian James]

Light Cruiser Emden pictured coaling ship at Tenerife in 1930.

[Brian James]

Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven blueprint for Light Cruiser Emden.

[Brian James]

Training Ship, Light Cruiser Emden pictured in Todd Shipyard's floating dry dock, Harbor Island, Seattle in 1927.