Magdeburg-class cruiser

The design for the ships of the {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} class was prepared in 1908–1909.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}} The design incorporated a number of innovations, including a new longitudinal frame system in the hull, the development of which delayed construction by three to four years.{{sfn|Campbell & Sieche|p=159}} The hull form was also redesigned to improve efficiency, and a new clipper bow was used instead of the old cruiser ram bow. They were the first German light cruisers to incorporate an armor belt at the waterline;{{sfn|Miller|p=218}} this increased the strength of the hull and became standard practice in warship construction for decades. The quarterdeck was cut down to provide a location to drop mines. All of these features became standard for subsequent German cruiser designs.{{sfn|Campbell & Sieche|p=159}}

The ships of the {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} class were {{convert|136|m|ftin|sp=us}} long at the waterline and {{convert|138.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long overall. They had a beam of {{convert|13.50|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draft of {{convert|4.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}} forward and {{convert|5.16|m|ftin|abbr=on}} aft. They displaced {{convert|4570|t|LT|sp=us|lk=on}} normally and up to {{convert|5587|t|LT|abbr=on}} at full load. The hulls were built with longitudinal steel frames and contained fourteen watertight compartments in {{lang|de|Magdeburg}}, {{lang|de|Strassburg}}, and {{lang|de|Stralsund}}. {{lang|de|Breslau}}{{'}}s hull was divided into sixteen watertight compartments. All four vessels had a double bottom that extended for forty-five percent of the length of the hull.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=107–108}}

File:Bundesarchiv DVM 10 Bild-23-61-22, Kleiner Kreuzer "SMS Breslau".jpg

The four vessels each had a crew of 18 officers and 336 enlisted men. They carried a number of smaller boats, including one picket boat, one barge, one cutter, two yawls, and two dinghies. The German Navy regarded the ships as good sea boats, with slight weather helm and gentle motion in a swell. The cruisers were maneuverable, but were slow going into a turn. Steering was controlled by a single large rudder. They lost speed only slightly in a head sea, but lost up to sixty percent in hard turns. They had a transverse metacentric height of {{convert|.79|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}}

Their propulsion systems consisted of steam turbines of various types. Each ship had turbines built by different manufacturers to evaluate each design and configuration. {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} had three engines produced by {{interlanguage link|Bergmann-Borsig|de|lt=Bergmann}}, which drove three {{convert|2.75|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us|0}} screw propellers. {{lang|de|Breslau}} was equipped with two pairs of AG Vulcan turbines, which powered four 3-bladed screws {{convert|2.47|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in diameter. {{lang|de|Strassburg}} had a pair of Marine-type turbines with two {{convert|3.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}} wide propellers. {{lang|de|Stralsund}} initially had three Bergmann turbines with three {{convert|2.75|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} screws, though by the end of the war the center shaft was removed. All four propulsion systems were rated at {{convert|25000|shp|lk=in}}, but reached significantly higher speeds in service.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=107–108}}

The ships' turbines were powered by sixteen coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers, although they were later altered to use fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. These were divided into five boiler rooms on the centerline. These gave the ships a top speed of {{convert|27.0|kn|lk=in}}, though on speed trials all four ships exceeded this by at least half a knot. The ships carried {{cvt|1200|t|LT}} of coal, and an additional {{cvt|106|t|LT}} of oil that gave them a range of approximately {{convert|5820|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}}. At {{convert|25|kn}}, the range fell considerably to {{convert|900|nmi|abbr=on}}. {{lang|de|Magdeburg}}, {{lang|de|Strassburg}}, and {{lang|de|Stralsund}} each had four turbo generators with a combined output of {{convert|320|kW|lk=in}} at 220 Volts; {{lang|de|Breslau}} only had two generators.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=107–108}}

File:Magdeburg-class plan and profile.png

File:SMS Stralsund Modell.jpg]]

The four {{lang|de|Magdeburg}}-class ships were armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 naval gun in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, eight were located amidships, four on either side, and two were side by side aft. The guns had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees, which allowed them to engage targets out to {{convert|12700|m|yd|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Campbell & Sieche|pp=140, 159}} They were supplied with 1,800 rounds of ammunition, for 150 shells per gun. They were also equipped with a pair of {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on|1}} torpedo tubes with five torpedoes submerged in the hull on the broadside. The ships could also carry 120 mines.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}}

Over the course of their careers, the ships all had their armament upgraded, with the exception of {{lang|de|Magdeburg}}. In 1916, two of {{lang|de|Breslau}}{{'}}s 10.5 cm guns were replaced with 15 cm SK L/45, which had a range of {{convert|17600|m|yd|abbr=on}}. The following year, the remaining ten 10.5 cm guns were replaced with six 15 cm guns. In 1915, {{lang|de|Strassburg}} was rearmed with seven 15 cm guns, two 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns, and two deck-mounted 50 cm torpedo tubes. {{lang|de|Stralsund}} was modified similarly, though her submerged torpedo tubes were removed during the refit.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}}

The ships were protected by a waterline armor belt that was {{convert|60|mm|abbr=on}} thick amidships and {{convert|18|mm|abbr=on}} thick on the bow. The stern was unarmored. The deck was covered with up to 60 mm thick armor plate forward, {{convert|40|mm|abbr=on}} thick amidships, and {{convert|20|mm|abbr=on}} thick aft. Sloped armor 40 mm thick connected the deck and belt armor. The conning tower had {{convert|100|mm|abbr=on}} thick sides and a 20 mm thick roof. A rangefinder was added with {{convert|30|mm|abbr=on}} thick steel plating. The main battery guns had {{cvt|50|mm|0}} thick gun shields.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}}

{{lang|de|Magdeburg}} was ordered under the contract name "{{lang|de|Ersatz}} {{SMS|Bussard||2}}" and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1910 and launched on 13 May 1911, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 20 August 1912. {{lang|de|Breslau}} was ordered under the contract name "{{lang|de|Ersatz}} {{SMS|Falke|1891|2}}" and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1910.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}} At her launching ceremony on 16 May 1911, she was christened by the mayor of Breslau, the ship's namesake.{{sfn|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz|p=139}} After her launching, fitting-out work commenced and lasted until mid-1912. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 10 May 1912.{{sfn|Gröner|p=107}}

{{lang|de|Strassburg}} was ordered under the contract name "{{lang|de|Ersatz}} {{SMS|Condor||2}}" and was laid down at the {{lang|de|Kaiserliche Werft}} shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in 1910 and launched on 24 August 1911, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 9 October 1912. {{lang|de|Stralsund}} was ordered under the contract name "{{lang|de|Ersatz}} {{SMS|Cormoran|1892|2}}" and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in 1910 and launched on 4 November 1911, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 10 December 1912.{{sfn|Gröner|pp=107–108}}

{{main|SMS Magdeburg}}

{{lang|de|Magdeburg}} was used as a torpedo test ship after her commissioning until the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, when she was brought to active service and deployed to the Baltic.{{sfn|Gröner|p=108}} In the Baltic, {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} fired the first shots of the war against the Russians on 2 August, when she shelled the port of Libau. She participated in a series of bombardments of Russian positions until late August. On the 26th, she participated in a sweep of the entrance to the Gulf of Finland; while steaming off the Estonian coast, she ran aground off the island of Odensholm and could not be freed. A pair of Russian cruisers appeared and seized the ship.{{sfn|Halpern|p=184}} Fifteen crew members were killed in the brief engagement.{{sfn|Gröner|p=108}} They recovered three intact German code books, one of which they passed to the British.{{sfn|Halpern|p=36}} The ability to decrypt German wireless signals provided the British with the ability to ambush German units on several occasions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland.{{sfn|Herwig|pp=151, 178}} The Russians partially scrapped {{lang|de|Magdeburg}} while she remained grounded before completely destroying the wreck.{{sfn|Gröner|p=108}}

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-B3821, Türkei, Kreuzer Breslau.jpg

{{main|SMS Breslau}}

Following her commissioning, {{lang|de|Breslau}} and the battlecruiser {{SMS|Goeben||2}} were assigned to the {{lang|de|Mittelmeerdivision}} in response to the Balkan Wars.{{sfn|Halpern|p=15}} After evading British warships in the Mediterranean to reach Constantinople, {{lang|de|Breslau}} and {{lang|de|Goeben}} were transferred to the Ottoman Empire in August 1914, to entice the Ottomans to join the Central Powers in World War I. The ships were renamed {{lang|tr|Midilli}} and {{lang|tr|Yavuz Sultan Selim}}, respectively, and saw extensive service with the Ottoman fleet, primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The two ships, along with several other Ottoman vessels, raided Russian ports in October 1914, prompting a Russian declaration of war.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=51–58, 63–64}}

{{lang|tr|Midilli}} was active in laying minefields off the Russian coast, bombarding Russian ports and installations and, because of a shortage of Ottoman merchant ships, transporting troops and supplies to the Black Sea ports supplying Ottoman troops fighting in the Caucasus Campaign. She was lightly damaged several times by Russian ships, but the most serious damage was inflicted by a mine in 1915, which kept her out of service for half of a year.{{sfn|Halpern|pp=228–229, 241–242}}{{sfn|Langensiepen & Güleryüz|pp=49–50}} The ship was mined and sunk in January 1918 during the Battle of Imbros in which {{lang|tr|Yavuz Sultan Selim}} was also mined and badly damaged.{{sfn|Hownam-Meek, et al.|p=95}} The majority of her crew were killed in the sinking.{{sfn|Langensiepen & Güleryüz|p=32}}

File:SMS Strassburg underway.png

{{main|SMS Strassburg}}

{{lang|de|Strassburg}} spent the first year of her service overseas, after which she was assigned to the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet.{{sfn|Gröner|p=108}} She saw significant action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914 and participated in the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914.{{sfn|Bennett|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Tarrant|p=31}} By 1916, the ship was transferred to the Baltic to operate against the Russian Navy.{{sfn|Campbell|p=23}} She saw action during Operation Albion in the Gulf of Riga in October 1917, including screening for the battleships {{SMS|König||2}} and {{SMS|Markgraf||2}} during the Battle of Moon Sound.{{sfn|Staff|pp=4, 113–114}} She returned to the North Sea for the planned final operation against the British Grand Fleet in the last weeks of the war, and was involved in the mutinies that forced the cancellation of the operation.{{sfn|Woodward|pp=118–119}}{{sfn|Tarrant|p=282}}

The ship served briefly in the new {{lang|de|Reichsmarine}} in 1919 before being transferred to Italy as a war prize. She was formally transferred in July 1920 and renamed {{lang|it|Taranto}} for service in the Italian Navy. In 1936–1937, she was rebuilt for colonial duties and additional anti-aircraft guns were installed. She saw no significant action during World War II until the Armistice that ended Italy's participation in the war. She was scuttled by the Italian Navy, captured and raised by the Germans, and sunk by Allied bombers in October 1943. The Germans raised the ship again, which was sunk a second time by bombers in September 1944. {{lang|it|Taranto}} was finally broken up for scrap in 1946–1947.{{sfn|Fraccaroli|p=264}}

{{main|SMS Stralsund}}

{{lang|de|Stralsund}} was assigned to the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career.{{sfn|Campbell & Sieche|p=160}} She saw significant action in the early years of World War I, including several operations off the British coast and the Battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank, in August 1914 and November 1915, respectively. She was not damaged in either action.{{sfn|Bennett|pp=145–147}}{{sfn|Scheer|p=77}} The ship was in dockyard hands during the Battle of Jutland, and so she missed the engagement.{{sfn|Campbell|p=23}} After the end of the war, she served briefly in the {{lang|de|Reichsmarine}} before being surrendered to the Allies.{{sfn|Gröner|p=108}} She was ceded to the French Navy, where she served as {{lang|de|Mulhouse}} until 1925. She was formally stricken in 1933 and broken up for scrap two years later.{{sfn|Smigielski|p=201}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

• {{cite book

|last=Bennett

|first=Geoffrey

|author-link=Geoffrey Bennett (historian)

|title=Naval Battles of the First World War

|year=2005

|location=Barnsley

|publisher=Pen & Sword Military Classics

|isbn=978-1-84415-300-8

|ref={{SfnRef|Bennett}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Campbell

|first=John

|title=Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting

|year=1998

|location=London

|publisher=Conway Maritime Press

|isbn=978-1-55821-759-1

|ref={{SfnRef|Campbell}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Campbell

| first1 = N. J. M.

| last2 = Sieche

| first2 = Erwin

| chapter = Germany

| pages = 134–189

| editor1-last = Gardiner

| editor1-first = Robert

| editor2-last = Gray

| editor2-first = Randal

| year = 1986

| title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921

| publisher = Conway Maritime Press

| location = London

| isbn = 978-0-85177-245-5

| name-list-style=amp

| ref ={{sfnRef|Campbell & Sieche}}

| url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_z3o0

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Fraccaroli

|first=Aldo

|chapter=Italy

|pages=252–290

|editor1-last=Gardiner

|editor1-first=Robert

|editor2-last=Gray

|editor2-first=Randal

|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921

|year=1985

|location=Annapolis

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|isbn=978-0-87021-907-8

|name-list-style=amp

|ref={{SfnRef|Fraccaroli}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Gröner

| first = Erich

|author-link=Erich Gröner

| year = 1990

| title = German Warships: 1815–1945

| volume = I: Major Surface Vessels

| publisher = Naval Institute Press

| location = Annapolis

| isbn = 978-0-87021-790-6

| ref ={{SfnRef|Gröner}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Halpern

|first=Paul G.

|title=A Naval History of World War I

|year=1995

|location=Annapolis

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|isbn=978-1-55750-352-7

|ref={{SfnRef|Halpern}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Herwig

|first=Holger

|title="Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918

|year=1980

|location=Amherst

|publisher=Humanity Books

|isbn=978-1-57392-286-9

|ref={{SfnRef|Herwig}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Hildebrand

| first1 = Hans H.

| last2 = Röhr

| first2 = Albert

| last3 = Steinmetz

| first3 = Hans-Otto

| year = 1993

| title = Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart

| trans-title=The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present

| volume = 2

| language = de

|location = Ratingen

|publisher = Mundus Verlag

|isbn = 978-3-8364-9743-5

| ref = {{SfnRef|Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz}}

|name-list-style=amp

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Langensiepen

| first1 = Bernd

| last2 = Güleryüz

| first2 = Ahmet

| year = 1995

| title = The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828–1923

| publisher = Conway Maritime Press

| location = London

| isbn = 978-0-85177-610-1

|name-list-style=amp

| ref = {{SfnRef|Langensiepen & Güleryüz}}

}}

• {{cite journal

|last=Hownam-Meek

|first=R. S. S.

|year=2000

|title=Question 3/99: The Loss of the German Light Cruiser Breslau

|journal=Warship International

|publisher=International Naval Research Organization

|location=Toledo

|volume=XXXVII

|issue=1

|pages=92–95

|issn=0043-0374

|display-authors=etal

|ref={{SfnRef|Hownam-Meek, et al.}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Miller

|first=David

|title=Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World

|year=2001

|location=Osceola

|publisher=Zenith Imprint

|isbn=978-0-7603-1127-1

|ref={{SfnRef|Miller}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Scheer

| first = Reinhard

| author-link = Reinhard Scheer

| year = 1920

| title = Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War

| url = https://archive.org/details/germanyshighseaf00sche

| publisher = Cassell and Company

| location = London

| oclc = 52608141

| ref = {{SfnRef|Scheer}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Smigielski

|first=Adam

|chapter=France

|pages=190–220

|editor1-last=Gardiner

|editor1-first=Robert

|editor2-last=Gray

|editor2-first=Randal

|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921

|year=1985

|location=Annapolis

|publisher=Naval Institute Press

|isbn=978-0-87021-907-8

|name-list-style=amp

| ref = {{SfnRef|Smigielski}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Staff

|first=Gary

|title=Battle for the Baltic Islands

|year=2008

|location=Barnsley

|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime

|isbn=978-1-84415-787-7

|ref={{SfnRef|Staff}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Tarrant

|first=V. E.

|title=Jutland: The German Perspective

|year=1995

|location=London

|publisher=Cassell Military Paperbacks

|isbn=978-0-304-35848-9

|ref={{SfnRef|Tarrant}}

}}

• {{cite book

|last=Woodward

|first=David

|title=The Collapse of Power: Mutiny in the High Seas Fleet

|year=1973

|publisher=Arthur Barker Ltd

|isbn=978-0-213-16431-7

|location=London

|ref={{SfnRef|Woodward}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Dodson

| first1 = Aidan

| last2 = Cant

| first2 = Serena

| title = Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars

| year = 2020

| publisher = Seaforth Publishing

| location = Barnsley

| isbn = 978-1-5267-4198-1

| ref = {{sfnref|Dodson & Cant}}

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Dodson

| first1 = Aidan

| author-link1 = Aidan Dodson

| last2 = Nottelmann

| first2 = Dirk

| year = 2021

| title = The Kaiser's Cruisers 1871–1918

| publisher = Naval Institute Press

| location = Annapolis

| isbn = 978-1-68247-745-8

| ref = {{sfnRef|Dodson & Nottelmann}}

}}

• {{cite book|first1=Gerhard|last1=Koop|first2=Klaus-Peter|last2=Schmolke|title=Kleine Kreuzer 1903–1918: Bremen bis Cöln-Klasse|language=de|trans-title=Small Cruisers 1903–1918: The Bremen Through Cöln Classes|publisher=Bernard & Graefe Verlag|location=München|year=2004|isbn=978-3-7637-6252-1 |name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book |last1=Nottlemann |first1=Dirk |editor1-last=Jordan |editor1-first=John |title=Warship 2021 |date=2021 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-4728-4779-9 |chapter=The Development of the Small Cruiser in the Imperial German Navy (Part II)|pages=44–60}}

{{Magdeburg-class light cruisers}}

{{WWI German ships}}

{{WWI Ottoman ships}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdeburg}}

Category:Cruiser classes

Category:World War I cruisers of Germany

Category:Ship classes of the French Navy