The Graudenz class of light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s was a class of two ships built for the German

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 Imperial Navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

. The ships were laid down in 1912, and completed within the first few months of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Dimensions and machinery

The ships of the Graudenz class were 139 m at the waterline, and 142.2 m overall. The ships had a beam of 13.7 m, a draught of 5.79 m, and displaced 4,900 tonne

Tonne

The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

s with a normal load, and 6,191 tonnes at full load. The ships had the typical propulsion system for German light cruisers at the time: 2 shaft Navy turbines, which delivered 26,000 shp, and a top speed of 27.5 knots.

Armament

The Graudenz class cruisers had a primary armament of twelve 105mm (4.1 in) SKL/45 Cal. guns mounted singly. The ships also carried two 500mm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes. During the First World War, the ships' 105mm guns were replaced with seven 150mm (5.9 in) guns and two 88mm (3.4 in) anti-aircraft guns. During the rearmament, the ships were also given the capability to carry and deploy 120 mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

.

Armor

The ships had an armored belt that ranged in thickness from a half inch to 2.5 inches thick. The thicker portions of the belt protected important areas of the ship, such as the ammunition magazines, while less critical areas, such as the bow and stern, received much less armor protection. The deck was protected by armor ranging in thickness from 1 inch to 2.5 inches.

Service history

The two ships of the Graudenz class participated in two of the major battles of the First World War. Graudenz took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank

Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)

The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....

 on 24 January 1915, part of the support squadron for Admiral Hipper's

Franz von Hipper

Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...

 battlecruiser unit. Regensburg took part in the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

on 31 May to 1 June 1916. Both ships survived the war, Graudenz being handed over to Italy, and Regensburg being taken over by France.