GERMANY: K-CLASS [Köln pictured]
All three units failed to survive World War II. The Königsburg was bombed by British aircraft on 10 April 1940, and subsequently scrapped in 1943. The Karlsruhe was torpedoed by a British submarine on 9 April 1940 and scuttled due to the damage sustained. The Köln was sunk by an Allied bombing raid and broken up in 1946.
Germany, one of the great naval powers before World War I, could not entertain hopes of rebuilding its navy. The Treaty of Versailles had required that Germany surrender its newest and most powerful warships, which left the country with a collection of obsolete vessels useful only as a coast-defense force. The terms provided for the replacement of obsolete vessels when necessary, but Germany was allowed to possess only eight light cruisers that could not exceed 6,000 tons; capital ships could not exceed 10,000 tons of displacement with 11-inch guns. Between 1921 and 1928, the Weimar government exercised its option to replace some of its old vessels when it laid down five new light cruisers. The first of these, Emden, was merely a ship built to the specifications of the country’s World War I era vessels. The next three warships of the K-class, however, were built using a totally new and innovative design.
