 SMS Cöln
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Dresden class |
| Succeeded by | Magdeburg class |
| In commission | 1909–1927 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Lost | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 130.50 m (428 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 14 m (45 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 5.27–5.73 m (17 ft 3 in – 18 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph) |
| Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 367 |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
The Kolberg class was a group of four light cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy and used during the First World War. The class comprised four vessels: SMS Kolberg, the lead ship, Mainz, Cöln, and Augsburg. The ships were built between 1908 and 1910, and two, Kolberg and Augsburg, were modernized in 1916–1917. The ships were armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns and had a design speed of 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph). The first three ships were assigned to the reconnaissance forces of the High Seas Fleet; Augsburg was instead used as a torpedo and gunnery training ship.
At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Augsburg was deployed to the Baltic, while Kolberg, Mainz, and Cöln remained in the North Sea. The three ships were assigned to patrol duty in the Heligoland Bight; on 28 August 1914, they were attacked during the Battle of Heligoland Bight. Mainz and Cöln were both sunk in the battle. Kolberg saw action at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, and joined Augsburg for the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. Both ships also saw service during Operation Albion in October 1917. Both ships survived the war; Kolberg was ceded to France, where she was renamed Colmar and served in the French Navy until 1927. Augsburg was surrendered to Japan and was then sold for scrap.