 SMS Magdeburg
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | AG Weser, AG Vulcan, and Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Kolberg class |
| Succeeded by | Karlsruhe class |
| In commission | 1912–1942 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Retired | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 138.70 m (455 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) |
| Range | 5,820 nmi (10,780 km; 6,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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| Armor |
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The Magdeburg class of light cruisers was a group of four ships built for the Imperial German Navy. The class comprised SMS Magdeburg, the lead ship, Breslau, Strassburg, and Stralsund. All four ships were laid down in 1910 and were completed by the end of 1912. They were armed with a main battery of twelve 10.5 cm guns, though over the course of their careers, Breslau, Strassburg, and Stralsund were rearmed with more powerful 15 cm guns. They displaced 4,570 t (4,500 long tons) at full load and were rated at a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph), though all four vessels exceeded that figure on trials.
Magdeburg was used as a torpedo test ship before the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, after which she was assigned to the Baltic. She conducted a series of raids on Russian positions culminating in a sweep into the Gulf of Finland that resulted in her grounding off the Estonian coast. Russian cruisers seized the stranded ship and captured code books; they gave one copy to the British Royal Navy, which used it to great advantage. Breslau was assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision with the battlecruiser Goeben in 1912 and remained in the Mediterranean until the outbreak of war. After evading British warships, the two vessels reached Constantinople, where they were transferred to the Ottoman Navy. She operated primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Navy, but in January 1918 she ventured into the Mediterranean and was mined and sunk after the Battle of Imbros.
Strassburg and Stralsund served with the High Seas Fleet in the North Sea against the British. They saw action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914 and served in the reconnaissance screen for the battlecruisers of the I Scouting Group on several bombardments of the British coast in 1914–1915. Stralsund was also present at the Battle of Dogger Bank, but was not heavily engaged. Strassburg saw action during Operation Albion against the Russians in the Baltic. Both ships were surrendered to the Allies after the end of the war; Strassburg was ceded to Italy and renamed Taranto; she served with the Italian Navy until 1943, when she was scuttled after the Italian surrender. She was raised by the Germans and sunk by Allied bombers twice in 1943–1944, and finally scrapped in 1946–1947. Stralsund was given to France and renamed Mulhouse. She served only until 1925, when she was placed in reserve. She was ultimately broken up in 1935.