| Laid down | 7th August 1926 |
| Launched | 23rd May 1928 |
| Completed | N/A |
| Commissioned | 15th January 1930 |
| Fate | Sunk: 30th March 1945 |
| Builders | Marine Werft, Wilhelmshaven Germany |
| Complement | 820 |
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Displacement | 6756 tons std 8260 tons max |
| Dimensions | 570' 9" x 50' |
| Draught | 18' 4" |
| Armament | |
| Main guns | 9 x 5.9"/25 (3 x 3) |
| Secondary guns | 6 x 3.46" (3 x 2) |
| Torpedo tubes | As built: 12 x 21" (4 x 3) Refitted: 6 x 21" (2 x 3) |
| Other weapons | As built: 8 x 37mm (4 x 2) Refit #1: 4 x 37mm (2 x 2) Refit #2: 4 x 40mm (4 x 1) 2 x 37mm (1 x 2) 16 x 20mm (8 x 2) |
| Countermeasures | None |
| Armour | Deck: 1.5" Belt: 2" - 2.7" C.T.: 4" Turrets: 0.75" - 1" |
| Aircraft Facilities | |
| Aircraft | 2 x He60 seaplanes |
| Flightdeck | None |
| Hangar | N/A |
| Catapults | 1 |
| Arrestor system | None |
| Aviation fuel | N/A |
| Electronics Fit | |
| Radar | None |
| Sonar | None |
| ECM | None |
| Other | N/A |
| Machinery | |
| Engines | 6 x Marine boilers 2 x Germania steam turbines 2 x MAN diesels |
| Power output | 68000shp turbines 1800bhp diesels |
| Speed | 32kts turbines 10kts diesels |
| Shafts | 2 |
| Range | 3100NM @ 13kts |
| Fuel | 1184 tons oil 261 tons diesel |
Koln had her aircraft and catapult removed in 1938. Between May and December 1940 she
carried out several minelaying sorties until converted to a training ship, when her aft
tubes and 2 x 37mm mountings were removed.
In October 1941 she bombarded the islands of Dago and Ristna in the Baltic. From March
1943 she was used as an accomodation ship at Kiel until February 1944 when she was
refitted for service, adding 4 x 40mm and 16 x 20mm. In 1945, she was supposed to be
fitted with 2 x Fohn rocket launchers, but these were probably never added.
On 30th March 1945 she was hit by bombs in an air raid at Wilhelmshaven, and settled on
the bottom with her deck awash. On the night of 4th April, the crew prepared to destroy
the ship, and the next day her crew were taken ashore. When the British army approached,
her guns were manned until 3rd May. The wreck was scrapped postwar.
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