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Dresden Class. Slightly larger and slightly faster but otherwise pretty much the same as previous German light cruisers. SMS Dresden was turbine driven whilst Emden had vertical triple expansion engines. |
SMS Dresden
Built Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, laid down 1907, completed November 1908, cost 7,460,000 Marks
SMS Emden
Built Danzig Navy Yard, laid down November 1906, completed July 1909, cost 5,960,000 Marks
Size:
Length 117.9 m waterline 118.3 m overall, beam 13.5 m, draught 5.54 m, displacement
3,664 tonnes load 4,268 tonnes full load.
Propulsion:
Emden 2 shaft triple expansion engines, 13,500 ihp, 23.5 knots
Dresden 2 shaft Parson turbines, 15,000 shp, 24 knots
Trials:
Dresden 18,880 shp = 25.2 knots
Emden 16,350 ihp = 24.0 knots
Armour:
1.5-0.5in decks, 2in gun shields
Armament:
10 x 105mm (4.1in) SKL/ 40cal (10 x 1), 8 x 52mm (2in) (8 x 1), 2 x 450mm (17.7in) TT
Comments:
A continuation of the generally similar German light cruiser series. Crew 361.
World War 1 Service:
Dresden
August 1914 Caribbean. Heads for South Pacific attacking British merchant ships en route.
12 October 1914 Meets rest of Admiral Graf Spee's squadron at Easter Island.
1 November 1914 Present at the Battle of Colonel.
8 December 1914 Survives the Battle of the Falkland Islands.
December 1914 heads for Chilean waters.
14 March 1915 Scuttled after being found and attacked by British cruisers.
Emden
1914 Part of German East Asian Squadron.
Various raids, see SMS Emden.
9 November 1914 Sunk by Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney.
| The famous SMS Emden, one of only two ships (the other being the submarine U-9) to be awarded the Iron Cross. Until 1933 crew of the ship were permitted to supplement their own surname with that of the ship, a unique honour. |
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