KMS Karlsruhe: One of the WEAKEST Cruisers of World War Two

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Thanks for watching everyone! Hope you enjoyed the video! The new mic is a work in progress. This was the first video I recorded with it, and have since tweaked the settings, the levels rise and fall a bit too much for my liking in this one. Working 60 hours a week did not allow me to go back and edit it. So sorry!

[@michaelcornell5064]

Thanks for the videos bro, and the rate you put videos out is amazing!!!!

[@michaelcornell5064]

Furthermore I live in Wyoming so ships and or boats are not around me,and I am a huge fan of current and past warships so I live vicariously through the eyes of youtube videos.....thank you again!

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Thank you! I am also a big fan of World of Warships, I’ve been playing since the beta in 2014 (on and off). Also, I’m in a landlocked state so I live vicariously through my videos as well :)

[@TheTommybongos]

Hey man. Don’t pay too much attention to the criticism some people throw at you ! You put a lot of work into your videos and we appreciate it. Best wishes from the UK.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Thank you. I really appreciate kind comments like these. For the most part people are quite nice on the channel, and sometimes there are people who are quite mean.

[@MrT67]

I love history, of which war is probably the major component. So I really appreciate your efforts. I suspect that you are probably being harder on yourself than your listeners are. Keep up the good work! 👍

[@Theemperor.com.country]

​@ImportantHistory channels like your are the channels that I watch rather than the brainrot found on shorts etc, if ever i do naval history in history I will be top of my class lol , I really appreciate channels like your

[@craigfazekas3923]

I was excited when Flyhawk Models decided to release a 1:700 scale KÖNIGSBERG. Within that model's box is a print of the box's cover artwork. Drachinifel often pokes fun of these vessels & rightly so- they were barely seaworthy, stayed away from open seas & were often used as trainers as a result, in all of their lifetimes.... I went to meet Drach a year ago on BB-62 in Camden, NJ. I took along my KÖNIGSBERG artwork and asked him to sign it & write "the best vessel ever", ha ha, right ? He signed it, but wrote, "the best TARGET ever".... Wise arse that he is !! 🚬😎👍

[@HighlanderNorth1]

To be fair, the Koenigsberg _IS_ the best tier 5 cruiser in WOWS. It's my opinion that was the _real_ goal of her designers.

[@Lusor_Yolo]

They weren't the best but one of the best looking cruisers at their time. Great Video, keep it up 👍🏼 Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪

[@donhansen5677]

It was one of the most elegant and novel designs of the pre-war cruisers.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Agreed, just a bit fragile!

[@badlaamaurukehu]

It vas a platform.

[@volkerjahns2489]

Hello, sorry to say, but what i was missing in the description of the last overhaul was the description of the broadening of the hull, to overcome the structural weaknesses. This was the major task of the entire overhaul, and had the potential to solve the structural problems. All the other report was fine, and i have seen a lot of pictures which were new to me. Thanks for that!

[@RossEphgrave]

Great video covering a ship that is rarely spoken of. Germany was known for building ships which were well compartmentalized; usually being very difficult to sink. This goes back to their battle cruisers of WW1. It would have been interesting to see further light cruiser developments from Germany incorporating lessons learned from the K class. Germany built powerful, capable ships, excluding these.

[@CliveN-yr1gv]

Well that was another education. I served Kristiansand briefly and knew about Blücher but not this. Fun fact you mentioned the Tsingtao. Did you know the brewery there and its eponymous beer was set up by German settlers? It's now the second most drunk beer worldwide. The Admiralty Allowance is what we used to call the Fudge Factor in order to allow for the inevitable mission creep that happens on land as well as at sea. The ships design is the most brilliant set of compromises given the Washington Agreement. There are even today war ships setting out for the Pacific which is anything but peaceful, which return to home ports with bent hills and distorted prop shafts. The sound on board is horrendous. As to sound I like your new mike which is very clear but imho it sounds like you are a few feet away from it. Finally, well done on your pronunciation of German names. Not easy. You did well. Thanks for another informative and entertaining video.

[@georgedistel1203]

I met a sailor that was on that ship years ago, he had the misfortune after the loss of it to shipping out on the Bismarck but survived if memory serves me correctly his name was Bruno Ronzka

[@badlaamaurukehu]

Reword that please. Gives me a headache.

[@AnchoredPast]

The entire Königsberg-Class Cruisers were a disaster waiting to happen. Rattled with design problems because of the treaty of Verse. Although we also need to give props to the designers because even with the limits they found something that would work. The fate that would await the Karlsruhe would be a devastating blow.

[@jfoss1701]

Loved the video. The K Class is one of my favorites! Thank you!

[@DavidMartin-ym2te]

Nice video. Thanks. I made a 1/200 paper model of the Konigsberg donkeys years ago - love those rear turrets!

[@jmrico1979]

the mike sounds ok to me, great video

[@JefRoberts]

Excellent and comprehensive video. I enjoyed learning more details about Karlsruhe

[@jonathandowning914]

Great review of these cruisers. It's a very interesting design with the offset aft turrets

[@McNubbys]

Well made video, glad I found your channel😊

[@mikebrase5161]

I have my Grandmother had an Uncle that served on the Karlsruhe and the Koln. I have no idea how she got his photo album but we she passed away i kept it when we cleared her house out. Most of the photos are prewar.

[@xxbreakingwindxx4264]

A quick correction: Blucher was sunk by 280mm guns, not 210mm at oscarsborg

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Yep. I don’t know why when I was writing that I was thinking 8.2 inch guns and not 11 inch. Oh well, not a critical point in our story. But, I do apologize for the error.

[@xxbreakingwindxx4264]

Thats alright man, making mistakes once in a while is the name of the game, you more than make up for it with the video itself. Much loved as a viewer, Breakingwind- @@ImportantNavalHistory

[@niclasjohansson4333]

Blucher was hit by 2 280 mm shells, 13 152 mm, and a load of 57 mm shells at point blank range plus 2 old torpedoes. She ship was loaded with ammunition and fuel for the invasion forces and when it all started to explode it doomed the effort of the damage control teams.

[@mathewkelly9968]

A hurricane in the Pacific ? I think you mean a Typhoon or Cyclone

[@mnoliberal7335]

I haven't seen this video channel before so was unable to tell if it was the mic or a speech impediment. Enjoyed the coverage of that interesting light cruiser.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Damn. Didn’t realize I had a speech impediment, probably should get that looked at. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the video. Edit: on second thought, when I was a young child I did have to do speech therapy. Kind of forgot about that.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating.

[@holgerwittmann8419]

Very very interesting, always super exciting for me to finally get all the infos from back then. Love your Channel man!

[@sebastian-FX357Z1]

The Konigsberg class is still much better than most Japanese 3-funnels light cruisers.

[@tchoupi_mais_sans_amis]

Yes but the japanese 3 funnels cruisers were also 15 years older

[@LaikaandDamo]

Nice work. Keep it up. Question tho, are you the plasma kid off snapchat? You have a similar voice. Either way great job!

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Plasma kid? Nope. But thank you!

[@neilhales4693]

"a great improvement on Emden, except as regards seaworthiness." What could go wrong .... as long as it doesn't have to go to sea....

[@justacomment1657]

well they could have learned that lessen early if Emden would have been allowed to actually carry multigun turrets.. but the germans were not allowed to build Emden by its original designs

[@andrewhayes7055]

Blucher was hit by 280mm and 150mm gunfire.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Yes, you are correct. She was hit by the 280 mm guns of Oscarsborg Fortress. Thankfully that minor detail didn’t impact our story!

[@eugeneblue299]

Keep on keeping on.

[@jimmywrangles]

A beautiful ship.

[@jussi8111]

they might have been weak but to me they sure are dome good looking ships

[@lyedavide]

The Germans certainly knew how to build beautiful warships. It's a pity that these light cruisers were not fit for purpose given the limitations imposed on the shipbuilders. I agree with the KM that the loss of this vessel was preventable and, given how limited the resources of the KriegsMarine, was an unnecessary sacrifice.

[@matthewperry6872]

Nice video. There is an interesting comparison with the British Arethusa Class (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arethusa-class_cruiser_(1934)) of a similar era, which were smaller and less heavily armed but much more seaworthy and proved to be extremely useful ships during the war.

[@michaelinsc9724]

Great job as is your notm. The new mic sounds good. Your liking the offset turrets ... not so much. 😂

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Oh man come on, the offset turrets are cool! This was the first video I recorded with the new mic and I’ve definitely improved the settings since then!

[@michaelinsc9724]

@@ImportantNavalHistory Clearly you are showing your youth. Worry not, my friend. Your tastes will most likely improve with ago. ☺️🙃

[@Codsallkendo]

I wonder if they had used a frame similar to the Wellington bomber, they would have been stronger and lighter ships.

[@avnrulz8587]

And now for something completely different...

[@Schlipperschlopper]

A very nice ship it was not bad!

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Agreed. Also, just had to say, love your name :)

[@randyfant2588]

I have always been fascinated with German Light Cruiser design. growing up I often wondered why these ships were never used in raiding. I knew there were a few times in the Murmansk campaign that German Destroyers were used but never the CLs whereas in WWI it was the CLs that were the main German raiders. Had these ships been built a little bigger an tougher they may have made for much better raiders than the slower Pockets, at least within their shorter range capacity.

[@mikeynth7919]

It seems to me that the Germans over-armed these ships. If the main guns had been reduced to three twin mounts like the Arethusa class enough weight may have been saved to strengthen the hulls.

[@brucesim2003]

Even the Arethusa's were known to have structural problems.

[@dognute2746]

Attempted too much on the displacement allowed. Less ambitious and more seaworthy ships would have been more useful. 3 twin turrets instead of triples for the main armament for example. Halving the number of torpedo tubes would also help. This would have made them similar ship to the later British Arethusa’s. the treaty did not force the Germans to build almost useless flimsy cruisers. It was their choice.

[@chrislong3938]

One thing that bugs me about WWI's Treaty of Versailles, is that the Germans ever agreed to it at all! Yes, they were tired of war, and with fresh Americans joining, were in a bit of a bind. Still, the French and British, along with the other allies were also tired and were surely unwilling to go back to war with Germany if they didn't accept the terms! I just don't really understand why they did and of course, we all know what happened as a result of those arrogant French demands! I love to hear some of the reasoning behind their acceptance of the terms by someone knowledgeable!!!

[@Philip271828]

Not knowledgeable, but: The German economy was failing, they'd been under naval blockade for nearly four years and it was having it's intended effect. Morale. It sometimes sounds like their soldiers were close to refusing to fight and in November 1918 the Keil Mutiny (peace/surrender negotiations were well under way by this time) showed that continuing was not possible. Not abnormal, Russia collapsed with internal problems and France had big problems at Verdun. American presence in action is debatable but the prospect of millions of American soldiers turning up was fatal to German morale. We're used to Total Victory in wars, but wars usually end with a negotiated peace and reparations/land paid.

[@RayyMusik]

So why was Karlsruhe weaker than her sisters?

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

I don’t know if she was weaker than all her sisters initially. But, after that cruise in the Pacific she certainly was. I don’t think they’re bad ships like I said just fragile in rough seas.

[@RayyMusik]

As you pointed out, she had an inexperienced crew, but I think the ship itself was not crappier than her sisters. A cruiser that isn’t fully seaworthy just doesn’t make sense.

[@alexvisser5913]

Well think of emden... packed with insufficient stuff

[@Backwardlooking]

👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@DaveSCameron]

Great stuff stuff as well always 👍🎤☘️

[@Backwardlooking]

@@DaveSCameron I still have the wartime H.M.S.O. Publication purchased by my father who was in the R.N. throughout most of the war and it’s picture of her sister ship taken by a Fleet Air Arm Skua. One of our first successes. 👍🏻❤️

[@MrT67]

These ships were obviously designed for retreating.😊

[@colinhunt4057]

Since we were opposing Hitler and National Socialism, its a good thing in hindsight that they wasted resources on useless ships. One could in fact suggest that the entire Kriegsmarine was a waste of time and resources. What Germany needed was to capture the oil of the Caucasus. Wasting fuel and resources on the Kriegsmarine contributed nothing to that overriding goal. Moscow and Stalingrad mattered; the Kriegsmarine did not and achieved nothing of significance. It could be asked what is the use of a warship that sinks after someone gives a hard look at it. The K's were absurdly fragile, short-ranged and unseaworthy. However, the video documenting this ship and its woes is well done.

[@kristelvidhi5038]

Ironically, German ships became more Historically famous than the Japanese. Just ask Bismarck.

[@williamegler8771]

No offense but I am German and the pronunciation of German is like listening to nails across a blackboard!

[@RayyMusik]

He may not be perfect in German pronunciation but he tries hard and is by far better than most English-speaking KZbinrs including the famous (or, with regard to butchering foreign names: infamous) Drachinifel. And now please tell us: are you perfect in English pronunciation or do you have the typical German accent?

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

Hey man, I do really try. I don’t hear German everyday, I don’t speak the language, it’s not an easy language to get pronunciations correct. Like Ray said, I’m sure your English isn’t always perfect. Just know I’m trying and it’s certainly a vast improvement on prior videos.

[@hannesromhild8532]

Weakest? Hell there is like a dozen worse Cruisers arround at this time.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

I’d figure you’d comment something like this. Mostly created the title based off her 1936 training cruise in the Pacific. Also, please understand I’m a small channel that’s trying to build and therefore must try to please the algorithm. Whatever people might say, I put in quite a bit of time on these videos and would like to get something back in return. Otherwise it’d be hard to justify me continuing these videos, considering I already work 60 hours at my day job.

[@hannesromhild8532]

@@ImportantNavalHistory If you have to lie for that goal, it's not worth it.

[@ImportantNavalHistory]

@@hannesromhild8532 Can't argue with that. Title has been changed. I feel like for the most part I present good information in a somewhat entertaining way. Hope I didn't cause you to dislike the channel because of this.

[@johnsepulveda443]

Might want to remember this was a ww1 ship

[@reluctantheist5224]

How do you mean ? It wasn't built until after WW1.

[@Hannymcfee]

This is is a different Karlsruhe, built in I believe 1928

[@wheelmanv]

The fault definitely lay in the designers, despite that quote, or the administration that demanded more than was possible within its bounds. The treaty didn't force the ship to have 9 guns, or any of the other requirements that pushed the limit