List of cruisers of Germany

The German navy built a large quantity of cruisers of various types. Most of these were built during the navy's existence as the Kaiserliche Marine of Imperial Germany. The first German cruisers were built in the mid-1870s, shortly after the formation of the Empire during the Franco-Prussian War. These first ships were small, fast vessels that were based on earlier avisos. The first protected cruiser, SMS Kaiserin Augusta, was laid down in 1890. The first German armored cruiser, SMS Fürst Bismarck (1896), was laid down 6 years later. This type eventually evolved into the battlecruiser, the first of which was SMS Von der Tann. Following the end of World War I, most of these ships were either scrapped, scuttled in Scapa Flow, or turned over to the victorious Allied powers.

In the 1920s and 30s, the German navy, by now reorganized as the Reichsmarine, embarked on a modest rebuilding program; the light cruiser GERMAN CRUISER Emden was the first new ship built. The Reichsmarine also oversaw the construction of the of heavy cruisers; these ships were referred to in the press as "pocket battleships" due to their heavy armament of six 11 inch (28 cm) guns. Following the rise of the Nazi party to power in the mid-1930s, the German navy was again reorganized, this time as the Kriegsmarine. A more aggressive building policy was started, which included five s, two and 12 s, and three s. Of these ships, only three of the Admiral Hipper class were completed. Following the end of World War II, the surviving ships were largely scrapped. One, the heavy cruiser GERMAN CRUISER Prinz Eugen, was taken over by the US Navy and used as a target during atomic bomb tests in the Bikini Atoll. The German Navy that emerged in the 1950s has limited its surface forces to destroyers and frigates.

Light cruisers

 * SMS Gazelle (1898) (1898) - Stricken 1920
 * SMS Niobe (1899) (1899) - Stricken 1925, sold to Yugoslavia and renamed Dalmacija, captured by Italy 1941, captured by Germany 1943, sunk
 * SMS Nymphe (1899) - Stricken 1931
 * SMS Thetis (1900) (1900) - Stricken 1929
 * SMS Ariadne - Sunk 1914
 * SMS Amazone (1900) - Stricken 1913
 * SMS Medusa - Scuttled 1945
 * SMS Frauenlob (1902) - Sunk 1916
 * SMS Arcona (1902) - Scuttled 1945
 * SMS Undine (1902) - Sunk 1915
 * SMS Bremen (1903) - Mined 1915
 * SMS Hamburg - Bombed 1944, refloated, BU
 * SMS Berlin - Scuttled 1947 with poison gas shells
 * SMS Lübeck - BU 1922
 * SMS München - BU 1919
 * SMS Leipzig (1905) - Sunk at the Battle of the Falklands, 1914
 * SMS Danzig (1905) (1905) - BU 1921-23
 * SMS Königsberg (1905) (1905) - Scuttled 1915
 * SMS Nürnberg (1908) - Sunk 1914
 * SMS Stuttgart - BU 1921
 * SMS Stettin (1907) - BU 1921-23
 * SMS Nautilus (1906) - BU 1928
 * SMS Albatross (1907) (1907) - Sunk 1915, BU 1921
 * SMS Dresden (1907) (1907) - Scuttled 1915
 * SMS Emden (1908) (1908) - Wrecked 1914
 * SMS Kolberg (1908) - BU 1929
 * SMS Mainz (1909) - Sunk 1914
 * SMS Cöln (1909) (1909) - Sunk 1914
 * SMS Augsburg - BU 1922
 * SMS Magdeburg (1911) - Sunk 1914
 * SMS Breslau (1911) - Mined 1918
 * SMS Strassburg (1911) - To Italy, renamed Taranto, sunk 1943
 * SMS Stralsund (1911) - BU 1935
 * SMS Karlsruhe (1912) (1912) - Blew up 1914
 * SMS Rostock (1912) - Sunk 1916
 * SMS Graudenz - To Italy 1921, renamed Ancona, BU 1938
 * SMS Regensburg - To France 1920, renamed Strasbourg, recaptured 1940, BU 1944
 * SMS Pillau (1914) - To Italy 1921, renamed Bari, sunk 1943
 * SMS Elbing (1914) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1916
 * SMS Wiesbaden (1915) - Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 1916
 * SMS Frankfurt (1915) - Surrendered 1918, scuttled 1921
 * SMS Königsberg (1915) (1915) - To France 1920
 * SMS Karlsruhe (1915) (1916) - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * SMS Emden (1915) (1916) - BU 1926
 * SMS Nürnberg (1916) (1916) - Sunk 1922
 * SMS Brummer (1915) - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * SMS Bremse - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * SMS Cöln (1916) (1916) - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * SMS Dresden (1917) (1917) - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * GERMAN CRUISER Emden (1926) - Scuttled 1945, BU 1947
 * GERMAN CRUISER Königsberg (1927) - Sunk 1940
 * GERMAN CRUISER Karlsruhe (1927) - Sunk 1940
 * GERMAN CRUISER Köln (1928) - Sunk 1945
 * GERMAN CRUISER Leipzig (1929) - To Britain, scuttled 1946
 * GERMAN CRUISER Nürnberg (1934) - To Soviet Union 1946, BU c. 1960
 *  (not built)
 * M
 * N
 * O
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 * R
 * SMS Dresden (1917) (1917) - Scuttled Scapa Flow 1919
 * GERMAN CRUISER Emden (1926) - Scuttled 1945, BU 1947
 * GERMAN CRUISER Königsberg (1927) - Sunk 1940
 * GERMAN CRUISER Karlsruhe (1927) - Sunk 1940
 * GERMAN CRUISER Köln (1928) - Sunk 1945
 * GERMAN CRUISER Leipzig (1929) - To Britain, scuttled 1946
 * GERMAN CRUISER Nürnberg (1934) - To Soviet Union 1946, BU c. 1960
 *  (not built)
 * M
 * N
 * O
 * P
 * Q
 * R
 * R