Leipzig
| Country | Germany |
| Ship Class | Leipzig-class Light Cruiser |
| Builder | Kriegsmarinewerft |
| Yard Number | 117 |
| Slip/Drydock Number | I |
| Ordered | 18 Apr 1925 |
| Laid Down | 18 Apr 1928 |
| Launched | 18 Oct 1929 |
| Commissioned | 8 Oct 1931 |
| Displacement | 8,380 tons full |
| Length | 581 feet |
| Beam | 54 feet |
| Draft | 19 feet |
| Machinery | Steam turbines driving 2 shafts (60000shp), diesel engine driving the center shaft (12400hp) |
| Power Output | 60,000 shaft horsepower |
| Speed | 32 knots |
| Range | 5,700nm at 19 knots |
| Crew | 850 |
| Armament | 3x3x15cm SK C/25 guns, 6x88mm AA guns, 8x3.7cm SK C/30 AA guns, 8x20mm AA guns, 12x533mm torpedoes, 120 mines |
| Armor | 100mm command tower, 40mm deck, 20mm turrets, 50-70mm belt |
| Decommission | 27 Feb 1940 |
| Recommission | 1 Dec 1940 |
| Aircraft | Two Arado 196 floatplanes |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseLeipzig was the lead ship of her class of light cruisers of the German Navy. During the Spanish Civil War, she patrolled off the coast of Spain as part of the international naval blockade, under the command of Captain Otto Schenk. On 13 Dec 1939, she was torpedoed by British submarine Salmon and was severly damaged, causing her to be decommissioned for extensive repairs. She was recommissioned on 1 Dec 1940 as a training ship. In Jun 1941, during Operation Barbarossa, she bombarded Russian positions on the islands Ösel and Dagö in the Baltic Sea. On 15 Oct 1944, in heavy fog, she was rammed amidships during an accidental collision with heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, causing heavy damage. It was decided that she was not to be completely repaired; instead, she would serve as an effectively stationary training ship and naval barracks vessel at Gotenhafen, Germany (now Gdynia, Poland). In Mar 1945, she shelled advancing Russian troops. In late Mar, she moved to Aabenraa, Denmark. When the war ended, she was surrendered to British forces. She was moved to Wilhelmshaven, Germany, then was taken to the North Sea with a cargo of gas munitions for scuttling on 16 Dec 1946.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Nov 2009
Photographs
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Leipzig Operational Timeline
| 8 Oct 1931 | Leipzig was commissioned into service. |
| 24 Jun 1936 | Albatros departed Spanish waters to escort light cruisers Köln and Leipzig on their return journey to Germany; Möwe replaced Albatros as the flagship of 2nd Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla. |
| 14 May 1941 | Battleship Bismarck and light cruiser Leipzig conducted exercises. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
6 May 2014 09:00:15 PM
I'm not a fan of the German people only because they chose to forget. I also think they belong in a museum.
14 Feb 2022 07:44:26 AM
That’s strange because I have just purchased several items and were told by the immediate family that there grandad who was in the Royal Navy got them from the Liepzig one of the pieces is a large heavy brass candelabra which has an inscription stating the Leipzig along with a large silver plate punch bowl
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
24 Sep 2012 09:09:29 PM
i have two pair of binoculars from the cruiser leipziig one deck mounted Jena Carl Zeis 8by60 the other hand held benutzer 8by60 .my father was in the Canadian scottish and got them of the ship before it was scuttled.I think the belong in Museum.