Construction and Design
Karlsruhe was laid down in Kiel in July 1926. As with her sister ships, the treaty of Versailles restrictions applying to her construction resulted in a number of structural weaknesses and only a modest range without refuelling. She was conceived as a Spähkreuzer, scouting for the main battle fleet. Thus her main armament was concentrated aft, in order to engage pursuing enemy ships. Her main artillery, nine 15 cm SK C/25, were mounted in three turrets. In order to compensate for the positioning of two turrets, ‘Bruno’ and ‘Caesar’, aft, they were put slightly off the centre-line of the ship, enabling them to be directed further towards the bow. The original single barrelled 8.8 cm anti aircraft guns where first replaced by twin mounted ones in 1936 before being changed for 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns in 1938. In addition, eight 3.7 cm SK C/30 and eight 2 cm MG L/83 provided defence against attacks from the air.
Propulsion was provided by two propeller shafts with three-blade propellers powered by two high-pressure and two low-pressure turbines fired by six oil boilers. For fuel efficiency, two diesel engines were fitted in the aftermost engine compartment for cruising. Launched on 20 August 1927, Karlsruhe was eventually commissioned on 6 November 1929.
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