The 5,531 ton
Dresden II class light cruiser Cöln, was built in Hamburg by Blohm & Voss in
1916. As a light cruiser she was well armoured, yet sleek, fast and
packing a powerful punch with her eight 5.9" guns set in single turrets. In
addition she boasted two smaller 3.4" rapid firing guns ( capable of firing ten
9.5kg shells per minute), four deck mounted torpedo tubes and a capability to
carry 200 mines.Her two sets of coal/oil fired turbines and twin propellers could push her to speeds of more than 29 knots, easily outrunning the much heavier battleships which could only make about 23 knots. She could penetrate into enemy territory, lay her deadly cargo of mines and then use her speed to outrun any opposition or if it came down to the wire, use her fearsome arsenal to fight her way out.
The wreck of the Cöln now rests on her starboard side in 35 metres of water in the dark depths of Scapa Flow, a time capsule of an era of sea power and majesty long consigned to the history books.
The history, sinking and
dive details of the Cöln are described in much greater detail in the books
Dive Scapa
Flow and
Dive Scotland's Greatest Wrecks.Photograph courtesy of the Imperial War Museum