German FK cruiser designs
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: |
 Kaiserliche Marine
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| Preceded by: | Cöln-class cruiser |
| Succeeded by: | Emden |
| Completed: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Light cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Beam: |
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| Draft: |
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| Speed: | 32 to 33 kn (59 to 61 km/h; 37 to 38 mph) |
| Range: | 2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Light cruiser |
| Displacement: |
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| Beam: |
|
| Draft: |
|
| Speed: | 32 to 33 kn (59 to 61 km/h; 37 to 38 mph) |
| Range: | 2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Armament: |
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The German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) created a series of fleet cruiser designs—designated Flottenkreuzer—in 1916 to follow the Cöln-class cruisers ordered in 1915. They were initially intended to favor high speed for reconnaissance over the heavier gun armament of the Cöln class, though by the final iterations, they were as powerful as the earlier class. The design staff ultimately drew up five different designs: FK 1, FK 1a, FK 2, FK 3, and FK 4. The proposals ranged in size from 3,000 metric tons (3,000 long tons; 3,300 short tons) to 7,500 t (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) designed displacement and were armed with a main battery of between five and eight 15 cm (5.9 in) guns. Each proposed design grew in size over the preceding draft, as the weaponry and propulsion systems were increased. None of the designs were built, owing to shifting construction priorities in the German Navy in the last year of World War I.
By 1916, thirteen German light cruisers had been lost in the course of World War I. To replace them, the Kaiserliche Marine ordered ten new cruisers of the Cöln class. The next design, under the provisional name FK 1, or Flottenkreuzer (Fleet cruiser), was prepared in 1916. The design, which emphasized the reconnaissance role and high speed over combat power, was based on the British C-class cruisers at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II. A modified design, named FK 1a, was a slightly larger vessel.
FK 1 was 128 meters (420 ft) long at the waterline and 130 m (430 ft) long overall. The design had a beam of 11.6 m (38 ft); its forward draft was 4.9 m (16 ft) and the aft draft was 4.1 m (13 ft). The ship would have had a double bottom of approximately 52 percent of the length of the hull, and fifteen watertight compartments. The hull was constructed with longitudinal steel frames. As designed, the ship would have had a displacement of 3,000 metric tons (3,000 long tons; 3,300 short tons), with a full load combat displacement of 3,800 t (3,700 long tons; 4,200 short tons). The modified FK 1a was slightly larger, at 131 meters (430 ft) long at the waterline and 136 m (446 ft) long overall. The modified design had a beam of 12.4 m (41 ft) and a draft of 4.6 m (15 ft). The ship's hull would have been constructed as in FK 1, with the same number of watertight compartments and extent of double bottom. As designed, the ship would have had a displacement of 4,025 metric tons (3,961 long tons; 4,437 short tons), with a full load combat displacement of 4,850 t (4,770 long tons; 5,350 short tons).
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