Leipzig - class cruiser The " Leipzig " class was a class of two light cruiser s of the German Kriegsmarine ; the class comprised " Leipzig " , the lead ship , and " Nürnberg " , which was built to a slightly modified design . The ships were improvements over the preceding " Königsberg " - class cruisers , being slightly larger , with a more efficient arrangement of the main battery and improved armor protection . " Leipzig " was built between 1928 and 1931 , and " Nürnberg " followed between 1934 and 1935 . Both ships participated in the non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and 1937 . After the outbreak of World War II , they were used in a variety of roles , including as minelayers and escort vessels . On 13 December 1939 , both ships were torpedoed by the British submarine . They were thereafter used in secondary roles , primarily as training ships , for most of the rest of the war . " Leipzig " provided some gunfire support to German Army troops fighting on the Eastern Front . Both ships survived the war , though " Leipzig " was in very poor condition following an accidental collision with the heavy cruiser " Prinz Eugen " late in the war . " Leipzig " was therefore used as a barracks ship before being scuttled in 1946 . " Nürnberg " , however , emerged from the war largely unscathed , and as a result , was seized by the Soviet Navy as war reparations , and commissioned into the Soviet fleet as " Admiral Makarov " ; she continued in Soviet service until the late 1950s , and was broken up for scrap by 1960 . Design . General characteristics . The two ships of the " Leipzig " class were not identical , prompting some naval historians to classify them as separate designs , rather than as a ship class . Of the two , " Nürnberg " was larger . " Leipzig " was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a maximum draft of forward . She displaced as designed and at full combat load . " Nürnberg " was slightly longer , at at the waterline and overall . Her beam was identical to " Leipzig " , but her draft was slightly greater , at forward . She displaced as designed and at full combat load . The ships ' hulls were divided into fourteen watertight compartments and had double bottoms that ran for 83 percent of the length of their keels . Both vessels had side bulges and bulbous bow s . They were constructed with longitudinal steel frames , and were more than 90 percent welded in order to save weight . " Nürnberg " had a large , blocky forward superstructure , while " Leipzig " s superstructure resembled that of the preceding " Königsberg " class . " Nürnberg " also had a large searchlight platform fitted on the funnel , while " Leipzig " did not . " Leipzig " initially had a crew of 26 officers and 508 enlisted men . Later in her career , the crew grew to 30 officers and 628 sailors and then again to 24 officers and 826 sailors . She could also accommodate an admiral ' s staff of 6 officers and 20 enlisted men when she was serving as a flagship . " Nürnberg " s crew started as 25 officers and 648 ratings , and over the course of her career swelled to 26 officers and 870 enlisted men . The ships carried two picket boats , two barges , two launches , and two cutters . Both ships carried one aircraft catapult for a pair of Heinkel He 60 biplane reconnaissance float planes . They were equipped with a crane to retrieve the aircraft after landing . The He 60s were later replaced by the monoplane Arado Ar 196 by 1939 . " Leipzig " s catapult was located between the funnel and the forward superstructure , while " Nürnberg " s was placed aft of the funnel . Machinery and handling . The ships ' propulsion system consisted of two steam turbines manufactured by the Deutsche Werke and Germaniawerft shipyards , along with four 7 - cylinder two - stroke diesel engines built by MAN SE . Steam for the turbines was provided by six Marine - type double - ended oil - fired boilers . The engines were rated at for the turbines plus for the central diesel engine . The ship ' s propulsion system provided a top speed of and a range of approximately at using only the diesel engines . With only the turbines in operation , the ships could steam for at a speed of . The ships had extensive electrical generator systems . " Leipzig " had three power plants that each had a 180 kilowatt turbo - generator and a 180 kW diesel generator ; this gave the ship a combined output of 1 , 080 kW at 220 volts . " Nürnberg " had four generators which comprised two 300 kW turbo - generators and two 350 kW diesel generators , for a total output of 1 , 300 kW , also at 220 volts . Steering was controlled by a single balanced rudder , which gave the ships excellent maneuverability . The rudder was augmented with special steering system on the engine transmissions ; they had gears that could drive half of the engines astern and half forward allowed the screws to assist in turning the ship at sharper angles . The ships tended toward lee helm in general conditions , but in heavy wind , they suffered from weather helm . Both vessels also suffered from severe leeway at low speeds , and the effect was especially pronounced for " Nürnberg " , owing to her larger superstructure . Armament and armor . " Leipzig " and " Nürnberg " were armed with nine 15 cm SK C / 25 guns mounted in three triple gun turret s . One was located forward , and two were placed in a superfiring pair aft , all on the centerline . They were supplied with between 1 , 080 and 1 , 500 rounds of ammunition , for between 120 and 166 shells per gun . As built , " Leipzig " was also equipped with two 8 . 8 cm SK L / 45 anti - aircraft guns in single mounts ; they had 800 rounds of ammunition . " Nürnberg " meanwhile was built with eight of these weapons with 3 , 200 rounds in total . " Nürnberg " also carried eight 3 . 7 cm SK C / 30 anti - aircraft guns , and several 2 cm anti - aircraft guns , though the number of the latter changed over her career . The two ships also carried four triple torpedo tube mounts located amidships ; " Leipzig " had weapons while " Nürnberg " was equipped with torpedoes . They were supplied with twenty - four torpedo es . They were also capable of carrying 120 naval mine s . " Leipzig " used Krupp cemented armor , while " Nürnberg " received the newly developed " Wotan Hart " steel . The ships were protected by an armored deck that was thick amidships and an armored belt that was thick . The belt was inclined to a greater degree than in the preceding " Königsberg " s , to increase the effectiveness of the same thickness of armor plate . The sloping armor that connected the deck with the belt was thick . The conning tower had thick sides with a 50 mm thick roof . The gun turrets had thick faces , thick sides , and thick roofs . They were mounted on barbette s that were protected with of steel plating . Modifications . After the outbreak of war , both ships were fitted with a degaussing coil to protect them against magnetic mines . " Leipzig " had her aircraft equipment removed in 1941 , along with her after torpedo tubes . In 1942 , " Nürnberg " s aircraft handling equipment and aft torpedo tubes were also removed . Throughout the war , the ships ' radar suites were upgraded ; in March 1941 , " Nürnberg " was equipped with FuMO 21 radar and in early 1942 , a FuMO 25 radar set was installed . The latter was a search radar for surface targets and low - flying aircraft at low range . The FuMO 21 set was replaced by the short - range FuMO 63 " Hohentwiel " 50 - centimeter radar . " Nürnberg " was also fitted with four Metox radar warning receiver s . " Leipzig " did not receive her FuMO 24 / 25 radar set until 1943 ; this was to be the last modification for " Leipzig " . " Leipzig " had her anti - aircraft armament modernized to bring her closer to the standard of weaponry fitted to her sister . After 1934 , two additional 8 . 8 cm guns were added , with another pair later . Starting in 1941 , eight 3 . 7 cm guns were installed , along with fourteen 2 cm guns . After 1944 , she only carried eight of the 2 cm guns . " Nürnberg " s anti - aircraft battery was improved over the course of World War II . In late 1942 , a pair of Army - variant 2 cm " Flakvierling " quadruple mounts were installed , one on the navigating bridge and the other on top of the aft superfiring turret . In May 1944 , the navy proposed installing several Bofors 40 mm gun s , but most of these weapons were diverted to other uses , and only two guns were installed . One was mounted on the bridge and the other where the catapult had been located . Two Navy - pattern " Flakvierling " s were added ; one replaced the Army model atop the aft superfiring turret , and the other was placed in front of the anti - aircraft fire director . The Army - pattern " Flakvierling " s were moved to the main deck . In December 1944 , another revised anti - aircraft plan was proposed , this time incorporating the new 3 . 7 cm FlaK 43 gun , of which there were to be eight , along with two " Flakvierling " s and ten 2 cm twin mounts . Germany ' s wartime situation by the end of 1944 prevented these changes from being made , however . Service history . " Leipzig " . In the 1930s , " Leipzig " was used as a training cruiser , as well as to make goodwill visits to foreign ports . She participated in non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War . In the first year of World War II , she performed escort duties for warships in the Baltic and North seas . " Leipzig " was torpedoed by the British submarine on 13 December 1939 while on one of these operations . The cruiser was badly damaged , and the necessary repairs took almost a year to complete . She thereafter resumed her duties as a training ship . She provided gunfire support to the advancing " Wehrmacht " troops as they invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 . In a heavy fog in October 1944 , " Leipzig " collided with the heavy cruiser " Prinz Eugen " ; the damage was so severe that the navy decided complete repairs were unfeasible . Instead , they repaired " Leipzig " enough to keep her afloat , and in that state , provided gunfire support to the defenders of Gotenhafen against the advancing Red Army in March 1945 . As the Germans continued to retreat in the east , " Leipzig " was then used to transport a group of fleeing German civilians . She reached Denmark by late April . After the end of the war , " Leipzig " was used as a barracks ship for minesweeping forces and was scuttled in July 1946 . " Nürnberg " . Following her commissioning , " Nürnberg " participated in the non - intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War ; she completed her patrols without major incident and returned to Germany in mid - 1937 . After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 , she was used to lay defensive minefields off the German coast in the North Sea . She was thereafter used to escort offensive mine - layers in the North Sea until she was torpedoed by the British submarine " Salmon " on 13 December 1939 . After repairs were completed in early 1940 , " Nürnberg " returned to active duty as a training ship in the Baltic Sea . She performed this role for most of the rest of the war , apart from a short deployment to Norway from November 1942 to April 1943 . In January 1945 , she was assigned to mine - laying duties in the Skaggerak , but severe shortages of fuel permitted only one such operation . After the end of the war , " Nürnberg " was seized by the Royal Navy and ultimately awarded to the Soviet Union as war reparations . In December 1945 , a Soviet crew took over the ship , and the following month took her to Tallinn , where she was renamed " Admiral Makarov " . She served in the Soviet Navy , first in the 8th Fleet , then as a training cruiser based in Kronstadt . Her ultimate fate is unclear , but by 1960 , she had been broken up for scrap . " Nürnberg " was the second - largest warship of the Kriegsmarine to survive the war intact , after the heavy cruiser " Prinz Eugen " , and she was the only vessel to see service after the war , albeit in a foreign navy .