Karlsruhe sailed from Bremen with the Kristiansand invasion group, but heavy fog made the fjord approach too dangerous to press during the night. When the force entered in daylight, Norwegian guns at Odderøya Fortress opened fire. The cruiser had to turn broadside to bring the main battery fully onto the position. Stabilization limits could narrow the nominal arcs still further at particular angles. The engagement turned the class's plan-view gunnery weakness into an operational problem in constrained coastal waters.
Chapter · 37:32-39:42
Karlsruhe against the coastal guns at Kristiansand
Fog, a confined fjord, and Odderøya's guns forced Karlsruhe to expose her broadside and revealed the practical cost of her restricted firing arcs.