German Destroyers 1939-45
•
New Vanguard. 91
OSPREY PUBLISHING
German Destroyers 1939-45
Gordon Williamson· Illustrated by Ian Palmer
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GERMAN DESTROYERS 1939-45
INTRODUCTION n April 1919, the German government passed legislation go\'erning the creation ofa new navy. me Reichsmarinc, which would replace the Imperial Gennan :'IJa\}' of ule Kaiser's ern. The pride of the Gennan navy. the High Seas fleet. had been ordered by the Allies to sail into lhe British base at Sc
I
A tnllc.l pre-war pro~nd. shot aho_ three da.troyen
_ • training e.erel... TM dne-quartet' bow.-"Ot
.now.
. . sleek lines of ~ t)'JM .. IJIlp to good advantage. L.uding the trfo in llne-astem IDnNoUon I. Z13, Erldl K_lInw.
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The Treaty of Versailles, signed by Cemlany on 28 J line 1919, severely resu'iclCd the size and number of warships pemliucd to Gennan}'_ Germany was restricted LO six old pre-drcadnought bauleships. six light cruisers, 12 dcsrroycrs and 12 torpedo boalS. No submarines were penniued. Na\'a1 manpower W'dS to be restricted to a lotal of 15,000, of which only 1,5<XJ were to be of officer rank. Germany. haling losl her 1x'S1 and most modem warships. \\'as now in the position of being able to rebuild her fleet ....ith ultramodern new \'(.'SSCIs, making use of the most up-to-date tcchnologr Thus. although small ill size. the Reichsmarine would possess some of thc world's most modcrn warships. The Kaiserliche Marinc had posses.<;ed a substantial number of 'torpedo boats'. The designation blings to mind thc small motor torpedo OOaL<; or MTBs used by the Hlitish Navy, or thc American ITr boat However, Germany's TO'1)cdoboOle were large vessels, nOt much smaller, in fact, than a desu"oyer. Many of these vessels continued to sen'e with the Reichsrnarine and Kricgsmarinc, which continued to build additional, improved examples of the class. In 1934, the keel wa.~ laid for the first in a new class of ship, fast, powerful destroyers (the tcrlll Destroyer is in fact a contraction, the original title being 'torpedo boat destroyer') that would be larger and more powerfully armed than most of their contemporaries. It was not until the conclusion of the Anglo-Gcnnan Naval Treaty of June 1935 that man}' of the rcstriClions on waJ"Ship constrUction were set aside. The new terms simply SCt the German Na,1"s total strength at 35 per cent of that of the Royal Na,y, but no longer ",iul any restriction of U1C numbers of indi,idual \\-arship types.
ARMAMENT Firepower There were three main weapon types used by the Cennan destroyer neel. The most commonly llsed \"M the 12.7cm calibre gun mounted in single-barrelled turrets. Layout dilTered somewhat amongst the various types, but generally consisted of one or twO LUlTets fon...ard, and three lllrreLS aft. On German warships, main armament tllrreLS were identified alphabetically, from bow to stern, thus 'Anton', 'Bruno', 'Caesar' etc.
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The 12.7cm main gun The 12.7cm gun had a muzzle \'elocit)' of 830mps and fired a 28kg shell for a maximum range, depending on uaje<:t0lJ" of up to 17,400m. Each barrel, including its breech·
... n ... IntoHtor shot of the enc:1osoMI
briottto of •
O
lSestroyer. Unfortu""tely " Is not poul~ to IdenttlY which ship from the . .l~ cap ribOon•• Nola tIM binnacle ;lit bottom right end ItM numerous .p.t.kI~ t\!MS.
I.ooklng back fnKn tM bow of e 6ntroyer, we MYe • flne vI_ of the torwenl tUlNta. Not. the opened vision fleps ertd the f8(:t It\Iot no btast beg8 _ fitted when! the b.n91
...ten the turNt. Nole ,,1-.0 tM 18rge cest bronze . . ,.. !nOUnted on the front of
the brid1Ie, " common pnt_w•• feature.
mechanism, ""cighcd around 3.65 tons. It was a quick-6ring",·eapon. capable of a maximum l.heoretical r.ue of fire of 181pm, though this depended on a welltmined crew and good WC"dmer conditions. (As the lllrret "'~dS open, severe weather could adversely aAcct the efficiency of the brull crew.) Ban'el life WdS t.'Stimah.-'d at around 1,950 rounds, after which it would require to be replaced. Normally around 120 rounds of ammunition were canied for each gun. Some of the later \\'ani me·commissioned deslforers carned a heavier 15cm main armamelll. 11lese weapons fil'ed a 45kilo shell with a muzzle velocity of some 835mps, maximum range being around 23,500m. "Ill is was a much heavier gun, and could manage a maximum filtC of fire of only around 5e\'Cn or eight !pm, less man half that of me 12.7cm. Barrcllifc was around 1,600 rounds. During the course of the war. a number of destroyers were fiLted ",ith a single large twin tt1ITel rather than a single·barrelled turret forward. This gave the ship considcrabl)' enhanced firepower, but ad\'ersel)' affecled its handling charaClcristics br adding so much c-"etra weight to me forward p<,rt of the ship. The 3.7cm Oak gun TIle secondary annarncnt on the destroyer was the 3.7cm [win Oak gUll. TIlis weapon, also can'ied on mOSI larger warships as a secondary allli~ aircraft weapon, tired a O.74kg projectile at a mlll'..zle velocity of I,OOOmps and had a range of around 8,500m against suJ'face target~ and 6,800m ag-ainst aerial targets. Barrel life was around 7,500 rounds. Practical "LtC of fire '\~dS around 80rpm, 1110ugh as much as double this was possible in theory. The total number of3.icm guns carried could and did vary dUling wartime, and arOlmd 4,lXIO rounds of ammunition peT barrel were canied. The nonna! complement was fouT t",in 3.7cm Oak guns peT '·esse!. The 2cm flak gun This prolificallr produced weapon was inSlalled on all types of vessel from U-boats to bauJeships. The}' were used in single, twin and quadruple configUl
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MidshIps view of a destroyer during a refuelling operaUon. TM twin b I. of tM 3.7cm flak a n to good advantage.
LooIdnlI of thoI
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usual. This meant lhat the four-b.:tnelled R<Jwir.rling would put up at least 4801Vm and usually nearer to 800, and with several such wcapons in place a substantial hail of fire could be pUl up against low-nying aircraft that came 100 close. Approximately 3,000 rounds of 2Clll ammunition were enTied for each barrel. TO....'(Irds the end of the ....'(Ir. nak armament on most Cerman warships was considerabl}' enhanced. In addition, a limited number of km Bofors flak guns were also inst."l.Iled all German vessels (again ranging from small E-ooats up to capit::tJ ships) in the laucr stagcs of thc war. These fired a 0.96kg projectile with a ntuzzle velodty of 854mps and had a rangc of up to 7,OOOm. Torpedoes The destroyers each carried twO quadruplctorpedo-tube rotating mOllnls, one between lhe funnels and one lO lhe rear of the an fUllncl. The torpedoes canicd .....erc the G7a lype, some 53cm in diameter and wcighingjust over 1.5 lOllS. They were capable of speeds up to 44 knots. 12 LOrpcdoes "'cre carried, eight loaded in tlle tubes and four spares. Depth charges Somewhat surprisingly, the depth charge complemenL of the average Gennan destroyer ' ' dS rather modesl. Four depth charge launchers were placed (wo eiLher side of lhe aft superstrncmre. and lWO depth charge racks, each with three charges, on the quarters. Before the outbreak ofwar, only 18 charges (WasserbomMI LO the Cermans) were canied. [,'cn during ....'a11.ime.the number of depth charges canicd .....ould r.u·c1y have exceeded 30.
f_.reI from tM :Nde
.n supentnlcture. Note
thoI depth ctulrge throwers !two were fitted _h side).. Also
visible a,. thoI ralJs running along tM .s.dt, along which ran tM compl
weN
carried.
Mines
A number of Int_ling tutu... m.y be Men in this ¥taw. Psrtk:ularty eorident a,.. the .....". mines, their crlodl. . runn"", along the nits as pointed out In an eartler photograph, At lett Is 0". of the quadruple torpedo tube ..ts with Ita sc:reened control position. Note lliso the third aft turret, nonnlllly ua.lned fOrwllrd and thua only used egalnst tarveb to port or starboard_
~'Iinela)'ing fomled a m;yor pan of the duties of the Gcmlan destroycr fleet. Two types of mine were used. TIle basic mine used was the EMe t)'pe (Einhcitsminen 'G), TIlis was a standard moored mine,just ovcr 1m in diameter v.;th seven contaCi detonators, [t weighed I, I00 kilos and carried a 300kg explosive charge. The [Me was normally set at a depth of between 3 and 6m. The second type commonl)' used ""'as the EMF (Einheitsmincn Femzundung). This was also a moored mine. but detonated by the mab'llctic field gencr.ltcd b)' a passing ship. It was 1.1 m in diameter. and carri<.'
Fire control Main armament The main armament of each ship was controlled b)' IWO optical rangefindcrs linked to a fire comrol computer station. Flak guns ~1ain fire control for the 3.7cm flak guns "'as pro\;ded b)' a 1.25m optical rangefindcr, backed by a pon.able hand-held O.1m optical rangefindcr for the 2cm flak guns.
RADAR The German navy playcd a leading role in the development of military radar syslems. The Nachricbten Vcrsuchsabteilung (NS\!) had bcgun work on thc development of sonar-type systems capable of dctcCling underwalcr targcts as cad)' as 1929. Using similar principles for operating above thc surface. a rather primilive sySlcm '\~d.S developed in 1933 that could pick up echoes using 13.5cll1 shon-w
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efficiency, settling 011 a ....'avelcngth of 82cm (368~nlz) which Ix.-camc the standard for all naval radar selS. Gennan naval radar sets produced during this period and through to 1945 were predominantl)' dc..·...doped by GEMA along ....ith "'ell-known linus such as Telefunken, Siemens, Lorenz and AEG. Gennan naval r
%10, HMgIAdy. Not. the cen..... etodgere; _ the
railings .round her second turret. Oft tho. eatty w.rome thot, ...... pennant number hn been~, but .... still _me. the bfonz• •~Ie .tftxed to the I.e. 01 the brWge .tJuctu...
full rotation. To circumven tthis problem, a number of destro),l:rs had an apparalus looking somewhat like a SCi of goalposL~, with the lIIasi fixl:d to the centre of the crossbar. The gap thus created allowL-'d the rddar antenna to rotate. A year later, a number of boats began to receivc the FuMO 63 (Hohenlweil-K) , installed on the platform that pn.·\'iously accommodated the af! searchligill. At the same time, thcse boats received a FuMB 6 Palau antenna, fiued to one of the prdarms on the foremast. Antennae for Ihe passh'e radar systems FuMB 3 Bali. FuME 2 1ie.sJN-C and FuMB Tunis were also fiued onto the foremast.
COLOUR SCHEMES AND CAMOUFLAGE
LookIng astem hom ttte starboard ~ of ttte ~ stnK:tu.... The .nIp" e~ eMI be _ _ e.n ttte derrlek for
lowering .nd nteO'Iefing ttte boIIt. looking furthM ....m ttte twin 3.7em f1.k gun. e.n be seen Oft ttteir p1.tfonn .t ttte aide of ttte forw.rd funnel.
The st'lIldard Ih-ery of Gennan destro)'ers prior 10 Ihe outbreak of war was the same pale grey colour scheme as on larger ....-arships. Ships buih before the outbreak of .....ar usually featured a large cast meL.1 eagle and s....'aStika emblem in bronze mounted on the face of the bridge_ These .....ere removed after the olilbreak of .....ar and never fiued to those ships built in ....'anime. In peacetime, tJle desu'o)'ers also carried their pennant number in white on tJle hull side. During wartime, various splinter camollnage schemes were adopled. These generally consisled of broad or nan'Ow bands of medium or \'ef}' dark grey m'er the standard pale grey livery. sometimes also with white false OOW or stein .....aves added. Decks and other horiwnwl surfaces were generally finished in a dark grey allli-slip surfacing. dcstro)'ers lacking the planked wooden decking found on CapiL"l1 ships. Many destroyers had a large white disc with black swastik.a painted on the forecastle LO aid recognilion by friendly aircraft.
SHIP'S NAMES The pr,lctice ill the pre-war Gcnnan Nary had been to name its destroyers for naval oflicers who had commanded torpedo boats in the Kaiscrliche Marine and had been killed in action dUling World War One. This pr•.lctice continued b'om ZI through to Z2~, thereafter only numbers being used. Each of lhe !irst 2~ ships' crews were issued with ... cap ribbon bearing their ship's name, Ihese subsequcntly being replaced by a gencral ribbon Kn'i'fP'''YII11I1' for securit), re,L~ons on lhe ombreak of war. Those first 22 nam(.'(! destroyers commemordle the following Gcnmlll officers. Zl Zerslore-r Leberecht Maas Lcbcrecht Maas was a Konleradmiral, commander of a light cruiser squadron. He died when his ship, the Kiibl, was sun k on 28 August 1915. Z2 Zerstore-r Georg Thiele Ko....'cuenkapiL5.n and commander of a Torpedoboot flotilla. Killed in action 17 OClober 1917.
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Z3 Zersrorer Max Schult: Korvctlcnkapitiin. Killed 23 January 1917 whcn his ship, lbe Toq)edoboot V69, \\~..Is sunk. Z4 ZeNtorer Richard Beit:::en Kapit5nlculnant. Seriollsly wounded fighling a fire in lhc mag-.uinc of his ship. Z5 Zerstiirer Palll Jacobi Korveuenkapiliin. Killed in action aboard Toq)edobool V25 on 2 December 1915. Z6 Zerst6rer Theodor Riedel Korveuenkapitan. Killed in action 31 May 1916. Z7 ~ Hmn01U1 SchoemLnUl K;lpiclnleumanL Killed in action I May 1915 abo."l.rd Torpedoboot A2. Z8 Zerstiirer Bruno Heinemann KorYettenkapiliin. Fin>t officer on thc battleship Konig. Murdered .:) NO\'embcr 1918 during tllC communist mutiny. Z9 Zerstiirer lVoifgallg Zenker Leutnant. ~'Iurdercd along with Bnmo Heinemann on 5 November 1918, ZIO Zerstiirer Halu Lody Obcrleulnam wr See. Exccuted 6 Novcmber 1914 in the Tower of London on charges of espionage. Zll Zerstiirer Bernd VOlt An,im K"1piliinleutnanL Killed in action 27 Jul}' 1917 aboard TorpcdoboOl G42. Zl2 Zerstiirer Erich Giese Kapilanlelllnanl. Killed in action 5 June 1917 aboard TorpedoOOot 520. Zl3 Zerstiirer Erich Koellner Kapit:l.nleutnanL Killed in action 20 April 1918 aboard minesweeper M95. Zl4 Zerstiirer Friedrich (hn Kapil;"inleuUlant. Killed in action 31 May 1916 aboard Torpedobool 535. ZIS Zerstiirer tnch Steinbrinck KapitanleutnanL Killed in action 31 May 1916 aboard Toqx:doboOl \"29. ZJ6 Zerstiir'er Friedrich Eckoldt KapiclnlctlUlanL Killed in action 31 May 1916 aboard Torpcdoboot V4S. ZI7 Zerstfirer Diether von Roeder K.."lpiuinleuulant. Killed in action 10 July 1918 as COTllmander of 13 Torpcdobool1lotille. ZIS Zerslor'er Hans Liidemal111 Marillcingnicut" Aspirant, severely injured acting 10 prevent a high-pressure steam cylinder from exploding and thus saving the lives of many of his shipmales. ZI9 Zen'/or'er Hl:nnarm Kii,me '\Iall"OSC. Killed in aClion 23 April 1918 in hand-to-hand fighling in Zccbmgge as leader of an assaull lroop of t\brinekoq)s Flandern, Z20 ZerstiinT Karl Galster Kapit:inlcutnanl. Killed in action 25 March t916 as commander of Toq>edoboOl 522. Z21 wstorer Wilhelm Heidkamp Maat all board Sl\'IS Se)'dlitz.. InstrumcllL."l1 in prcvcnting his ship from exploding by flooding the magazines, despilc his seriOlls ir~jUl;cs, 2'1 January 1915. Hcidkamp survived thc war bullalcr died of his injurics. Z22 Zerst6rer AntOlI Schmitt L\OOlSmannsmaat. Gun commander on the light cruiser }-'hwnilob. Displayed conspicuous gallanU)' in refusing to leave his pOSl, mailllaining lire until thc last moment while under hea\)' cnemy lire dcspile being up to his waist as his ship took on waler.
A c:..... membet" '""'" Z5 proud" sports the c:.p rtbbon of his -.hlp, Z ...t6ntr Paul .hcobI. 'TMM ribbons _ow e major ,~ In tosterinsl esprit de COI'PS end pride In the Ailor'S eulgned ship' but ..... wtthdrrNn on the outb ... 0' w ... 1lnd .-pIKed b}' e rtbOon bearing the single
~~smaritHt.
ORGANISATION The Destroyer Fleel \\~,IS distributed across a number of flotillas. Prior to the outbreak of war, the flotilla number of the individual boat was reflected in its pennant number, painted in large white numerals on the side of the hull. This was a two-digil number, the first reCk-cting the flotilla number and the second the ship's number. Thus, with the Paul jarobi, the Humber 21 indicated second flotilla, ship number one. 1. Zerst6rer F10tllle Z2 (~ T1Iieu), 7..3 (Max Schu/h), 24 (Richard &itun), Zl4 (Fri'-flrich 11m). ZIS (Erich Stnnhrinck) , ZI6 (FrUdrich Eckoldt) 2. Zerst6rer Flotille 13 (Pall/jacobI), Z6 (Theodor RUtkl), Z7 (Hermmm Schoemarm), Z8 (Bnmo Hnnt1nmm), ZI (I.Lbmcht Maa.s) 3. Zerstllrer Flotllie Zl7 (Dil'th~ von HMtler), ZI8 (Hans Ludemann), Z20 (Karl Calster), Z22 (Anton &hmilt) 4. Zerstllrer Flotllie Z9 (Wolfgang lnIker), ZII (&17/(1 von Amim), ZIO (Ham Lody) , ZI2 (Erich Gi~), Z13 (Erich Kot'illler)From 1942: Z31, Z32, Z33, Z34, Z37, Z38,Z39
Looking aft we He the MCOml funnel with Its antl·sln::raft platform. The gun crew Is closely obHrvlng sn sln::raft passing sstern of the ship. Note the canvss dodgers fitted to the ralls around the gun platform, giving some protectlon from hesvy spr.y.
5. Zerst6rer Flotllle ZIS (Erich Sfl'illhrillck) , Z5 (Paul Jacobi), Z16 (Friedrich Eckoldt), Z6 (71lfO(/or Riedel) From 1942: Z29, Z2S, Z4 (Richard 8I'itZi'71), Z5 (Paul Jacobi), ZI4 (Friedridl flm), Z7 (HmllnilnSdwemalln) 6. Zerst6rer Flotille Z33, Z36, Z43, Z5 (Paul jato/,,), Z7 (l-lmlwlHl Sc!uwmann), Z8 (Bruno Heinemann), Z6 (Theodor Hiedel) , ZIO (Hans Lady), Z20 (Karl Galster)
8. Zerstorer Flotille Z23,Z24,Z25,Z26,Z27,Z28,Z~J,Z30.
\\"d.'I
Notc that attachment of an)' particular destroyer to a specific flotilla not ncres-'larily pennanCIlL
TYPE 34 LEBERECHT MAAS CLASS Four examples (ZI-Z4) of this t)'pC were manurnctured. All were consuucted at the Deutsche Werkc pro in Kiel.
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ZI Kccllaid 15/10/34; launched 18/8/35; commissioned 14/1/37. This ship, the Lebt,.echt lHu(l.S, ran on to a mine and was sunk whilst
TYPE 34 SPECIFICATIONS
.......'
Beam, D
Maximum displacement Fuel oil carried: Maximum speed: Maximum endurance: Main armament
Flak armament:
Depth charges: Mines: Complement
119m 11.3m
4m 2,619 tons 715 tons max.
38 knots 1,825 nautical miles 5 x 12.1cm guns in single ttKrets 8 x 3.7cm guns in four twin mounts 6 x 2cm guns on single mounts 8 x 53.3cm torpedo tubes in two quadruple
mou"ts 4 launchers Up to 60 carried 325 offie«s and men
Ship'S commanders
Zl Jan 1937 to Sep 1937 Oct 1937 to Apr 1939 Apr 1939 to Feb 1940 Z2 Feb 1937 to Aug 1938 Aug 1938 10 Oct. 1938 Oct 1938 to Apr 1940
"
Korvcttenkapit.:'in Schmidt Korvcttcnkapitiin Wagner Korvcttenkapitiin Bassangc
Z1. l.e/Hreeht M .... the first ot Oerm.nv" new generstlon of lerge. powerful destroyers. This photo shows how the ~ptt
Korvcucnkapit.-ln Hartmann Korvcucnkapit.-ln von Pufcndorf Korvcucnkapit.-lll Wolff
34 .ppe.red
a, built,
with stfllight stem .nd very high tunnel e.p,. As Hen here ,he .1'0 ,tUl felltures the rounded t.e. to the bridge.
This pre-wer sltot ShowS ttle degree of icing .uff• ...cI by • uch .hip. during ttl. winter month•• This pltotogreph w .. taken In the Beille. One cen only begin to Imagine the lev.1 of icing ItuIt W04JId h..,. been .JqMrienc:ecf by thoM destror_ on Ht'YIce in the
, ...
,
-.
far north, Insld. the AtcUo eRie. in wint.rtlme.
Z3 Apr 1937 to Oct 1938 Oct 1938 to Feb 19-10
Kon;ettcnkapitiin Baltzer KorTettenkapit.ftll Trampcdach
Z4
May 193i to May 1938 May 1938 to Oct 1939 Oct 1939 toJan 1943 Jan 1943 to Jan 1944 Jan 1944 to Apr 1944 Apr 1944 toJun 1944 Jun 1944 to Scp 1944 Sep 1944 to ~lay 1945
KolTcucnk3pilflll Cadow KolTcuenk3pilin Schmidt Kon·euenk3pil..'i.n \'on Da\idson Kon'eucnk3pitftn Dominik No aliOCHcd commander Kor euenk...'Ipi ;n Llldde-:"Jcllr.uh KoI· cucnk...'Ipi ;n Cade Kon·euenk...'Ipi ;n Neuss
Modifications The first three of the class, ha...ing been destroyed earl)' in the war, had no major modifications. ZI to Z3 werc built \\1th a straight stem, but Z4 had her bov·{s modified to give a slight rake, and also had FuMO r..ldar installed. She also had a single 2cI1\ nak gun mounted immediately fOI,,';:lrd of turret 'Bruno' and one either side or her bridge. The two single 2clIl tlak guns mounted on the roor or the dcckhoLise of her aft superstructure were also replaced by a single Ho)wierlillg. All of this class were constructed with a curved face to the blidge. However, this feature in all cases was altered to a square structure during refitting in 1938, this gave considerably morc spacc in the blidge. Powerplant The Type 34 destroyers were driven by twin propeller shafts, powered by two Wagner turbines and six Benson boilers. Auxilial)' power was provided by three 60kw diesel generators and two 200k"" tllrbo-generators.
TYPE 34A PAUL JACOBI CLASS A total of 12 vessels in the 34A class were conSlructed. Z5 Keel laid 15/7/35; launched 24/3/36; commissioned 29/6/37.
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The Paul Jacobi survived the war and was taken over initially by thc Royal Navy lind thcn passed to France. She was scrapped in 1951. Z6 Kccllaid 18/6/35; launched 22/4/36; commissioned 2/7/37. Thevdor Riedel survived the v,'ar and was taken over by the Frcnch Navy, where she served as the Kkbar. She was finally scrapped in 195B. Z7 Kcellaid 7/9/35; launchcd 16/6/36; commi.s...ioned 9/9/37. Hmulwn Schoemarm was sunk on 2 May 1942 after a na\
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Of these 12 vessels, Z5-Z9 were built at the Deschimag in Bremen, ZIQ-Zl3 at the Gemlani· awerft in Kiel and Z1~Z 16 at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg.
Clo-.up of one of ttM twin 3.7cm flak guns on ZS, PlWI JM:obI. Thl, ......1 . . . one of only , of dettro)'ert 10 . . full co"'fMement of Ii. twin 3.7cm ~ntL
",ndful
.w. •
Z10,
~
Lod)r, during her
commissioning ~ orith the $hlp" ~nd
rnustef"ed on
the quertllf"deck. Nou.:. the flHlder enendlng fTom her rear huH. pnt'Ientlng the .... Ip swinging 89lJinst the qlnlplde.
TYPE 34A PAUL JACOBI SPECIFICATIONS Length: Beam,
<>aught M3X/mUm displacement Fuel oil carried: Maximum speed: Maximum endumnce: Main armament: Flak armament:
Torpedoes:
Depth charges: Mines:
Complement:
119m 11.3m 4.23m 3,510 tons 715 tons max. 38 '""""
1,825 nautical miles
5;11; 12.7cm guns in singl&-barrelled turrets 8 x 3.7cm guns in lour twin turrets 6 x 2cm guns on single mounts 8 x 53.3cm torpedo lubes in two quadruple mounts 4 launchers Up to 60 carried 325 officers and men
Ship'. commanders Z6
1937\0 Oct 1938 Oct 1938 to Feb \941 Feb 1941 loJul1944 Jul 1944 to ~1ay 1945 Z7 Jul 1937 to On 1938 OCI 1938 to Nov 1940
JUIl
Nov 1940 to Apr 1941
Apr 1941 to Sep 1943 Sep 1943 loJan 1944 Jan 1944 LoJun 1944 JUIl
1944 to ~Iay 1945
Z8 Sep 1937 to On 1938
Korvctlcnkapit
Peters Zimmer Schlieper Bilher
Kon'cnenkapiuln Fechner Kon'cnenkapilan BOh11lig No allocated cOlllmander Kor\'enenkapitan Rjt.xte Kon'euenkapil:in \'011 Hausen Kon'euenkapil:in Menge Kapit:inleulIlant BIOsc Kon'euenkapilim
Schulle-~1onting
15
OCt 1938toJui 1940 Jul 1940 to Del 1940 Del 1940 to l\b.}' 1942
Kor\'etlenkapitiin Deuners K.1.pitanleumant Loerke Kon:etlenkapit.'1n \\'iuig
Z9 Jan 1938 to Dec 1939 Dec 1939 to May 1940 May 1940 toJan 1942 ZIO Jul 1938 to Apr 1940
Kon:etlenkapit:in Berger Kon:euenkapitan Langheld Kon:ettenkapitan Alberts Kon:euenkapitan Poniu
ZII Sep 1938 to Aug 1939 Aug 1939 to OCl 19-10 No\' 1940 to Aug 1942 Aug 19-12 to ~br 1943 Mar 1943 to Apr 1943 Apr 1943 to o\' 1943 0\' 1943 LO Ma}' 1945 ZI2 Dec 1938 LO Apr 19·10 ZI3 Mar 1939 to Apr 19'10 ZI4 Aug 1939 to Apr 19'10 ZI5 Apr 1939 to OCt 1939 Oct 1939 to NO\' 19·12 No\' 19-12 to Apr 1944 Apr 1944 10 Ma}' 1945 ZI6 .Iun 1938 10Jan 1942 .Ian 1942 to Dec 1942 Dec 194210 No\' 1944 No\' 1944 10 !\h}' 1945
Korveuenkapitiin \'on Pufendorr KOl"veuenkapicin von \Vallgenhcim Korveuenkapicin Pfeiffer Kop:euenkapicin Zenker Kapicinleumant Vorstehcr Frcgaucllkapicin Marks Korvcuenkapitin Haun Korvcuenkapicin Rcchc1 Kor\'cuenbtpicin Schmidt Freg-duenkapitin Schulze-Hinrichs Fregauenbtpitin \'On Pufcndorf Kor\'cuenbtpitin Wachsmulh Kor\'cuenbtpitin Fromme Kor\'cucnkapitin Richtcr-Oldekop Fregauenkapitin Johannes.'>On Korycuenkapitin Freytag \'on Loringho\'en Korycuenkapitin Teichmann Fregauenkapitan Ro\'er
Modifications Z5, like her four predecessors, was completed \\>ith a cUl"\'ed face to the bridge, this lat.er being modified during refitting. AJI subsequent destroyers were compleLCd wit.h a squared face t.o thc bridgc. Z9, Zll, ZI2 and ZI3 wcrc all lost. early in t.he "'~df, in the battle for Nar\'ik, and saw no major modifications. ZS, ZIO and Zl5 all had lhe third main al1l1ament. turret remO\'ed and additional Oak annament substituted. All had lheir Oak armament significantly increased from the basic complemenl of 4 x 3.7cm unilS. Z5 ultimately had len 3.7cm guns, ZIO had 12 and ZI5 had 14 oflhem.
1
16
Powerplant The Type 34A featured a similar po.....erplam la}'OUl to the T)'pC 34. Z5 lO Z8 were fitted \\;th six Benson boilers whilst Z9 to ZI6 had boilers
w.
H.... see the cre", of one of tne qu"",pl. torpedo tube mount•. Not. ttlat the control po.ltlon h. . . lightly armoured K ....n to prot.ct ttl. crew from .hell .pUnter•.
supplied by Wagner. Two 200kw tLlrbo-gencrators were supplied, as ,,'ere two 60kw and one 5Ok...... diesel generaLOrs in Z5 to ZB. and three 50k\\' diesel generators in 29 LO ZI6. Powcrplant in both the 34 and 34A l)peli developed in lhe region of 70,OOOhp.
TYPE 36 DIETHER VON ROEDER CLASS A IOI.a1 of six \'essels of mis class were completed. 217 Kccllaid 9/9/36; launched 19/8/7; cOlluuissioll(.-d 29/8/38. Did"" von Rmtkr was SCUll1cd after being seriollsly damaged during the battle for Narvik, 13 April 1940. Z18 Keel laid 9/9/36; launched 12/12/37; commissioned 8/10/38. Hans Liidmwnn was severely damaged during lhc batl1c for Nani.k. and was scutl1ed by a British boarding party. Zig Kecllaid 5/10/36; launched 22/12/37; commissioncd 12/1/39. Hamann Kiinne ....' as nm aground and scuttlcd during thc battlc for Nani.k., 13 April 1940. Z20 Kt:c1laid 14/9/3i; launched 15/7/38; cOlllmissioncd 21/3/39. Karl Galstn suni,'t'd the war to be handcd m·er to the Soviet N"a,")'. She was scrapped in 19:>8. Z21 Kecllaid 15/12/3i; launched 20/8/38; commissioned lO/i/39. \Vilhdm HDdkamp was sunk. by torpedoes from a British dcsrroycr at Nanik.. II April 1940. Z22 Kcellaid 3/1/38; launched 20/9/38; commissioned 24/9/39. Anton Schmittwassunk by torpedoes from a British dcslroycr 10Aprill940. TYPE 36 SPECIFICATIONS Length:
123m
Beam,
11.7m 4.5m 3,469 tons
Draught: Maximum displacement: Fuel oil carried: Maximum speed: Maximum endurance: Fuel oil carried: Maximum speed: Maximum endurance: Main armament: Flak armament: Torpedoes: Depth charges: Mines:
Complement
715 tons max. 38 knots
1,825 nautical miles 760 lonnes max. 40 knots 2,020 nautical miles
5 x 12.7cm guns in single-barrelled turrets 8 x 3.7em guns In four twin turrets 7 x 2cm guns ()(l single mounts 8 x 53.3cm totpedo tubes In two quadrupte mounts 4 launchers Up to 60 C8fTied 323 officEH'S and men
Ship'. commanders 217 Aug 1938 to Apr 1940
Kon'eucnkapitiin liolLon
2'8 Oct 1938loApr 1940
Konocucnkapitiin Friedrichs
17
Z'9 Jan 1939 to Apr 1940
Kon'Cttcnkapitan Kothe
Z20 ~'1ar 1939 to Aug 1942 Aug 1942 toJan 1945 Jan 1945 to May 1945
Kon·cuenkapi13.n von ~1auchenheim Frcg-.mcnkapitin Hannsen Freg-.tltcnkapitan Sc::hmidt Kon'eucnkapiriin Erdmenger
Z22 Scp 1939 to Apr 1940
Kon'euenkapitin BOhme
Modifications Z17, ZIB, Z19, Z21 and Z22 were all lost in the carl)' part of the war and had no major modifications. Z20 sun'ivcd the \','ar, but saw little in the way of modifications, though her Oak annament W;L~ beefed up v.'ith the addition ofa Flakvierlingon the roof of the deckhOllSC on her aft superstructure and to either side of her bridge. A single 2cm Oak gun was also mounted immediately forwdfd of turret 'Bruno'. The Type 36 destroyers had funnels which were reduced somewhat in si7.e from those of the Type 34 and Type 34A. Z20, Z21 and Z22 were all completed with sharply raked dippcr-rype bows. Powerplant The Type 36 was po.....ered by two Wagner turbines and fitted v.ill. six Wagner boilers, developing some 70,OOOhp in total. This l)~ had greater capacity for eleclrical po\','er generation. with two 80kw and one 40kw diesel generators, and two 200kw nlr!x>-generators.
TYPE 36A Z23 CLASS
18
~
lorward 011
tunnel can be _ . M1d one 01
the ship" boat. Ms been swung
Z2' Jun 1939 to Apr 1940
Mldal\Ips . . .
Z22. Anton SchmItt. The second
Eight vessels of this class were completed, all being buill by Deschimag. Z23 Ked laid 15/11/38; launched 15/12/39; commissioned 15/9/40. Decommissioned by tIle Germans in August 1944, she sun~\'ed the war and was taken into the Frcnch navy in 1946, where she sen'ed as the Leopard. She W'dS scrapped in 1951. Z24 Keel laid 2/1/39; launched 7/3/40; commissioncd 26/10/40. Sunk by Allied aircrdft on 25 AuguSl 1944. Z25 Keel laid 15/2/39; launched 3/3/40; commissioned 30/1 1/40. Sun1"ed the war and was taken O\'er by the RO}'a1 Navy until gh'Cn to France in 1946, sening as the HOCM, until finall)' scrapped in 1959. Z26 Keel laid 1/4/39; launched 2/4/40; commissioned 11/1/41. Sunk in action against British warships in the Barents Sea. March 1942. Z27 Keel laid 27/12/39; launched 1/8/40; commissioned 26/2/41. Sunk in action against British warships in the Bay of Biscay, 28 December 1943.
out rNdy 101'
~119.
Just
Inboard 01 th
Z28 Kecllaid 30/11/39; launched 20/8/40; commissioned 9/8/41. Sunk by British aircraft, ~ T 6 March 1945. ". Z29 Kecllaid 21/3/40; launched 15/10/40; commissioned 25/i/41. Suni\'ed the war, and was taken over briefly by the Royal Navy before being passed to the USA. Sunk in target practice. December 1946. Z30 Keel laid 15/4/40; launched 8/12/40; commissioned 15/1l/41. Sunin.-d the ....'ar. Taken m'er by the Royal ':1V)', and used as a target hulk. before being scrapped in 1949.
...
Z17, IJIetlHw
WIn ~r;
glvlng
.n .xc.nent view of t"- bridge, .,.. end forw.rd main ,nnament. This dest/"oyef' w•• ..,nk during ttIe bettle 0' HaMlt, 'nd ,".ny tIet" crew tnInsfernMl to ttIe U-boet
0'
,mi.
TYPE 36A SPECIFICATIONS
'-", Beam,
Draught: Maximum displacement: Fuel oil carried: Maximum speed:
Maximum endurance: Main annament: Aak armament: Torpedoes:
Depth charges: Mines: Complement:
127m 12m
4.5m 3,691 Ions 825 Ions max.
38 knots 2,500 nautical miles 4 x 15cm guns In single-barrelled lurrets 8 x 3.7cm guns in four twin lurrets 5 x 2cm guns on single mounls 8 x 53.3cm torpedo tubes in two quadruple mounts 4 launchers Up 10 70 carried 332 officers and men
Ship's commanders
Z2' Scp 1940 to May 1942 May 1942 to Mar 1944 Mar 1944 to Aug 1944 Z24 Oct 1940 to Aug 1943 Aug 1943 to Scp 1943 Sep 1943 to Aug 1944 Z25 No\' 1940 10July 1941 July 1941 to Aug 1943 Aug 1943 to Scp 1943 Scp 1943 to May 1945 Z26 Jan 1941 to r-.br 1942
Frcgauenkapir.:in B6hrnc Frcgattcnkapit.
,.
Z27 Feb 194IlOAug 1942 Aug 1942 to Dec 1943
Fregauenkapicln Schmidt KOITcucnkapilin Schultz
Z28 Aug 194\ to Feb 1943 Feb 1943 to Mar 1943 Mar 1943 to Jan 1944 Jan 1944 to Oct 1944 Jan 1945 to Mar 1945 Z29 Jun 1941 to Mar 1943 Apr 194310 Ma)' 1945 Z30
No\' 1941 to :\1ar 1943 Mar 1943 10 Dec 1944 Dec 1944 to Apr 1945 Apr 1945 to :\1ay 1945
Fregauenkapitan Erdmenger Fregauenkapicln Reinicke Korvcuenkapiclll Zenker Fregauenkapitiin Gerlach Fregauenkapitiin Lampe Fregauenkapitiin Rechel Korvcuenkapitiill ''On Muhius Fregattenkapitan Kaiser Fregauenkapitiin Lampe Kon'euenkapitin Hoffmann Kon;euenkapit.
Modlfle.tlons All of this class were completed "1m four turrets, each bearing a single l5cm gun. During 1942-43, Z23, Z24. Z25 and Z29 all had the forward single-barrelled turret removed and a large ("'in-barrelled turret filled. Flak annamelll was also upgraded. In Z2B, for instance, the aft deckhouse roof initially featured a single 2cm weapon. By 1944, this had been upgraded to a single Hakvierling and b}' the war's end, two F1Dkvierlin~. As completed, Z30 featured a walkway between the aft superstructure and the midships superstructure and again between the midships superstructure and the base or the forward funnel, effectively bridging the area abo\'e the torpedo tubes. Powerpl8nt
The Type 36A was also powered by two Wagner turbines and provided with 6 Wagner boilers. Two 200kw turbo-generators were fitted along with four BOkw diesel generatol1l providing auxiliary power.
TYPE 36A (MOB) SPECIFICATIONS Length: Beam: Draught: Maximum displacement:
Fuel 011 carried: Maximum speed: Maximum endurance: Main armament: Flak armament:
Torpedoes: Depth charges: Mines:
eom_ 20
127m 12m
4.5m 3.690 Ions 825 Ions max. 38.5 knols 2,087 naulical miles 5 x 15cm guns, Ihree in single-barrelled turrets. plus one Iwin mounl 8 x 3.7cm guns in four twin turrets 5 x 2cm guns on single mounts 8 x 53.Jan torpedo tubes in two quadruple mounts 4 launchers Up to 70 carried
332 officefs and men
-This unldentlflMl ~ tied up In pof1 gives some kIN of ttM eolour and camouftate schemes tJ'pkItl of theM wes.Hb. '"'" den. grey •.pUnter scheme over e light grey bMe
wu
'let')' eff~ et
up ttM outJine of ttMo
breeklng
-"'p.
TYPE 36A (MOB) Z31 CLASS A total of se\'cn \'csscls of this type were completed. 7..31-Z34 were built by Dcschimag of Bremen, and 7..35-7..39 by Germaniawcrft in Kid. Z31 Keel laid 1/9/40; launched 15/5/41; commissioned 11/4/42. Survived the war and passed to the RO}'al Na,y before being gi\'cn to France in 19<16. She served in the French navy as lhc Marceau before being scrapped in 1951. 232 Keel laid 1/11/40; launched 15/8/40; commissioned 15/9/42. Sunk in baltJe \\ith Allied \\oarships olT Nonnand}'. 9 Jul)' 1944. 233 Keel laid 22/12/40; launched 15/9/41; commissioned 6/2/43. Suni\'cd the "''aT and passed to the So\iel navy. Scrapped in 1959. Z34 Ked laid 15/1/41; launched 5/5/42; commissioned 5/6/43. Suni\'cd the war to be passed 10 the US 1\'3\1- Scuuled ~brch 1946. 237 Keel laid 1940; launched 24/2/41; commissioned 16/7/42. Decommissioned and dis.·mned, August 1944. Hulk survi\'ed the war and was scrapped in 19-19. Z38 Keel laid 1940; launched 5/8/41; commissioned 20/3/43. Sunin.-d the waT to be passed to the Royal Navy where she sen'ed as a trials ship, HMS NOTlSIlCh, until scrapped in 1949. Z39 Kccllaid 1940; launched 5/8/41; commissioned 21/8/43. Sun':ived the "~dr and passed to me US Na\')' where it sen:ed as a mals ship, Lhe 00939, until passed Lo t.he french, who used her for spare parts before she was scrapped in t 964. Ship's commanders
Z3l Feb 1941 LoAug 1942 Aug 1942 to Dec 1943
Frcgaucnkapil<1..11 Schmidl Kon'Cl.lcnkapit'-lIl Schultz
Z32
Scp 1941 to Feb 1943 Feb 1943 to Mar 1943 Mar 1943 La Jan 1944 Jan 1944 to Oct 1944 .Jan 1945 to Mar 1945
Z33 .JUIl 1941 lo Mar 1943 Apr Z34 Nov Mar Dec Apr
Frcgatlcnkapitiin Erdmcnger Frcgaucnkapil'-U1 Reinickc Kon'cltCllkapitin Zcnker Frcgaucnk
1943 to May 1945
Frcgaucnk.1pitIlll Reichel Korvcucnkapiuin von MultillS
1941 to Mar 1943 1943 to Dec 1944 1944 to Apr 1945 1945 to ~by 1945
K..'picin zur Sec Kaiser Fregauenkapit'-m Lampe Kon'cuenkapitan Hoffmann Kon·ellenkapir.an Erdmann
Z37 May 1942 to Oct 1943 Oct 1943 Lo Mar 1944
Fregauenlmpit
21
Mar 1944 I.OJul 1944
Jul 194'1 to Aug 1944
Kor...euenk.."1pitiin Ultich Fregallenkapitan Heppe
Z38 l\br 19431,0 Sep 19<1<1 1.0 May 1945
Sep 1944
Kor\'euenbpitan Brutzer Kor\'euenbpit:in \'on Lyncker
Z39 Aug 1943 to
~'lay 19'15
Kor\'euenkapiliin Loerke
Modifications This class, as constnlCtcd, featured the large twin 15cm fOl"\\'ard turret. The exception to this w:as Z31. which initiall)' had only a single-barrelled unit. but this was subscquently replaced by a t....in unit. OiSs.llisfaction ....i th the ad\'crsc effect of the hea...y twin turret on the ship's perfol1nance Icd 10 Z31 haling the t",in mITel remo\'ed and a single 1O.5cm tUI1'el substitutcd. Flak weaponry' was also upgraded from the initial complemcnt of 4 x 3.7cm ",·eapons. Z31 ultimately featured 14, with Z33 and Z!W each mounting 6 of these weapons. The complemclll of 2cm guns in the case ofZ33 was increased from the initial to to 16 and in the case of Z34 to 18. Powerplant The typc %A (MOB) was also po....·ered by two Wagner tmuines and prm;ded with six Wagncr boilers. Only one 200kw llIrho-gencrator was fittl.'d, along .....iLh four SOkw diesel generators prO\;ding auxiliary power.
TYPE 36B (MOB) Z35 CLASS A total of se...cn w..'ssels of Lhis type \,'ere ordered, all to be built by Ocschimag of Bremen. Z35 Kccllaid 6/6/41; launched 2/10/42: commissioned 22/9/43. Sunk by mincs in the Baltic, 12 December 1944. Z36 Kecllaid 15/9/41; launched 15/5/43; commissioned 9/2/44. Sunk by mincs in the BaILie, 12 December 1944. Z43 Kcc1laid 1/5/42; launched 15/9/43; commissioned 20/3/44.
22
The huge twin t2.7cm gun turret
as ntt-.cl to latM destl'oyen., whilst providing a f.,. ..far and more protected environment fot' Ita crew, added hugely to the weight of t"e forward part of the Ihlp and wal claimed to
.dv.... ty anect their handling. Vislbla just behind the turret II the top of a Flakvierling quadruple 2m anti-i1lrclllft gun.
Scuuled May 1945 after being severely damaged by mines. Raised in 1953 and scrapped. Z44 and Z45 were cancelled and scrapped before launch. TYPE 368 IMOB} SPECIFICATIONS Length;
127m
Beam, Draught:
12m 4.5m
Maximum displacement: Fuel oil canied; Maumum speed: Maurnum endurance:
3.542 tons 825 tons max.
MaIn armament:
5 x 12.7cm guns, in slngle-barTellecl turrets a x 3.7cm guns in four twin turrets 15 x 2cm guns. three quadruple and ttne single mounts 8 x 53.3cm torpedo tt1bes in two quadruple mounts
,"",~t
Torpedoes: Depth charges: Mines:
Com,".m••,t
37 knots 2,900 nautical miles
4~_
Up to 76 carried
332 officers and men
Ship'. commanders Z35
Sep 1943 to Dec 1944 Kon;cucnk.....pitan B..-l.tge Z36
Feb 1944 to Dec 1944 Kon;cuenkapit
Aug 1943 to May 1945 Kon;euenkapitiin Loerke Modifications
-nlis class \\<
The '}pe 36B was also powered by twO Wagner lurbines and provided Wilh six Wagner boilers. Only one 200kw lurbo-generator was fitted, along with four SOkw diesel gencralOrs providing auxiliary power.
One of th. I•• t d•• troyws to iMt built, Z39, .now. _ t..... of 1M typleel c.~
In
se....-. uMd
u.. MCond "-If 01 u.. w.r.
23
The huge size of the twin 15cm tu.... t can be clearly _ n on this shot of Z34. Another common f ••ture of
dntroyers during wartime, and _ Mr., Is ttM lashing of IIt.....fts 10 the si6es of the I _ t i l and bridge wing supports.
WARTIME SERVICE
24
On the outbreak of \'o'aT in September 1939, all bm three of the available German deslJ"O)'Cr fleet ....'ere positiollt."d in the Baltic. Here the}' pro,idcd a .screening force il1lcnded to prevent Polish \\>;IO;hips or merchant vcsscls from escaping. Ubt-wchl Mans ....-as imu!\-oo in a firelight \'lith Polish warships in lhe pon of I-lela. during which the Polish shore b.'lucries scored a hit on the Gcnnan dcstTO)'er, killing or wounding eight CTe\\men. TIle weak I)oljsh na\'al forces available meant that the large Cennan mw;:tl force prcscm in lhc Baltic ....·as not really necessary. and only pro\;dcd l.argets fOl' tJ1C small number of Polish submarines ludung in the arca. TIle desuuycr forcc "~lS lherefore withdr
• bow view 01 _
01 the
'TYPe
38A dMtroyM$. • quadrup6e
2cm FIaInI#erling .rtU-alrenft
vun Is ~ted to the ,... of ltMIlwve 'Scm twin tuR'8t. This " .....lao featunKl a Mi!Ifd'lIight plMtorm on the lwemast..
•
• •• 4
• M
•
• • ••
•
•••
• ••
M
~
f: 4
A
~
>
• z• •• •> ~
~
E
• D
B
r--
• •
• •
•
• M
•
• • ••
~ ~
~
U
C
.-
D: Z39 CUTAWAY , M"",
18 Bridge
2 Quad 2cm tIak gm 3 15cm SIIlgIe glJ'l turret 4 Deckhouse accommodating shIP's cooks
20 3.7cm IIak glI'l
and stewards
21 Twin 13cm gun turret
22 Crew accommodation
5 Mineswaepng paravane
23 Boiler room 3
6 Rangefinder
24 Boiler room 2
7 FuMo 63 radar anteooa
25 Auxmary boiIef room 26 Boiler room 1 27 TlM'bine room 2 28 Aft quaO-upIe torpedo tubes
SAft ....... 9 2cm nak
10 Depth charges 11 ForwlW QlJ8li14lIe tOl'pEldo tubes 12 Ship's Iaunctl 13 l.aJnctl demck
29 Turtlne room 1
15 SeardlIght
32_
16 FuMe radar anlenoa
33 R""""
14 Forward fuY'l8I
17 Forward rangefinder
D
'.~
30 ()fficers' accorrrnodatoo
31 Aft superstructure oontalning wardroom and captain's acconYl"lOdatlOO
~ ~
N C 0
~
• ~
~
;; E
~
•• z•
••
L
•
~
•
!
•
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•
• •• •L• ~
~
l
-- .......
m 0
~ ~
m ~
•
~
~ G
"
... superb .tmot.phtric: nlght.tlme floodlit view 01 U, Geotv Thiele, moored .1ong'1de ~ :10 CII.1ed 'BlOcher Brilck.' In WilhelmsM¥en prior to ~ outbrHk of w.r. TM ~INlI rounded 1 _ of ~ Uppet' bridge ,tn><:ture of ~ ~ 34ean"_~re.
light cruisers lO provide a CO\'er force for deslro)'cr units reluming from minelaying operations. It was mis rather strange poliC}' of pro\iding large ships as escorts for smaller \'essels. rather than the more nonnal silUation of using smaller fasler vessels and escorts for larger ships. which ""as to combine ",ilh me nOlOriously unreliable powerplant of the Cel1nan destro)'ers, to came one of Germany's first major naval GllaSu·ophes. On one occasion in December 1939, the cnli.sers Niirnberg. KOin and 1.Lip:.ig were detached lO escOIt a fon:e of dcstrO)'el'S reLliming from minelaying operations. Unbeknown to the cruisers, the BrwlO Hnnnnnlln had developed severe mechanical problems and a fire had broken out on board. The destroyer ....'a.~ foTCl..xI. lO hcave to. and lay wallo,,",ing for o\'er an hour whilstUJe fire '\'a.~ extin{,'l.lishcd. I:..ruh SJdnbrinck remained .....i th her to provide cm'er. ~Ieanwhile, the cruiser force was obliged to loiter at the rendezvous poim and provided a perfcct target lor the Blilish suI>marine Salmon. Both Niimbng and lLiJlzig were tOll>edoed and seriously damaged. Fortunalely. the British submarine wenl deep to escape an anticipaled depth charge all.ack and did nOt press home the altack aga.inst thc t......o damaged cruisers, which wcre clfeCli\'cly sitling ducks. The day's e"ent~ .....ere far from ovel~ howcvcr. and as lhe damaged cruisers limped home, a second British submarine. the Ursula, was lying in .....
33
34
bombers would be operating 111 lhe area, the navy failed to pass on the inform'llion to the destroyers. The navy, 011 the other hand, had completely failed to ad\isc the Luftwaffe that any of its ships would be in that area. The loss of t\\'O desu'oyers with most of their crews \\'as cntirely the faull of thc Kriegsm.uinc. 111e gJ'catcst dis."1Stcr "''as yet to come, ho",'c"er. In April 1940, Germany prepared her forces for Operation Weseriibung, the im'aSion of 1 orwa}', and amongst the naval unilS allocated to the invasion force \\'ere all the a\~dilable dcstro)'ers, 16 in all. TI1C dcsll"O}'ers, as "'ell as prmiding a subslaIltial amount of fire support, wcre lO be used to ferry 1ll0lllllain [mops of 3 Gcbirgs Di\ision to their destination, Nanik.. Accllstomt.-d. [0 the wide-open spaces and high mountain peaks, Ule 11l0unla.in rroops suJfefl.'d dreadfully during lhe VO}~lge to NOT"\\'a)' as the warships ",'ere [ossed to and fro in hea"y seas, overcome "iUl seasickness and cooped lip in the cr.unped spaces below decks on ule destro)'ers, As the force entered the Ofotfjord in a hea\y snowstorm, they encountered t.....o small Norwegian coastal defence ships that they ordered to retum to pOI'l. Hopelcssly oliullimbered, the Norwebti.ms complil.'d. Short.ly thereaftcr, hO\\'C\'cr, a much larger Norwegian vl."SScI, the Eidsuold, was enCOlllHc,'cd. Eldcrly, but armed \~ith 2lcm guns, she WdS more than capable of doing serious damage to tlle destroyers. The Germans obeyed the Norwegian orders (0 heave to and a party was sent over to negotiate, The Germans were well aware that the chance of the Norv.·egians surrendering easily was virtually nil, and whilst the negotiations were ongoing the Germans had trained their torpedo tubes on the Norwegian, As suspected, the NOI'\\'egians refused to yield and as soon as the German party had clcared the Norwq,rian ship, torpedoes were fired and the enemy ship sunk before she could open fire OIl tlle Germans. Norge, the sister ship or /:.'jrlsvo{rI, however, was sitting in Narvik harbour and "~lS now forcw
A ftrw .new of the forward hl....b of _ Type 34. TlMo
crew ell" cloearfy be ..." to the open ,..r of tu....t 'Anton' p~ng to Io.cI _ther
_hell Into the breech,
Z21, Wilhelm Heldkamp, ha••n admiring .udlence •• aM lie. at anchor. Uk_ all1Ype 3e ......1., .he has been eempl_ted with. sharply raked clipper bow. Th_ lunnel eap. ar. also arnaller than on the earlier model.,
forced to linger in the !]ords m·Olmd Nan'ik, Two destroyers would be fuelled at the same time. whilst a third kept watch and the remaindcr lay at \'arious poinlS around the !]ord~. On 10 April, a force of British desu"O}'crs entered the fjords, intent on surprising the Gemlan force in Nanik. FOrlulllucly for the British, their arrival coincided with the withdrawal of the 'guard' desu"O)'cr into harbour for refuelling and Ihe Blitish werc able to catch the Cennans completely by surprise. Of fivc Blitish dcstw)'el'S involved. two engaged shore defences whilst threc entered the harbour and loosed alI their torpedoes at German warships. 1\'ilMlm J-IeidJUlmp.md Anum &hmiltboth took direct hilS and sank, the lauer breaking in two. flmlW1m KiimM suffered 5e\'ere damage to her engines in the cxplosion thai sank Anion &hmili, and Hans Liidtmmm had her steering damaged by shdlJire. Din"" von Rn«kr, although not damaged by torpedoes, look the bruni of the enemy shellfire and had to be abandoned, UnbeknOl'>1l to the British, ho....·e\'er, the othcr Gcnnan destl"O}'ers awaiting refuelling were IlOW on the alel1 and wcre I)ing in "''ait for them. In the battle that followed. HMS Hardy and 11~1S J-{unln'wcre sunk, and HMS Hotspur ge\'erely damaged. ~ Thw, 011 thc German side.....'as St."\'erel)' damaged. Of eight remaining Gcnnan dt.'Stro)'crs. onl)' four were now battJewonhy. TIle battle was not yet O\'er, and on 12 April, the British returned in force. This time, nine destro)'ers supportcd h)' the battleship HMS Wa13pilt', witll eight l5-in. guns, faced the wC'dkcned Gcnnan.s. Ern:h KodlnD" auempted an ambush but was spotted by H'a13pilt'ii aircraft and the British were forewarned. The Gennan vcssel .....a s smasht.-d to pieet."":; b)' tile combined fire of the British bauleship supported by two destro),ers, and her captain ordered her scuttled. A confused action between tile two destroyer forces then ensued, with neitller side gaining a p<""irticular advant..""ige, the Gcnnans shooting off most of what remained of their already badly depicted ammunition. [-Je/7fUlll11 KUll/lewas scuukd once her ammunition was completely expendt.-d.leitving her helpless. tnch Giesewas caught bygunfirc from H'il13I)it.oa~ she ;:Illcmplcd to lean: Narvik harbour, but before being sunk she and the disablcd Didher von Roeder inflicted sclious damage on tlte destroyer I-IM5 PUlljabi. Die/her von UOt!tkr also inflicted significant damage on I-IMS C,Qssack before being subdued by tlle combined &"lutlirc of several Ikiljsh destroyers.
35
Of the remaullng German destroyers, Gt!Qlg Thiele torpedoed I-IMS Eskinw, blowing offhcT rows before, her ammunition expended. being fllll ashore and breaking her back. BinI von Amim, H'Olfgung 7/1lkn and He,.,nmlrl Uitlemanll were all abandoned once their ammunition W'dS expended and scuuling charges sct. Those on Hf:muum Uukmarlrl failed 10 explode. hO't\'(:\'cr, and she was torpedoed and sunk by H.\{s Hn-o. The action at N'ar"ik was a disaster for the Kricgsmarinc. resulting in the loss of most of its deslrorer fleet O\·er the course ofjust three days. StrangeI)'. this loss ""'
38
because of the fact that, o\'erall, lhe campaign in Norway "'~dS a success and lhal capture and defence of Na....ik irselfwas heralded as a \;Clory, lhe loss of the destroyers was considered a heroic action rdlhcr than a disaster and no one on the German side was held to account, By the end of 1940, Gennany possessed a mere ten destroyers, the losses sustainc...-d 011 Narvik resulting in four f1otilla~ being disbanded. Genuan dcstroyer forces subsequently operated as c:.-scons to the heavy cruisers in attempted raids on mercham shipping in the North Sea with some success before the fall of France ga,'e the Kriegsmarine ideal b....sc..'S from which to mount offensive operations against shipping off Bowin's south coast and wcstem approaches. Whilst some shipping "".t.~ sunk, much of it consisted of small coastal ves.-.els, and the Gcnnans were olien driven off by the imminent arrh'al of British destroyers or larger w'lrships. On 28 November 1940, however, a force of three Gcnnan destroyers, the Hans Lod)', Kwt Galster and Richard lJeitun, were involved in an amICk Oil British coasta.l cmft when a flotilla of five British destJ'Oyers approached. This time the Cennans did not withdraw but tulllcd to steam a pamllcl course to the enemy and launched torpedoes. HMS Javelin took a direct hit, blo....ing 00' the fOf\\md pan of her hull. Still oumumbcred four w three, the Cenllans opened fire with their 12.7cm main annament. Satisfied ....ith drawing first blood, they tumed La head for home. The superior speed of the Gennan vessels took them out of range of the British b'l.ltlS and, although minor damage was sustained, therc were no Gcnnan GlSU· alties. TIle severely damaged L\ridsh destroyer "'~dS towed back into port where it took over a year to put right the damage she had suffered, in the summer of 1941, a destroyer sortie was authorised with the intent of 3uad:jng Soviet destroyer forces in the Munnansk area, which might have been used to suppan Soviel moves against the German forces advancing on the Soviet pan. Hans LOO)', Hermann St:hoernann, Karl Galster, Fmdrich Edwldl and Richard Btitun made up the German force, On 12July, the German ships ""cre returning from a rather fTUitlcss patrol into the Barents Sea when they intercepted a small Soviet convoy csconed by
-
Z13, Erfch K_IIfHH", moored
.1on9fide tiM
pief" M Gotennafefl, This photo IIIwH a
good vII .nd mldshllK a.... Btut baga. ... flttMi on ttl
Thl. pre-w.r vl_ of ZHI, Friedrich Eckoldt, • Yy,", 34A, .how. the .lIghtly I'lIked bow. with whIch thl. type we.. fitted. It alao .how. the la'lle funnel, and large funnel cap. typical of the early destroyel'll.
amled trawle~. Two of the trawle~ were sunk by gunfire from the Gennan destroye~ before they resumed course for home, fending off two separate auads by SO\iet aircraft and shooting down oue of the enemy. A second operation on 22 July resulted in the sinking of olle Soviet sun'ey ship and a (loa.tplane. A third on 29 July was calk-d ofl" and a fourth on 9 August saw only a small anneing their lorpedoes and the shells being fired b)' cnelll)' long-mnge shore baUclics. Fri€drich Ih1l also succeeded in shooting down onc of the enern)' Swordfish LOrpedo bombers lhal launched their attacl:. shortly after the MTBs had been drivcn off. TIlis \V""dS lhe first of many such alt."1Cks from the air, all of which were met by a velitable curtain of fire fi'olll the anti.....ircraft defences of all of the GenTian ships. The deslro)'crs were forced lO manoeuvre violcntl)' to avoid bombs and torpedoes dropped by enelll)' aircraft. Rirhanl Beilztm., too, succeeded in shooting down an cnerny bomber. Although lhe Zg9 suffered a mechanical breakdown, and three of lhe older torpedo boats tbat also fonTied part oflhc escort force were sunk, as far as lhe destroyers
37
38
were cOllccmcd, Operation Cerberus could Ix considered a succt.'ss. Despite the :wailabilit)' of excellelll bases in France, the dt:stroyer neet did not contribu!c much 10 Gennan naval slrenglll in Ihis area, tOlp..'
•
Th'-"'oIV.~
Schot'......... Mows the distinct lKk 01 ..k. to the bows 01 theM ••.., ~ 34A o..tJo~et.. She W04.IId bI> acuttHKl by he!" crew .tt... bfing H'tfiety d.amaged by the cnriMr HMS EdintHJf9h In May 1842 I" the Barents Su.
%t5, Ericlt SI.mbriIK:k, In p,.war live.,.. Note thoIt Iter bo_ lack tlte ertretne c:Upper-sty" nIIke c:ommon to aU destroye,. from %20 onward..
This wartime vt_ of ZtO, Hans Lady, shows one of the many camoufla"e schemes sported by German de.troye,.. This was one of the leu bIzarre and dramatic: schemes.
r~uru was tied down in ensuring thC}' remained bouled up ill their lain amongst the fjords. Destroyers were to play an impon:lIlt }Xlrt in o~rations from Norway, as escorts to the capital ships. In March 1942. a German ck-stroyer force consisting of Z24, Z25 .Uld Z26 w'as on patrol searching lor convoy PQ13. The Gemlans first cncolllllcrcd lifeboat.. containing Slln~vors from a ship from the convoy that had been sunk by German niremfl. The survivors were picked up and unfortunalely revealed information Lhal PUl the Germans on the trail of the COlWOY. Shortly lhereafter. the destroyers encounlered a str'lggler from the convoy and swiftly SCnt it to the bottom. In worsening wcather conditions and deteriorating \;sibility, the GcmlaIlS eW~lllually found the convoy, escorted by fiw dc..'SlI"O}'CI'S and a light cruiser. Severe damage was suffcred by 225 and Z26 and although the cruiser H\'IS Trinidad took somc hilS, her fighting cBiciency ....'aS nol impaiR'ti. Tri"idad pursued Z26 relentJessly until it looked like tJle destroyer "'~dS doomed. Battered and ",;th onl)' one gun still in aCDOll, the Gennans could only ",~.Ilch as tJIC cmiscr launched torpedoes ill an auempt to administer tlle roup rk grace.. Incrcdibly. two of the thn.>e tOfl>Cdocs failed to launch and thc otllcr malfunctioned and turned back againsl the cmiser herself. hitting her in tJIC bows. Z26 then anemptcd to limp away at much reduced speed but was c-.mglu by the British dc..'Stroyer H,dip~. Incredibly, once again jlL~t as tlle Ul;lish .....ere preparing to finish her orr, luck. smik'ti on lhe Z26 as the weather suddenly cleared to re...eal the other two Gel1nan deslroyers rushing lO the aid of their Sll;ckcn companion. I-Ieavy lirc fell on £ClipS#', driving her offwith suhstantial damage being caused. Damage lO Z26 was by now 100 great for there to be any chance of sa\~ng her, and the best lhal Z24 and Z25 could do was to take 011' her sun~\~ng crew after scuttling chal'ges had been set The two remaining deslroyers subsequcntly reached their base in Kirkencs safely.
I
3.
40
On 30 April 1942, destroycrs operating in the far north (Zerslorerbrrl'ppe Eismcer) were tasked ",,'ilh hunting down and finishing off lhe cntiser HMS Edinbllrgh. She had been bound from Mummnsk to the USA and canyiug (unbeknown to the Gcnnans) a load of gold bullion in payment for supplies the Soviets had received from the Amclicans. The cntiser had been torpedoed and sc'\"erclydamaged b)' U-456. Whilst searching for the cntiser, tile desrroycr.> Z24, Z25 and Hennaml SdJ()~nlaml encountered the convoy that the Edinhllrg" had been escorting. Thanks 10 tile spirited defencc plll up by the convoy's wcll-olilgunned remaining escorts, only one freighter was sunk before thc destroyers broke off to continue their search for the damaged cntiser. In thc moming of 2 ~ta)r, the cmiser, with a mixed escort of dcsu'Oyers .md mincs"'eepers, \'' Admiral Hipperand LiiluJw. The force split with lhree destro)'ers alloGlted to each hc,ny cruiser. Contact with the convoy was achieved mid-evening of that same day. As Admiral HiptN:r cng-dged the COI1\'O)' escorts, she was taken by surprise by the appcar.mcc of t\\'o British light cruisers, ShLfftdd and Jamaica. As the
In this view of tne 8fter part of ZlS, TPModor RJedeI, tne ~ MMl third turTets M¥e been 1nI1ned to port, exposing thot open The.~ al huI *'d<e the stem Is • land«, which ~Ied the *'d<e of thot _ _ .¥ringing
u...
hard aea1rm: • pier or qlNlY and ciamaging the ptgpelers, which sited Immediately botIow this .
%6. 1'heodof' RIec»I, in port. Of ~rticular Inl.,.st Is tbe i;tIyout 01 steam pipes running up the ....r f _ 01 ttMt 1_.nI funnel. Eaeh of ttM shlpy.rds th.t constructed tbe destroye,.. had its own SfMICl'lc sty14 0' l.yout 'or ttMtse pipes.
Gcrrnan cruiser made a hasty retreat, FriNhidl Ed/.Oldt and Richard &itUll were approaching. Unaware of the presence of the British cmisers, they took tlle British gunfire to be from Hipperand approached thc enemy to almost point-blank mnge before disco\'cring thcir fatal error. The Blitish dirccted tlleir gunfire on to Friedrich IkkoldL. which. still not realising its CITor, signallcd Hipperaskingwhy it was firing on hCI: Uit:hard Ikil2.nl mced ofT into thc nighl and escaped as hcr unfortunatc companion was pounded and sunk by the British cl1.Iisers. FrUd,uh fLkoldt was sent to the bouom \\;th her entire crew. The entire action had resulted in only one Allied merchalll ship being damaged. \\;th one mineswecper and onc dcsu'O}'cr sunk. Two light cruisers (\\;th 6-in. guns) had drivcn oIT a hea\")' Cl1.liser (8-in. guns) and a fomler pocket battleship (II-in. guns) ....11h a powerful destroyer escort, all of which greatl)' outgunned !.heir British equivalents. Hitler .....a s furious at the lad:. of aggression shown by such a po.....erful force. and the outcome was tile resignation of the Cin-C Na,")', Grossadmiral Erich Raeder, and an order (later scaled down) that the entire fleet of capital ships be scrapped. Subsequent operations for the destroyer forces in the far nonh consisted predominantly of escorting hea,}' units to and from Gcnnany ....; (h some minela}ing sorties !.hro"m in. Fuel short.'lges. however, were beginning to have a serious eflect on a\'
41
failures. The loss of na\~ll bases in France ~w the dest.royers located there being transferTed to t.he naltie, where they took part in seveml shore bomb."lrdmenl missions alongside heavy units such as the Prinz. EU17n. Dest.royers were also instnullental in assisting in the eyacuation of anny units from t.he island ofOsel, when, along with the AdmiralSduer, Z25, Z35 and a number of torpedo boalS bombarded Smiet units .....hilst Ccnnan trOOps were successfully C\'acuaH.>d . by b.arge to safety.. A major catast.rophe had hit the dbitroyens once again when, on 12 December 19-14, a mixed gmup of dt..'sU'"Oyens and torpc..-d.o boats was t:.lSkl.-d. widl laying mines off t.he E.'itonian coasL Suia rddio silence W,lS ordCTt."(1. ;lS well as a prohibition on the ll'ie of radar, and all ships were nllllling darkened, with no lights showing. A'i thc flotilla progressed towards its destination area, weidler conditions worsened and it appeans thai scn..'ral of the shiP'S were uncert,lin of their exact position, a dangerollS sit.uation when in dle proximit.)' of knrn\TI minefield'i.. Just before 1400hrs, Z35 rMl on to a mine and was rocked by SC\'Crnl explosions, being rippt.-d. apart. as her 0\\11 p.."l}·load of mines. fused and ready for Ia)ing. cxploc::kd.. The samc f
42
Z21, Wilhelm Heldkemp. This broad,lde "Iew shows her ,leek line. to good .d'vant'ile.
· ,
Z8, TIteodM RIedel,
~
one of the mo,. extlwnNo splinte, c.mouftage INItt_ used by the ~ n destro)'ef's.
laden \\ith civilians desperate LO a\'oid falling into the hands of the ScniClS. As well as those packed inlo mcrchalll and passenger ships, many thousands were carried on l.he destroyers thclIlsch"es. As the last hours of the 111ird Reich tickt.-d away. most of those destroyers that could made their ....~
FOREIGN DESTROYERS A small number of captured deslfo)'ers saw service in the Kriegsmarine, including the Dutch Gerard Call~llmrgll, commissioned into the Gcnnan Navy as ZHI, which was sunk in action with British destroyers in June 1944; the fonner French L'Dpinialn!, ser.~ng as ZF2, which survived the war to be broken up in late 1945; the Creek HrrmRs, serving as ZG3, scuttled in May 1943; and two NOl'wegian craft, the TA7, sCI-ving as ZN4, alld TA8, scning as ZN5. Bolll oflllcse laller vessels were still under COllstruction when capll/red and never complctcd, primarily due to damage caused by sabOlage.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Breyel~
Siegfried, and Koop, Gerhard, Tlu. Gennn//. Nmry 01 Will' 1939-45, Vol I, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, 1989 Breycl~ Siegfried, Die deuL.~chtm, Zrrstom; in the Marine Arsenal series, Podwn Pallas Verlag, Wolfcrshcim, 1995 Breyer, Siegfried, Die DrolsclU! K""gsmari"", Band 7, Zerstorer und Tor~ pedoboote, Podzun Pallas Verlag, Friedberg, 1991 Croner, Erich, Diedrolschnl Kril'gSSdlifJe 1815-1945, Munich. 1982 Whitley, Mj., DesIW)'er! Genna" DesIW)'"S in H'Qrltl m,r II. Arms and Armour Press, London, 1983
43
COLOUR PLATE COMMENTARY
A: TYPE 34A Here we see two destroyers of this class, ~luSlrating the minor differences between sister ships and the often bizarre colour schemes they sporled.
1 Z6 T'h6odor Riedel, shown as she appeared circa 1942, with bold dar1l; gray angular stnpes over net" pale grey base colour. Note the mild rake to the bows of this dass. The two smgle-barreUed 2cm flak guns on the roof of her aft deckhouse Wafe later removed and a four-barrelled Flakviet1ing substituted. The searchlight on the platform abaft the toone! was also later removed and a FuMO radar installatIon sited here. 2 Z10. Hans Lody. She is also shown as she appeared from around 1942. In her case, however. the camou1lage scheme is much less dramatic, consisting only of a mid-grey painl scheme over most of her hull with da~er grey patches. Her anti-aircraft armament has already been 9l'lhanced with two FJakvierlinge on the roof of her aft deckhouse and radar antennae on the platform abaft her funnel and also atop her bridge structure.
w.r1l_
photo of Z10, Hans Lody, ahoWn'" Klrk'net! In Norway. She atill beaN the .arly pale grey livery of the .arly part 01 the war, but note the larve eagle hal beefI dl_nted from the face 01 the ~ . and the petlf\Ilnt number on the hull . . ~ln'" -'A
ZCi3, the f _ Greek destroyer Hennes, in GentIan
MH'YIce. She was used mlIinly for convo~ neon duties in the Aegaan and was also oc:c. .lonall~ used for transporting troops. She was responslbla for tha sInking of th. submartna HMS Splendid. Damsged In an attlock by Allied arn::ratt, she was considered ~~ond repair and was scuttled.
f\
44
This stem new of ze, Tlleodor A.." shows the square stem of these des~ ... unusual mtunl ilIt this time, but _
very
~mon on ~ m
waqhlps today.
Although the Class 34A destroyers were all broacIy simHar, one set of featlXeS may be used to oetermine which yard c0nstructed a particular \1OUP of ships, To the rear of the forward funnel were grouped a I'lI.JfTIbef of steam vent pipes, Various yards used different configurations fOf these pipes. At left (3), the configuration found on Zg to Z13 shows three narrow pipes flanked by two large bore pipes. These destroyers were built by Germaniawerlt in Kiel. At right (4), Z5 to za, constructed by Deschlmag in Bremen. the vents were grouped as six small-bore pipes.
B: AMBUSH AT NARVIK This plate shows one of the small victories in what was a disastrous event for the destroyer fleel. During the second phase of the battle of Narvik, in April 1940, the battleship HMS Warspite, in consort with destroyers, totally decimated the German naval presence at Narvik. Here the destroy9l'" Georg Thiele has hidden herself just behind the ned< of the Strommen narrows. Lying In wait with all guns ready. and with her last two torpedoes ready to fire. she pounced as the Tribal-elass destroyer HMS Eskimo passed through the narrows. The two destroyers blazed away at each other at almost point-blank range. One of Georg T1IieJe's torpedoes failed to launch but the other ran true, and struck the forward pan of the British destroyer. blowing her bows 011. Unfortunately lor Geotp Thiele, her ammunition was expended so she was unable to deliver the coup de gnk:e
to the injured enemy destroyer and withdrew further into the narrow inlet where she was run aground and scuttled by her Cf8W to prevent her capture. The British destroyer, though seriousty damaged, was not yet ready 10 be written 011. Once the German destroyers had been taken care of, HMS Eskimo's companions escorted her back to Great Britain, the destfOyel" running in reverse the whole way.
c: TYPE 34 Here we see the first of the post-'WWl German destroyer designs. the Type 34. Only four of this type were to be produced before the improved Type 34A were introduced. 1 Zl. Leberecht Mass. Note that as built the first three of the type had a straight stem, though this was later modified during refit to give it a slight rake. She is in the typical pale grey livery of the pre-war period. The early destroyers had larger funnels. with very tall and distinct funnel caps. In the ~an view (2) can be seen the rails which ran on the port side from the forward funnel all the way to the stern and to starboard from the aft funnel to the stem. These rails carried the mines which German destroyers used to good ellect in the early part of the war. Decks and ottIer horizontal surfaces were usually finished in a dark grey anti-slip material. Note also the staggeffld flak gun platforms mounted on the aft ilxlnel. variation in the shape and positioning of these will be noted between the various classes. Some variation in the 9JUlct positioning or the single 2cm flak guns wi. also be noted. In the case or Zl, the gullS are 00 the aft deckhouse roor, and on the main deck to port and starboard of the number
twoto_ The detail inset (3) shows the stem area wNch is squared
011 in a quite distinctive fashion. Note the rails lor the mine
45
load. The rails projecting from the hUll side are to prevent damage to the propell6fS should the ship swing against the dockside when in port.
0: Z39 CUTAWAY The Type 36A (MOB) was by far the most modern and streamlined looking of lhe German destroyer designs. Despite this, the basic design features were pretty much the same as the early Type 34s they succeeded. Above decks, forward, one major difference was in the placing of each bow anchor in a ctuse at the edge of the forecastle, rather than having the anchor chain emefging from a hawse hole on the hull side. Further astern, came the breakwater, followed by a huge twin 15cm gun turret, a substantiallevet of firepower lor a destroy«. Aft of the turret was a deckhouse containing office space on whose roof was Il"I()lj"lted a flak gun. This could be a four-bamlt 2cm FIBkvierling or single-barrelled 3.7 or4cm gun.
The deatroyer w.r ~ ~,..t&wr Kriegubz.ichen) _.o.d to eNow ......... ~ wtlo "-d p.lIrtlel~ted in .t ....t ttl,... ....,.,tionIol erum-. The bNge a.howa an .1rtTefoM1y ..-il.tle rendltlcNo of • ~ 38 deatro~.
",ust how ml~bl. d\Ity c:ould be ••• member of gun tUIT'ft 'Anton' on •
H.m.v-r mQ be puged from this
photo. A erew member huddl•• In thtt eoyer of thtt turret, It. re.r open to thtt .l.menta, •• hi. destroyer plOlJghs through hes¥)' .....
...
Next came the large box-shaped bridge structure, with extended wings either side. Here were the radio room, signal coding room, some sleeping accorrvncx1ation and, above this. the w!leet'louse itself, fully endosed. Two of the fiv'e bridge windows were fitted with circular clear view saeens. On the open upper bridge was located a 4m rangefinder and the binocular master sight, similar to the UZO (OberwasserzieIoptik) equipment used on U-boats. Each bridge wing was home to a single 2cm flak gun. Further all again came the massive forward foonel with the ship's launcnes to port and starboard. These were lowered into the sea by derricks rather than davits. Next came the lorward quadruple torpedo tube set lolowed by the second funnel. Either side of the funnel were mounted platforms to take the twin 3.7cm and single 2cm flak guns. At the rear of this structure was a tower on which was sited the all 4m rangefinder. Moving further aft, lhe second quadruple 56t of tOfPEldo tubes wefe followed by the all superstructure. On the forward part of the StIperstructufe roof was a single gun turret lacing lorward and on the after end, a second turret facing the stern. In the centre was a small deckhouse which accommodated the ship's cooks and stewards and on whose roof was mounted a four-barrelled Flakvier1ing. At the base of the aft SUpel"stnJcture, facing astern, was the fourth turret, with a single-barrelled mount. Below decks, the first two deck levels in the forward part of the ship were predominantly taken up by accommodation for seamen and petty officers with the lowest deck level being given over to ammunition storage. Immediately below the bridge and funnel areas were boiler rooms 3 and 2 respectively, with, under the forward torpedo tube set. the auxiliary boiler room and generator room. Moving aft, the number 1 boiler room was sited immediately under the second funnel. This was followed by number 2 turbine room and, under the aft torpedo tube set. the gyro room and ship's workshops. Next came the number 1 turbine room. The first deck level below the aft superstructure contained the officers' accommodation, and below this more magazine storage. Aft 01 the olfic6fS' accommodation lay the CPO's mess with, beneath the aflmost turret, further crew accommodation. The aft superstructure itself contained the wardroom and captain's accommodation.
E: TYPE 36A _ Z23 On this plate we see one of the Type 36A destroyers wlich undefWoot major modificatioo. The side protie (1) and plan view (2) show her as built. Note that this Y'I!ISS8I features only one forward main armament turret. The posItIOn of the second turret on earlier types is now oocupoed by a SIOQIe 2cm flak gun. Note the distinctive dipper bow and the layout of the flak platforms on either side of the second funnel. Two platforms are provided edher SIde, and are mounted symmetrically, one each side ClWTyIJIg a 3.7an twin flak and one a Single 2cm flak. Note also the distinct difference in funnel design when compared WIth ttle Type 34 and Type 34A, and the much smaller I1.A"1net caps. After a major refrt, this class sported • rnasst'o'e twin 15cm gun turret forwatd and has had ttle bward 2cm flak gun replaced by a FlakvJerling, as shown in the detalled Inset (3). The new turret gave her greatty ~ UId firepower, and the guo crew improved protection from spinier.; and from the sea In bad weather COllditiol-. "The eJrtra weight however also unfortunatety ad'Ytnety affected the ship's handling, and she eventuaJly I'9V'9r'Ied back to her old-style single gun turret, F: ESCORT DUTIES IN THE FAR NORTH In the second half of the war, most of the destroyers saw setV1C8 in the Far North. operalJng from bases in Norway and rangtng far Into the Arctic Circle, the 'Ssmeer Front', Following the debac:Ie of the abortive surface attack on convoy P017, Hitler's respect for the heavy units of his fleet all but disappeared, AIthougl1 the order for the scrapping of all major ships was rescinded, most then spent the rest of the war lurkJng in Norwegian fjords w!lefe their mere presence caused substantial Bntlsh naval resource to be tied down awaiting any attempted breakout. One of the last successful sorties came on 6 september 1943, when the 1irpitz, supported by Scharnhorst and a number of destroyers, led an attack on Spitzbergen Island. The use of two large warships and a number of destroyers on a mission of such low impact, and which. although successful, was to have an effect whose life was measured in mere days before the Allies were back in control, would
seem hard to justify. It did, however. greatly improve the morale of German naval forces to have set out to sea and completed a combat mission instead of being cooped up in some narrow fjord fOf' periods of enforced inaction. The weather during this acHoo was utterly appalling, and here Z20, Karl Gals/er, labours through very heavy seas. One can only imagine what it must have been like to serve as a gunner in one of the small single-gun turrets. the rear of which was open to the elements, in such weather conditions. In particular. the lorward gun turret crew must have led a truly miserable eXIstence. In the background, her huge bulk just visible in the gfoom, is TItpItZ, OU' tmy destroyer providing flank cover. G: TYPE 36A (MOB) Here we see Z37 (1 and 23, one of the last destroyerS to be built for the Knegsmanne. She was completed with a pronounced dipper bow and had the large twm 15cm turret as part of her initial design rather than as a modification. Note the Single 2cm flak gun at the bow and alt of the forward turret, though her aft deckhouse roof bears a FlaJMet1ing. This class also had a distinctive seatehllgllt pbtform fitted to the foremast, and was provided with a FuMO radar antenna on the bridge structure. The inset (3) shows delal of the bridge atea 01 the Type 36A (MOB), with the so-called -Barbara" style radllf array with its large mattress-type antenna. Note also the searcl1~ght platform on the mast and the rangetndef on the roof 01 the bridge structure. This rangefinder conlTOlled the main forward twin turret. A second rangefinder alt conlTOlled the stern turrets.
Ii. superb pre-war shot ot Karl Gal'f8~, he~ penrnlnt numbe~
Identifying he. . . the second ,hlp of the fourth flotilla. Note the raked cJlppe~ bow, which wa, to be a ,tandard fltting from Karl GaJd.~ onward•.
47
INDEX Admrral Gra/S/J" 8 Ad",,,,,,( Il,pptr -10-1
Ahunlfrr 38 Anglo-Cennall Na'':
ZII /kn,d"""t\rn"" 10,11,14.16.
jlllNlit:tJ. H,\IS 40 jtJ" I\t&la 34 }trod"'. HMS 36 .Jm.ry. I D.lS 24 .!""... H:\tS 24
ZI2fTU'IIC.-.IO.II,I4,16.24.3;, ZI:I f,ri~1I KodJ",. ~, 10. II. 1·1. 16, 33.
H56
40. 42
Ad",irnJ.v~
icing 13
T~.I')'
(193M ..
am,amc:nL' 2cm Oak. guns :.-6, 7
:J.7cm naL glln~ 5.6.7.9.14 4<:m Rofon lbk guns 6 12.7cm main gllll~ "-5.2:2: Ixm rnam 5,24 aft I rrc~ 7 ;rnt ircn.ft gUlls 24
g""'
anu-aircrafl pbtfom" II Mplh ch,u'l[C> 6, 6 fine comrol 7 iMh-u"l{ 6. 18.2'0, 24, 44, AI. A'l fooo-.Im (UnCb 5, S4. S6 nUlla 6,7,7 I':IngdirKkn 7
n.
1~6.7.16
3.~,
KiI" (cruis<:r) 33
36. ~7. "0,"1
lLi(J:Jg (crui..,r) 33 Liir:.- 40
Ty~ 36/MMr """ Htttdwdass
"Iunmond, 36 1\:achricht"n Vt'ruchsaboteilung (NS\'1 7 1\a....'k 34--5.:56.45. 8 ,V"T' (Non.~ "'ip) ~
NiirrIhnJ!: (cru~r)
Opc:r:otion Opcr:otion
33
W~rUbung ~
:w
('OI,lltnd Oilsh')
3i-8 ~142
....go .. IWIN: :?4.42 RlOOm . Voss r.. rd. Hllm!>urg 14 B~7
bridga ..
1'ri1O:. Evgm 3i. '12 Pt."jabt. H:\lS :'l5 ...
colour a.nd camoufbgc 9, !l. 39 00'l'"0).. :5&-9,40.47. F u-ri. mtS 35 Cr~ mell1~n
Raeder. Admir'" Erich i, 4 I Rcic:h>marine. creation 3-4 Remer. Admir.t.l 3
10,46
StrJ-. H:\IS 33
Desd'inug l"rd, "",men 14,4:; n.:lI~hc Wcrke
prd. Kid II
41, 4;
SpitzL>.,rgen
&h~W1S
Tirpit> 40,41. 4i T.."iMd, HMS 39 Tn'" 34 ~11I claM commande" 12-1:i modification> 13 powerplant 13 specificalions 12 ZI ILbnnhl MIllIS 9, II. 12. 12, :N. 33. 4.~, C Z2 Gtmg Thu-k 9. 11. 12, 33, .%, :~. 45. B
39
llMS 40
EidnKJUI (Nnrw~gian ,hip) '1 BIG (EinhdtsminCll 'C') mi"... 7 EMF (Einhcil,,,,incn ~'"n,wJldung) ",incs 7 E"lnpriu, HMS ~ E.A,mo, 1-IMS 36. 4", n
t1 FMC (~·l1llkl1lc~,..Gl:rftt) 8 foreign dc!lrO~'crs 43 f1otjll:~,
FuMII FIll-iO
(F""kllle~lkol);LChl\lng) ""d"r 8 (.·"nkrne~~rl""g) ""dar 8.44. AI
(;."nmmiawcl'f( ya,d. Kiel 14. 4.~ C'oCsclhchaft fl",r Elcktroaku~ti~he lind
Mcchanische Appa"~lc (GEMA) 7.8
GlMgow. HMS 11. 38 Gli,d",bc,'g 43 GJU'Ut'lUfIl 37
lIanlJ. Hl-{S
35
H,,1<0 21.43 H ~ (C~k dfftroyer)
Hm>. HMS :56
Hou"",. 1-1.\15
'!i
H'lIIUt", 11:'015 35
48
&4.antAorll 3i, 41. 4i SNfJiNL HMS 14.40
IJlWojl"'*. HMS "1
Ed'~bll'~.
44
S6
ZH I'nmnd III" 10, I L 14. 16, 3i, 40.43 7.1" f.:N1t .'''"nbrl1ld 10. II. 14. 16.33. ~9. II ZI6 Fntdrull f;'bIdl 10. ll, 14, 16. n.
"'am
Z3M""St:h"lh. 10.11.12.13.33 Z'I Rieh"rd lkilun 10.11. 12, 13,33. 31i,
3i. 40. 41 Type 34A 1'""lj(J~obicla", commandc" 15-16 modifications 16 powerplant 16--17 'pecificatiolls 15 Z!'>l'tJwjoco(n 10.11.13-14,14.37 Z6 TIuudor 1Mit/ 10, II. 14, I:', 33. 40, 40,41,41.43,43,44. is. ,0..1 Zi HfnfI(J"" S€lwnI,an" 10, II. 14, 15. :56, 3i. 58. 40 18 B",,,,, 11",..-"" 10, II. 14. 150-16, n,3i Z9 1I+11g z.n.t.".- 10. II, 14, 16,36 ZIO HtmS LodJ 8, 10. II, 14. 15. 16, 24. 36,39,40. 41. 43, 44, 44. A%
commandt'D 17-18 tllodifl(;luons 18 !X""~rplant 18 spccif'C',1tions Ii Zl7 DodI-_ ~ 10, II. Ii, 18, 19, '" 7.1811tJlOI L~,," 10. II. 17, 18.
",,.
ZI9 IItratJ"" K..".., 10. Ii, 18,35 720 Karl ('.t>bIn 10, II. Ii, 18, 36, 40. 41 • ..:s, 4i, "', f Z21 IIi1M'. HtttlIuJ"", 10.17,18.35, ~5, 4% 7.~AII_.~ • .wIIO,II,li.18,18,35
1)'JlC S6A 7.23 clH.: COlllmal!p«ir>C:luons 19 7..23 11,18.19.20, ..i, I:; 7..24 II. 18, 19,20,38,39,40 Z25 II. 18, 19.20.37, 39, 40. 42, 43 7..2611,18,19,39 7.'1.7 11.18,20,38,"1 l..98 II. 19,20,42 l..9911.19,20.3i.40,41 l30 II. 19. ~'O, 40, 41 THlC'MoA (MOKIl.'l1 etas. commalldc" 21-2 modification. :1"l p',...·('rpl:1l11 22 sp«itk~tion.
20
Z.'H 11.21.22,40,41 Z:~2
II. 21. ~ 11.21,22,41 7..~'I 11,21.22.24.41.42 7.37 II. 21. 38. 47, C Z~H 11.2/.22,41.43 Z.'l9 11,21,22.23.37,13,46. D '('Ylx; 3611 (MOil) 7.35 c1a.<s eonllnan'lrl'll 23 Z.~~
modifications 23 powcrpl:tlll 23
'p«ir,calion.' 2.~ Z3!'> 22.23, ,12 7..36 Z2, 23. 42 Z43 II, :1"l-3. 23 Z4,1 23 Z4!:o 23
\'ersaill". Trcaty of 3, 4 UQllpl", II,\1S 35,45
\tty, 7
The design, development, operation and history of the machinery of warfare through the ages.
German Destroyers 1939-45 The German destroyer fleet of World War II consisted of nine classes: the Dietiler l'OI'I Rorder class, the Leber«111 MalIS class
and the wartime classes Z23, 235,Z37,Z40,Z43,Z46and 252. These vessels, though fewer Full cololr artwork
Unrivalled detail
In number than the British destroyer fleet, tended to be much bigger and more powerful than their Allied counterparts. They served their country well throughout operations in the Channel, North sea, the Far North and in the rescue of dvillans f.rom East Prussia during the final days of the war. This title describes their design, development and operational use from the fjords of Narvik
Cutaway artwork
Photographs
through to the end of the war.
ISBN 1-S4176-S04-X
OSPREY PUBLISHING www.ospreYPubll~hiog.com
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![[ss] Destroyers](https://epdf.tips/img/300x300/ss-destroyers_5be86345b7d7bcf71f8c9a6f.jpg)
