German destroyer Z9 Wolfgang Zenker

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Wolfgang Zenker c. 1934
History
Nazi Germany
NameZ9 Wolfgang Zenker
NamesakeWolfgang Zenker
Ordered9 January 1935
BuilderGermania, Kiel
Yard numberG535
Laid down22 March 1935
Launched27 March 1936
Completed2 July 1938
Fate
Scuttled
, 13 April 1940
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type
Type 1934A-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,171 long tons (2,206 t) (standard)
  • 3,190 long tons (3,240 t) (
    deep load
    )
Length
  • 119 m (390 ft 5 in)
    o/a
  • 114 m (374 ft 0 in)
    w/l
Beam11.30 m (37 ft 1 in)
Draft4.23 m (13 ft 11 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range1,530 nmi (2,830 km; 1,760 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement325
Armament

Z9 Wolfgang Zenker was a

scuttled
after she exhausted her ammunition.

Design and description

Wolfgang Zenker had an

ballast low in the ship.[2] The effective range proved to be only 1,530 nmi (2,830 km; 1,760 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[3]

Wolfgang Zenker carried five

2 cm C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. A pair of reload torpedoes were provided for each mount.[1][4] Four depth charge throwers were mounted on the sides of the rear deckhouse and they were supplemented by six racks for individual depth charges on the sides of the stern. Enough depth charges were carried for either two or four patterns of 16 charges each.[5] Mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines.[1] 'GHG' (German: Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines.[6]

Career

See also: Battles of Narvik
Wolfgang Zenker is the destroyer farthest away from the photographer, the front one being Z17 Diether von Roeder. The smaller vessels are captured Norwegian patrol boats.

The ship was ordered on 9 January 1935 and

Fleet Review as part of the 6th Destroyer Division and the following fleet exercise. On the morning of 3 September 1939, after the start of World War II, the destroyers Leberecht Maass and Wolfgang Zenker, under the command of Rear Admiral Günther Lütjens, attacked the Polish destroyer Wicher and the minelayer Gryf as they laid anchored in the naval base on the Hel Peninsula. The German ships opened fire at a range of 12,700 meters (13,900 yd). The Polish ships, as well as a coast defense battery of 15-centimeter (5.9 in) replied effectively and forced the German destroyers to make evasive maneuvers and to lay a smoke screen to throw off the aim of the Polish gunners. A 15-centimeter shell struck Leberecht Maass, killing four men and disabling one gun. Admiral Lutjens ordered the action broken off 40 minutes later as the German fire was ineffective.[8]

Although the other destroyers were busy escorting the German heavy ships and laying

Gross Register Tons (GRT) were sunk by this minefield.[10] The same three ships made another sortie on the night of 9/10 February into the same area and laid 157 mines that claimed three ships totaling 11,855 GRT.[11] Wolfgang Zenker suffered ice damage in mid-February and was forced to return prematurely when she was escorting the battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst when they attempted to intercept British convoys to Scandinavia.[12]

Wolfgang Zenker was allocated to Group 1 for the Norwegian portion of

armory at Elvegårdsmoen. The troops encountered little resistance, but off-loading them was slow because there was only a single wooden pier available. Wolfgang Zenker was able to partially refuel during the following night, but returned to the Herjansfjord well before dawn.[14]

A map of the Ofotfjord

Shortly before dawn on 10 April, the five destroyers of the British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla surprised the German ships in Narvik harbor. They torpedoed two destroyers and badly damaged the other three while suffering only minor damage themselves. As they were beginning to withdraw they encountered the three destroyers of the 4th Flotilla which had been alerted when the British began their attack. The Germans opened fire first, but the gunnery for both sides was not effective due to the mist and the smoke screen laid by the British as they retreated down the Ofotfjord. The German ships had to turn away to avoid a salvo of three torpedoes fired by one of the destroyers in Narvik. Commander Bey's other two ships were very low on fuel and all three were running low on ammunition, so he decided not to continue the pursuit of the British ships since they were being engaged by the last two destroyers of Group 1.[15]

Commander Bey was ordered during the afternoon of 10 April to return to Germany with all seaworthy ships that evening. Only Wolfgang Zenker and her sister Erich Giese were ready for sea and they slipped out of the Ofotfjord and turned south. Visibility was good that evening and they spotted the light cruiser HMS Penelope and her two escorting destroyers and Commander Bey decided to turn back even though his ships had not been spotted by the British. Three other destroyers refuelled and completed their repairs on 11 April, but Bey decided against another breakout attempt despite the fog and poor visibility that night. While at anchor, Wolfgang Zenker briefly grounded during the night and damaged her port propeller, which limited her speed to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Bey made no attempt to breakout during the night of 12/13 April.[16]

That night he received word to expect an attack the following day by British

beached at the head of the fjord.[17] Her crew placed demolition charges and abandoned the ship.[18] By the time the British reached the ship she had rolled over onto her side.[19]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Groener, p. 199
  2. ^ Whitley, p. 26
  3. ^ Koop and Schmolke, p. 26
  4. ^ Whitley, p. 68
  5. ^ Whitley, p. 299
  6. ^ Whitley, pp. 83–84
  7. ^ Whitley, p. 270
  8. ^ Whitley, p. 100
  9. ^ Whitley, pp. 100–12
  10. ^ Rohwer, p. 13
  11. ^ Whitley, p. 113
  12. ^ Rohwer, p. 15
  13. ^ Whitley, pp. 118–19
  14. ^ Haarr, pp. 323, 332, 335
  15. ^ Haarr, pp. 339–43
  16. ^ Haarr, pp. 354–56
  17. ^ Haarr, pp. 356–57, 362, 366
  18. ^ Whitley, p. 129
  19. ^ Haarr, p. 369

References

  • ISBN 0-87021-790-9
    .
  • Haarr, Geirr H. (2009). The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9
    .
  • Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2003). German Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 1-59114-307-1
    .
  • ISBN 1-59114-119-2
    .
  • ISBN 978-1-55750-302-2
    .

External links
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