German torpedo boat T24

Coordinates: 45°31′N 01°05′E / 45.517°N 1.083°E / 45.517; 1.083
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Sister ship T35 in US service, August 1945
History
Nazi Germany
NameT24
Ordered10 November 1939
Builder
Elbing, East Prussia
Yard number1483
Laid down21 September 1940
Launched13 September 1941
Completed17 October 1942
FateSunk by air attack, 24 August 1944
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeType 39 torpedo boat
Displacement
  • 1,294 t (1,274 long tons) (standard)
  • 1,754 t (1,726 long tons) (
    deep load
    )
Length102.5 m (336 ft 3 in) o/a
Beam10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft3.22 m (10 ft 7 in)
Installed power
  • 4 ×
    water-tube boilers
  • 32,000 shp (24,000 kW)
Propulsion
Speed33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph)
Range2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement206
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

The German torpedo boat T24 was one of fifteen

blockade runners and Axis submarines through the Bay of Biscay. The boat played a minor role in the Battle of the Bay of Biscay and was lightly damaged during the action of 26 April 1944. During the subsequent battle, T24 sank a Canadian destroyer and was damaged when she later struck a mine. She played a minor role in the Battle of Ushant in June and was then damaged defending a convoy in August in the Bay of Biscay. T24 was sunk off the French coast later that month by Allied fighter-bombers
.

Design and description

Main article: Type 39 torpedo boat

The Type 39 torpedo boat was conceived as a general-purpose design, much larger than preceding German torpedo boats.

kW) which was intended give the ships a maximum speed of 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph). They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[4]

As built, the Type 39 ships mounted four

amidships and could also carry 30 mines; the full complement of 60 mines made the ships top-heavy which could be dangerous in bad weather. For anti-submarine work the boats were fitted with a S-Gerät sonar and four depth charge launchers. The Type 39s were equipped with a FuMO 21[Note 1] radar. In January–February 1944 the single 2 cm mounts in the bridge wings were replaced by quadruple mounts and FuMB7[Note 2] "Naxos" and FuMB8 "Wanz G" radar detectors were installed.[5]

Construction and career

Originally ordered as a

yard number 1483, launched on 13 September 1941 and commissioned
on 17 October 1942.

After

fighters on 6 July which were equally unsuccessful. The boats sailed shortly after midnight on 7 July, bound for Le Havre where they arrived without being attacked. On the night of 9/10 July, on passage between Saint-Malo and Brest, they were tasked to provide distant cover for a convoy that was escorted by five minesweepers off Ushant. The convoy was attacked by the British destroyers Melbreak, Wensleydale and the Norwegian-manned Glaisdale which sank one of the minesweepers and damaged another before T24 and T25 could arrive. The sisters heavily damaged Melbreak before the Allied ships disengaged. Now assigned to the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, the torpedo boats were tasked to help escort U-boats through the Bay. On 2 August T24, T25 and their sister T22, responding to a distress call from another submarine, rescued survivors from the submarine U-106. From 29 to 31 August, the same three boats escorted the Japanese submarine I-8 through the Bay to Lorient.[6]

Battle of the Bay of Biscay

Alsterufer burning after a RAF attack
Main article: Battle of the Bay of Biscay

On 24–26 December T24 was one of the escorts for the 6,951 

No. 311 Squadron RAF sank Alsterufer later that afternoon.[8]

Map of the Battle of Biscay

The German ships were unaware of the sinking until the following afternoon and continued onward to the rendezvous point. They had been spotted by an American Liberator bomber on the morning of the 28th and the British light cruisers

Hans Erdmenger, commander of the 8th Flotilla, decided to split his forces and ordered the destroyers Z23, Z27, and T22, T25 and T26 to reverse course to the north at 14:18. The cruisers pursued the northern group and sank Z27, T25 and T26. All of the ships in the southern group, including T24, were able to successfully disengage.[9]

Subsequent activities

Main article: Action of 26 April 1944

On the night of 21/22 April 1944, the 4th Flotilla, now consisting of T24 and her sisters

star shells. The destroyers began firing at T24 and T27 at a range of 9,000 yards (8,200 m) as Black Prince hung back in support until one of her forward turrets jammed. The Allied fire was accurate and one shell struck T27 at 02:31 and reduced her speed to 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph); Kohlauf ordered her into Morlaix Bay and the Allies lost her radar reflection amongst the rocks of the bay. T24 had fruitlessly fired her aft torpedo tubes at her pursuers and was then hit by two shells in her superstructure that started fires that were quickly doused. She fired her remaining torpedoes to no effect at 02:54 and, about that same time, a shell disabled T29's rudder. Ashanti and Huron concentrated on T29 while Haida and Athabaskan continued their pursuit of T24. They disengaged before T24 reached Saint-Malo, and returned to help sink T29.[11]

After emergency repairs, T27 joined T24 in Saint-Malo during the night of 26/27 April. The sisters departed Saint-Malo bound for Brest on the night of 28/29 April and were spotted by British coastal radar. They were intercepted by Haida and Athabaskan off Île Vierge. Haida opened the engagement by firing a star shell at 04:12; the Germans laid a smoke screen in response and turned away. The sisters fired all of their torpedoes as they turned, T24 firing three off the wrong side of the boat, but one of the others hit Athabaskan. Shortly afterwards, she blew up, probably from a magazine explosion, and sank at 04:42. Haida pursued T27, badly damaging her. While maneuvering, T27 accidentally ran aground and the Canadian destroyer continued to engage until she started a large fire and then returned to the site where Athabaskan had sunk to rescue survivors. T24 and a pair of minesweepers failed in their attempt to pull T27 off and then T24 rescued 47 survivors from Athabaskan on the way to Brest. She struck a mine en route, but was only damaged.[12] The 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was then disbanded and the boat was assigned to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. After repairs, T24 was ordered to Cherbourg on 19 May, but struck another mine and was under repair for the next several weeks.[12]

On the night of 8/9 June, the four ships of the 8th Flotilla set out from Brest for Cherbourg, but were intercepted by eight Allied destroyers of the

captain received permission to return to Brest.[13]

T24 (foreground) and Z24 under attack, 25 August

On the night of 14/15 August, T24, two minesweepers and

foundered the following day. The squadrons lost 17 aircraft to all causes during the attack.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Funkmess-Ortung (Radio-direction finder, active ranging)
  2. ^ Funkmess-Beobachtung (Passive radar detector).

Citations

  1. ^ Whitley 1991, p. 52
  2. ^ Gröner, p. 195
  3. ^ Sieche, p. 239
  4. ^ Whitley 1991, pp. 54, 203
  5. ^ Friedman, p. 205; Whitley 1991, pp. 52–55; Whitley 2000, p. 73
  6. ^ Hervieux, p. 96; Rohwer, pp. 256–257, 259, 269; Whitley 1991, pp. 144–145, 212
  7. ^ Whitley 1991, p. 149
  8. ^ Rohwer, pp. 294–295; Whitley 1991, p. 149
  9. ^ Hervieux, p. 98; Rohwer, p. 295; Whitley 1991, pp. 149–153
  10. ^ O'Hara, p. 203
  11. ^ Hervieux, p. 99; Rohwer, pp. 317–318; Whitley 1991, pp. 156–157
  12. ^ a b Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, pp. 318, 324; Whitley 1991, pp. 157, 159
  13. ^ Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, p. 332; Whitley 1991, pp. 158–161
  14. ^ Gröner, p. 195; Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, p. 347; Whitley 1991, pp. 162–163

References

Further reading

External links
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