German torpedo boat T7
 Right elevation and plan of the Type 1935
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | T7 |
| Ordered | 15 January 1936 |
| Builder | DeSchiMAG, Bremen |
| Yard number | 936 |
| Laid down | 20 August 1937 |
| Launched | 18 June 1938 |
| Completed | 20 December 1939 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1947–1949 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Type 35 torpedo boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 84.3 m (276 ft 7 in) o/a |
| Beam | 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 2.83 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 119 |
| Armament |
|
The German torpedo boat T7 was one of a dozen
commerce raiders passing through the English Channel in late 1941 and then escorted German ships in Norwegian waters in mid-1942. She was briefly placed in reserve later that year and was then reactivated for service with the Torpedo School. T7 was sunk in an air raid in July 1944, but was refloated several months later. She was never repaired and was scrapped
in 1947–1949.
Design and description
The Type 35 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kriegsmarine to design a fast, ocean-going
kW) using steam from four high-pressure water-tube boilers[2] which would propel the boats at 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[3]
As built, the Type 35 class mounted a single
minesweeping paravanes before completion. Late-war additions were limited to the installation of radar, radar detectors and additional AA guns, usually at the expense of the aft torpedo tube mount.[5]
Construction and career
T7 was ordered on 15 January 1936, from
Wesermünde in January 1941, that lasted until August.[7]
Upon its completion, the boat was assigned to the Baltic Sea where she escorted, together with her sisters T8 and
Atlantic. T7 and T12 sailed for Germany on 17 December, where the former was to begin another refit at Wesermünde.[8]
The boat was transferred to Norway in April 1942, and escorted the
Dithmarschen from Trondheim to Narvik on 9–10 May, together with T5. During the beginning stages of Operation Rösselsprung, T7 and the torpedo boat T15 were among the escorts for Tirpitz and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper as they sailed from Trondheim to Altafjord in early July. The pair of torpedo boats screen the damaged heavy cruiser Lützow from Narvik to Trondheim during 8–10 July. T7 was briefly refitted in East Prussia in August–September, before she was reduced to reserve for the rest of the year. The boat was recommissioned for service as a training ship with the Torpedo School in January 1943, and then began a refit at Bremen in May 1944. On 29 July 1944, T7 was sunk by American bombers attacking Bremen. She was refloated on 25 October, but was not repaired. The boat may have been sunk again on 30 April 1945, if so she was salvaged again and scrapped between December 1947, and June 1949.[9]
Notes
- ^ Whitley 1991, pp. 47–49
- ^ a b c Gröner, p. 193
- ^ a b Whitley 1991, p. 202
- ^ Sieche, p. 237
- ^ Whitley 1991, pp. 49–51; Whitley 2000, p. 71
- ^ a b Whitley 1991, p. 209
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 35, 38–40, 48; Whitley 1991, p. 114
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 99, 102–103, 108; Whitley 1991, pp. 116–117, 209
- ^ Gröner, p. 193; Rohwer, pp. 164, 175, 179; Whitley 1991, pp. 141, 168, 173, 175, 209
References
- ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Sieche, Erwin (1980). "Germany". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
- Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-302-8.
- Whitley, M. J. (n.d.). The "Type 35" Torpedoboats of the Kriegsmarine. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-39-8.
