Type 1936B destroyer
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Class overview | |
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Name | Type 36B destroyer |
Builders | DeSchiMAG, Bremen |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | Type 1936A destroyer |
Succeeded by | Type 1936C destroyer |
Built | 1941–1945 |
In commission | 1943–1945 |
Planned | 8 |
Completed | 3 |
Cancelled | 3 |
Lost | 5 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 127 m (416 ft 8 in) ( o/a ) |
Beam | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
Draught | 4.32 m (14 ft 2 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
Range | 2,600 nmi (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Complement | 316–336 |
Armament |
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The Type 1936B destroyers were a group of five destroyers built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine between 1941 and 1942, of which only three were completed and saw service. Eight ships of this design were ordered, but the orders for three ships were cancelled before construction began. Z35 was the first ship of the class to be completed and was commissioned in mid-1943. Her sister ships, Z36 and Z43, followed in 1944. Z44 was sunk during an air raid in 1944 before she was completed while Z45 was never completed. Both ships were scrapped after the war.
All three ships spent the war in the
Design and description
The Type 1936B design retained the hull design of the preceding Type 1936A, but reverted to the lighter main armament of the
The ships had an
The Type 1936Bs were powered by two Wagner geared
Armament and sensors
The Type 1936B ships carried five 45-
Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 80-calibre
The ships carried eight above-water 53.3-centimetre (21 in) torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. Two reloads were provided for each mount. The standard torpedo for the Type 36B destroyers was the G7a torpedo.[14] It had a 300-kilogram (660 lb) warhead and three speed/range settings: 14,000 metres (15,000 yd) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph); 8,000 metres (8,700 yd) at 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and 6,000 metres (6,600 yd) at 44 knots (81 km/h; 51 mph).[15] They had four depth charge launchers and mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 74–76 mines. 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines and an S-Gerät sonar was also probably fitted. The ships were equipped with a FuMO 24/25 radar set above the bridge.[16]
Ships
Ship | Builder[17] | Laid down[18]
|
Launched[18] | Commissioned | Fate[19] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Z35 | DeSchiMAG, Bremen | 6 June 1941 | 2 October 1942 | 22 September 1943[20] | Sunk by mines, 12 December 1944 |
Z36 | 15 September 1941 | 15 May 1943 | 19 February 1944[21] | ||
Z40 | Germania-Werft, Kiel
|
Cancelled, June and October, 1940[17] | |||
Z41 | |||||
Z42 | |||||
Z43 | DeSchiMAG, Bremen | 1 May 1942 | 22 September 1943 | 31 May 1944[22] | Scuttled , 3 May 1945
|
Z44 | 1 August 1942 | 20 January 1944 | — | Sunk, 29 July 1944 | |
Z45 | 1 September 1943 | — | Scrapped, 1946 |
Service
All three of the completed ships were assigned to the 6. Zerstörerflotille (6th Destroyer Flotilla) in the Baltic in 1944 as they completed
In mid-December the flotilla was ordered to lay a new minefield between the Estonian coast and an existing minefield slightly further out to sea. In bad weather on the night of 11/12 December, Z35 and Z36 blundered into that minefield and struck one or more mines each around 02:00. Z36 sank very quickly with the loss of all hands and Z35 lasted a bit longer before sinking. The crew abandoned ship before she sank, but only about 70 men were rescued by the Soviets. The only operational ship of the class remaining, Z43, escorted convoys at the beginning of 1945 before resuming her previous task of shore bombardment in mid-February. She continued to do so until early April when she struck a mine on 10 April that crippled her. After emergency repairs, Z43 then steamed into Warnemünde harbour where she provided gunfire support for German troops ashore. The ship departed Warnemünde on 2 May for Kiel after exhausting all of her ammunition. Z43 was scuttled the following day.[24]
Construction of Z44 and Z45 was slowed by their lack of priority and only Z44 was launched before the end of the war. Work on both ships was ordered halted for at least three months on 24 July 1944, although it was rendered moot five days later when Z44 was sunk while
Notes
- ^ Whitley 1988, p. 69
- ^ Gröner, pp. 203–04
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 27
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 41
- ^ Gröner, p. 204
- ^ Whitley 1991, pp. 63, 201
- ^ Campbell, p. 246
- ^ Whitley 1991, p. 63
- ^ a b Whitley 1991, p. 201
- ^ Campbell, p. 256
- ^ Whitley 1991, p. 67
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 37
- ^ Campbell, p. 258
- ^ Whitley 1991, p. 68
- ^ Campbell, p. 263
- ^ Gröner, pp. 203–04; Whitley 1991, pp. 68, 71–73, 201
- ^ a b Koop & Schmolke, p. 25
- ^ a b Koop & Schmolke, p. 24
- ^ Sieche, p. 235
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 115
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 116
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, p. 119
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, pp. 115–16, 119; Rohwer, pp. 311, 318, 351, 359, 361, 363, 373–74; Whitley 1991, p. 173–75, 180
- ^ Koop & Schmolke, pp. 116, 120; Whitley 1991, pp. 180–89
- ^ Sieche, p. 235; Whitley 1991, pp. 35, 37
References
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
- 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.
- Sieche, Erwin (1980). "Germany". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 218–254. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-302-8.