Type 1936A destroyer

The Zerstörer 1936A class destroyers, or Narvik class destroyers as they were known to the Allies were a class of German destroyers of the Second World War.

In terms of armament they were closer to light cruisers than the typical destroyer. The use of 6 inch (150 mm) guns was atypical of destroyers which temded to have guns around 4 inch (120 mm) in calibre. They were intended to carry the forward guns in twin turrets, but as the twin turrets were not ready for in time they initially carried single mounted guns.

Ships of Zerstörer 1936A class were all laid down between 1938 and 1940. Destroyers from Z31 to Z39 were classed as Zerstörer 1936A (Mob). They were slightly larger and had some internal modifications from the original design to speed build times. Zerstörer 1936A (Mob) class ships were laid down between 1940 and 1941.

Zerstörer 1936A Specifications

• Displacement: 3,605 tons
• Speed: 37.5 knots
• Range:2,150 miles at 19 knots
• Armament:
  • Five 6 inch guns.
  • Four 37 mm guns. (later 10)
  • Eight 20 mm guns. (later 20)
  • Eight torpedo tubes.
  • 60 mines.
  • Four depth charge launchers

Zerstörer 1936A (Mob) Specifications

• Displacement: 3,690 tons
• Speed: 37.5 knots
• Range:2,240 miles at 19 knots
• Armament:
  • Five 6 inch guns.
  • Four 37 mm guns. (later 14)
  • Nine 20 mm guns. (later 18)
  • Eight torpedo tubes.
  • 60 mines.
  • Four depth charge launchers

Ships

The class including the 36A (M) consisted of 17 ships,

Ship	Laid down	Commissioned	Fate
Z23	15 November 1938	15 September 1940	Badly damaged by bomb hit on 12 August 1944 and decommissioned on 21 August. Taken over by France after the war and renamed Leopard. Scrapped in 1951.
Z24	2 January 1939	26 October 1940	Sunk on 25 August 1944 near Le Verdon by British bombers.
Z25	15 February 1939	30 November 1940	Taken over by France after the war and renamed Hoche. Scrapped in 1958.
Z26	1 April 1939	11 January 1940	Sunk in battle with British cruisers Trinidad and Eclipse on 29 March 1942 in Arctic Sea.
Z27	27 December 1939	26 February 1941	Sunk in battle with British cruisers Glasgow and Enterprise on 28 December 1943 in Bay of Biscay.
Z28	30 October 1939	9 August 1941	Sunk by British bombers on 3 March 1945 near Saßnitz in Baltic Sea.
Z29	21 March 1940	25 June 1941	Taken over by Britain after the war and given to USA. Scuttled because of bad condition by United States Navy on 16 December 1946 near Jutland.
Z30	15 April 1940	15 November 1941	Taken over by Norway after the war and given to Britain. Used as target ship and scrapped in 1949.
Z31
Z32
Z33
Z34
Z35
Z36
Z37
Z38
Z39