Fleet torpedo boat 1939
 T 35 as spoils of US war |
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| Class details | |
|---|---|
| Ship type: | Destroyers , officially fleet torpedo boat called |
| Period of service: | 1942-1954 |
| Units: | 15th |
| Builder: | Schichau shipyard in Elbing |
| Technical specifications | |
| Length: | over everything: 102.5 m |
| Width: | 10.0 m |
| Draft: | 3.2 meters |
| Displacement: | |
| Drive: |
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| Speed: | 31 kn |
| Range: | 2400 nm at 19 kn |
| Crew: | 205 men |
The 1939 fleet torpedo boat was a class of 15 small destroyers or torpedo boats of the Kriegsmarine .
The type was officially referred to as a fleet torpedo boat , but was comparable in size and armament to smaller destroyers or destroyers escort from other navies.
Since all units of this type were built at the Schichau shipyard in Elbing , the Allies referred to the ship type as the Elbing Class Destroyer , and the term Schichau destroyer is occasionally used in German literature .
Development history
According to the provisions of the Versailles Treaty , Germany built the twelve permitted torpedo boats of the predator and bird of prey classes in the 1920s . Ten years later, more extensive programs began with the classes torpedo boat 1935 , T 1 to T 12 and torpedo boat 1937 with T 13 to T 21 . With their standard displacement, these boats were supposed to fall below the 600 ts limit, which meant that they would not fall under the armaments agreement that existed at the time.
However, since 600 ts was a rather unfavorable size, which other countries had to find out, the boats were over 800 ts in size. But even this was still not a usable type, which is why the open orders were canceled at the beginning of the war and reassigned as a fleet torpedo boat in 1939 . These new designs were significantly larger with a type displacement of 1294 ts and insert displacement of 1755 ts.
The armament with two sets of triple torpedo tubes remained the same, but four 10.5 cm guns suitable for air defense were now scaffolded. The anti-aircraft armament was also improved and there were four 3.7 cm SK C / 30 in two double mounts and a 2 cm quadruple for installation. During the continuation of the war, it was also continuously strengthened within the series.
The drive systems also remained the same, the new class was practically designed around the systems already commissioned, but in a different arrangement. Therefore, the speed of 31 knots and only about 28 knots in continuous operation under operating conditions turned out to be quite disappointing, since 33 knots had still been calculated. So they were slower than the big destroyers, but much more seaworthy.
In particular, the boilers were too small for the enlarged ship, as numerous other steam consumers were added.
What was striking about the boats of this class was the smooth deck with the pronounced sickle bow, strong deck jump and buckled ribs in the foredeck from the aft edge of the bridge to roughly the anchor holes. From T 31 the construction was simplified because the shipyard suffered from a lack of qualified personnel. From the outside, the missing buckled ribs on the bow were recognizable.
The superstructures differed from the destroyers in that they had a superstructure with a bridge that stretched across the entire width of the deck, and the widely spread funnels with a second 10.5 cm gun in between. Two boilers were installed next to each other under each chimney and a turbine directly behind them.
From T 37 onwards , the construction was converted to the further developed and enlarged class of fleet torpedo boats in 1941 , which primarily received a more powerful drive system and diesel units for generating electricity. None of the boats went into service. After the war, the four launched boats were loaded with poison gas ammunition by the victorious powers and sunk in the Baltic Sea.
Mission history
The first eight boats in the class, T 22 to T 29 , went to the French coast from 1942 to early 1944 for use in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. The main task was escort for submarines and merchant ships and the boats were therefore often in use, in contrast to the large destruction.
For the British, who were already preparing the invasion of France, the boats posed a threat to the invading fleet and so they tried to take out the torpedo boats. If one of the first such operations ended in disaster with the loss of the cruiser Charybdis , they were successful in the longer term. Five of the boats were lost, and after the invasion only T 28 returned to Germany. The T 22 and T 23 had already gone to Germany for an overhaul. These three remaining boats and the subsequent new builds T 30 to T 36 had the Baltic Sea as a new area of operation for mine laying companies, artillery support for the army and finally evacuation of soldiers and civilians from the Red Army until the end of the war . T 36 took part in the rescue operation of the shipwrecked Wilhelm Gustloff on January 30, 1945.
At a mine laying company in Narva Bay in the Gulf of Finland , T 22 , T 30 and T 32 got into their own minefield on August 18, 1944 and sank, killing the majority of the crews. After the war, the T 23 and T 28 were in service with the French Navy until 1954/55.
units
As is usual for smaller units in the Kriegsmarine, the boats were not given any names, only the IDs T 22 to T 36 .
| Identifier | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T 22 | July 1, 1940 | July 20, 1941 | Feb 28, 1942 | sunk August 18, 1944 - mine hit in the Baltic Sea on a German minefield |
| T 23 | Aug 1, 1940 | June 14, 1941 | June 14, 1942 | Sold for scrap in February 1955 after being used as spoils of war in the French Navy under the name L'Alsacien |
| T 24 | 21 Sep 1940 | 13 Sep 1941 | Oct 17, 1942 | Sunk by British aerial bombs off Le Verdon-sur-Mer (Gironde), France, on August 24, 1944 . Position: 45 ° 31 ' N , 1 ° 1' W |
| T 25 | Nov 30, 1940 | Dec. 1, 1941 | Dec 12, 1942 | sunk December 28, 1943, by the British cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise in the Bay of Biscay ( Operation Stonewall ) |
| T 26 | May 10, 1941 | Feb. 18, 1942 | Feb. 27, 1943 | sunk December 28, 1943, by the British cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise in the Bay of Biscay (Operation Stonewall) |
| T 27 | June 28, 1941 | Aug 20, 1942 | Apr 17, 1943 | in battle on May 4, 1944 and sunk by aircraft the following day |
| T 28 | Sep 24 1941 | June 24, 1942 | June 19, 1943 | scrapped in 1959 after serving as spoils of war under the name Lorrain (later renamed Le Lorrain ) in the French Navy until October 3, 1952 |
| T 29 | Dec 12, 1941 | Jan. 16, 1943 | Aug 21, 1943 | sunk April 26, 1944, by Canadian ships |
| T 30 | March 4, 1942 | March 13, 1943 | Oct. 24, 1943 | sunk August 18, 1944 by a mine hit in the Baltic Sea on a German minefield |
| T 31 | June 29, 1942 | May 22, 1943 | Feb 5, 1944 | sunk June 20, 1944 by a Soviet speedboat in the Baltic Sea |
| T 32 | Oct. 27, 1942 | July 17, 1943 | May 8, 1944 | sunk August 18, 1944 by a mine hit in the Baltic Sea on a German minefield |
| T 33 | Jan. 20, 1943 | 4th Sep 1943 | June 15, 1944 | 1957-1958 scrapped after it as spoils of war in the Soviet Navy under the name Primerniy had been used |
| T 34 | March 5, 1943 | Oct 23, 1943 | Aug 12, 1944 | sunk November 20, 1944 by a mine hit near Cape Arkona |
| T 35 | 1942 | Dec 11, 1943 | Oct 7, 1944 | segregated on October 3, 1952, later scrapped, was initially as spoils of war for testing in the USA, then as a spare parts donor to France |
| T 36 | June 10, 1943 | Feb 5, 1944 | Dec 9, 1944 | sunk on May 4, 1945 after a mine hit near Swinoujscie and aerial bombs |
technical description
hull
The hull was built from shipbuilding steel 52 using the transverse rib longitudinal band construction, was completely welded and was divided into 13 watertight compartments. The hull had an overall length of 102.5 m, in the construction waterline of 97 m. The maximum width was 10 m. The construction displacement was 1512 t, the type displacement was 1294 ts , the operational displacement was 1755 t. A deck jump ran from the aft edge of the bridge structure to the stem. The bow was strongly overhanging and sickle-shaped, the hull ended in a transom. In the boats T 22 to T 30 , the hull from the aft edge of the bridge to the upper deck anchor hawls was designed as a chine.
Superstructures
The bridge superstructures differed between the boats of the class: T 22 to T 25 had a smooth vertical bridge front wall, in the boats T 26 to T 30 the bridge superstructure was shortened and the steering position was reduced so that the space gained in front of the superstructure for a platform for additional flak armament could be used. On T 31 to T 36 there were flak stations set up on star and port side for one 2 cm double flak each.
Most of the superstructures and interior fittings were made of light metal to save weight; from T 31 , pressboard materials were sometimes used for the latter.
drive
The fleet torpedo boats were powered by a superheated steam turbine system. The four Wagner superheated steam boilers with natural water circulation were oil-fired, worked with a steam temperature of 400 to 450 ° C and 70 kp / cm² pressure. The power of 32,000 WPS (23.5 MW) worked on two screws with three blades each. The two spade oars stood in the stream of propellers. The maximum speed according to the construction should be 32.5 knots, in the mile distance up to 34.0 knots were achieved. A maximum of 375 t of heating oil was carried. In practice, the driving range was up to 2085 nm at 19 kn or up to 745 nm at 31 kn continuous speed.
Armament and weapons control system
The naval torpedo boats were armed with sea target and anti-aircraft weapons of various calibres, plus torpedoes and depth charges.
The four 10.5 cm SK C / 32 ns L / 45 guns were intended as the main artillery armament . The guns were a further development of the 10.5 cm cannon installed on the torpedo boats in 1935 . One gun was placed in front of the bridge, one between the superstructures, the last two aft behind the superstructures, one of which was raised on a low superstructure on the boat center line. The single mounts were of the 10.5 cm MPL C / 32 ge type , MPL here stands for central pivot mount, ge stands for large elevation. With a maximum elevation angle of + 80 °, as an all-purpose weapon, sea, land and high-flying air targets could be fought. The rate of fire was up to 20 rounds per minute per gun. A total of 2400 rounds of ammunition were carried for the guns.
The basic 3 m optical distance measuring device of the type 3u was set up on the bridge structure.
The flak armament became more extensive in the course of production. At the time of commissioning, the following were planned:
- 4 × 3.7 cm flak of type SK C / 30 L / 80 in two double mounts C / 30
- 5 × 2 cm flak MWC / 38 L / 80 in single mounts C / 38
- 4 × 2 cm flak in quadruple mount C / 38
- 2 × 7.9 mm MG 34 machine guns.
53.3 cm torpedoes could be fired from two pivoting sets of triple torpedo tubes. No reserve torpedoes were carried.
If necessary, 50 mines could be carried on the mine rails on the aft upper deck and thrown over two ramps mounted on the stern.
Technical specifications
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length: |
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| Largest width: | 10 m |
| Draft: |
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| Side height: |
5.80 m (in the main rib) |
| Displacement: |
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| drive | |
| Boiler system: |
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| Turbine system: |
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| Screws: | 2 screws, three-winged, each 2.5–2.65 m in diameter |
| Rudder: | 2 spade rudders in the screw streams |
| Machine power: |
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| Power generation: |
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| Fuel oil supply |
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| Top speed: |
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| Fuel supply: |
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| Armament (on commissioning) | |
| Guns: |
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| Anti-aircraft armament |
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| Torpedo armament: |
6 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes in two pivoting triple sets |
| Other: | Depth launcher, mine equipment for 50 mines |
literature
- Wolfgang Harnack: The German fleet torpedo boats from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 .
- MJ Whitley: Destroyer in World War II. 2nd Edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ after Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. P. 10
- ↑ Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 , p. 10.
- ^ Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 , p. 15/16
- ↑ Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 , p. 221.
- ↑ Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 , p. 17.
- ↑ after Wolfgang Harnack: The German Flottentorpedoboote from 1942 to 1945. Verlag ESMittler & Sohn, Hamburg / Berlin / Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0825-7 , pp. 14-16.
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