War transporter
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The war transporter (initially also coastal transporter ) was a class of steamships of the Kriegsmarine from the Second World War , which were built as part of a series production program for use in the Mediterranean and later the Black Sea .
General
The concept of this type of ship, the “War Transporter” (KT), was developed by the Navy from 1941 onwards, primarily out of the need to replace the high losses incurred by transport ships in the Mediterranean. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the Axis powers to supply the units deployed in the African campaign with supplies. It was also evident that the Black Sea would also be a battle zone for a long time and that there were not enough cargo ships available there either.
The German shipyard AG in Hamburg supplied the plans and built the model ship (KT 3). The shipyards for the other ships were all in southern Europe. They were built in the Mediterranean (mainly Italy), in inland shipyards on the Danube and in the Black Sea. The IDs were assigned up to No. 62, but the construction contracts only for KT 1 to KT 60. By the end of the war, around 40 ships had been completed. Almost half of the construction contracts went to the Ansaldo-Sestri shipyard in Genoa; several ships were put into service for the Italian Navy ("Monte" class).
Of the total of 17 ships built on the Danube (Linz, Korneuburg and Budapest) and in the Ukraine (Nikolajew), most of them were converted into submarine hunters from the end of 1942 and classified as UJ.
Below are the shipyards, in brackets the number of KT units assigned to them, followed by the construction periods at the respective shipyard and the ship identification:
- Ansaldo - Sestri in Genoa (30), 1942 to 1945 (KT 1, 2, 9, 10, 13–16, 31, 32, 35, 36, 43–60)
- Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg (1), 1942 (KT 3 as a front building ship)
- Korneuburg shipyard (3), 1942 to 1943 (KT 4, 17, 18)
- Cantieri Navale Riuniti in Ancona (4), 1942 to 1943 (KT 5, 6, 21, 22)
- Cantieri del Tirreno in Riva Trigoso , Province of Genoa (4), 1943–1944 (KT 7, 8, 19, 20)
- Cantieri OTO ( Odero Terni Orlando ) in Livorno (2), 1942–1943 (KT 11, 12)
- Shipyard Linz (4), 1942–1944 (KT 23, 24, 29, 30)
- DDSG shipyard / Óbuda , Budapest (4), 1943–1944 (KT 25, 26, 33, 34)
- Shipyard management Nikolajew in Nikolajew , Südwerft (6), 1942–1944 (KT 27, 28, 37–40)
- Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée in La Seyne-sur-Mer / Toulon (2), 1943–1944 (KT 41, 42)
technology
Hull and drive
The hull of a war transporter was 67.5 meters long, 11 meters wide and had a draft of 3.1 meters with a displacement of 1,250 tons . It was driven by two three-cylinder triple expansion steam engines with coal firing, with which a total output of 2,400 PS (1,765 kW ) was achieved. The power was delivered to two shafts , each with a four-winged screw . The top speed was 14.5 knots (27 km / h ). 160 tons of coal could be bunkered, resulting in a maximum travel distance of 1,250 nautical miles (2,315 km) at 10 knots.
Armament
The armament consisted of anti-aircraft guns and varied depending on the purpose and time of use. Because it depended on the availability of the guns, and many prey weapons were also used. The design equipment consisted of a 7.5 cm L / 40 gun at the stern with 250 rounds of ammunition, a 3.7 cm L / 54 on the forecastle with 2000 rounds, two 2 cm L / 65 on both sides of the aft superstructure with a total of 4000 Shot and two MG 34 with 6000 rounds in the bridge area .
crew
The strength of the crew varied depending on the use of 37 men as civilian transport, over 53 men (4 officers and 49 men) as armed war transport and up to 122 men as submarine hunters.
See also
literature
- Wilhelm M. Donko : The war transporter KT 1 - KT 62 of the German Navy: Concept, use and whereabouts . 3. Edition. Epubli GmbH, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-7467-1491-2 .
- Gröner, Erich ; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin: The German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 7 Landing Associations (II): Landungsfahrzeuge ie S. (Part 2), landing ferries, landing support vehicles, transporters, ships and boats of the army, ships and boats of the sea pilots / air force, colonial vehicles , Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1990, ISBN 3-7637 -4807-5 , pp. 138-140.