Predator class
Lynx in June 1934 near Neustadt in Holstein
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The predator class , officially named torpedo boat in 1924 according to the year of the design, was a class of six torpedo boats of the Reichsmarine . None of the boats survived World War II .
draft
The design was a re-edition of the previous bird of prey class . The displacement increased by slightly lengthening and widening the trunk from 923 ts in the raptor class to 932 ts. The only difference between the propulsion systems was the higher steam generation capacity of the boilers. The three 10.5 cm guns of the main armament were new developments. The planned use of 12.7 cm guns was prevented by the objection of the World War II victorious powers.
The boats largely corresponded to designs from the First World War . As replacement buildings for the outdated pre-war boats that were still in service in the Reichsmarine, and under the conditions of the Versailles Treaty , they were among the first new buildings to be approved by the Reichstag .
period of service
The six boats made up the 6th torpedo boat flotilla. After the Tiger had sunk after a collision before the war, the remaining five boats were used for mine-laying and trade warfare until April 1940 . In the occupation of Norway in April 1940, Leopard and Wolf participated as part of Warship Group 3 with destination Bergen , the Luchs as part of Group 4 with destination Kristiansand . After the loss of the leopard and lynx , the remaining three boats were relocated to the English Channel in autumn 1940 , where the Wolf sank off Dunkirk in January 1941. The 6th torpedo boat flotilla was then disbanded, and the remaining boats, Iltis and Jaguar , joined the 5th T flotilla. The polecat was lost together with the sea eagle in the spring of 1942 by torpedo hits from British motor torpedo boats . The then only remaining boat in the class, the Jaguar , took part in February 1942 as escort in the so-called canal breakthrough of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen through the English Channel. The boat sank in the bombing of Le Havre in June 1944.
Conversions
Due to the general change in caliber, all boats received 53.3 cm diameter instead of the six 50 cm torpedo tubes . In 1934 the Leopard and Luchs received three newly developed 12.7 cm guns for sea trials instead of the three 10.5 cm guns.
In the Second World War to reinforce been Fla -Bewaffnung installed two additional 2-cm guns before the middle 105mm gun. In 1942 they were again replaced by a 2 cm quadruple mount, in the same year a further 2 cm single gun replaced the optical range finder aft. 1943, the boats with the new were radar warning device FuMB Ant 4 ( "Sumatra." Fu nk M ESS B eobachtungsgerät, passive operating locating device opposing to display radar detection) equipped on the front mast 1944 came antennas for active radar detection (FuMO devices: Fu nk M ess O front rtungsgeräte) on the aft mast and added. To increase stability, the height of the bridge and masts were reduced.
units
| Surname | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf WO / WL | March 8, 1927 | October 12, 1927 | November 15, 1928 | Sank off Dunkirk after being hit by a mine on January 8, 1941, 45 dead |
|
Iltis IT |
March 8, 1927 | October 12, 1927 | October 1, 1928 | Hit and sunk by British torpedo on May 13, 1942 |
| Lynx LU | April 2, 1927 | March 15, 1928 | April 15, 1929 | sunk while securing the returning Gneisenau after torpedoing by the British submarine Thames on July 26, 1940 in the North Sea, 103 dead |
| Tiger TG | April 2, 1927 | March 15, 1928 | January 15, 1929 | sunk off Bornholm on August 27, 1939 after collision with destroyer Z 3 Max Schultz , two dead |
| Jaguar JA / JR | May 4, 1927 | March 15, 1928 | August 15, 1929 | sunk after British aircraft were bombed near Le Havre on June 15, 1944, 16 dead |
| Leopard LP | May 4, 1927 | March 15, 1928 | June 1, 1929 | sank in the Skagerrak on April 30, 1940 after colliding with the mine ship Prussia |
literature
- MJ Whitley: Destroyers in World War II , Motorbuch Verlag, 2nd edition, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01426-2 .
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