Z 24

Z 24

1936 A model

Ship data flag  German Empire Ship type destroyer class Destroyer 1936 A Shipyard Deschimag , Bremen Build number 958 Keel laying January 2, 1939 Launch March 7, 1940 Commissioning October 26, 1940 Whereabouts Sunk on August 25, 1944 (1 dead)

Ship dimensions and crew length 127.0 m ( Lüa ) 121.9 m ( KWL ) width 12.0 m Draft Max. 4.65 m displacement Standard : 2,603 ​​tn.l. Maximum: 3,605 tn.l.   crew 332 men

Machine system machine 6 × water tube boiler 2 × geared turbine Machine performance 70,000 PS (51,485 kW) Top speed 37.5 kn (69 km / h) propeller 2 ⌀ 3.2 m

Armament 4 × Sk 15.0 cm L / 48 (480 shots) 4 × Flak 3.7 cm (8,000 rounds) 5 × Flak 2.0 cm L / 65 C / 30 (10,000 rounds) 8 × torpedo tube ⌀ 53.3 cm (12 rounds) 60 sea ​​mines Sensors 1 × group listening device 1 × Atlas echo sounder 1 × sonar (160 ° swiveling) 1 × FuMO 21Ge

Z 24 was a ship of the destroyer class 1936 A of the German Navy and belonged to the 8th destroyer flotilla “Narvik”. It was first used in the western combat area, then in the area around Norway and from 1943 again in the west. The destroyer was hit by a British aerial bomb on August 25, 1944, killing one man, and sank off the French coast near Le Verdon-sur-Mer .

Construction and technical data

The keel was laid on January 2, 1939 at Deschimag in Bremen , the launch on March 7, 1940. Z 24 was the second ship of the destroyer 1936 A type. It was painted completely light gray, the guns were dark gray. The destroyer was camouflaged in summer 1941 for use in the Bay of Biscay . Furthermore, white bow waves and stern lakes were painted on. In autumn 1942 the ship was equipped with two 15 cm guns in double mounts on the forecastle. However, this twin gun turret was too heavy (with a total of 65 t base). The sea characteristics of the destroyer deteriorated, so that the speed had to be reduced in heavy seas. The 45 kg heavy 15 cm shells of the guns had to be loaded manually as with the Z 23 .

Mission history

Z 24 was ready for action in March 1941 and was initially used for escort security in the Baltic Sea / Norway until June. On June 16, the destroyer was ordered to western France and assigned to the 8th destroyer flotilla on October 23, 1941. On November 9th, Z 24 was relocated from Kiel to Northern Norway. Z 24 was there until July 1942 in the escort and security service, engaged in reconnaissance and mining operations. During this time he served frigate captain Pönitz, the commander of the 8th destroyer flotilla, as a pilot ship.

On December 26, 1941, the Z 24, together with the Z 23 , Z 25 and Z 27 , undertook a reconnaissance attempt against British naval forces that were sighted near Lofoten . On January 3 and 4, 1942, he gave Adolf Lüderitz escort from Tromsø to Kirkenes . During a trip on January 20 with the Z 23 and Z 25 from Kirkenes to Tromsø, shortly after lifting the anchor , the Z 24 got into a fog and was rammed by the Z 23 . The ship suffered damage to the stern and a leak, so that the ships ran back to Kirkenes. Z 24 was repaired in Wesermünde and participated as a security destroyer on March 18, when the cruiser Admiral Hipper was relocated from the German Bight to Northern Norway. On March 28, the Z 24 with Z 26 and Z 25 ran out against the British convoy PQ 13 . Z 26 was sunk by HMS Trinidad during the fight . Z 24 fired a fan of seven torpedoes during the battle with the British HMS Trinidad , but did not hit. The HMS Trinidad self- meting by a circular giver killing 32 crew members. In the further course of the battle, the Z 24 and Z 25 managed to inflict severe damage on the British destroyer Eclipse and to salvage the crew of the Z 26 .

From April 11, 1942, the Z 24 formed together with the destroyer Hermann Schoemann and the Z 25 the destroyer group Nordmeer under the command of the 6th destroyer fleet, Captain Schulze-Hinrichs. On 1st / 2nd April there was a battle with the British naval forces, in which the destroyer leader Hermann Schoemann sank. Z 24 left Drontheim on July 12th to be equipped with new weapons equipment in Wesermünde. At the beginning of January 1943 he was ready for action again and was assigned to escort and security service in the western Baltic Sea area / Norway for the following two months.

On March 3, 1943, Z 24 was reassigned to the 8th destroyer flotilla, which was moved to western France and the Bay of Biscay. On June 14, the destroyer ran from Royan to take over survivors of the U 564 , who had previously been rescued by U 185 . On December 28, the destroyer took part in a naval battle in western Biscay. On January 14, 1944, he began his shipyard layover in La Pallice and was ready for action again when the Allied invasion began. The destroyer was relocated from the Gironde to Brest on June 6th and got into a battle with enemy destroyers in the English Channel on June 9th. During the battle, the ship recorded some artillery hits, including on the bridge, the 15 cm tower and the aft chimney. There were no personal losses. The destroyer had to break off the battle and ran to Brest, later back to the Gironde. The ship lay there from July 13th to August 5th to have a gearbox damaged repaired. Lying in the Royan roadstead, it was attacked by British planes on August 14th. This resulted in personal losses and minor damage. It managed to shoot down four enemy planes.

On August 24, the Z 24 and the T 24 ran north from Bordeaux. T 24 was sunk by British bombers off Le Verdon . During the battle, Z 24 was hit by three bombs and rocket bombs in the stern. There was a loss of people and several crew members were wounded. On August 25, the destroyer managed to reach the pier at Le Verdon . It capsized a few hours later and sank. The crew of the Z 24 was deployed in the Gironde Fortress as the war continued and until its surrender in April 1945.

Commanders (October 23, 1940 to August 25, 1944)

• Corvette Captain Martin Saltzwedel from October 1940 to August 1943
• Corvette Captain Carl-Heinz Birnbacher from August 1943 to August 1944, most recently rear admiral in the German Navy .

literature

• Hildebrand, Hans H. / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: Ship biographies from Undine to Zieten . Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present . tape 8 . Mundus Verlag, Ratingen, S. 138–139 (Licensed edition by Koehler's Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, approx. 1990).
• Hildebrand, Hans H. / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships . Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present . tape 6 . Mundus Verlag, Heidelberg 1982, ISBN 1-59114-119-2 , pp. 75 .
• Fock, Harald: Z-before . International development and war missions of destroyers and torpedo boats in World War II . 1940 to 1945 . Koehler Verlag, Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-7822-0268-6 .
• Rohwer, Jürgen : Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945 . The Naval History of World War Two. US Naval Inst Pr; Edition: Revised, Expand, Annapolis, Maryland 2005, ISBN 1-59114-119-2 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1990): The German warships, biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present, Volume 8., Ratingen p. 138.
2. ↑ Z 24 on deutschekriegsmarine.de ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75
4. ^ Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland. P. 110
5. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75
6. ^ Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland. P. 153
7. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75
8. ^ Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland. P. 162
9. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75
10. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75
11. ↑ Hildebrand, Hans. H.; Röhr, Albert; Röhr, Albert; Steinmetz, Hans-Otto; Ed. (1982): The German Warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Volume 6. Heidelberg. P. 75