Type 39 torpedo boat

T-35 in US service, August 1945
Class overview
Name: Type 39
Builders: Schichau, Elbing
Operators:  Kriegsmarine
Preceded by: Type 37 torpedo boat
Succeeded by: Type 40 torpedo boat
Built: 1940–1944
In commission: 1941–1958
Completed: 15
Lost: 11
General characteristics T22 (as built)
Type: Torpedo boat
Displacement:
Length: 102.5 m (336 ft 3 in) o/a
Beam: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft: 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph)
Range: 2,400 nmi (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement: 206
Sensors and
processing systems:
Armament:

The Type 1939 torpedo boat, also known as the Elbing class, was a group of 15 large torpedo boats that were built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Although classed as Flottentorpedoboot ("fleet torpedo boat") by the Germans, in most respects—displacement, weaponry, usage—they were comparable to contemporary medium-size destroyers, albeit slower.

Service was either in western France from late 1942-August 1944 or in the Baltic Sea from March 1944 until the end of the war.

Design and description

The cancellation of the Type 1938B destroyer at the beginning of World War II in September 1939 caused the Kriegsmarine to evaluate a smaller, all-purpose design that emerged as the Type 39 torpedo boat. This was a radical change from the preceding, and much smaller, torpedo boats like the Type 35 and Type 37 classes that specialized in torpedo attack and had limited utility outside that role. The Type 39s used the same troublesome high-pressure boilers as the earlier designs, but they were arranged with alternating engine and boiler rooms so that one hit could not completely immobilize the ship.[1]

The boats had an overall length of 102.5 meters (336 ft 3 in) and were 97 meters (318 ft 3 in) long at the waterline.[2] They had a beam of 10 meters (32 ft 10 in), and a mean draft of 3.25 meters (10 ft 8 in) at deep load and displaced 1,318 metric tons (1,297 long tons) at standard load and 1,780 metric tons (1,750 long tons) at deep load.[3] Their hull was divided into 13 watertight compartments and it was fitted with a double bottom that covered 67–69% of their length. They were considered excellent sea boats and were very maneuverable.[2] Their crew numbered 206 officers and sailors.[4]

The Type 39-class boats had two sets of Wagner geared steam turbines, each driving a single three-bladed 2.5–2.66-meter (8 ft 2 in–8 ft 9 in) propeller,[2] using steam provided by four Wagner water-tube boilers that operated at a pressure of 70 kg/cm2 (6,865 kPa; 996 psi) and a temperature of 460 °C (860 °F). The turbines were designed to produce 32,000 shaft horsepower (24,000 kW) for a speed of 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph). The boats carried a maximum of 375 metric tons (369 long tons) of fuel oil which gave a range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[3]

Armament and sensors

The main armament of the Type 39 class consisted four 42-caliber 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32[Note 1] guns in single mounts; one forward of the superstructure, one between the funnels, and two aft, one superfiring over the other.[5] Its mount had a range of elevation from -10° to +70° and the gun fired 15.1-kilogram (33 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 785 m/s (2,580 ft/s). It had a range of 15,175 meters (16,596 yd) at an elevation of +44.4°.[6]

Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of twin 80-caliber 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts positioned on a platform abaft the rear funnel.[5] The power-operated mount had a maximum elevation of 85° which gave the gun a ceiling of less than 6,800 metres (22,300 ft); horizontal range was 8,500 metres (9,300 yd) at an elevation of 35.7°. The single-shot SK C/30 fired 0.748-kilogram (1.65 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s (3,300 ft/s) at a rate of 30 rounds per minute.[7] The boats were also fitted with six 2 cm (0.8 in) C/38 guns in one quadruple mount on the aft superstructure[Note 2] and a pair of single mounts on the bridge wings.[5] The gun had an effective rate of fire of about 120 rounds per minute. Its 0.12-kilogram (0.26 lb) projectiles were fired at a muzzle velocity of 875 m/s (2,870 ft/s) which gave it a ceiling of 3,700 meters (12,100 ft) and a maximum horizontal range of 4,800 meters (5,200 yd).[9] Each boat carried 2,000 rounds per gun.[2]

The Type 39s were also equipped with six above-water 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two triple rotating mounts and could also carry 30 mines (or 60 if the weather was good). They used the G7a torpedo[5] which had a 300-kilogram (660 lb) warhead and three speed/range settings: 14,000 meters (15,000 yd) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph); 8,000 meters (8,700 yd) at 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and 6,000 meters (6,600 yd) at 44 knots (81 km/h; 51 mph).[10]

Modifications

The bridge wing 2 cm mounts were replaced by twin mounts in 1943–1944. In January–February 1944, T22, T23, T24 and T27 had their bridge wing guns replaced by quadruple mounts, had FuMB7[Note 3] "Naxos" and FuMB8 "Wanz G" radar detectors installed and a 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) rangefinder installed on the searchlight platform amidships. Other boats received a FuMO 63-K Hohentwiel radar on the searchlight platform. The 1944–1945 anti-aircraft suite for these ships is not known in detail. Either T23 or T28 received single 3.7 cm, either the Flak M42 or the Flak M43, or 4 cm (1.6 in) Bofors guns in lieu of the bridge wing guns and the twin 3.7 cm Sk C/30 guns.[11]


Ships

Construction of the class took place in the Schichau shipyard in Elbing, East Prussia, (now Elbląg), hence the Allied name for the class.

Number Laid down Launched Commissioned Fate
T22 1940 1941 28 February 1942 sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Baltic.
T23 1940 14 June 1941 14 June 1942 scrapped February 1955, after serving in the French Navy as Alsacien.
T24 1940 13 September 1941 17 October 1942 sunk 24 August 1944, by aircraft launched rockets near Bordeaux.
T25 1940 1 December 1941 12 December 1942 sunk 28 December 1943, by British cruisers HMS Glasgow and Enterprise in the Bay of Biscay (Operation Stonewall).
T26 1941 18 February 1942 27 February 1943
T27 1941 20 August 1942 17 April 1943 destroyed 6 May 1944, T27 ran aground, en route to L'Aber Vrac'h for repairs after an action against Force 26 on the night of 28/29 April 1944. She was finally destroyed by British MTBs on 6 May after several unsuccessful air attacks.
T28 1941 24 June 1942 19 June 1943 escaped from western France after D-Day, scrapped 1959, after serving in the French Navy as Lorrain.
T29 1942 16 January 1943 21 August 1943 sunk 26 April 1944, by HMCS Haida and other Canadian destroyers near Brittany.
T30 1942 13 March 1943 24 October 1943 sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Gulf of Finland.
T31 1942 22 May 1943 5 February 1944 sunk 20 June 1944 by Soviet Navy MTB.
T32 1942 17 July 1943 8 May 1944 sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Gulf of Finland.
T33 1942 4 September 1943 15 June 1944 scrapped 1957–1958 after serving in the Soviet Navy as Primerniy (Примерный).
T34 1942 23 October 1943 12 August 1944 sunk 24 November 1944 - mined near Cape Arkona.
T35 1942 11 December 1943 7 October 1944 scrapped 3 October 1952 - transferred to France and used for spare parts.
T36 1942 5 February 1944 9 December 1944 sunk by aircraft, 5 May 1945

Service

They were effective fighting vessels, a notable success being the sinking of the British light cruiser HMS Charybdis and the escort destroyer HMS Limbourne by torpedoes, off Brittany in October 1943. The 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla—T22, T23, T24, T25, and T26—had been protecting an important blockade runner though despite their success it ran aground and was lost. Two vessels, T25 and T26, were lost in a similar operation three months later. Three ships—T22, T30, and T32—were accidentally lost on 18 August 1943 on a German minefield in the Gulf of Finland. In April 1944 the Canadian destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was torpedoed by T24.

Notes

  1. ↑ In Kriegsmarine gun nomenclature, SK stands for Schiffskanone (ship's gun), C/32 stands for Constructionjahr (Construction year) 1932
  2. ↑ T22, the first boat finished, was completed without her quadruple mount, although it was later installed.[8]
  3. ↑ German: Funkmess-Beobachtung (Passive radio-direction finder)

Citations

  1. ↑ Whitley 1991, pp. 52–54
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gröner, p. 195
  3. 1 2 Whitley 1991, p. 203
  4. ↑ Gardiner & Chesneau, p. 238
  5. 1 2 3 4 Whitley 2000, p. 74
  6. ↑ Campbell, p. 246
  7. ↑ Campbell, p. 256
  8. ↑ Whitley 1991, p. 54
  9. ↑ Campbell, p. 258
  10. ↑ Campbell, p. 263
  11. ↑ Whitley 1991, p. 54; Whitley 2000, p. 74

References

  • Berezhnoy, Sergey (1994). Трофеи и репарации ВМФ СССР [Trophies and reparations of the Soviet Navy] (in Russian). Yakutsk: Sakhapoligrafizdat. OCLC 33334505.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Volume 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
  • Hervieux, Pierre (1986). "The Elbing Class Torpedo Boats at War". In Lambert, Andrew. Warship X. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 95–102. ISBN 0-85177-449-0.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
  • Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-302-8.

Coordinates: 45°31′N 01°01′W / 45.517°N 1.017°W / 45.517; -1.017

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