German destroyer Z19 Hermann Künne

History
Nazi Germany
Name:	Hermann Künne
Namesake:	Hermann Künne
Ordered:	6 January 1936
Builder:	AG Weser (Deschimag), Bremen
Yard number:	W921
Laid down:	5 October 1936
Launched:	22 December 1937
Completed:	12 January 1939
Fate:	Scuttled, 13 April 1940
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type 1936-class destroyer
Displacement:	2,411 long tons (2,450 t) (standard) 3,415 long tons (3,470 t) deep load
Length:	125.10 m (410 ft 5 in) o/a
Beam:	11.80 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draft:	4.50 m (14 ft 9 in)
Installed power:	70,000 PS (51,000 kW; 69,000 shp) 6 × water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed:	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range:	2,050 nmi (3,800 km; 2,360 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement:	323
Armament:	5 × single 12.7 cm (5 in) guns 2 × twin 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns 7 × single 2 cm (0.8 in) AA guns 2 × quadruple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 60 mines

Z19 Hermann Künne was a Type 1936-class destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s.

Design and description

Hermann Künne had an overall length of 125.10 meters (410 ft 5 in) and was 120 meters (393 ft 8 in) long at the waterline. The ship had a beam of 11.80 meters (38 ft 9 in), and a maximum draft of 4.50 meters (14 ft 9 in). She displaced 2,411 long tons (2,450 t) at standard load and 3,415 long tons (3,470 t) at deep load. The two Wagner geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce 70,000 PS (51,000 kW; 69,000 shp) using steam provided by six high-pressure Wagner boilers with superheaters for a designed speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Hermann Künne carried a maximum of 739 metric tons (727 long tons) of fuel oil which gave a range of 2,050 nautical miles (3,800 km; 2,360 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Her crew consisted of 10 officers and 313 sailors.^[1]

The ship carried five 12.7 cm SK C/34 guns in single mounts with gun shields, two each superimposed, fore and aft. The fifth mount was positioned on top of the rear deckhouse. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and six 2 cm C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts.^[1] Four depth charge throwers were mounted on the sides of the rear deckhouse and they were supplemented by six racks for individual depth charges on the sides of the stern. Sufficient depth charges were carried for either two or four patterns of sixteen charges each.^[2] Mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of sixty mines.^[1] 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines and an active sonar system was installed by the end of 1939.^[3]

Construction and career

Hermann Künne burning on 13 April 1940

Notes

1. Gröner 1990, p. 202
2. Whitley, p. 215
3. Whitley, pp. 71–72

References

• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Volume 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9.
• Haarr, Geirr H. (2009). The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9.
• Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2003). German Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-307-1.
• 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. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-302-8.

External links

• Kriegsmarine destroyers

Coordinates: 68°25′N 17°55′E / 68.417°N 17.917°E