Type 35 torpedo boat

Type 1935 torpedo boat
Class overview
Built: 1938–40
Completed: 12
Lost: 6 sunk, 2 scuttled
General characteristics [1]
Displacement:
  • 844 tons standard, 1,088 tons full load (Schichau)
  • 839 tons standard, 1082 tons full load (Deschimag)
Length: 84.3 m
Beam: 8.62 m
Draught:
  • 2.33 m (standard)
  • 2.94 m (full load)
Propulsion:
  • 2 shaft geared turbines
  • 2 Wagner type boilers
  • 31,000 shp
Speed: 35.5 kn (65.7 km/h)
Range:
  • 1,200 nmi (2,220 km)
  • at 19 kn (35 km/h)
Complement: 119
Armament:

The Type 35 torpedo boats (German: Flottentorpedoboot "Fleet Torpedo Boat") were small naval vessels built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine between 1939 and 1942. They were designed to exploit a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stipulated that ships under 600 tons standard displacement did not count towards limited tonnages. They did however grow in size to 845 tons standard tonnage. Their primary intention was to produce a seaworthy torpedo craft larger and more heavily armed than a Schnellboot. Being somewhat of a hybrid, they were larger than a typical torpedo boat, but smaller and weaker than a typical destroyer of the era, being closer in size to a Kaibōkan or destroyer escort, but with powerful offensive torpedo armament and very weak gun armament. They were replaced by the larger Elbing-class torpedo boat, which was larger and more powerful, but still weaker than a normal destroyer. These ships fought in the North Sea, English Channel and Baltic Sea. They were not considered very successful, their weak gun armament was disliked and the machinery was unreliable and difficult to repair. They also had relatively poor seakeeping and a weak bridge structure.

General characteristics

The requirements for the 1935 class included a maximum "declared" displacement of around 600 tons in order to come within a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, and higher speeds than the older 1923 and 1924 classes. In reality these ships came in overweight at around 900 tons standard displacement. To achieve this, high pressure turbines were used but these were unreliable and difficult to repair and maintain in the restricted space of the hull. The low displacement made them unseaworthy which was only partially resolved by 1940 and this reduced the effectiveness of the class as minelayers. There was an even greater concentration on torpedoes, with a single 10.5 centimetre gun and minimal anti-aircraft protection.

Twelve 1935s were built, six at Schichau, Elbing and six at Deschimag, Bremen; there were minor differences between the two groups. Six were sunk, and two others scuttled, by the end of the war. Of the survivors, three were transferred abroad as war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany.

Ships

Ship Builder Launched Commissioned Fate[2]
T1 Schichau, Elbing 19 February 1938 1 December 1939 Sunk 10 April 1945, by bombing in Kiel Harbour
T2 Schichau 7 April 1938 2 December 1939 Sunk 29 July 1944 by bombing in Bremen; salvaged, but scrapped in 1945
T3 Schichau 23 June 1938 3 February 1940 Sunk in Le Havre by bombing 19 September 1940 but raised and repaired, 1941. Sunk by mines in Danzig Bay 14 March 1945
T4 Schichau 15 April 1938 27 May 1940 Transferred to US in 1945, then Denmark (1948). Scrapped 1951 without seeing service.
T5 Deschimag, Bremen 22 November 1937 23 January 1940 Sunk by mines in Danzig Bay 14 March 1945
T6 Deschimag 16 December 1937 30 April 1940 Mined off Aberdeen, 7 November 1940
T7 Deschimag 18 June 1938 20 December 1939 Sunk 29 July 1944 by bombing in Bremen; salvaged, but scrapped in 1945
T8 Deschimag 10 August 1938 8 October 1939 Scuttled 3 May 1945
T9 Schichau 3 November 1938 4 July 1940 Scuttled 3 May 1945
T10 Schichau ? 5 August 1940 Sunk in Gotenhaven by bombing 18 December 1944
T11 Deschimag 1 March 1939 24 May 1940 War reparation to France. Served as Bir Hakeim in French Navy. Stricken 1951.
T12 Deschimag 12 April 1939 3 July 1940 Transferred to USSR, served in the Soviet Navy as destroyer Podvizhny (Подвижный). Stricken 1957 and scrapped.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Conway p237
  2. ↑ Conway p237
  3. ↑ Other sources say (1) since 1954 trial ship Kit, sunk as target ship in 1959 at Lake Ladoga (2) served as the Podvischny until the 1960s. sunk in deep water 1991

References

Coordinates: 57°08′N 1°58′E / 57.133°N 1.967°E / 57.133; 1.967

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