Z35 was the lead ship of her class of destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) during World War II. Completed in late 1943, the ship spent the war in the Baltic Sea, escorting German ships, laying minefields, and bombarding Soviet forces. On 12 December 1944, a navigational error caused her to enter a German minefield as she was preparing to lay another minefield in the Gulf of Finland off the Estonian coast. Z35 struck one or more mines and sank with the loss of all but 70 crewmen. The wreck was discovered and surveyed in 1994.
The Type 1936B design retained the hull design of the Type 1936A, but reverted to the lighter main armament of the Type 1936 to reduce topweight and improve seakeeping. The ships had an overall length of 127 metres (416ft 8in) and was 121.9 metres (399ft 11in)long at the waterline. The ships had a beam of 12 metres (39ft 4in), and a maximum draught of 4.32 metres (14ft 2in). They displaced 2,519 long tons (2,559t) at standard load and 3,542 long tons (3,599t) at deep load. The two Wagner geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce 70,000 metric horsepower (51,000kW; 69,000shp) using steam provided by six Wagner water-tube boilers for a designed speed of 36 knots (67km/h; 41mph). The ships carried a maximum of 835 tonnes (822 long tons) of fuel oil which gave a range of 2,600 nautical miles (4,800km; 3,000mi) at 19 knots (35km/h; 22mph).[1] Their crew consisted of 11–15 officers and 305–20 sailors.[2]
The Type 1936B ships carried five 12.7-centimetre (5in) SK C/34 guns in single mounts with gun shields, two each superimposed, fore and aft of the superstructure. The fifth mount was positioned on top of the rear deckhouse. The guns were designated No. 1 to 5 from front to rear. Their anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 3.7-centimetre (1.5in) SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and fifteen 2-centimetre (0.8in) C/38 guns in three quadruple and three single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water 53.3-centimetre (21in)torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. Two reloads were provided for each mount. They had four depth charge launchers and mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 74–76 mines. 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines and an S-Gerätsonar was also probably fitted. The ships were equipped with a FuMO 24/25 radar set above the bridge.[3][4]
Construction and career
Z35 was originally ordered as a Type 1938B destroyer from AG Weser (Deschimag) on 28 June 1939, but the contract was cancelled when the Type 1938B design was abandoned, and the ship was reordered as a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer. That was changed to a Type 1936B on 17 February 1941. She was laid down as yard number W1005 on 6 June at Deschimag's Bremenshipyard, launched on 2 October 1942 and commissioned on 22 September 1943 under the command of Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) Niels Bätge. After working upZ35 was assigned to the 6. Zerstörerflotille (6th Destroyer Flotilla) in February 1944.[5][6]
The four destroyers and single torpedo boat of the flotilla were transferred to the Gulf of Finland to support minelaying operations there, Z35 arriving at Reval, Estonia, on 13 February. The flotilla was initially tasked to escort convoys between Libau, Latvia, and Reval, but laid its first minefield in Narva Bay on 12 March while bombarding Soviet positions on the eastern shore of the bay. They were primarily tasked as minelayers through July, including reinforcing the existing minefields in the Gulf of Finland in April. In preparation for Operation Tanne West, the occupation of Åland in case of Finnish surrender, the flotilla escorted the heavy cruiser Lützow to the island of Utö on 28 June, but the operation was canceled and the ships returned to port.[7][8][9]
On 30 July and 1 August Z35 and three other destroyers of the flotilla sailed into the Gulf of Riga to bombard Soviet positions inland. On 5 August, they escorted Prinz Eugen as she engaged targets on the island of Ösel, Estonia, and in Latvia on 19–20 August. That last day Z35 damaged one of her propellers on a rock and had to return to Gotenhafen for repairs. In September the flotilla covered the convoys evacuating Finland and then Reval. On 10 October the flotilla escorted the heavy cruisers Lützow and Prinz Eugen as they resumed their shore bombardment missions and bombarded targets themselves, attacking Soviet positions at Memel, Libau, and Sworbe, on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, through the 24th. On 23 October a shell exploded prematurely in the barrel of No. 3 gun, wounding one man, and blowing the barrel and breech overboard. The following day Z35 was struck by splinters during a Soviet air attack. The following month, the flotilla and the heavy cruisers Admiral Scheer and Prinz Eugen shelled Soviet positions during the evacuation of Sworbe between 20 and 24 November.[10][11][12]
By mid-December, Z35 was the flagship of Kapitän zur See (Captain) Friedrich Kothe, commander of the 6. Zerstörerflotille, which now consisted of his flagship, her sister shipsZ36 and Z43, and the large torpedo boats T23 and T28, was tasked to lay a new minefield between the Estonian coast and an existing minefield slightly further out to sea. T23 was to escort the other ships and the destroyers were laden with 68 mines each. The mission was postponed to the night of 11/12 December because of bad weather and the flotilla sailed on the morning of the 11th. The weather gradually worsened over the course of the day and the spray and rain made navigation difficult. Having sailed a bit too far north, Z35 and Z36 blundered into the Nashorn (Rhinoceros) minefield that was only 2.5 nautical miles (4.6km; 2.9mi) north of the intended position of the new minefield. After a faint explosion was heard at about 01:52, Kothe radioed for T23 to close on Z35. Almost immediately afterwards, a mine struck the port side of the ship, abreast No. 4 gun, knocking out the port turbine and flooding one compartment. Z35 was not in any danger of sinking by 02:00 when Z36 struck a mine and sank very quickly with the loss of all hands. Shortly afterwards, Z35 suffered an explosion amidships, possibly from a boiler explosion that also detonated some ammunition. The crew abandoned ship before she sank, but only about 70 men were rescued by the Soviets.[13][14]
↑ Saari, Jukka. "Z 36" (in Finnish). Pohjalla Ry. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
Bibliography
Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships 1815–1945. Vol.1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-790-9.
Koop, Gerhard & Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2003). German Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-307-1.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Reviseded.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
Z36 was one of five Type 1936B destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in early 1944, the ship spent the war in the Baltic Sea, escorting German ships, laying minefields, and bombarding Soviet forces. On 12 December, a navigational error caused her to enter a German minefield as she was preparing to lay another minefield in the Gulf of Finland off the Estonian coast. Z36 struck a single mine and sank with the loss of all hands. The wreck was surveyed in 1994.
The Type 1936B destroyers were a group of five destroyers built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine between 1941 and 1942, of which only three were completed and saw service. Eight ships of this design were ordered, but the orders for three ships were cancelled before construction began. Z35 was the first ship of the class to be completed and was commissioned in mid-1943. Her sister ships, Z36 and Z43, followed in 1944. Z44 was sunk during an air raid in 1944 before she was completed while Z45 was never completed. Both ships were scrapped after the war.
Z43 was a Type 1936B destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1944, the ship spent the war in the Baltic Sea, escorting German ships, laying minefields, and bombarding Soviet forces. She participated in a minelaying operation in December 1944, where her sister ships Z35 and Z36 were sunk when they accidentally entered a German minefield. She was badly damaged by a mine on 10 April 1945, and scuttled on 3 May of that same year.
Z10 Hans Lody was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. At the beginning of World War II on 1 September 1939, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but she was quickly transferred to the North Sea to lay defensive minefields. In late 1939 the ship laid multiple offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed nine merchant ships and she crippled a British destroyer during one of these missions.
Z14 Friedrich Ihn was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. The ship was named after the First World War German naval officer Friedrich Ihn. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was initially deployed to blockade the Polish coast, but she was quickly transferred to the German Bight to lay defensive minefields in German waters. In late 1939 and early 1940, the ship laid multiple offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed 18 merchant ships and a destroyer. Ihn was under repair during the Norwegian Campaign of early 1940 and was transferred to France later that year.
Z20 Karl Galster was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. Completed in early 1939, the ship spent most of her time training. At the beginning of World War II in September, she was initially deployed to lay minefields off the German coast, but was soon transferred to the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. In late 1939 and early 1940, Z20 Karl Galster helped to laid three offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed one British destroyer, a fishing trawler, and twenty merchant ships. After a refit that prevented her from participating in the German invasion of Norway in April, the ship was sent to Norway for escort duties. Later that year Z20 Karl Galster was transferred to France, where she made several attacks on British shipping.
Z23 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1940, the ship spent the war in Norwegian and French waters, escorting German ships and occasionally engaging Allied warships. In early 1941 she escorted ships between the Baltic and southern Norway before spending four months protecting ships as they transited through the Bay of Biscay. A few months after the Operation Barbarossa began in June, Z23 was transferred to northern Norway where she attempted to intercept one of the Arctic convoys returning from the Soviet Union and helped to lay several minefields.
Z24 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1940, the ship spent the first half of the war in Norwegian waters. She was very active in attacking the Arctic convoys ferrying war materials to the Soviet Union in 1941–1942, but only helped to sink one Allied ship herself.
Z25 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1940, the ship spent most of the war in Norwegian waters, escorting German ships and laying minefields, despite venturing to France in early 1942 for the Channel Dash, escorting two battleships and a heavy cruiser home through the English Channel. She was active in attacking the Arctic convoys ferrying war materials to the Soviet Union in 1941–1942 but only helped to sink one Allied ship.
Z27 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1941, the ship was transferred to Norwegian waters later that year where she remained for most of the next several years, escorting convoys and laying minefields. She sank a Soviet oil tanker in late 1942 before sailing to Germany for a refit. Upon its completion in mid-1943, Z27 returned to Norway and participated in Operation Zitronella, the raid on the island of Spitsbergen in September.
Z28 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Built as a flotilla leader with fewer guns than her sister ships, she was completed in 1941. The ship spent most of the first few years of her service in Norwegian waters, escorting convoys and laying minefields. Z28 ran aground in early 1943 and spent the rest of the year under repair. The ship briefly returned to Norway at the beginning of 1944, but was transferred to the Baltic shortly afterwards to support minelaying operations in the Gulf of Finland. That was her primary focus through July and then she began escorting German cruisers as they bombarded Soviet troops ashore in addition to German convoys evacuating people from Finland and the Baltic States.
Z31 was a German Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer, which was completed in 1942 and served with the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was constructed in Germany as part of Plan Z, and commissioned 11 April 1942. She spent much of the war in Arctic and Norwegian waters, taking part in the Battle of the Barents Sea on 31 December 1942. She survived the war, and was passed on to the French Navy as a war prize, serving under the name Marceau until 1958.
Z34 was a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1943, the ship spent all of 1944 in Norwegian waters, and was twice damaged by British aircraft attacking the battleship Tirpitz. She escorted troop convoys from northern Norway when the Germans began evacuating the area beginning in October. Z34 was transferred to the Baltic with two of her sister ships at the beginning of 1945 and participated in the action of 28 January 1945 when they were intercepted off the Norwegian coast by a pair of British light cruisers. The ship was only lightly damaged during the battle and all three destroyers were able to disengage.
Z37 was a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in 1942, the ship spent most of her brief career deployed in France. She participated in the Battle of the Bay of Biscay at the end of 1943 before she was accidentally rammed by the destroyer Z32 in early 1944. Towed back to port, the Kriegsmarine decided that Z37 was too badly damaged to repair and disarmed her hulk. Decommissioned later that year, she was scuttled by her crew before being scrapped by the French in 1949.
Z38 was a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down in 1941, and completed two years later. Her anti-aircraft armament was modified heavily under Project Barbara. She served with the 4th Destroyer Flotilla her entire time under German service, and spent much of her life escorting task forces, patrolling, laying mines, and bombarding land forces. She served in the Baltic briefly in 1943, before being reassigned to the Arctic area around Norway from 1943 to 1945, and then serving in the Baltic again in 1945.
The German torpedo boat T5 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in 1940, she was assigned escort duties in June–July before she was tasked to escort minelayers as they laid their minefields in the North Sea and English Channel in August and September. T5 was transferred to Norway by November and escorted minelaying missions and supported operations in the Baltic Sea after the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. T5 returned to France at the end of the year and then escorted a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the Channel back to Germany in early 1942 in the Channel Dash.
The Type 1939 torpedo boats, also known as the Elbing class by the Allies, were a group of 15 torpedo boats that were built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
The German torpedo boat T28 was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1943, the ship was transferred to France in January 1944 and slightly damaged by British aircraft en route. She attacked Allied ships during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and returned to Germany the following month. T28 was assigned to support German operations in the Baltic Sea. She escorted convoys and larger warships bombarding Soviet troops as well as bombarding them herself. In May T28 helped to evacuate troops and refugees from advancing Soviet forces. The ship was allocated to Great Britain after the war, but she was transferred to France in 1946. The French Navy renamed her Le Lorrain and recommissioned her in 1949. After serving with different units of the Mediterranean Squadron, she was condemned in 1955 and subsequently sold for scrap.
The German torpedo boat T22 was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in early 1942, the ship was transferred to France later that year where she escorted blockade runners and Axis submarines through the Bay of Biscay. T22 also laid minefields in the English Channel in mid-1943. She participated in the Battle of Sept-Îles, where she crippled a British destroyer, and the Battle of the Bay of Biscay later that year. After returning to Germany in early 1944, T22 struck a pair of mines in Narva Bay in August and blew up, with the loss of 143 men.
The German torpedo boat T23 was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1942, the boat was stationed in France later that year where she escorted blockade runners and U-boats through the Bay of Biscay. T23 also laid minefields in the English Channel in mid-1943. She participated in the Battle of Sept-Îles and the Battle of the Bay of Biscay later that year, neither receiving nor inflicting any damage.
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