Z8 Bruno Heinemann was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s. After the start of World War II in September 1939, she blockaded the Polish coast and searched neutral shipping for contraband. In late 1939 and early 1940 the ship made three successful minelaying sorties off the English coast that claimed 17 merchant ships. Bruno Heinemann participated in the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign by transporting troops to the Trondheim area in early April 1940. The ship was transferred to France a year later to escort German ships that used the French ports on the Atlantic coast. She was returning to France in early 1942 when she struck two mines and sank off the coast of Belgium.
Z11 Bernd von Arnim was a Type 1934A-class destroyer built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. 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 minefields in German waters. In late 1939 the ship made one successful minelaying sortie off the English coast that claimed one British warship and seven merchant ships. During the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign, Bernd von Arnim fought the British destroyer Glowworm while transporting troops to the Narvik area in early April 1940, but neither ship was damaged during the action. The ship fought in both naval Battles of Narvik several days later and had to be scuttled after she exhausted her ammunition.
Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. Completed a few months before the start of World War II in September 1939, the ship served as a flagship throughout her career. She briefly patrolled the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp later helped to lay four offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed two British destroyers, 2 fishing trawlers, and twenty-seven merchant ships. During the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, she sank a Norwegian coastal defense ship off Narvik and was crippled with the opening shots of the First Naval Battle of Narvik on 10 April, with the loss of 81 crewmen. The ship sank the following day.
The Type 23 torpedo boat was a group of six torpedo boats built for the Reichsmarine during the 1920s. As part of the renamed Kriegsmarine, the boats made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, they played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940, Albatros being lost when she ran aground. The Type 23s spent the next several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and escorting ships before the ships were transferred to France around September. Möwe was torpedoed during this time and did not return to service until 1942. They started laying minefields themselves in September and continued to do so for the rest of the war.
The Type 24 torpedo boat (also known as the was a group of six torpedo boats built for the Reichsmarine during the 1920s. As part of the renamed Kriegsmarine, the boats made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. One was sunk in an accidental collision shortly before the start of World War II in September 1939 and the others escorted ships and searched for contraband for several months of the war. They played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of April 1940 and resumed their escort duties. After being transferred to France late in the year, the Type 24s started laying their own minefields in the English Channel.
Seeadler was the second of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Battle of Kristiansand during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Seeadler spent the next couple of years escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and laying minefields herself. She also spent the latter half of 1941 escorting convoys through the Skaggerak. The boat returned to France in 1942 and was one of the escorts for the capital ships sailing from France to Germany through the English Channel in the Channel Dash. Seeadler then helped to escort one commerce raider through the Channel and was sunk by British forces while escorting another blockade runner in May.
Greif was the third of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940 by transporting troops that captured Arendal. Greif spent the next couple of years escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and laying minefields herself. She also spent the latter half of 1941 escorting convoys through the Skagerrak. The boat had a lengthy refit that lasted all of 1942 and then spent March–April 1943 escorting ships in Norwegian waters before returning to France. While deployed there Greif laid numerous minefields and escorted U-boats through the Bay of Biscay. The boat was sunk by Allied aircraft in May 1944.
Kondor was the fifth of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the attack on Oslo, the capital of Norway, during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Kondor spent the next several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and damaged heavy ships back to Germany before she was transferred to France around September. She started laying minefields herself that month and continued to do so for the rest of the war. The boat returned to France in 1942 and helped to escort blockade runners, commerce raiders and submarines through the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Damaged by a mine shortly before the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, Kondor was under repair on the day of the landings. Recognizing that she could not be repaired quickly, the boat was decommissioned later that month and was then further damaged by British bombers so that she was declared a constructive total loss.
Falke was the sixth and last Type 23 torpedo boat built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Falke spent the next several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and damaged heavy ships back to Germany before she was transferred to France around September. She started laying minefields herself that month and continued to do so for the rest of the war. After a refit in early 1941, the boat was transferred to the Skaggerak where she was assigned escort duties. Falke returned to France in 1942 and was one of the escorts for the capital ships sailing from France to Germany through the English Channel in the Channel Dash. She helped to escort blockade runners, commerce raiders and submarines through the Channel and the Bay of Biscay for the next several years. The boat attacked Allied ships during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, but was sunk by British bombers that same month.
Möwe was the lead ship of the her class of six torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During the Norwegian Campaign of 1940, she played a minor in the attack on Oslo, the capital of Norway. Möwe was torpedoed and badly damaged by a British submarine in May and did not return to active service until 1942 when she was transferred to France. The boat helped to escort blockade runners, commerce raiders and submarines through the Bay of Biscay. She also laid numerous minefields and attacked Allied ships during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Möwe was sunk by British bombers that same month.
Wolf was the second of six Type 24 torpedo boats built for the German Navy during the 1920s. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the occupation of Bergen during the Norwegian Campaign of April 1940. Wolf escorted minelayers once as they laid minefields in late April before beginning a refit that lasted until August. She was transferred to France around September and conducted offensive patrols in the English Channel as well as laying minefields herself. The ship struck a mine and was sunk returning from one such mission in January 1941.
Jaguar was the sixth and last Type 24 torpedo boat built for the German Navy during the 1920s. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Jaguar spent the next several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and damaged heavy ships back to Germany before she was transferred to France around September. She started laying minefields herself that month and continued to do so for the rest of the war. After a refit in early 1941, the boat was transferred to the Skaggerak where she was assigned escort duties. Jaguar returned to France in 1942 and was one of the escorts for the capital ships sailing from France to Germany through the English Channel in the Channel Dash. She helped to escort blockade runners, commerce raiders and submarines through the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, as well as Norwegian waters, for the next several years. The boat attacked Allied ships during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, but was sunk by British bombers that same month.
Leopard was the fifth of six Type 24 torpedo boats built for the German Navy during the 1920s. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the occupation of Bergen during the Norwegian Campaign of April 1940. Leopard was sunk at the end of the month when she was accidentally rammed by a minelayer that she was escorting.
The German torpedo boat T2 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was not combat ready until mid-1940 when she spent several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields. The boat returned to Germany after being damaged and supported operations in the Baltic Sea after the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. T2 returned to France at the end of the year, escorting a commerce raider through the English Channel en route, 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 boat was placed in reserve upon her return and was transferred back to France in 1943 where she helped to escort blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay. In mid-1943 she returned to the Baltic and briefly served as a flagship of a submarine flotilla before being assigned to the Torpedo School. T2 was sunk in an air raid in July 1944, but was refloated several months later. She was never repaired and was scrapped in 1946.
The German torpedo boat T3 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in 1940, she was assigned to escort minelayers as they laid their minefields in the North Sea and English Channel in July. The boat was sunk in France by British bombers in September and was refloated the following year. T3 was assigned to the Torpedo School when her repairs were completed in 1943. She returned to active duty a year later and escorted German ships as they bombarded Soviet positions. The boat sank a Soviet submarine in early 1944 and she struck a mine in March 1945 and sank with heavy loss of life.
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 German torpedo boat T7 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was not combat ready until mid-1940 when she spent several months escorting minelayers as they laid minefields in the North Sea and the English Channel. The boat participated in an abortive attempt to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast in November. T7 returned to Germany for a refit in January 1941 and then supported operations in the Baltic Sea after the start of Operation Barbarossa in June. The boat was one of the escorts for several commerce raiders passing through the English Channel in late 1941 and then escorted German ships in Norwegian waters in mid-1942. She was briefly placed in reserve later that year and was then reactivated for service with the Torpedo School. T7 was sunk in an air raid in July 1944, but was refloated several months later. She was never repaired and was scrapped in 1947–1949.
The German torpedo boat T13 was the lead ship of her class of nine torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in mid-1941, the boat was assigned convoy escort work in the Baltic Sea before she was transferred to Occupied France in early 1942. T13 helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February in the Channel Dash and then returned to France in July after receiving a refit. There the boat laid minefields and escorted Axis blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic Ocean. In mid-1943, she was assigned to the Torpedo School where she remained until mid-1944. T13 returned to the Baltic where she screened German ships as they bombarded Soviet positions for the rest of the year. The boat was then assigned convoy escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945. During one such mission in April, T13 was sunk by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers.
The German torpedo boat T14 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, she helped escort several commerce raiders passing through the English Channel in 1941 and 1942 in addition to blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic. The boat remained in France until November 1943, during which time she laid several minefields, and was then assigned to the Torpedo School before beginning a lengthy refit in 1944. T14 was assigned to convoy escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945 and survived the war. The boat was allocated to the United States after the war, but she was transferred to France in 1947 and renamed Dompaire. Unused by the French Navy, the boat was stricken from the Navy List in 1951 and subsequently scrapped.
The German torpedo boat T19 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in late 1941, she served as a training ship in the Torpedo School until mid-1942 when she was transferred to France. There she laid minefields in the English Channel and escorted Axis blockade runners and U-boats through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic Ocean. T19 returned to Germany in late 1943 and became a training ship again for the Torpedo School. She returned to active duty a year later and supported German forces operating in the Baltic Sea. The boat was then assigned escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945, which included covering minelaying missions. In May T19 helped to evacuate troops and refugees from advancing Soviet forces. The boat was allocated to the United States after the war, but she was sold to Denmark a few years later. Unused by the Royal Danish Navy, T4 was scrapped in 1951–1952.
Germany 