German torpedo boat T6

Last updated
Torpedoboot1935-Erstzustand.svg
Right elevation and plan of the Type 1935
History
War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg Nazi Germany
NameT6
Ordered15 January 1936
Builder DeSchiMAG, Bremen
Yard number935
Laid down3 January 1937
Launched16 December 1937
Completed30 April 1940
FateSunk by mine, 7 November 1940
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type Type 35 torpedo boat
Displacement
Length84.3 m (276 ft 7 in) o/a
Beam8.62 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draft2.83 m (9 ft 3 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range1,200  nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement119
Armament

The German torpedo boat T6 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) during the late 1930s. Completed in 1940, she initially escorted ships through the Skaggerak before she was assigned to escort minelayers as they laid their minefields in the North Sea and English Channel in July. T6 started laying her own minefields two months later and was flagship of the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla when she struck a mine and sank when attempting to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast in November.

Contents

Design and description

The Type 35 was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kriegsmarine to design a fast, ocean-going torpedo boat that did not exceed the 600-long-ton (610 t) displacement limit of the London Naval Treaty for ships that counted against the national tonnage limit. [1] The boats had an overall length of 84.3 meters (276 ft 7 in) and were 82.2 meters (269 ft 8 in) long at the waterline. After the bow was rebuilt in 1941 to improve seaworthiness, the overall length increased to 87.1 meters (285 ft 9 in). [2] The ships had a beam of 8.62 meters (28 ft 3 in), and a mean draft of 2.83 meters (9 ft 3 in) at deep load and displaced 859 metric tons (845 long tons ) at standard load and 1,108 metric tons (1,091 long tons) at deep load. [3] Their crew numbered 119 officers and sailors. [4] Their pair of geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller, were designed to produce 31,000 shaft horsepower (23,000  kW ) using steam from four high-pressure water-tube boilers [2] which would propel the boats at 35 knots (65  km/h ; 40  mph ). They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). [3]

As built, the Type 35 class mounted a single 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 gun on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a single 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 anti-aircraft gun superfiring over the 10.5 cm gun and a pair of 2 cm (0.8 in) C/30 guns on the bridge wings. They carried six above-water 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes in two triple mounts and could also carry 30 mines (or 60 if the weather was good). Many boats exchanged the 3.7 cm gun for another 2 cm gun, depth charges and minesweeping paravanes before completion. Late-war additions were limited to the installation of radar, radar detectors and additional AA guns, usually at the expense of the aft torpedo tube mount. [5]

Construction and career

T6 was ordered on 15 January 1936 from DeSchiMAG, laid down at their Bremen shipyard on 3 January 1937 [6] as yard number 935, [2] launched on 16 December 1937 and commissioned on 30 April 1940. The boat was working up until July when she was transferred to the Skaggerak for convoy escort duties. [6] By 31 August T6 was assigned to the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla with her sister ships T5, T7 and T8 as the flotilla escorted minelayers as they laid minefields in the southwestern part of the North Sea from 31 August to 2 September. The flotilla escorted a minelaying mission in the English Channel on 5–6 September and then laid minefields itself on 8–9 and 15–16 September in the Straits of Dover. By November the 1st and 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotillas had transferred to Stavanger, Norway. German aerial reconnaissance had located two coastal convoys in early November that the Kriegsmarine estimated would pass Kinnaird Head, Scotland, during the early morning of 7 November. Both flotillas with T6, T7, T8 and their sisters, T1, T4, T9 and T10 sailed on 6 November in an attempt to pass through a gap in the British minefields and intercept the convoys around 02:00 the following morning. The British had extended their minefields further north unbeknownst to the Germans and T6, flagship of the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla, struck a mine shortly after midnight. The explosion knocked out both turbines, started a fire aft and gave the ship a 10 degree list. When the forward turbine room started to flood and the list increased, the captain gave the order to abandon ship. T7 and T8 rescued the survivors, but 48 men were lost and the operation was abandoned. [7]

Notes

  1. Whitley 1991, pp. 47–49
  2. 1 2 3 Gröner, p. 193
  3. 1 2 Whitley 1991, p. 202
  4. Sieche, p. 237
  5. Whitley 1991, pp. 49–51; Whitley 2000, p. 71
  6. 1 2 Whitley, p. 209
  7. Rohwer, pp. 38–40, 48; Whitley, p. 114

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German torpedo boat <i>T13</i> German torpedo boat

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.

German torpedo boat <i>T14</i> German torpedo boat

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.

German torpedo boat <i>T17</i> German torpedo boat

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German torpedo boat <i>T19</i> German torpedo boat

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.

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