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.
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.
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.
Iltis was the lead ship of her class of six 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 did not participate in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940 as she was under repair after having accidentally rammed and sunk a U-boat. Iltis 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. Iltis then helped to escort one commerce raider through the Channel and was sunk by British forces while escorting another blockade runner in May.
Luchs was the fourth 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 Battle of Kristiansand during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Luchs was sunk in Norwegian waters in July by either a British submarine or a floating mine.
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 T1 was the lead ship of her class of a dozen torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in late 1939, she was assigned to escort minelayers as they laid their minefields in the English Channel in September 1940. The boat participated in an abortive attempt to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast two months later. T1 was placed in reserve in April 1941 and was reactivated in June 1942 for duty with the Torpedo School. In April 1944 the boat returned to active duty and was assigned to the Baltic Sea area. She escorted a bombardment mission in January 1945 and was sunk during an air raid on 9 April.
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 T4 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed during World War II in mid-1940, she participated in an abortive attempt to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast in November 1940. The boat was one of the escorts for several commerce raiders passing through the English Channel in 1941 and 1942 and helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the Channel back to Germany in the Channel Dash. She was assigned to the Torpedo School in mid-1943 and was then transferred to the Baltic Sea a year later. 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.
The German torpedo boat T6 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine 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.
The German torpedo boat T8 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. T8 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. She was briefly placed in reserve at the end of the year and was then reactivated for service with the Torpedo School. In February 1944 the boat returned to active duty and was assigned to the Baltic Sea area where she supported German operations. T8 escorted a bombardment mission in February 1945 and was sunk by British aircraft on 3 May.
The German torpedo boat T9 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in July 1940, the boat participated in an abortive attempt to attack several convoys off the Scottish coast in November. T9 was placed in reserve in August 1941 and was reactivated in June 1942 for duties in France. She participated in an unsuccessful attempt to escort a blockade runner through the Bay of Biscay in early 1943 and was then transferred to the Torpedo School in September. In mid-1944 the boat returned to active duty and was assigned to the Baltic Sea area. She escorted a bombardment mission in November and was damaged by bombers in East Prussia in early 1945. T9 was sunk near Kiel, Germany, during an air raid on 3 May.
The German torpedo boat T11 was one of a dozen Type 35 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during the late 1930s. Completed in mid-1940, the boat was deployed in the English Channel later that year and returned to Germany in December. She then supported operations in the Baltic Sea after the start of Operation Barbarossa in June. T11 was transferred to France at the end of the year and helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the Channel back to Germany in the Channel Dash in early 1942. She then escorted German ships in Norwegian waters for several months and was placed in reserve when she returned to Germany. The boat spent all of 1943 and 1944 either refitting or assigned to the Torpedo School. T11 returned to active duty at the beginning of 1945 and survived the war. The boat was allocated to the British after the war, but she was transferred to France in 1946. Unused by the French Navy, she was stricken from the Navy List in 1951 and subsequently scrapped.
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 T15 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, the ship was transferred to Occupied France in December. She helped to escort a pair of battleships and a heavy cruiser through the English Channel back to Germany in February 1942 in the Channel Dash and then was ordered to Norway for escort work. T15 returned to Germany in August where she was assigned to the Torpedo School and U-boat Flotillas as a training ship. The ship was sunk by American bombers in December 1943.
The German torpedo boat T18 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1941, she was later assigned to the Baltic Sea for convoy escort duties. The boat briefly became a training ship in 1942 before she was transferred to France where she laid minefields and escorted Axis blockade runners and U-boats through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic Ocean. T18 returned to Germany in mid-1943 and became a training ship again for the Torpedo School and U-boat Flotillas. The boat returned to active duty in mid-1944 and assigned to the Baltic where she was sunk by Soviet aircraft in September.
The German torpedo boat T20 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1942, she was transferred to Norway in March 1943 for escort duties. The ship returned to Germany in October and was assigned to the Torpedo School. T20 returned to active duty a year later and supported German forces operating in the Baltic Sea. She was then assigned escort duties in the Skagerrak around the beginning of 1945, which included covering minelaying missions. The ship was allocated to the British after the war, but she was transferred to France in 1946. Unused by the French Navy, she was stricken from the Navy List in 1951 and subsequently scrapped.
The German torpedo boat T21 was one of nine Type 37 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in mid-1942, she was transferred to Norway in March 1943 for escort duties. The ship returned to Germany in October and was assigned to the Torpedo School. T21 returned to active duty in May 1944 and supported German forces operating in the Baltic Sea. The boat began a major refit in December which had not been completed when the war ended in May 1945. She was allocated to the United States after the war, but was only used to dispose of gas munitions by scuttling her in deep water in 1946.
The German torpedo boat T30 was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the Kriegsmarine during World War II. Completed in late 1943, the boat was assigned to support German operations in the Baltic Sea. She laid minefields in the Gulf of Finland, off the Estonian coast, in mid-April, before she was tasked to support Finnish forces in June. The following month, T30 helped to sink a Soviet patrol boat. After a navigational error caused her to enter a German minefield as she was preparing to lay one herself in August, the boat sank after striking several mines with the loss of 137 crewmen.
Germany 