Elbing class torpedo boat
- Elbing class torpedo boat
The "Elbing" class torpedo boats (or Flottentorpedoboot 1939) were a class of fifteen small warships that served in the Kriegsmarine in World War II. Although classed as "Flottentorpedoboot" ("Fleet torpedo boat") by the Germans, in most respects - displacement, weaponry, usage - they were comparable to contemporary British medium-size destroyers. The most notable difference was the in the armament with the "Elbings" being fewer in number and of a slightly smaller calibre - 105 mm compared to the 4.5 inch (114 mm) of contemporary British destroyers such as the L and M class.
Service was either in western France from late 1942 until August 1944 or in the Baltic Sea from March 1944 until the end of the war.
The design and weapons mix resulted from experience of earlier, more specialised classes such as the Torpedo boat type 35. The "Elbings" were a radical change to an all-purpose vessel capable of torpedo attacks, anti-aircraft defence and escort duties. These ships adopted unit machinery with two separate engine rooms and two boiler rooms. Their machinery was however relatively unreliable.
They were effective fighting vessels, a notable success being the sinking of the British cruiser HMS|Charybdis|88|6 and the escort destroyer "Limbourne" by torpedoes, off Brittany in late 1943 and HMCS "Athabaskan" in 1944. The 4th TorpedoBoat Flotilla ("T22", "T23", "T25", "T25" and "T26") had been protecting an important blockade runner though despite their success it ran aground and was lost. Three ships ("T22, T30, T32") were accidentally lost on 18 August 1943 on the German minefield in the Gulf of Finland.
Construction of the class took place in the Schichau shipyards in Elbing (now Elbląg), hence the Allied codename for the class. The first examples were commissioned in late 1942 and the last in late 1944.
The ships
The ships were unnamed, but numbered "T22" to "T36".
ee also
* German torpedoboats of World War II
References
*cite book
last = Jackson
first = Robert
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Kriegsmarine The llustrated history of the German Navy in WWII
publisher = Aurum Press
year = 2001
location = London
pages = pp163-164
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1-85410-746-1
*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Kriegsmarine Flottentorpedoboot 1939
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/torpedoboats/flottentorpedoboot1939/index.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-10-17
* M.J Whitley, Destroyers of World War 2, 1988 Cassell Publishing ISBN 1 85409 521 8
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