German torpedoboats of World War II

The German torpedoboats of World War II were armed principally, if not exclusively, with torpedoes and varied widely in size. They should not be confused with the larger destroyers, nor with the smaller, torpedo-armed Schnellboote (known to the Allies as E-boats).

Classes

Raubvogel (1923) and Raubtier (1924)

Raubtier-class torpedo boats
Class overview
Operators:	Kriegsmarine
In commission:	1926 - 1944
Completed:	12
General characteristics
Type:	Raubvogel (1923) & Raubtier (1924) Torpedo boat
Displacement:	1923: 923 tons (standard) 1,290 tons (full load) 1924: 932 tons (standard) 1,298 tons (full load)
Length:	1923: 87.7 m 1924: 92.6 m
Beam:	1923: 8.25 m 1924: 8.65 m
Draught:	1923: 3.65 m 1924: 3.52 m
Propulsion:	1923: 2 shaft geared steam turbines (all Blohm & Voß, except Albatros - Schichau), 3 boilers, 24,000 shp 1924: 2 shaft geared steam turbines (from Brown, Boveri & Cie, Vulcan and Schichau), 3 boilers, 25,500 shp
Speed:	1923: 33.6 kn (62.2 km/h) 1924: 35.2 knots (65.2 km/h)
Range:	1923: 1,700 nmi (3,100 km) at 17 knots (31 km/h) 1924: 2,000 nmi (4,000 km) at 17 knots (31 km/h)
Complement:	120 - 129
Armament:	3 × 10.5 cm L/45 (3x1) 2 × 2 cm Flak L/65 (1×1) (4 or 7 from 1940) 6 × 500 (533 from 1931) mm torpedo tubes (2×3) 30 mines

The six Raubvogel (German:"Bird of prey") class torpedo boats were developed from earlier designs shortly after World War I and came into service in 1926 and 1927. They were the first to use electrical welding for hull construction to reduce displacement and they also introduced geared turbines. During the Second World War these ships were referred to as the Möwe class by the Royal Navy.

Despite the innovations, and unlike contemporary German destroyers, the Raubvogels were successful sea-boats, although limited to coastal waters, and most remained in service until 1944, by which time all had been lost. Well before this time, however, the deficiencies of their concentration on torpedoes became apparent: their anti-aircraft weaponry was wholly deficient, and had to be upgraded, and their guns were also minimal.

The immediately following six ships of Raubtier ("predator") class had been intended to mount 12.7 cm guns but, instead, received updated 10.5 cm weapons. Speed and range were improved. Otherwise, they displayed the same good and bad points as the Raubvogels and experienced similar operational conditions and upgrades.

They entered service in 1927 and 1928 and all but one had been lost before mid 1942.

During the St. Nazaire Raid ("Operation Chariot"), the destroyer HMS Campbeltown was altered by the Royal Navy to look like a Raubvogel class torpedo boat.

All twelve vessels were built at Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven

Type 23 (Raubvogel)

Name	Launched	Completed	Fate
Möwe (Seagull)	1926	1926	Sunk by bombing in Le Havre 14 June 1944
Falke (Falcon)	1926	1926	Sunk by bombing in Le Havre 14 June 1944
Greif (Griffon)	1926	1927	Torpedoed by aircraft 24 May 1944
Kondor (Condor)	1926	1927	Mined 23 May 1944, decommissioned 1 August 1944
Albatros	1926	1928	Wrecked by accidental grounding on 10 April 1940 during the invasion of Norway
Seeadler (Sea Eagle)	1926	1927	Sunk by British MTBs 14 May 1942 while escorting the auxiliary cruiser Stier

Type 24 (Raubtier)

Name	Launched	Completed	Fate
Wolf	1927	1928	Mined 8 January 1941 near Dunkirk
Iltis (Polecat)	1927	1928	Sunk by British MTBs 14 May 1942 while escorting the auxiliary cruiser Stier
Jaguar	1928	1929	Bombed 14 June 1944
Leopard	1928	1929	Wrecked in collision 30 April 1940
Luchs (Lynx)	1928	1929	Torpedoed by HM Submarine Thames 26 July 1940
Max Schultz 25 September 1939

Torpedoboot 1935 and 1937

Torpedoboot 1935
Class overview
Operators:	Kriegsmarine
Completed:	21
General characteristics
Type:	1935 and 1937 Torpedo boat
Displacement:	1935: 844 tons (standard), 1,088 tons (full load) 1937: 1,098 tons (full load)
Length:	1935: 84.30 m 1937: 85.20 m
Beam:	1935: 8.62 m 1937: 8.87 m
Draught:	1935: 2.94 m 1937: 3.14 m
Propulsion:	1935: 2 shaft geared Wagner turbines, 31,000 shp 1937: 2 shaft geared Wagner turbines, 34,110 shp
Speed:	1935: 35 kn (65 km/h) 1937: 36.6 knots (67.8 km/h)
Range:	1935: 1,070 nmi (1,980 km) at 19 knots (35 km/h) 1937: 1,400 nmi (2,590 km) at 19 knots (35 km/h)
Complement:	1935: 119 1937: 119-155
Armament:	(as for T1): 1 × 10.5 cm L/45 (3×1) 512 × 2 cm MG L/65 6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes (2×3) 30 mines

Main article: Torpedo boat type 35

The 1935 design was unsuccessful and the 1937 was little better. These ships were designed as a larger more seaworthy torpedo vessel rather than a more balanced mini destroyer.

The requirements for the 1935 class included a maximum "declared" displacement of around 600 tons in order to come within a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, and higher speeds than the older 1923 and 1924 classes. In reality these ships came in overweight at around 900 tons standard displacement. To achieve this, high pressure turbines were used but these were unreliable and difficult to repair and maintain in the restricted space of the hull. The low displacement made them unseaworthy which was only partially resolved by 1940 and this reduced the effectiveness of the class as minelayers. There was an even greater concentration on torpedoes, with a single 10.5 centimetre gun and minimal anti-aircraft protection.

The 1937s incorporated some modifications, including lower pressure turbines, but with little real improvement. They displayed the same limitations as their predecessors and the reasons for persisting with such a poor design are unclear.

Twelve 1935s and nine 1937s were built at Schichau Elbing and all except two survived until the late war or post-war. This survivability reflects their unsuitability as warships and they were either withdrawn into reserve or used as training ships.

Type 1935

Name	Launched	Completed	Fate
T1	19 February 1938	2 December 1939	sunk 9 April 1945
T2	7 April 1938	9 December 1939	bombed and sunk in Bremen 29 July 1944, salvaged and scrapped 1946
T3	23 June 1938	3 April 1940	mined and sunk 14 March 1945 near Danzig
T4	15 April 1938	27 May 1940	transferred to Denmark and scrapped Feb 1952 without seeing further service
T5	22 Nov 1937	23 Jan 1940	mined and sunk 14 March 1945 near Danzig
T6	16 December 1937	30 April 1940	mined and sunk 7 Nov 1940 off the East coast of England
T7	18 June 1938	20 Dec 1939	scrapped between 1947-1949
T8	10 Aug 1938	8 Oct 1939	scuttled 3 May 1945 near Kiel
T9	3 November 1938	4 July 1940	scuttled 3 May 1945 near Kiel
T10	6 August 1940	6 August 1940	destroyed 18 December 1944, by bombing in dry dock Gotenhafen (note 1 date is likely wrong)
T11	1 March 1939	7 May 1940	transferred to the French Navy as war reparation, renamed Bir Hakeim, scrapped October 1951
T12	12 Apr 1939	3 July 1940	transferred to the USSR as war reparation, served as the Podvischny until the 1960s. sunk in deep water 1991

Type 1937

Name	Launched	Completed	Fate
T13	15 June 1939	31 May 1941	sunk 10 April 1945 by RAF bombing
T14	20 July 1939	14 June 1941	transferred to France as the Dompaire scrapped 1951
T15	16 September 1939	26 June 1941	sunk 13 December 1943 in Kiel by bombing
T16	23 November 1938	24 July 1941	decommissioned 13 April 1945
T17	13 March 1940	28 August 1941	transferred to the USSR as the Poryvistyy, scrapped after 1960
T18	1 June 1940	22 November 1941	sunk 17 September 1944, by Soviet aircraft rockets near the Åland Islands
T19	20 July 1940	18 December 1941	transferred to USA, then to Denmark and scrapped February 1952
T20	12 September 1940	5 June 1942	transferred to France as the Baccarat, scrapped 1951
T21	21 November 1940	11 July 1942	scuttled by the US Navy in the Skagerak 10 June 1946

Flottentorpedoboot 1939 (Elbing class)

Main article: Elbing class torpedo boat

The Elbings "Fleet torpedo boats" were a radical design departure from their predecessors, larger and with a more balanced weapons mix. They were comparable with British destroyers of the period. The ships were unnamed, but numbered T22 to T36.

Flottentorpedoboot 1940

After the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the Dutch shipyards were almost undamaged. Therefore the German Navy contacted the Dutch shipbuilders to build some smaller vessels for the Kriegsmarine. The Flottentorpedoboot 1940 was more a destroyer than a torpedo boat and based on Dutch designs. Twenty four were ordered in 1940-1941, but only three were launched and in 1944 the incomplete ships were transferred to the Baltic Sea to be completed where they were either destroyed or captured by the Allies after the war.

Flottentorpedoboot 1941

The Flottentorpedoboot 1941 was an improvement of the Flottentorpedoboot 1939 class with more powerful engines and additional anti aircraft artillery was added. 15 of those boats were ordered in 1942-1944, but none of them was completed. At the end of the war, the few ships already launched were in different stages of construction, one of them, the T37 was very close to completion. Those ships which could be moved to the west were towed away from Elbing, but their construction was not continued.

Flottentorpedoboot 1944

The Flottentorpedoboot 1944 were planned after a radical change in torpedo boat tactics, they were designed to be able to operate with other fleet units in the North Atlantic. This class had the main focus of armament changed to anti aircraft artillery. Therefore the main armament were four 10,5 cm flak guns, plus an increased number of smaller antiaircraft guns, but those ships kept the torpedo and mine laying abilities of their predecessors. To enable those ships for ocean operations, their range had to be dramatically enlarged. As a technical innovation, all auxiliary machinery were electrical powered instead of the usual steam powered ones. Nine (T52-T60) were ordered but were cancelled shortly thereafter.

Torpedoboot Ausland

The Torpedoboot Ausland ("foreign torpedo boats") were small destroyers or large torpedo boats captured by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Kriegsmarine. They were assigned a number beginning with TA. They numbered from TA 1 to TA 47, most never entered service for one reason or another.

See also

• Schnellboot German motor torpedo boats.
• German World War II destroyers

• Motor Torpedo Boat British MTBs
• Fairmile D motor torpedo boat British response to the E-boat
• Steam Gun Boat British E-boat hunter
• Torpedo boat general history

References

• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Volume 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. 
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2. 
• Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-55750-302-8. 

External links

• - page on Type 23 from German Navy.de
• - page on Type 24 from German Navy.de
• Classe: Raubtier (French)