The Type 1936B class of destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s was a class of five destroyers built for the German Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 between 1941 and 1942, of which only three - Z36

German destroyer Z36

Z36 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 15 September 1941 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 15 May 1943 and commissioned on 19 February 1944. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Florilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitan Kommendant Fredric...

, Z35

German destroyer Z35

Z35 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 6 June 1941 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 2 October 1942 and commissioned on 22 September 1943. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitänleutnant Niels Bätge...

, and Z43

German destroyer Z43

Z43 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 1 May 1942 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 22 September 1943 and commissioned on 24 March 1944. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitän zur See Wenniger and...

 - were commissioned and saw service. The Z36 and Z35 were lost in the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

 after hitting friendly mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

, while Z43 was scuttled near the end of the war.

Design

The Type 1936B destroyer class differed from the previous Type 1936A class in several ways. One was that the twin 15 centimetres (5.9 in) turrets, positioned fore and aft, were removed because the older Type 1936As had been found to be too unstable in heavy seas. These two twin turrets were removed and replaced with five single 15 cm (5.9 in) turrets. along with more anti-aircraft defences. Apart from some other minor modifications, the ships retained the main characteristics of the 1936A class. They displaced 2527 tonnes (2,487.1 LT), and were manned by a crew of 321 officers and men. Although they had a maximum speed of 36.5 knots (19.9 m/s), their range was 2600 nautical miles (4,815.2 km) at 19 knots (10.3 m/s). The main armament of five 15 cm SK C/28

15 cm SK C/28

The 15 cm SK C/28 was a German medium-caliber naval gun used during the Second World War. It served as the secondary armament for the Bismarck class and Scharnhorst-class battleships, Deutschland-class pocket battleships and the Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carrier...

 guns could be depressed to -10° and elevated to 35°. The turrets had an arc of fire of 360°, able to fire at any given point. The guns fired 45.3 kilograms (99.9 lb) armor-piercing or high-explosive shells at a muzzle velocity of 875 metres per second (2,870.7 ft/s) to a range of 23000 metres (25,153.1 yd). The destroyers also carried four 37 millimetres (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns and six 20 mm (0.78740157480315 in) anti-aircraft guns in pairs. They had eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes and, when fitted as a minelayer, could carry 76 mines.

Ships of the class

Ship	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Z35 German destroyer Z35 Z35 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 6 June 1941 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 2 October 1942 and commissioned on 22 September 1943. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitänleutnant Niels Bätge...	DeSchiMAG Bremen, 6 June 1941	2 October 1942	22 September 1943	sunk 12 December 1944
Z36 German destroyer Z36 Z36 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 15 September 1941 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 15 May 1943 and commissioned on 19 February 1944. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Florilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitan Kommendant Fredric...	DeSchiMAG Bremen, 15 September 1941	15 May 1943	19 February 1944	sunk 12 December 1944
Z43 German destroyer Z43 Z43 was a Type 1936B destroyer of the German Kriegsmarine. She was laid down on 1 May 1942 at Deschimag in Bremen, launched on 22 September 1943 and commissioned on 24 March 1944. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in the Baltic Sea under the command of Kapitän zur See Wenniger and...	DeSchiMAG Bremen, 1 May 1942	22 September 1943	24 March 1944	scuttled 3 May 1945
Z44 German destroyer Z44 Z44 was a German naval warship which operated for a short time during the latter period of World War II. She was a Type 1936B destroyer, laid down during 1942 at Deschimag in Bremen and launched on 20 January 1944. She was heavily damaged in an air attack on 29 July 1944, prior to the planned date...	DeSchiMAG Bremen, 1942	20 January 1944	Never commissioned	scrapped 1948-1949
Z45 German destroyer Z45 Z45 was a German naval warship which operated for a short time during the latter period of World War II. She was a Type 1936B destroyer, laid down during 1942 at Deschimag in Bremen and launched on 15 April 1944. Work on the ship was cancelled as World War II drew to a close...	DeSchiMAG Bremen, 1942	15 April 1944	Never commissioned	scrapped in shipyard in 1946