German destroyer Z39

The Z39 was a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer built for Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down in August 1940 and completed three years later. Her anti-aircraft armament was increased extensively during the war. She served with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla her entire German career, which she spent escorting transports in the Baltic Sea, laying mines, and bombarding land forces. She served with a total of three different countries: from 1943 to 1945 with the Kriegsmarine as Z39, from 1945 to 1947 with the US Navy as DD-939, and from 1948 to 1964 with the French Navy as Q-128.

Z39 underway under American control, 1945
History
Nazi Germany
Name: Z39
Ordered: 26 June 1939
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number: G629
Laid down: 15 August 1940
Launched: 2 December 1941
Completed: 21 August 1943
Fate: Transferred to the United States Navy in 1945
History
United States
Name: DD-939
Commissioned: 14 September 1945
Fate: Transferred to the French Navy.
History
France
Name: Q-128
Fate: Broken up in 1964.
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type: Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer
Displacement:
Length:
  • 121.9 m (399 ft 11 in) at Waterline
  • 127 m (416 ft 8 in) o/a
Beam: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draught: 4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed: 38.5 knots (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph)
Range: 2,239 nmi (4,147 km; 2,577 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement: 332
Armament:

Throughout her German career, she laid numerous barrages of mines in the Baltic Sea and bombarded Soviet forces several times. In the last months of the war, Z39 helped escort steamships, which were evacuating German soldiers and civilians from Eastern Europe to Denmark. She was damaged twice, once by Soviet planes while in Paldiski, and then by British planes, while in Kiel. At the end of the war, she was transferred to the United States Navy. It conducted experiments testing her equipment—her high-pressure steam propulsion plant in particular. After the US Navy deemed her obsolete, she was transferred to the French Navy, where she was cannibalised for parts, and made into a pontoon boat for minesweepers.

Background

Destroyer Function

During World War Two, destroyers served three basic functions: to act as screening ships to defend their fleets from those of an enemy; to attack an enemy's screening ships; and to defend their fleet from submarines.[1] How destroyers were actually used varied by country. Germany did not use her destroyers to defend against submarines, hence their lack of strong anti-submarine armament. Germany relied on a massive fleet of trawlers which had been requisitioned and re-fitted as minelayers instead. The role of the destroyer began to vary more widely as the war progressed. British destroyers were built for escorting fleets, defending them from enemy planes and sinking submarines. German destroyers were built to escort fleets, or act as torpedo boats.[2]

Interbellum

Following the end of World War One, Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, which put strict limits both on the size and displacement of warships that she could possess. During the Interbellum, the period between the first and second world wars, the average size Allied ships and their armaments in almost all warship categories grew substantially. As a result of the treaty, Germany felt that her ships could not compete with those of the Allied navies and began to ignore the treaty, at first covertly, and later openly after Hitler publicly denounced it. The displacements of all German ships at the time were purposefully understated to have their official sizes comply with the treaty. At first, these changes were made with the goal of being able to match or exceed French and Polish destroyers, but later it was necessary that these destroyers be able to match British destroyers, a much more difficult goal.[3]

Due to the comparatively small number of German shipyards, compared to the British or French, Germany adopted a policy of overarming her destroyers to compensate for their low numbers, so that they bore similar armament to French and Polish light cruisers.[3] Several negative consequences resulted from this, however, such as making them slower and overweight.[4] Although German heavy destroyers matched British light cruisers in armament, they were much less seaworthy, and had far worse facilities for control and use of their guns.[5]

Plan Z

Plan Z was a German naval re-armament plan, started in 1939, which involved building ten battleships, four aircraft carriers, twelve battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, five heavy cruisers, forty-four light cruisers, sixty-eight destroyers, and 249 submarines. These ships were to be split into two battle fleets: a "Home Fleet", to tie down the British war fleet in the North Sea, and a "Raiding Fleet", to wage war upon British convoys.[6] Erich Raeder, the Grand Admiral of the Kriegsmarine, was assured by Hitler that war would not start until at least 1945. Raeder had wanted the deadline for the completion of Plan Z to be extended to 1948, but Hitler insisted on 1945. World War Two began in 1939, meaning that very few of Germany's heavy ships were finished at that point.[7] Germany's main naval opponents were France and England. Compared to the number Germany had upon entry (in parentheses) they had: 22 battleships (two), seven carriers (none), 22 heavy cruisers (four), 61 light cruisers (six), 255 destroyers (34), 135 submarines (57, of which less than half could actually serve in the Atlantic or North Sea). Due to the clear advantage her enemies had, Raeder remarked that the Kriegsmarine could not hope to win, and thus the only course for them was to "die valiantly".[8]

Design and armament

Z39 was 121.9 metres (400 ft) long at the waterline and 127 metres (417 ft) long overall, had a beam of 12 metres (39 ft), and a draught of 4 metres (13 ft). She had a displacement of 2,519 tonnes (2,479 long tons; 2,777 short tons) at standard load, and 3,691 tonnes (3,633 long tons; 4,069 short tons) at full load. Her crew complement was 332.[9][10]

Before her Project Barbara modifications to improve the anti-aircraft capabilities of German ships, she was armed with: seven 2 cm (0.8 in) anti-aircraft (AA) guns, two twin 3.7 cm SK C/303.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns,[lower-alpha 1] a twin 15-centimetre (5.9 in) L/48 gun on a forward turret,[lower-alpha 2] two single 15-centimetre (5.9 in) L/48 guns in a gunhouse aft, two quadruple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes, and 60 mines. She had the Greek coat of arms on either side of her 15-centimetre (6 in) twin turret.[11] After the modifications, she carried eighteen 2 cm (0.8 in) guns and fourteen 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns; the rest of her armament remained unchanged.[12][9][13][14]

Her propulsion system consisted of six Wagner boilers feeding high-pressure superheated steam (at 70 atm (1,029 psi; 7,093 kPa) and 450 °C (842 °F)) to two sets of Wagner geared steam turbines.[15][16] These gave the ship a rated power of 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,000 kW), and a top speed of 38.5 knots (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph). She had a range of 2,239 nautical miles (4,147 km; 2,577 mi), at her cruising speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[17][9]

Z39's sensor suite included a FuMO 21 radar, which was placed on the ship's bridge, and four FuMB4 Sumatra aerials on the foremast searchlights.[lower-alpha 3] She also had several other radars and radar detectors, including a FuMB 3 Bali and FuMO 81 Berlin-S on her masthead, and a FuMO 63 Hohentweil K.[19] She also had a degaussing cable which wrapped around the entire ship, but was covered by her spray deflector.[20]

Service history

Z39 was ordered on 26  June 1939, laid down by Germaniawerft in Yard G629 in Kiel on 15 August 1940, launched on 2 December 1941, and was commissioned on 21 August 1943.[21][22] Her commissioning had been delayed by lengthy construction times, and Z39 was not fully operational until 7 January 1944.[23] There were a number of reasons for these construction issues. The small number of German shipyards forced the Kriegsmarine to prioritize construction, inexperienced naval engineers, and the lack of workers.[24] At some point between her launching and commissioning, she was modified under Project Barbara, with the addition of three pairs of 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns, one pair forward of her bridge, one pair abreast after her funnel, and one pair abreast forward of her funnel. She had one pair of single 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns added to her after funnel platform. She had a pair of twin 2 cm (0.8 in) guns added to her bridge wings. She had a pair of quadruple 2 cm (0.8 in) guns and a pair of single 2 cm (0.8 in) guns added to an extended deckhouse in her No. 3 gun position.[12] After these changes, she began minelaying operations in the Skagerrak and the Kattegat until March when she was transferred to Reval off the Gulf of Finland.[25]

German service

After this move, she served in the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, alongside German destroyers Z25, Z28, and Z35.[26] Between 12 and 13 February Z39 laid mines in the "Dorothea A" barrage, alongside two other destroyers and three minelayers.[27] On 10 March, she took part in minelaying operations along with two other destroyers.[28] Between 11 and 12 March, she bombarded Soviet forces near Narva-Jõesuu.[25][29] From 13 March to 22 April, she took part in six different minelaying operations.[25] One such operation lasted from 13 to 14 April, in which Z39, two other destroyers, and six minelayers laid the "Seeigel 6b" mine barrage south of Suur Tyärsaari. From 16 to 17 April, Z39, two other destroyers, and six minelayers laid the "Seeigel 3b" barrage off of Vigrund Island in Narva Bay. A smokescreen was laid during the operation to prevent the ships from being shelled by Soviet coastal artillery. An operation from 21 to 22 April, involving Z39, two other destroyers, and six minelayers was cancelled midway after one of the minelayers hit a mine and sank. From 23 to 24 April, Z39, two other destroyers and eight minelayers laid the "Seeigel 7b/3" barrage in Narva Bay. From 25 to 26 April Z39, two other destroyers and nine minelayers laid the "Seeigel 8b" barrage southwest of Suur Tyärsaari. During the operations between 13 and 26 April, a total of 2,831 mines and 1,174 sweep detonators were laid.[30]

On 23 June of the same year, she was damaged by Soviet bombers while moored off of Paldiski and was escorted to Libau by Z28.[31][28] After reaching Libau on 29 June, Z39 made her way to Kiel for repairs by way of the Piast Canal near Swinemünde. While at port in Kiel on 24 July, she was hit by a bomb when the British air force bombed Kiel Harbour, causing damage to her quarterdeck and leading to her having to be towed back to Swinemünde.[28][32] She was repaired using parts cannibalised from Z44 and Z45. Z44 had been damaged in an air raid on 29 July while in Bremen and sunk so that only her superstructure remained above water and Z45 was being built.[33] Z39 had been repaired enough to be seaworthy on 28 February 1945 and was ordered to sail to Copenhagen for more extensive repairs, however, due to Nazi Germany's lack of fuel, she sailed to Sassnitz instead.[28] During this time, the Kriegsmarine, which had always dealt with shortages in oil, reached critically low levels of oil supply. On 25 March, repairs on Z39 finished while she was in Swinemünde; she resumed operations on 1 April. From 5 April to 7 April, she escorted transports and parts of Task Force Thiele around the Bay of Danzig.[28] From 8 April to 9 April, she provided naval gunfire support for the German army.[34] On 10 April she and T33 escorted the German destroyer Z43, which had sustained damage from both mines and bombs,[35] to Warnemünde and Swinemünde.[36]

From 1944, German surface ships were called upon to provide support for the Army Group North along the Baltic Sea coast. This often involved shelling land targets for which the German ship crews had no training. This tactical use of cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo boats was difficult in the restrictive waterways of the Baltic, but despite these difficulties, it justified the continued existence of the surface fleet. The Soviet Union's ongoing advances along the east Baltic coast also spurred this change.[37] From the spring of 1945 to near the end of the war, the surface forces of the Kriegsmarine became almost entirely focused upon resupplying and supporting garrisons along the Baltic Coast. After March 1945 the Kriegsmarine embarked upon the task of evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers from the east ahead of the Soviet forces, which were rapidly pushing westward.[38] Z39 took part in a number of these evacuation operations. On 15 April Z39, two other destroyers, and four torpedo boats escorted German steamships Matthias Stinnes, Eberhart Essberger, Pretoria and Askari to Copenhagen, with a total of 20,000 refugees.[35] On 2 May, she shelled Soviet Army forces from the Oder estuary. On 3 May, she, alongside the battleship Schlesien, moved to protect the bridge across the Peene river at Wolgast. After Schlesien hit a mine near Greifswalder Oie on the same day, Z39 towed her to Swinemünde, where Schlesien was deliberately grounded. The ship was placed so that her guns could fire on and defend roads leading into the city. A day later, Z39, three other destroyers, one torpedo boat, one ship's tender, one auxiliary cruiser, one anti-aircraft ship, and five steamer ships, sailed for Copenhagen, taking 35,000 wounded soldiers and refugees with them.[39][36] On 8 May, Z39, six other destroyers, and five torpedo boats set sail with 20,000 soldiers and civilians from Hela to Glücksburg, and arrived on 9 May.[36][40] Following the German surrender, she was decommissioned from the Kriegsmarine on 10 May 1945 at Kiel.[36]

American and French service
Z39 underway off Boston on 22 August 1945

At some point after the war ended, Z39 was sailed by a mixed German and British crew to Wilhelmshaven, and then, on 6 July 1945, to Plymouth.[36] The US claimed her as a prize ship on 12 July.[41] She left England on 30 July, and arrived in Boston on 7 August, where, on 14 September, after extensive trials, she was commissioned into the US Navy as DD-939.[36] She was used by the US Navy to test her equipment, namely her high-pressure steam propulsion plant.[42] In late 1947, the US Navy deemed her obsolete, and transferred her to the French Navy. After arriving in Casablanca in January 1948, she sailed to Toulon, redesignated Q-128, and was cannibalised for her parts, which were used to repair the French destroyers Kléber (ex-Z6 Theodor Riedel), Hoche (ex-Z25), and Marceau (ex-Z31).[36] She served as a pontoon for minesweepers near Brest until she was broken up in 1964.[43]

Notes
  1. SK – Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); C – Construktionsjahr (year of gun's design).
  2. L – Länge in Kaliber (length in caliber).
  3. FuMO (Funkmessortung) means radar device, FuMB (Funkmessbeobachter) means radar detector.[18]

References

Citations
  1. Whitley 1988, p. 12.
  2. Whitley 1988, p. 13.
  3. Whitley 1988, p. 56.
  4. Whitley 1988, pp. 56–57.
  5. Whitley 1988, p. 57.
  6. Miller 1997, p. 33.
  7. Tucker 2011, p. xxvii.
  8. Miller 1997, p. 34.
  9. Showell 2009, p. 165.
  10. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 26.
  11. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 75.
  12. Whitley 1991, p. 75.
  13. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 34.
  14. Gröner 1990, p. 203.
  15. Koop & Schmolke 2003, pp. 42–42.
  16. Lenton 1975, p. 75.
  17. Koop & Schmolke 2003, pp. 27 & 75.
  18. Stern 2015, p. xix.
  19. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 40.
  20. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 33.
  21. Whitley 1983, p. 278.
  22. Whitley 1991, p. 38.
  23. Chesneau 1980, p. 234.
  24. Zabecki 2015, p. 1245.
  25. Both 1999, p. 135.
  26. Jackson 2001, p. 150.
  27. Rohwer 2005, p. 306.
  28. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 118.
  29. Rohwer 2005, p. 311.
  30. Rohwer 2005, p. 318.
  31. Rohwer 2005, p. 337.
  32. Rohwer 2005, p. 344.
  33. Whitley 1991, p. 37.
  34. Koop & Schmolke 2003, pp. 118–119.
  35. Rohwer 2005, p. 398.
  36. Koop & Schmolke 2003, p. 119.
  37. Vego 2013, p. 271.
  38. Thomas 1990, p. 250.
  39. Rohwer 2005, p. 410.
  40. Rohwer 2005, p. 414.
  41. Silverstone 2012, p. 89.
  42. Bauer & Roberts 1991, p. 207.
  43. Jourdan & Moulin 2015, p. 284.

Bibliography
  • Bauer, K. Jack & Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the US Navy: 1775–1990: Major Combatants. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313262029.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Both, Gerhard (1999). Without Hindsight: Reminiscences of a German Naval Ensign. London: Janus. ISBN 978-1857564167.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0851771465.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945, Major Surface Warships. I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0870217906.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jackson, Robert (2001). Kriegsmarine: The Illustrated History of the German Navy in World War II. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-1854107466.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Jourdan, John; Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre and Contre-Torpilleurs,1922–1956 [French Destroyers: Squadron Torpedo Boats and Destroyers]. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1848321984.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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  • Miller, Nathan (1997). War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195110388.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591141198.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Showell, Jak Mallmann (2009). Hitler's Navy: A Reference Guide to the Kriegsmarine 1935–1945. Annapolis: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1783464517.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Silverstone, Paul (2012). The Navy of World War II, 1922–1947. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1135864729.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Stern, Robert C. (2015). Big Gun Battles: Warship Duels of the Second World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1848321533.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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  • Tucker, Spencer C. (2011). World War II At Sea: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, LLC. ISBN 978-1598844573.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Vego, Milan N. (2013). Naval Strategy and Operations in Narrow Seas. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1136317941.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitley, M. J. (1983). Destroyer!: German Destroyers in World War II. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-0-853682585.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0870213267.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Whitley, M. J. (1991). German Destroyers of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557503022.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Zabecki, David T. (2015). World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1135812492.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • Friedman, Norman (2014). Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery. New York: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1612519579.
  • Grooss, Poul (2017). The Naval War in the Baltic 1939 -1945. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1526700032.
  • Haslop, Dennis (2013). Britain, Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic A Comparative Study. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1472511638.
  • O'Brien, Phillips Payson (2015). How the War Was Won. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107014756.
  • Zaloga, Steven J. (2011). Eisenhower. Long Island City: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1849083607.
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