World War I Vintage Certain old torpedo boats and coastal motor boats from WW I were still on active service during WW II after modernisation in 1920s and 1930s. While most were converted to various auxiliary duties at the beginning of the war, several were still used in their original torpedo boat role. Examples included
T107,
T108,
T110,
T111 and
T196. Several others, including
T151,
T153,
T155,
T156,
T157,
T158 and
T190 were rearmed after the outbreak of war and used first in the invasions of Poland and Norway, and then in the latter stage of the war participated in Operation Hannibal, the German evacuation from the east. Surviving units were transferred to Allied navies after the war.
1923 Type (Raubvogel) The six Type 23 torpedo boats (also known as the
Raubvogel (
German:"
Bird of prey") class) were developed from earlier designs shortly after
World War I and came into service in 1926 and 1927. All built by the Naval Dockyard at
Wilhelmshaven, they were named
Albatross,
Falke,
Greif,
Kondor,
Möwe and
Seeadler. They were the first to use electrical welding for hull construction to reduce displacement and they also introduced geared turbines. 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.
1924 Type (Raubtier) The immediately following six ships of 1924 Type (
Raubtier ("predator") class) had been intended to mount 12.7 cm guns but, instead, received updated 10.5 cm weapons. All six were again built by the Wilhelmshaven Naval Dockyard, and were named
Iltis,
Jaguar,
Leopard,
Luchs,
Tiger and
Wolf. Speed and range were improved, but 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.
1935 Type The 1935 class were a new design, to be 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 practice these ships were overweight, though still too light to be seaworthy, while their high pressure turbines were unreliable and difficult to repair and maintain. Twelve 1935s were built; unlike the preceding vessels of the 1923 and 1924 designs, these were given numbers (
T1 to
T12) but no names. Six were sunk, and two others scuttled, by the end of the war. Of the survivors, three were transferred abroad as war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany.
1937 Type The 1937s incorporated some modifications to the 1935 design, including lower pressure turbines, but with little real improvement. They suffered from the same limitations as their predecessors Nine ships were built, all at
Schichau,
Elbing; these were unnamed, but numbered
T13 to
T21. Three were sunk, and one scuttled, by the end of the war; of the survivors, four were transferred abroad as
war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany.
1939 Type The 1939 Type (sometimes referred to as the
Elbings) were classed as "Fleet torpedo boats" (
Flottentorpedoboot) and were a radical design departure from their predecessors – being larger and with a more balanced mix of weapons, in order to accomplish multiple mission types not typically expected of traditional torpedo boats. With a full load displacement of 1,754 tons and mounting a main armament of four 105mm (4.1 inch) guns in single placements, six 21in torpedo tubes in two triple mounts, provisions for mine-laying operations, and multiple AA mounts, they were comparable with British destroyers of the period. Fifteen ships were built at
Schichau,
Elbing. Like their predecessors, boats of the Elbing class were unnamed, instead being numbered
T22 to
T36. Eleven were lost during World War II; of the four survivors,
T24 and
T28 were briefly taken into service by the British Navy,
T33 by the Soviet Navy, and
T35 by the United States Navy.
1940 Type After the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the Dutch shipyards were almost undamaged. Therefore, the
Kriegsmarine contracted three Dutch shipbuilders to build some smaller vessels. Classed as "Fleet torpedo boats" (
Flottentorpedoboot) the 1940 Type was more a destroyer than a torpedo boat, with a full load displacement of 2,566 tons and carrying four 5-inch guns and eight 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings, and was based on Dutch designs. Twelve were ordered in 1940–1941, and numbered
T61 to
T72; but only eight were laid down by 1942 of which three were launched (the other five were destroyed on the slips); in 1944 these three incomplete ships (
T61,
T63 and
T65) were transferred to the Baltic Sea to be completed, and
T61 was torpedoed off the
West Frisian Islands in September 1944, while the other two were captured by the Allies at Kiel and scuttled after the war.
1941 Type The 1941 Type Fleet torpedo boat was an improvement of the 1939 class with more powerful engines and additional anti-aircraft artillery was added. Fifteen of these boats were ordered in 1942–1944, once again all at
Schichau,
Elbing; numbered
T37 to
T51, but none of them was completed. At the end of the war, three of the few ships already launched (
T37,
T38 and
T39) were in different stages of construction, and one of them (
T37) was very close to completion. These ships were towed away from Elbing, but their construction was not continued and they were later scuttled. Of the other vessels,
T40,
T41,
T42 and
T43 were launched but were scuttled incomplete at Elbing, while the remaining vessels (
T44 to
T51) were destroyed on the slips when East Prussia was evacuated in May 1945.
1944 Type The 1944 Type Fleet torpedo boats 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 vessels were planned, again all at
Schichau,
Elbing; these were unnamed, but numbered
T52 to
T60. All were cancelled before being laid down.
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 prefixed with "TA". They were numbered from
TA1 to
TA47; some never entered service for one reason or another. Additionally, 5 small destroyers captured from Norway were given names instead of TA prefixes. ==See also==