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Type 39 torpedo boat

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T-35in US service, August 1945
Class overview
NameType 39
BuildersSchichau,Elbing
Operators
Preceded byType 37 torpedo boat
Succeeded byType 40 torpedo boat
Built1940–1944
In commission1941–1955
Planned39
Completed15
Cancelled24
Lost11
General characteristics (T22as built)
TypeTorpedo boat
Displacement1,294t(1,274long tons) (standard)
Length102.5 m (336 ft 3 in)o/a
Beam10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Draft3.22 m (10 ft 7 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed33.5knots(62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph)
Range2,400nmi(4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement206
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

TheType 1939 torpedo boats,also known as theElbing classby theAllies,were a group of 15torpedo boatsthat were built forNazi Germany'sKriegsmarineduringWorld War II.

The first eight ships to be completed were sent to western France in pairs after they finishedworking upfrom late 1942 through the beginning of 1944. They were tasked to escort convoys,blockade runnersandsubmarinesthrough theEnglish Channeland theBay of Biscay.The ships also laidminefields.Not long after the first pair arrived, they sank a Britishcruiserand anescort destroyerwithout loss or damage to themselves in theBattle of Sept-Îlesin October 1942. Over a year later, two ships were sunk by British cruisers in theBattle of the Bay of Biscayin December 1943. During theaction of 26 April 1944and subsequent operations, Allied forces intercepted three Type 39s of which two were lost, although they sank aCanadian destroyerin exchange. Of the two remaining ships based in France when the Alliesinvaded Normandy(Operation Neptune) on 6 June, one ship helped to sink aNorwegian destroyerbefore escaping to Germany and the other was sunk by fighter-bombers in August.

All of the remaining Type 39s were committed to theBaltic Seafrom April 1944, where they escorted convoys, laidminesand providednaval gunfire supporttoAxis forcesand operations. One ship was sunk by the Soviets while supporting Finnish operations in theGulf of Finlandin June, three were sunk in August when they accidentally entered an existing German minefield when they were attempting to lay a new one, and another sank after hitting a mine during gunnery training in November. The Type 39s began bombardingSovietpositions in October during the SovietMoonsund Landing Operationas the Germans began evacuating theislands off the west coast of Estonia,and they continued to do so for the rest of the war, often in conjunction with cruisers. In May, with the collapse of Germany imminent, their role changed to evacuating people from areas that were threatened by the advancing Soviets, and they helped to rescue hundreds of thousands before the German surrender. One ship was lost to Soviet aircraft during this time.

Four Type 39s survived the war and were seized by the Allies aswar reparations.TheUnited States Navybriefly evaluated one before turning it over to the French in 1947 as spares for their pair that theFrench Navykept in service until 1954–1955. The Soviet Union used their ship until about the same time beforescrappingit in 1956.

Background and design[edit]

Grand Admiral(Großadmiral)Erich Raeder,commander-in-chief of theKriegsmarine,was unhappy with the proposed Type 1938B-class destroyer in early 1939 and ordered that a smaller 1,265-metric-ton(1,245-long-ton), 95-meter-long (311 ft 8 in), all-purpose torpedo boat design be evaluated on 8 July. The beginning of World War II in September 1939 caused theKriegsmarineto re-evaluate its shipbuilding program, and it cancelled the Type 1938Bs in favor of moreType 1936A-classdestroyers. The smaller design emerged as the Type 39 torpedo boat that was a radical change from the preceding, and much smaller, torpedo boats like theType 35andType 37classesthat were specialized for torpedo attack and had limited utility outside that role. The Type 39s used the same troublesome high-pressureboilersas the earlier designs, but their propulsion machinery wasarranged into separate unitsso that one hit could not completely immobilize the ship.[1]

The ships had anoverall lengthof 102.5 meters (336 ft 3 in) and were 97 meters (318 ft 3 in)long at the waterline.[2]They had abeamof 10 meters (32 ft 10 in), and a meandraftof 3.25 meters (10 ft 8 in) atdeep load.The Type 39s displaced 1,318 metric tons (1,297 long tons) atstandard loadand 1,780 metric tons (1,750 long tons) at deep load.[3]Theirhullwas divided into 13watertight compartmentsand it was fitted with adouble bottomthat covered 67–69% of their length. The Type 39s were considered excellentseaboatsand were very maneuverable.[2]Their crew numbered 206 officers and sailors.[4]

The Type 39 ships had two sets of Wagner gearedsteam turbines,each driving a single three-bladed 2.5-meter (8 ft 2 in)propeller,[2]using steam provided by four Wagnerwater-tube boilersthat operated at a pressure of 70kg/cm2(6,865kPa;996psi) and a temperature of 460 °C (860 °F). The turbines were designed to produce 32,000shaft horsepower(24,000kW) for a speed of 33.5knots(62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 375 metric tons (369 long tons) offuel oil,which gave a range of 2,400nautical miles(4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[3]In service the steam consumption of the engine-room auxiliary machinery proved to be excessive, and the boilers could not generate enough steam to drive the turbines at their designed capacity. This reduced the Type 39s' top speed to 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) and their range to 2,085 nmi (3,861 km; 2,399 mi) at 19 knots.[5]

Armament and sensors[edit]

The main armament of the Type 39 class consisted four 42-caliber10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32[Note 1]guns in single mounts; one forward of thesuperstructure,one between thefunnels,and two aft, onesuperfiringover the other.[6]Its mount had a range of elevation from −10° to +70° and the gun fired 15.1-kilogram (33 lb) projectiles at amuzzle velocityof 785m/s(2,580ft/s). It had a range of 15,175 meters (16,596 yd) at an elevation of +44.4°.[7]

Anti-aircraft defensewas provided by a pair of twin 80-caliber3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30anti-aircraft (AA) gunmounts positioned on a platformabaftthe rear funnel.[6]The power-operated mount had a maximum elevation of 85° which gave the gun a ceiling of less than 6,800 meters (22,300 ft); horizontal range was 8,500 meters (9,300 yd) at an elevation of 35.7°. The single-shot SK C/30 fired 0.748-kilogram (1.65 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s (3,300 ft/s) at a rate of 30roundsper minute.[8]The ships were also fitted with six2 cm (0.8 in) C/38guns in one quadruple mount on the aft superstructure[Note 2]and a pair of single mounts on thebridge wings.[6]The gun had an effective rate of fire of about 120 rounds per minute. Its 0.12-kilogram (0.26 lb) projectiles were fired at a muzzle velocity of 875 m/s (2,870 ft/s) which gave it a ceiling of 3,700 meters (12,100 ft) and a maximum horizontal range of 4,800 meters (5,200 yd).[10]Each ship carried 2,000 rounds per gun.[2]

The Type 39s were also equipped with six above-water 533 mm (21 in)torpedo tubesin two triple mountsamidshipsand could also carry 30mines;the full complement of 60 mines made the ships top-heavy which could be dangerous in bad weather. They used theG7a torpedo[6]which had a 300-kilogram (660 lb)warheadand three speed/range settings: 14,000 meters (15,000 yd) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph); 8,000 meters (8,700 yd) at 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and 6,000 meters (6,600 yd) at 44 knots (81 km/h; 51 mph).[11]Foranti-submarine workthe ships were fitted with aS-Gerätsonarand fourdepth chargelaunchers. The Type 39s were equipped with aFuMO 21[Note 3]search radar.[12]

Modifications[edit]

The formerT35(asDD-935) running trials offBoston, Massachusetts,14 September 1945

The bridge wing 2 cm mounts were replaced by twin mounts in 1943–1944. In January–February 1944,T22,T23,T24andT27had their bridge wing guns replaced by quadruple mounts, FuMB7[Note 4]"Naxos" and FuMB8 "Wanz G"radar detectorsfitted and a 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) rangefinder installed on the searchlight platform amidships. Other boats received aFuMO 63 KHohentwielradar on the searchlight platform and all of them were fitted with a variety of radar detectors late in the war. The 1944–1945 anti-aircraft suite for these ships is not known in detail. EitherT23orT28received single 3.7 cm, either theFlak M42or theFlak M43,or4 cm (1.6 in) Boforsguns in lieu of the bridge wing guns and the twin 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns.T33andT36may also have had two twin-gun 2 cm mounts forward of thebridge.[13]

Construction[edit]

Before the war theKriegsmarineplanned to build 39 Type 39s,T22–T60,in an ambitious building schedule such thatT52was expected to be completed on 1 April 1942. The beginning of World War II in September 1939 disrupted its plans andT31–T60were dropped from the program, althoughT31–T36were later reinstated. The ships were ordered in two batches fromSchichau,T22–T30on 10 November 1939 (originally as Type 37 torpedo boats), followed byT31–T36on 20 January 1941. All were built at the company'sshipyardinElbing,East Prussia,(now Elbląg, Poland) hence the Allied name for the class. Construction was delayed by shortages of labor and materials.[14]

Ships[edit]

Construction data
Number Laid down[15] Launched[15] Commissioned[15] Fate[15]
T22 1941 28 February 1942 Sunk by mine, 18 August 1944
T23 1 August 1940 14 June 1941 14 June 1942 Served in theFrench NavyasL'Alsacien;condemned, 1955[16]
T24 21 September 1940 13 September 1941 17 October 1942 Sunk by aircraft, 24 August 1944
T25 30 November 1940 1 December 1941 12 November 1942 Sunk by torpedo, 28 December 1943
T26 10 May 1941 26 March 1942 28 February 1943
T27 2 July 1941 20 June 1942 17 April 1943 Ran aground,28/29 April 1944, subsequently destroyed, 6 May
T28 24 September 1941 8 October 1942 19 June 1943 Served in the French Navy asLe Lorrain;condemned, 1954[16]
T29 21 August 1943 Sunk by gunfire, 26 April 1944
T30 10 April 1942 13 March 1943 24 October 1943 Sunk by mine, 18 August 1944
T31 1943 5 February 1944 Sunk by torpedo, 20 June 1944
T32 27 October 1942 17 April 1943 8 May 1944 Sunk by mine, 18 August 1944
T33 16 June 1944 Served in theSoviet NavyasPrimerny;scrapped 1957[17]
T34 5 March 1943 23 October 1943 12 August 1944 Sunk by mine, 20 November 1944
T35 20 April 1943 12 December 1943 7 October 1944 Served in theUnited States NavyasDD-935;transferred to France, 1947; condemned, 3 October 1952[16]
T36 10 June 1943 5 February 1944 9 December 1944 Sunk by aircraft, 5 May 1945

Service history[edit]

The first two ships completed,T22andT23,were the first to be deployed to France when they arrived there in October–November 1942. Together with other torpedo boats, they escortedItalianblockade runners in their attempts to break out into the Atlantic through the Bay of Biscay in November and again in April 1943. The following month they were deployed to the English Channel where they laid minefields in May and June. The sisters returned to the bay in July, reinforced by the arrival ofT24andT25,and they were all grouped together in the4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla.They were tasked to escortsubmarines,convoys and blockade runners through the bay for the next several months, interspersed with the occasional minelaying mission.[18]

T26andT27arrived in September and were also assigned to the 4th Flotilla. On 22/23 October the flotilla was providing distant cover for the blockade runnerMünsterlandas she sailed up the Channel when they discovered a British force attempting to intercept her off the coast ofBrittany.The torpedo boats maneuvered toattack themand they fired all of their torpedoes before the British could spot them visually. Aware that they were out-gunned, the flotilla commander successfully disengaged before the British could recover from the successful attack. Two torpedoes sank thelight cruiserHMSCharybdisand another blew off the bow of the escort destroyerHMSLimbourne,which later had to bescuttled.[19]

Battle of the Bay of Biscay[edit]

Main article:Battle of the Bay of Biscay

In December 1943, two blockade runners arriving fromJapanattempted to pass through the bay. The Allies were aware of them through theirUltracode-breakingefforts and positionedcruisersand aircraft in the Western Atlantic to intercept them inOperation Stonewall.The first ship reached France, but the second one was destroyed by Allied aircraft unbeknownst to the Germans. They had sent the8th Destroyer Flotillaand the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla to escort the ship home; after she failed to arrive at the rendezvous point, the German ships turned for home in very heavy seas that greatly degraded the ability of the torpedo boats to use their guns and torpedoes. An Allied bomber had spotted them on the morning of 28 December and the German ships were intercepted by the British light cruisersGlasgowandEnterprisethat afternoon. After unsuccessful torpedo attacks by the destroyers,Kapitän zur See(Captain)Hans Erdmenger,commander of the 8th Flotilla, decided to split his forces and ordered the destroyersZ23,Z27,andT22,T25andT26to reverse course to the north. The cruisers pursued the northern group and sankZ27,T25andT26.All of the ships in the southern group, includingT23,T24andT27were able to successfully disengage.[20]

Subsequent activities in the West[edit]

Main article:Action of 26 April 1944

T28andT29arrived in France in January 1944 to relieveT22andT23which returned to Germany for refits in February.T28began a long refit upon her arrival that was not completed until early June. After laying a minefield off theSept-Îleson the north coast of Brittany on the night of 25/26 April, the 4th Flotilla, now consisting ofT24,T27andT29,was engaged by an Allied force that consisted of the light cruiserHMSBlack Princeand the destroyersHMSAshanti,HMCSAthabaskan,HMCSHaidaandHMCSHuronoff theÎle de Batz.The Allied ships were faster than the torpedo boats and closed the range despite the German attempt to disengage. The destroyers began firing atT24andT27and one hit significantly reduced the latter's speed;Korvettenkapitän(Lieutenant Commander) Franz Kohlauf, the flotilla commander, ordered her intoMorlaixBay and the Allied ships lost her radar reflection amongst the rocks of the bay. A shell later disabledT29'srudderandAshantiandHuronconcentrated onT29whileHaidaandAthabaskancontinued their pursuit ofT24.They disengaged beforeT24reachedSaint-Malo,and returned to help sinkT29.[21]

After emergency repairs,T27joinedT24in Saint-Malo during the night of 26/27 April. The sisters departed forBreston the night of 28/29 April and were intercepted byHaidaandAthabaskanoffÎle Vierge.The Germans turned away, firing all of their torpedoes as they turned. One ofT24's torpedoes hitAthabaskanwhich blew up shortly afterward and sank.HaidapursuedT27,badly damaging her. While maneuvering,T27accidentallyran agroundand the Canadian destroyer continued to engage until she started a large fire and then returned to the site whereAthabaskanhad sunk to rescue survivors.T24and a pair of minesweepers failed in their attempt to pullT27off. Britishmotor torpedo boats(MTB) and aircraft destroyed her wreck in early May. The 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla was then disbanded andT24was assigned to the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.[22]

As the Allies began landing in Normandy on 6 June, the5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla,now consisting ofT28and three older torpedo boats,sortiedmultiple times fromLe Havreover the next week in attempts to sink Allied shipping. Despite the expenditure of over 50 torpedoes and large quantities of ammunition, they were generally unsuccessful, only sinking the destroyerHNoMSSvenneron 6 June.[23]On the night of 8/9 June, the four ships of the 8th Flotilla set out forCherbourg,but were intercepted by eight Allied destroyers of the10th Destroyer Flotillain theBattle of Ushant.The German ships had been spotted first and the British opened fire, with the Germans responding with a four-torpedosalvofrom each destroyer that missed when the Allied ships turned to evade them, althoughT24,the trailing ship in the formation, did not fire because she had no visible targets. The British fire was extremely effective, withZ24,immediately ahead of the torpedo boat, badly damaged only moments after firing her first salvo. She was able to lay smoke and disengage, followed byT24.HaidaandHuronpursued the pair until they passed over a British minefield and lost track of the German ships after the Canadian ships were forced to detour around it.[24]

T24(foreground) andZ24under attack, 25 August

On the night of 21/22 July,T28and threeE-boatsdeparted Le Havre for Germany, reaching their destination on the 27th, having evaded multiple Allied ships on their voyage.T24,two minesweepers andSperrbrecher157were escorting the aircraft repair shipRichtofenwhen they were attacked on the night of 14/15 August by the light cruiserHMSMauritiusand the destroyersHMSUrsaandHMCSIroquoisoffLes Sables d'Olonne.The torpedo boat laid a smoke screen and near-missedIroquoiswith her torpedoes. She was hit once byIroquoisandIroquoiswas lightly damaged during the attack. OffLe Verdon-sur-Meron 24 August,T24andZ24were attacked by rocket-firingBristol Beaufighterfighter-bombers that sank the torpedo boat and badly damaged the destroyer.[25]

Activities in the Baltic 1943–1945[edit]

While engaged in gunnery practice with the radio-controlledtarget shipHessenin the Baltic on 20 November,T34struck a mine and sank.T30helped to lay minefields in theGulf of Finlandin April while attached to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Together withT31,she was tasked to support Finnish forces inVyborg BayandKoivisto Soundduring theVyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensivein June. They fought Soviet MTBs and claimed 3–5 boats sunk on 20 June, butT31was sunk by a torpedo. While attempting to lay a minefield in the Gulf of Finland on the night of 17/18 August,T22,T30,andT32accidentally entered a German minefield and were sunk. On 20–21 August,T23andT28helped to escort theheavy cruiserPrinz Eugenas she supported a German counterattack nearTukums,Latvia.As the Germans evacuatedTallinn,Estonia,in mid-September, the sisters helped to lay additional minefields in the Gulf of Finland to deny the Soviets access to the western portions of the gulf. On 22 October,T23andT28bombarded Soviet positions nearSworbe,on the Estonian island ofSaaremaa,breaking up a Soviet attack. A month later, they provided support during a Soviet attack on 19 November, but the Germans were forced to evacuate several days later.T34sank during gunnery training while still working up after hitting a mine on 20 November. The sisters were attached to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla to lay a minefield off the Estonian coast, but a navigation error caused two of the destroyers to blunder into a German minefield and sink on the night of 11/12 December.[26]

Prinz Eugen,two destroyers,T23,T33andT35supported a German counterattack against advancing Soviet forces nearCranz,East Prussia, on 29–30 January 1945.T36rescued more than 500 passengers from the torpedoedocean linerMVWilhelm Gustloffon the night of 30 January. All of the surviving Type 39s supporting German operations in East- and West Prussia until May. That month their mission became to evacuate as many refugees and troops as possible from those areas still in German hands.T36was damaged by a mine during one such mission on 4 May and was sunk by Soviet aircraft the next day. They helped to rescue hundreds of thousands of people beforeGermany surrenderedon 9 May.[27]

Postwar service[edit]

Only four ships,T23,T28,T33andT35,of the fifteen built survived the war. The Allies divided the surviving ships of theKriegsmarineamongst themselves in late 1945 and the British were awarded the first pair, the Soviets receivedT33and the AmericansT35.[28]After protests by France, theRoyal Navyturned theirs over in February 1946, which the French renamedL'AlsacienandLe Lorrain.[29]They both began lengthyoverhaulsthat replaced their radars and 3.7 cm guns. The sisters were recommissioned in December 1949 and assigned to the Aircraft Carrier Group of theMediterranean Squadron.They were later assigned to the Anti-submarine Group before they were condemned in 1954–1955 and subsequently sold for scrap.[16]The Americans commissionedT35asDD-935and ran extensive trials with her before transferring the ship to France in 1947 for spare parts.[30]T33was taken over by a Soviet crew on 1 January 1946 and commissioned into the Soviet Navy four days later. RenamedPrimernyon 13 February, she was assigned the NorthBaltic Fleettwo days later. The ship was removed from combat duty and converted into afloating barrackson 30 November 1954 before being renamedPKZ-63on 28 December. The vessel was transferred for scrapping on 9 November 1956.[17]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^InKriegsmarinegun nomenclature, SK stands forSchiffskanone(ship's gun), C/32 stands forConstructionjahr(Construction year) 1932
  2. ^T22,the first ship finished, was completed without her quadruple mount, although it was installed later.[9]
  3. ^Funkmess-Ortung(Radio-direction finder, active ranging)
  4. ^Funkmess-Beobachtung(Passive radio-direction finder)

Citations[edit]

  1. ^Whitley 1991, pp. 34–35, 52–54
  2. ^abcdGröner, p. 195
  3. ^abWhitley 1991, p. 203
  4. ^Sieche, p. 238
  5. ^Whitley 2000, pp. 73–74
  6. ^abcdWhitley 2000, p. 74
  7. ^Campbell, p. 246
  8. ^Campbell, p. 256
  9. ^Whitley 1991, p. 54
  10. ^Campbell, p. 258
  11. ^Campbell, p. 263
  12. ^Friedman, p. 205; Whitley 1991, pp. 52–55; Whitley 2000, p. 73
  13. ^Friedman, p. 205; Whitley 1991, pp. 52–55; Whitley 2000, pp. 73–74
  14. ^Whitley 1991, pp. 54, 211–212
  15. ^abcdWhitley 1991, pp. 211–212
  16. ^abcdJordan & Moulin, p. 284
  17. ^abBerezhnoy, p. 20
  18. ^Rohwer, pp. 215, 241, 249, 254, 279; Whitley 1991, pp. 144–146, 211–212
  19. ^Rohwer, p. 282; Whitley, pp. 147–148
  20. ^Hervieux, p. 98; Rohwer, p. 295; Whitley 1991, pp. 149–153
  21. ^Hervieux, p. 99; Rohwer, pp. 317–318; Whitley, pp. 156–157
  22. ^Gröner, p. 195; Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, p. 318; Whitley 1991, p. 157
  23. ^Rohwer, pp. 331–332; Whitley, p. 158
  24. ^Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, p. 332; Whitley, pp. 158–161
  25. ^Gröner, p. 195; Hervieux, p. 100; Rohwer, pp. 341, 347; Whitley 1991, pp. 158, 162–163
  26. ^Hervieux, p. 101; Rohwer, pp. 318, 336, 351, 359, 361, 373, 377; Whitley 1991, pp. 168, 173, 175, 180–186, 212
  27. ^Hervieux, pp. 101–102; Rohwer, pp. 387, 390, 398, 410, 414; Whitley 1991, pp. 187, 189, 212
  28. ^Whitley 1991, pp. 191, 199, 212
  29. ^Roche, pp. 33, 313
  30. ^Whitley, p. 199

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toFlottentorpedoboot 1939.
  • Berezhnoy, Sergey (1994).Трофеи и репарации ВМФ СССР[Trophies and Reparations of the Soviet Navy] (in Russian). Yakutsk: Sakhapoligrafizdat.OCLC33334505.
  • Campbell, John (1985).Naval Weapons of World War Two.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-459-4.
  • Friedman, Norman(1981).Naval Radar.London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-238-2.
  • Gröner, Erich(1990).German Warships 1815–1945.Vol. 1: Major Surface Warships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-790-9.
  • Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015).French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956.Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN978-1-84832-198-4.
  • Hervieux, Pierre (1986). "The Elbing Class Torpedo Boats at War". In Lambert, Andrew (ed.).Warship X.London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 95–102.ISBN0-85177-449-0.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005).Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la Flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours[Dictionary of French Warships from Colbert to today]. Vol. II: 1879–2006. Toulon, France: J.-M. Roche.ISBN2-95259-171-7.
  • 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.ISBN1-59114-119-2.
  • Sieche, Erwin (1980). "Germany". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-146-7.
  • Whitley, M. J.(2000).Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia.London: Cassell & Co.ISBN1-85409-521-8.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1991).German Destroyers of World War Two.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-302-8.
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