Z21 ''Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was one of six

Type 1936 destroyer The Type 1936 destroyers, also known as the Z17 class, were a group of six destroyers built for Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during the late 1930s, shortly before the beginning of World War II. All six sister ships were named after German sai ...

s built for the '' Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) in the late 1930s. Completed a few months before the start of World War II in September 1939, the ship served as a flagship throughout her career. She briefly patrolled the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' later helped to lay four offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed two British destroyers, 2

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets th ...

s, and twenty-seven merchant ships. During the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, she sank a Norwegian

coastal defense ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

off Narvik and was crippled with the opening shots of the First Naval Battle of Narvik on 10 April, with the loss of 81 crewmen. The ship sank the following day.

Design and description

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of and was long at the waterline. The ship had a beam of , and a maximum

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . She displaced at standard load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. The two Wagner geared steam turbine sets, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

, were designed to produce using steam provided by six Wagner

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

s for a designed speed of . During ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp''s

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s, she reached from , but a full-speed test was never conducted.Koop & Schmolke, p. 101 The ship carried a maximum of of fuel oil which gave a range of at . Her crew consisted of 10 officers and 313 sailors.Gröner, p. 202 The ship carried five SK C/34 guns in single mounts with gun shields, two each superimposed, fore and aft of the superstructure. The fifth mount was positioned on top of the rear deckhouse. The guns were numbered from 1 to 5 from front to rear. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of four SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...

and six C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s in two power-operated mounts. Two reloads were provided for each mount. She had four depth charge launchers and mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines. 'GHG' (

Gruppenhorchgerät The ''Gruppenhorchgerät'' ('group listening device', abbreviated GHG) was a hydrophone array which was used on Nazi Germany's U-boats in World War II. Development In World War I carbon microphones were still used as sound receivers. The individu ...

) passive

hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...

s were fitted to detect submarines and an active

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

system was installed by the end of 1939.

Construction and career

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was named after Machinist's mate (''Obermaschinist'') Wilhelm Heidkamp. He was in charge of the pumps on the battlecruiser during the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915. After a British shell started a large fire in the ship's aft

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s, he was badly burned when he turned the valves to flood the aft magazines, thus saving the ship. The ship was ordered from

AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ...

(

Deschimag Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen. History The Deschimag was founded in 1 ...

) on 6 January 1936. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at Deschimag's Bremen shipyard as

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

W923 on 14 December 1937, launched on 20 August 1938, and commissioned on 20 June 1939. After working up, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' became the flagship of the Commander of

Torpedo Boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

s (''Führer der Torpedoboote'') Rear Admiral (''Konteradmiral'')

Günther Lütjens Johann Günther Lütjens (25 May 1889 – 27 May 1941) was a German admiral whose military service spanned more than thirty years and two world wars. Lütjens is best known for his actions during World War II and his command of the battleship d ...

and patrolled the Skagerrak to inspect neutral shipping for contraband goods in late September. On the night of 17/18 October, the ship led , , , , and ''Z20 Karl Galster'' as they laid a minefield off the mouth of the

River Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

. The British were unaware of the minefield's existence and lost seven ships totaling . On the night of 12/13 November ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'', now the flagship of the Commander of Destroyers ('' Führer der Zerstörer''), Captain (''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

'')

Friedrich Bonte __NOTOC__ Friedrich Bonte (19 October 1896 – 10 April 1940) was the German naval officer commanding the destroyer flotilla that transported invasion troops to Narvik during the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) in April 1940. Bon ...

, escorted ''Z18 Hans Lüdemann'', ''Z19 Hermann Künne'', and ''Z20 Karl Galster'' as they laid 288

magnetic mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or 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, any v ...

in the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

. Once again unaware of the minefield's existence, the British lost the destroyer and thirteen merchant ships displacing 48,728 GRT. Less than a week later, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'', ''Z19 Hermann Künne'', and laid 180 magnetic mines in the Thames Estuary on the night of 17/18 November. The mines sank the destroyer , a fishing trawler, and seven ships of 27,565 GRT. After a refit in Stettin between 27 November and 24 December, Bonte and ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' led a minelaying sortie to the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

area together with Z16 ''Friedrich Eckoldt'', ''Z20 Karl Galster'', and on the night of 10/11 January 1940. The destroyers and were also supposed to participate, but the former had problems with her boilers that reduced her maximum speed to and she had to be escorted back to Germany by the latter ship. The minefield only claimed one

of 251 GRT. In retaliation for the ''Altmark'' Incident where the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

seized captured British sailors from the German tanker ''Altmark'' in neutral Norwegian waters on 16 February, the ''Kriegsmarine'' organized Operation Nordmark to search for Allied merchant ships in the North Sea as far north as the Shetland Islands. ''Z20 Karl Galster'' and ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' escorted the

battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type o ...

''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau'' as well as the

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval T ...

''Admiral Hipper'' during the sortie between 18 February and 20 February.

Norwegian Campaign

''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was the flagship for Group 1, commanded by Commodore (''

Kommodore (pronounced ''kom-o-'dor-eh'') was the highest senior officer rank () in the German ''Kriegsmarine'', comparable to commodore in anglophone naval forces. There was no counterpart in the German '' Heer'' and'' Luftwaffe'', but ''Kommodore'' wou ...

'') Bonte, for the Norwegian portion of

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 Ap ...

in April 1940. The group's task was to transport the 139th Mountain Infantry Regiment (''139. Gebirgsjäger Regiment'') and the headquarters of the 3rd Mountain Division (''3. Gebirgs-Division'') to seize Narvik. The ships began loading troops on 6 April and set sail the next day. On 9 April, ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' sank the old coastal defense ship with torpedoes after an attempt to get her captain to surrender failed. Afterwards, she landed her troops in Narvik without resistance and then refuelled from the whale

factory ship A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier wh ...

. Bonte intended for his flagship to patrol the fjord during the night, but

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

(''Generalmajor'') Eduard Dietl, commander of the 3rd Mountain Division, requested that ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' remain in harbor to ease coordination between the Army (''Heer'') and the ''Kriegsmarine'' and to facilitate communications with his commanders. Shortly after dawn on 10 April, the ship was

moored A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

aft of ''Jan Wellem'', in Narvik harbor, when the five destroyers of the British

2nd Destroyer Flotilla The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (also styled as Second Destroyer Flotilla) was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946. History The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla originated in early 1907 as a part of a Home ...

, ''Hardy'', ''Havock'', ''Hunter'', ''Hotspur'', and ''Hero'' appeared. ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp'' was struck in the stern by a torpedo from ''Hardy''s first salvo that detonated the ship's aft magazine. The explosion threw her aft guns into the air and killed 81 men, including Bonte. Although ''Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp''s stern was below water, her captain,

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

(''Korvettenkapitän'') Hans Erdmenger, managed to moor her to a nearby Swedish freighter. She

capsized Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...

the following day, but not before her torpedoes were transferred to the surviving destroyers. Her survivors joined the other survivors ashore in an ad-hoc naval infantry unit.Haar, pp. 339–40, 349. 354, 357; Koop & Schmolke, p. 102

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Kriegsmarine destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp 1938 ships Ships built in Bremen (state) Type 1936 destroyers Maritime incidents in April 1940 World War II shipwrecks in the Norwegian Sea Naval magazine explosions