''Z30'' was one of fifteen
Type 1936A destroyer
The Type 1936A destroyers, also known as the ''Z23'' class, were a group of fifteen destroyers built for the Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' from 1938 to 1943. They were known to the Allies as the Narvik class. In common with other German destr ...
s built for the ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' (German Navy) during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Completed in 1941, the ship was transferred to
Norwegian waters in early 1942 where she remained for most of the rest of her career, escorting
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s and laying
minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s. She played a minor role in the indecisive
Battle of the Barents Sea
The Battle of the Barents Sea was a World War II naval engagement on 31 December 1942 between warships of the German Navy (''Kriegsmarine'') and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Bare ...
at the end of the year and was damaged during the
raid
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
on the island of
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
in September 1943.
''Z30'' was crippled when she struck a
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
in late 1944 and spent the rest of the war under repair. The ship was allocated to Great Britain after the war who used her to test the effects of underwater explosions. Upon their completion in 1948, ''Z30'' was broken up for
scrap
Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
.
Design and description
![Narvik-class destroyer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Narvik-class_destroyer.jpg)
The Type 1936A destroyers were slightly larger than the preceding Type 1936
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
and had a heavier armament. They 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 in ...
of and were
long at the waterline
A vessel's length at the waterline (abbreviated to L.W.L)Note: originally Load Waterline Length is the length of a ship or boat at the level where it sits in the water (the ''waterline''). The LWL will be shorter than the length of the boat over ...
. The ships had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
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 vessel ...
of . They displaced at
standard 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 ...
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
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
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
water-tube boiler
A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s for a designed speed of . ''Z30'' carried enough
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
to give her a range of at . Her crew consisted of 11 officers and 321 sailors.
[Gröner, pp. 203–04]
The ship carried four
TbtsK C/36 guns in single mounts with
gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...
s, one forward of the
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
and three aft. Her
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
armament consisted of four
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 five
C/30 guns in single mounts. ''Z30'' 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
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
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 submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s and an ''S-Gerät'' 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 navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
was also probably fitted. The ship was equipped with a ''FuMO'' 24/25 radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
set above the bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
.[
]
Modifications
During 1942–1943, ''Z30''s anti-aircraft armament was increased to ten each 3.7 cm and 2 cm guns. A '' FuMO 63 Hohentwiel'' radar was installed in 1944–1945 in lieu of the aft searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
. By the end of the war, her anti-aircraft suite consisted of seven 3.7 cm and fourteen 2 cm weapons.
Service history
''Z30'' 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 19 ...
) on 23 April 1938. The ship 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
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
shipyard as yard number W964 on 14 January 1940, launched on 12 August, and commissioned on 15 November 1941. While working up she accidentally collided with the on 14 January 1942.
Beginning on 18 March, she escorted 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 Tr ...
from Brunsbüttel
Brunsbüttel () is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies at the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to the Kiel Canal.
History
The earliest re ...
, Germany, to Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, Norway, and then accompanied the heavy cruiser from Trondheim to Narvik
( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
. ''Z30'' took part in the preliminaries of Operation ''Rösselsprung'', an attempt to intercept Convoy PQ 17
PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, aft ...
in July. ''Admiral Scheer'' and her sister '' Lützow'' formed one group in Narvik with ''Z30'' and four of her sisters while the battleship and ''Admiral Hipper'' composed another. While en route to the rendezvous at the Altafjord
Altafjord ( en, Alta Fjord;Koop, Gerhard, & Klaus-Peter Schmolke. 2000. ''Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing, p. 55. no, Altafjorden; fkv, Alattionvuono) is a fjord in A ...
, ''Lützow'' and three destroyers of ''Tirpitz''s escort ran aground
Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or
waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...
, forcing the entire group to abandon the operation. On 5–8 September ''Z30'', her sister , and the destroyer laid a minefield in the Kara Strait
The Kara Strait or Kara Gates (russian: Карские Ворота, translit=Karskiye Vorota) is a wide channel of water between the southern end of Novaya Zemlya and the northern tip of Vaygach Island. This strait connects the Kara Sea and t ...
between the island of Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
and Vaygach Island
Vaygach Island (russian: Вайга́ч, ''Vajgač''; Nenets: Вай Хабць, romanized: ''Vai Habcj’'') an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea.
Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the ...
. Later that month, she participated in Operation Zarin
Operation Zarin ( en, Tsarina []) was a German Naval mine, minelaying operation off the north-western coast of the islands of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean. The operation was conducted between 24 September and 28 September 1942 by the Germa ...
, a minelaying mission off the coast of Novaya Zemlya from 24 to 28 September, together with ''Admiral Hipper'', and her sisters , , and ''Z29''. On 13–15 October, ''Z30'', her sister , ''Z4 Richard Beitzen'' and the destroyer laid a minefield off the Kanin Peninsula
The Kanin Peninsula () is a large peninsula in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia.
It is surrounded by the White Sea to the west and by the Barents Sea to the north and east. Shoyna is one of the few communities on the peninsula.
Fauna
For cetacea ...
at the mouth of the White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...
that sank the . Three weeks later, the same four destroyers escorted ''Admiral Hipper'' as she attempted to intercept Allied merchant ships proceeding independently to Soviet ports in early November. They intercepted and sank the westbound Soviet oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...
''Donbass
The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
'' and the submarine chaser
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II.
...
''BO-78'' on the 7th.
On 30 December, ''Lützow'' and ''Admiral Hipper'', escorted by six destroyers, including ''Z30'', left Narvik for Operation ''Regenbogen'', an attack on Convoy JW 51B
Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943.
JW 51B came under attack b ...
, which was reported by German intelligence to be lightly escorted. ''Vizeadmiral
(abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to Vice admiral.
Austria-Hungary
In the Austro-Hungarian Navy there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Kont ...
'' (Vice Admiral) Oskar Kummetz
__NOTOC__
Oskar Kummetz (21 July 1891 – 17 December 1980) was an admiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He also served in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I. Kummetz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his ac ...
's plan was to divide his force in half; he would take ''Admiral Hipper'' and three destroyers north of the convoy to attack it and draw away the escorts. ''Lützow'', ''Z30'' and the destroyers and would then attack the undefended convoy from the south. The Germans failed to press home their attack, only briefly engaging the convoy and damaging one merchantman. ''Z30'' was one of the escorts for the light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
and the damaged ''Admiral Hipper'' on 24 January 1943 as they began their voyage to Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, Germany, where the destroyer began a refit.
She returned to Norwegian waters after her refit and conducted several minelaying missions between 19 and 28 June together with ''Z27''. The ship took part in Operation ''Zitronella'', the German raid on the island of Spitsbergen in September where she was hit by coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
and slightly damaged. ''Z30'' was one of the escorts for the battleship during Operation Ostfront
Operation Ostfront (German: "Eastern Front") was the sortie into the Arctic Ocean by the German battleship during World War II. This operation culminated in the sinking of ''Scharnhorst''.
Background
Soon after the German invasion of the S ...
on 25 December, an attempt to intercept the British Convoy JW 55B
Convoy JW 55B was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
...
that was bound for the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. All of the battleship's escorts were detached the following day to increase the likelihood of intercepting the convoy and did not participate in the ensuing Battle of North Cape
The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, was ...
. The ship was transferred to southern Norway in 1944 and escorted convoys and laid minefields from 8 May. She began a refit at Swinemünde, Germany, on 31 August and conducted operations in the western Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
and Skaggerak
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.
The ...
when it was completed. While escorting a convoy on 20 October, ''Z30'' struck a mine off Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
that crippled her. The explosion destroyed her stern compartment, knocked out the port turbine, jammed the starboard propeller shaft and caused extensive shock damage throughout the ship. Towed to Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway, for repairs, they were not yet complete when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 and she was decommissioned six days later.
''Z30'' was turned over to the Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...
for maintenance purposes on 15 July while the Allies decided how to divide the surviving ships of the ''Kriegsmarine'' amongst themselves as war reparations
War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war.
History
Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history.
R ...
. The ship was allotted to the British in late 1945 and was towed to Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, on 6 February 1946. She was effectively unusable without extensive – and expensive – repairs so she was condemned to be used for evaluating the effects of underwater explosions on her hull. ''Z30'' was towed to Loch Striven where the tests were conducted between May and September 1948. Three charges of torpex
Torpex is a secondary explosive, 50% more powerful than TNT by mass. Torpex comprises 42% RDX, 40% TNT and 18% powdered aluminium. It was used in the Second World War from late 1942, at which time some used the names Torpex and RDX interchangeab ...
were detonated below her hull at various depths. Despite some damage to her hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
plating, her welded hull was not significantly damaged during the tests. The ship was sold for scrap on 9 September and towed to their facility at Dalmuir
Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ori ...
to be demolished.[Whitley, pp. 191–93]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
Kriegsmarine destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Z30
1940 ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
Type 1936A-class destroyers