The Type 1936C destroyer was a planned class of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

''. The class was intended to consist of five ships, ''Z46'', ''Z47'', ''Z48'', ''Z49'' and ''Z50''. They were designed to be an improvement of Type 1936A and B destroyers. Only two of the five ships, ''Z46'' and ''Z47'', were ever laid down, and work was halted for a year between 1942 and 1943. Construction was constantly interrupted by numerous problems, dominantly due to air raids, material supply delays and a shortage of copper. The two ships that were laid down, ''Z46'' and ''Z47'', were blown up by

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

troops in 1945.

Characteristics

The Type 1936C destroyers were to be long at waterline, and long overall. They were to have a

breadth Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inter ...

of , and a depth of . They were to have a draught of at standard load, at design load, and at full load. They were to displace at standard load, at design load, and at full load. They were to have a complement of 320, and carry one motor pinnace, one motor yawl, one torpedo cutter and one dinghy. The Type 1936C destroyers were to be armed with six quick firing guns with 720 rounds of ammunition, with a speed of 20 rounds per minute, which had a range of , to be placed in three LC.41 twin turrets, one forward and two aft. An advanced radar-controllable fire control system was placed upon the two aft turrets; six anti-aircraft guns with 12,000 rounds of ammunition, placed in three LM/42 twin mountings, one forward and two aft; eight to 14 anti-aircraft guns with 16,000–28,000 rounds of ammunition, placed in LM/44 mountings; two quadruple torpedo tubes (8–12 rounds); and 60 mines with four depth charge launchers. Their propulsion systems were to consist of six Wagner

boilers 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, central h ...

feeding high-pressure superheated steam (at and ) to two sets of 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 ...

s, which were in diameter. They were to have one electricity plant with one turbo-generator and four diesel generators, for a total output of at . They were to have at 390 revs per minute, giving them a top speed of . They were to carry of oil, giving them a range of at .

Development

The Type 1936C was intended as an improvement of both the Type 1936A and B destroyers. The Type 1936C was very similar in basic hull and identical in machinery to the Type 1936A, with the major difference between the two being the Type 1936C's use of turbines originally intended for use by the Spähkreuzers, and their heavier firepower. The first two ships of the class, ''Z46'' and ''Z47'', were ordered on 8 October 1941, and laid down at a later date. Construction was halted in 1942 due to lack of material, but was restarted again in 1943. The construction of the two ships was constantly delayed due to damage from aircraft raids, material supply delays and shortages of copper, among other problems, resulting in very slow progress. The two ships were blown up in 1945 by

troops. The other three ships: ''Z48'', ''Z49'', and ''Z50'' were ordered on 12 June 1943, but never laid down.

Ships

References

Citations

Books

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External links

''Kriegsmarine'' destroyers
{{WWII German ships Type 1936 destroyers Proposed ships of Germany