German destroyer Z26

''Z26'' was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German Navy) during World War II. Completed in early 1941, the ship spent her active career in Norwegian waters. She first arrived there in November, but was plagued with engine problems and had to return to Germany for repairs in January 1942. ''Z26'' returned to Norway two months later and became flagship of a destroyer flotilla. Together with two of her sisters, she attempted to intercept Convoy PQ 13. They rescued survivors from an already sunken ship before ''Z26'' sank one straggler from the convoy. The three destroyers were spotted by a British light cruiser that badly damaged ''Z26'' before one of the cruiser's torpedoes circled back around and crippled her. Pursuit of ''Z26'' was taken over by a British destroyer that so badly damaged her that she was drifting and on fire when the timely arrival of the other two German destroyers prevented the British ship from sinking ''Z26''. They were able to rescue 88 survivors and a submarine later rescued 8 others; 243 crewmen were killed in the battle.

Design and description

The Type 1936A destroyers were slightly larger than the preceding Type 1936 class and had a heavier armament. They had an overall length of and were long at the waterline. The ships had a beam of , and a maximum draft of . They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The two Wagner geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce using steam provided by six Wagner water-tube boilers for a designed speed of . ''Z26'' carried a maximum of of fuel oil which gave 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 shields, one forward of the superstructure and three aft. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of four C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and five C/30 guns in single mounts. ''Z26'' carried eight above-water torpedo tubes 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'') passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines and an ''S-Gerät'' sonar was also probably fitted. The ship was equipped with a ''FuMO'' 24/25 radar set above the bridge.

Construction and career

''Z26'' was ordered from AG Weser (Deschimag) on 23 April 1938. The ship was laid down at Deschimag's Bremen shipyard as yard number W960 on 1 April 1939, launched on 2 April 1940, and commissioned on 9 January 1941. She was assigned to escort the Baltic Fleet, a temporary formation built around the battleship , as it sortied into the Sea of Åland on 23–29 September to forestall any attempt by the Soviet Red Banner Baltic Fleet to break out from the Gulf of Finland.

On 9 November, ''Z26'' and her sister ship sailed for northern Norway; at Tromsø her lubrication pump for her starboard low-pressure turbine broke down, destroying the rotor blades. With her repairs completed by 14 December, she joined her sisters of the ''8. Zerstörerflottile'' (8th Destroyer Flotilla) at Kirkenes, although another lubrication pump broke down and she could not participate in the planned sortie off the Murmansk coast. Still plagued by machinery troubles, ''Z26'' departed for Germany on 5 January 1942 for a refit. Refit completed, she escorted the heavy cruiser from Brunsbüttel, Germany, to Trondheim, Norway, on 18 March and then accompanied the heavy cruiser from Trondheim to Narvik, reaching Kirkenes on the 27th.

On 28 March, ''Z26'', now the flagship of '' Kapitän zur See'' Gottfried Pönitz, commander of the ''8. Flotille'', departed the Varangerfjord in an attempt to intercept Convoy PQ 13 together with her sisters ''Z24'' and . Later that night they rescued 61 survivors of the sunken freighter then sank the straggling freighter . ''Z26'' attacked her with gunfire, then finished her off with a torpedo. The Germans rescued 7 survivors before resuming the search for the convoy. The light cruiser , escorted by the destroyer , spotted the German ships with her radar at 08:49 on the 29th and was spotted herself around that same time. Both sides opened fire at the point-blank range of in a snowstorm. ''Trinidad'' engaged the leading German destroyer, ''Z26'', and hit her with her second salvo from her forward guns. Her shells knocked out two 15 cm guns, damaged the port turbine room and started a large fire. Between them the destroyers fired 19 torpedoes at the cruiser, all of which missed after ''Trinidad'' turned away, and hit her twice with their 15 cm guns, inflicting only minor damage. Both sides maneuvered to avoid torpedoes, which forced them to disengage, and accidentally separated ''Z26'' from her sisters. ''Trinidad''s radar found the damaged destroyer and the cruiser altered course and increased speed to intercept. She opened fire at 09:17 at a range of at the wildly maneuvering ''Z26'', scoring only three hits from 37 main-gun salvoes. Trying to finish off the badly damaged destroyer, ''Trinidad'' fired a single torpedo five minutes later; two other torpedoes failed to leave their tubes due to icing. The one torpedo circled back around and struck ''Trinidad'', crippling the cruiser. The German destroyer attempted to disengage, but ''Fury'', which had not yet fired during the battle, set off in pursuit.

''Z26'' passed by three destroyers of the convoy's escort, but only the two Soviet ships, and , fired at her through the snow; thought the German ship was ''Trinidad''. ''Fury'' fired two salvoes without effect at ''Eclipse'' at 09:30 before recognizing her as friendly and turned back to render assistance to ''Trinidad''. ''Eclipse'' then took up the pursuit and her radar spotted ''Z26'' at a range of about . She opened fire when the range decreased to . The German ship attempted to disengage under the cover of a smoke screen, but was unsuccessful as ''Eclipse'' continued to hit her. After the sixth hit, ''Z26'' lost power at 10:20 and was listing to port with her stern awash. The British destroyer was maneuvering to give the German destroyer the coup de grâce with her last torpedo when the snowstorm ended and visibility increased, revealing ''Z24'' and ''Z25'' approaching. They promptly opened fire at ''Eclipse'', hitting her twice and wounding nine men, before she could find cover in a squall at 10:35. The German ships did not pursue ''Eclipse'', preferring to heave-to and take off 88 survivors. The later picked up another 8, although 243 crewmen were killed.Admiralty Historical Section 2007, pp. 29–30; Whitley, p. 136

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External links

Kriegsmarine destroyers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Z26
1940 ships
Ships built in Bremen (state)
Type 1936A-class destroyers
Maritime incidents in March 1942
World War II shipwrecks in the Arctic Ocean