 Right elevation and plan of the Type 1935 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | T2 |
| Ordered | 16 November 1935 |
| Builder | Schichau,Elbing,East Prussia |
| Yard number | 1381 |
| Laid down | 14 November 1936 |
| Launched | 7 April 1938 |
| Completed | 2 December 1939 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1946 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Type 35torpedo boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 84.3 m (276 ft 7 in)o/a |
| Beam | 8.62 m (28 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 2.83 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × gearedsteam turbines |
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 1,200 nmi (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 119 |
| Armament |
|
TheGerman torpedo boatT2 was one of a dozenType 35 torpedo boats built for theKriegsmarine (German Navy) during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was not combat ready until mid-1940, when she spent several months escortingminelayers as they laidminefields. The boat returned to Germany after being damaged and supported operations in theBaltic Sea after the start ofOperation Barbarossa in June 1941.T2 returned to France at the end of the year, escorting acommerce raider through theEnglish Channel. She then escorted a pair ofbattleships and aheavy cruiser through the Channel back to Germany in early 1942 in theChannel Dash. The boat was placed inreserve upon her return and was transferred back to France in 1943, where she helped to escortblockade runners through theBay of Biscay. In mid-1943, she returned to the Baltic and briefly served as flagship of asubmarineflotilla before being assigned to the Torpedo School.T2 was sunk in an air raid in July 1944, but wasrefloated several months later. She was never repaired and eventuallyscrapped in 1946.
The Type 35 was an unsuccessful attempt by theKriegsmarine to design a fast, ocean-goingtorpedo boat that did not exceed the 600-long-ton (610 t) displacement limit of theLondon Naval Treaty for ships that counted against the national tonnage limit.[1] The boats had anoverall length of 84.3 meters (276 ft 7 in) and were 82.2 meters (269 ft 8 in)long at the waterline. After thebow was rebuilt in 1941 to improveseaworthiness, the overall length increased to 87.1 meters (285 ft 9 in).[2] The ships had abeam of 8.62 meters (28 ft 3 in) and a meandraft of 2.83 meters (9 ft 3 in) atdeep load. They displaced 859metric tons (845long tons) atstandard load and 1,108 metric tons (1,091 long tons) at deep load, exceeding the planned limit.[3] Their crew numbered 119 officers and sailors.[4] Their pair of gearedsteam turbine sets, each driving one propeller, were designed to produce 31,000shaft horsepower (23,000 kW), using steam from four high-pressurewater-tube boilers[2] which would propel the boats at 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). They carried enoughfuel oil to give them a range of 1,200nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[3]
As built, the Type 35 class mounted a single10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK C/32 gun on thestern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a single3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30anti-aircraft gunsuperfiring over the 10.5 cm gun and a pair of2 cm (0.8 in) C/30 guns on thebridge wings. They carried six above-water 533 mm (21 in)torpedo tubes in two triple mounts and could also carry 30mines (or 60 if the weather was good).[clarification needed] Many boats exchanged the 3.7 cm gun for another 2 cm gun,depth charges andminesweeping paravanes before completion.[5] While the full extent of any modifications toT2 are unknown, photographic evidence shows the ship was fitted with a quadruple mount for 2 cm guns in lieu of the single 3.7 cm gun and an additional 2 cm weapon positioned on the bow before her loss in mid-1944. She is not known have been fitted with radar.[6]
T2 was ordered on 16 November 1935 fromSchichau,laid down at theirElbing,East Prussia,shipyard on 14 November 1936[7] asyard number 1381,[2]launched on 7 April 1938, andcommissioned on 2 December 1939. The boat wasworking up until June 1940, when she began convoy escort duties in German waters.[7] Now assigned to the 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla,T2, hersister shipsT7 andT8, and the torpedo boatsKondor,Falke, andJaguar escorted minelayers as they laid a minefield in the southwestern North Sea on 7–8 August and again on 14–15 August. Newly assigned to the 1st Torpedo Boat Flotilla withKondor and her sistersT1 andT3,T2 escorted a minelaying mission in the English Channel on 6–7 September. Five days later,T2, the torpedo boatSeeadler,T1, andT3 were ordered to proceed to France. They were attacked enroute by aBristol Blenheimlight bomber that dropped a bomb 10 meters (33 ft) to one side ofT2. Splinters from the bomb badly damaged the torpedo boat and wounded six men. She stopped inVlissingen,Netherlands, for emergency repairs and then sailed toWilhelmshaven, where she arrived on 25 September.[8]
Permanent repairs at Schichau's shipyard in Elbing lasted until May 1941, andT2 was working up until July, when she began escorting convoys in theSkaggerak. Together with her sistersT5,T8, andT11, the boat supportedOperation Beowulf in mid-September.T2,T5,T7,T8, andT11 were among the escorts for the Baltic Fleet, a temporary formation built around the battleshipTirpitz, as itsortied into theSea of Åland on 23–29 September to forestall any attempt by the SovietRed Banner Baltic Fleet to breakout from theGulf of Finland. Afterwards,T2 became part of a decoy force used to distract the defenders. The ship was briefly refitted in November. On 2 December,T2 and her sisterT12 rendezvoused with the commerce raiderThor in theSchillig Roads; they were joined byT4,T7, and the torpedo boatT14 the following day, and then began to escortThor through the Channel. Delayed by heavy fog, the ships did not reachBrest, France, until the 15th, whileThor continued onwards into theAtlantic.[9]
On the morning of 12 February 1942, the 2nd and 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotillas (withT2,T4,T5,T11,T12 andT13,T15,T16, andT17 respectively) rendezvoused with the battleshipsGneisenau andScharnhorst and the heavy cruiserPrinz Eugen to escort them through the Channel to Germany in the Channel Dash.T2's gunners claimed to have shot down one British aircraft during the operation.[10] Upon her arrival in Germany,T2 was reduced to reserve until she was ordered to France in March 1943. Although escorted byT2,T5,Kondor, and the torpedo boatsT22 andT23, the Italian blockade runnerHimalaya failed in her attempt to break through the Bay of Biscay when she was spotted by British aircraft and forced to return by heavy aerial attacks on 9–11 April. On 5–8 May, the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla withT2,T5, and the torpedo boatsT18 andT22 laid three minefields in the Channel.T2 transferred to the Baltic and served as flagship of the 25th U-boat Flotilla from 10 July to September. The next month, she was assigned to the Torpedo School. In April 1944, the four oldest of the sisters, includingT2, were assigned to a training unit as they lacked radar and a reinforced anti-aircraft armament. This arrangement did not last long as the German situation in the east deteriorated and they began convoy escort duties throughout the Baltic a few months later. On 29 July 1944, the boat was sunk by American bombers attacking Bremen.T2 was refloated on 4 September and was towed toSwinemünde on 9 December and then to Elbing for repairs on 31 January 1945. Advancing Soviet forces forced her to be towed back west, unrepaired, the following month. Thehulk was reported atBrunsbüttel in May and was broken up atCuxhaven in 1946.[11]
