Type 1945 destroyer
{{Short description|World War II era German ship design}}
{{good article}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
|infobox caption= |display title= |sclass= }} {{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Type 1945 Destroyer.png |Ship caption=A linedrawing of the Type 1945 Destroyer design. }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Class before=Type 1936D destroyer & Type 1936E destroyer |Class after=None |Total ships planned= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Destroyer |Ship displacement=*{{convert|2,700|t}} (Standard load)
|Ship length=*{{convert|120|m}} (waterline)
|Ship beam={{convert|12|m}} |Ship draught={{convert|3.88|m}} |Ship propulsion=*2 × three-bladed propellers
|Ship power=*{{convert|80,000|shp}}
|Ship speed= *{{convert|42.5|kn}} (Standard load)
|Ship range={{convert|3,600|nmi}} (at {{convert|19|kn}}) |Ship armament=*8 × {{convert|12.8|cm|abbr=on}} L/45 C/41 guns (1,440 rounds)
|Ship boats=*2 × Motor pinnances
|Ship complement=350 }} |
The Type 1945 destroyers were a planned class of destroyers, for the Kriegsmarine, whose design was based upon that of the Type 1936D and E destroyers. Their plan involved a return to steam boilers, which had been replaced by diesel engines in all ships designs after the Type 1942 destroyers. No ships were ever built, as the end of the war was rapidly approaching.
Development
The Type 1945 destroyer was designed in 1945, based upon the design of the Type 1936D and E destroyers, the plans for which were later accidentally destroyed by fire.{{sfn|Whitley|1983|p=54}} They were designed during a time when Germany was prioritizing construction of submarines, with little to no effort going into her surface fleet, making the odds of the Type 1945 destroyers, or any other type of ship which was designed after 1942, being constructed, near zero. However, the Konstruktionsamt (Construction Department) continued to create designs for surface ships until the end of the war.{{sfn|Whitley|1983|p=54}}{{sfn|Haslop|2013|pp=19 & 22}}{{sfn|Tucker|2011|p=xxviii}}
Before the design was even created, Germany was restricting the use of her surface fleet; after the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck on 27 May 1941, heavy restrictions were placed upon surface ship commanders' tactical freedom. Around the time the design was created, after the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944, most of Germany's surface ships were being pulled back entirely, to serve only in the Baltic Sea.{{sfn|Zabecki|2015|p=858}} From the spring of 1945 to near the end of the war, the Kriegsmarine was almost entirely focused upon resupplying and supporting garrisons along the Baltic Coast. Later on, in May, the Kriegsmarine embarked upon the task of evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers from the east, ahead of the Soviet forces which were rapidly pushing westward.{{sfn|Thomas|1990|p=250}}
The Type 1945 destroyers were designed to be able to defend against submarines, light naval forces, and aircraft, particularly torpedo bombers.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}} Their design differed greatly from previous ones in that it utilized steam turbines, rather than diesel engines.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}} Overall, their design gave them 12% higher engine performance despite having lighter machinery, and a more powerful main armament with a shorter hull.{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}} The project never made it past the drawing board, and no ship of the class was ever ordered or laid down.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}}
Characteristics
The ships of the Type 1945 destroyer class were to be {{convert|120|m}} long at the waterline and {{convert|125.5|m}} long o/a, have a beam of {{convert|12|m}}, a draught of {{convert|3.88|m}}, and displace {{convert|2700|t}} at standard load, {{convert|3,100|t}} at full load, and {{convert|3,700|t}} at deep load.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}} They were to have a complement of 350, and carry two motor pinnaces, one torpedo cutter and a motor dinghy.{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}}{{sfn|Lenton|1976|p=82}}
They were to be armed with eight 12.7 cm SK C/41 naval gun,{{efn|SK – Schnelladekanone (quick loading cannon); C – Construktionsjahr (year of guns design).}}{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}}{{sfn|Lenton|1976|p=82}} placed in four twin turrets,{{sfn|Whitley|1983|p=54}} with 1,440 rounds of ammunition, four 5.5 cm L/76.5 naval gun,{{efn|L – Länge in Kaliber (length in caliber).}} with 5,000 rounds of ammunition, twelve MK 303 cannon, with 24,000 rounds of ammunition, eight total {{convert|53.3|cm|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes, placed in quadruple tubes on her deck, with 16 torpedoes, and 100 mines. They were to have high-angle (anti-aircraft) director ship gun fire-control systems, placed on their fore and aft, which were to be fitted with radio direction finders.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}}{{sfn|Lenton|1976|p=82}}
They were to be propelled by two three-bladed propellers, two sets of Wagner turbines, four Wagner-Deschimag boilers feeding high-pressure superheated steam (at {{convert|70|atm|psi kPa|0|abbr=on|lk=on}} and {{convert|400|C}}), intended to give her {{convert|80,000|shp|lk=in}}, and a speed of {{convert|42.5|kn|lk=in}}, {{convert|39.5|kn}}, or {{convert|37|kn}}, depending on if they were at standard load, full load, or deep load, respectively. They were to carry {{convert|800|t}} of oil, to give her a range of {{convert|3,600|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|19|kn}}. The machinery was calculated to have a weight-power ratio of {{convert|12|kg/shp|abbr=on}}.{{efn|kg/shp is a weight-to-power ratio, showing that the propulsion system weighed 12 kg (kilograms) for every unit of shp (shaft horsepower) that it generated.}}{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Breyer|1991|p=91}}{{sfn|Gröner|1990|p=211}}{{sfn|Lenton|1976|p=82}}
Footnotes
{{Notelist}}
References
= Citations =
{{reflist|20em}}
= Books =
- {{cite book|last1=Breyer|first1=Siegfried|title=The Deutsche Kriegsmarine 1935–1945. Volume 7 – The Developmental History of the Destroyers and Torpedo Boats|date=1991|publisher=Podzun-Pallas-Verl.|isbn=978-3-7909-0425-3}}
- {{Cite book |last=Gröner|first=Erich|title=German Warships 1815–1945|year=1990 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|volume=1: Major Surface Warships|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-790-9|author-link=Erich Gröner}}
- {{cite book|last1=Haslop|first1=Dennis|title=Britain, Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic A Comparative Study.|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing| location=London| isbn=9781472511638}}
- {{cite book|last=Lenton|first= H. T.|title=German Warships of the Second World War|year=1976|publisher=Macdonald and Jane's|location=London | isbn=0-356-04661-3}}
- {{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Charles S.|title=The German Navy in the Nazi Era|date=1990|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Md.|isbn=978-0870217913}}
- {{cite book|last1=Tucker|first1=Spencer C.|title=World War II At Sea: An Encyclopedia|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC.|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=9781598844573}}
- {{Cite book|title=Destroyer! German Destroyers in World War II|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1983|isbn=978-0-87021-143-0|location=Annapolis}}
- {{cite book |last=Whitley|first=M. J. |author-link = M. J. Whitley|title=German Destroyers of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis|year=1991 |isbn=978-1-55750-302-2}}
- {{cite book|last1=Zabecki|first1=David T.|title=World War II in Europe: An Encyclopedia|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|location=Routledge|isbn=9781135812492}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last1=Koop |first1=Gerhard |last2=Schmolke |first2=Klaus-Peter |title=German Destroyers of World War II |year=2003 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-307-9 |name-list-style=amp}}
External links
- [http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/destroyer/index.html Kriegsmarine destroyers]