7109 GERMAN TORPEDO-BOAT TYPE 39 T35 1945

Type 39 (Elbing class) is the name of the German torpedo boat class (Ger. Flottentorpedoboot) that entered service in the German Kriegsmarine in 1940-1944. A single ship of this type was 102.5 meters long and 10 meters wide. Full displacement did not exceed 1750 tons, and the maximum speed was around 33-34 knots. The armament consisted of: 4 single 105mm cannons, 2 twin 37mm anti-aircraft guns, 1 quadruple AA cannon. 20 mm caliber, 2 triple 533 mm torpedo tubes, 4 depth charge launchers and up to 60 min. The Type 39 torpedo boats differed significantly from the previous Type 35 and 37 Kriegsmarine torpedo boats. First of all, they were significantly larger, much better armed, also had better ZOP (anti-submarine warfare) capabilities and turned out to be much more versatile ships. In fact, their size and combat capabilities corresponded to small destroyers. The earliest Type 39 ships to enter service chronologically were dispatched to France to cover their own U-boats returning from combat voyages, as well as to perform combat patrols in the waters of the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. They were also used to build minefields. Ships of this type also took part in the naval battle of Sept-Iles in October 1942 and in the Battle of the Bay of Biscay in December 1943. they supported the actions of German troops on land. In April and May 1945, the surviving torpedo boats of this type were involved primarily in the evacuation of civilians fleeing the Red Army. Out of 15 ships built, only 4 survived the war by the end of the war. Three of them remained in French service until 1954-1955, and one in the USSR Navy until 1956.