The Elbing class torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

s (or Flottentorpedoboot 1939) were a class of 15 small warship

Warship

A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

s that served in the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Although classed as Flottentorpedoboot ("fleet torpedo boat") by the Germans, in most respects—displacement, weaponry, usage—they were comparable to contemporary medium-size destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s. The most notable difference was in the armament of the Elbings being fewer in number and of a slightly smaller caliber — 105 mm (4.1 in) compared to the 4.7 in (119.4 mm) of contemporary British

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 destroyers such as the "L" and "M"-class

L and M class destroyer

The L and M class was a class of sixteen destroyers which served in the British Royal Navy during World War II. The ships of the class were launched between 1939 and 1942.-Design details:...

es.

Service was either in western France from late 1942-August 1944 or in the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 from March 1944 until the end of the war.

The design and weapons mix resulted from experience of earlier, more specialised classes such as the Type 35. The Elbings were a radical change to an all-purpose vessel capable of torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 attacks, anti-aircraft defence and escort duties. These ships adopted unit machinery with two separate engine rooms and two boiler rooms. Their machinery was however relatively unreliable.

They were effective fighting vessels, a notable success being the sinking of the British light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

  and the destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 Limbourne by torpedoes, off Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 in late 1943 and the Canadian

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 destroyer in 1944. The 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla—T22, T23, T25, T25, and T26—had been protecting an important blockade runner

Blockade runner

A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...

 though despite their success it ran aground and was lost. Three ships—T22, T30, and T32—were accidentally lost on 18 August 1943 on a German minefield in the Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland

The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...

.

Construction of the class took place in the Schichau

Schichau-Werke

The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...

 shipyard in Elbing

Elblag

Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...

 (now Elbląg), hence the Allied name for the class. The first examples were commissioned in late 1942 and the last in late 1944.

The ships

The ships were unnamed, but numbered T22-T36.

	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
T22	1940	1941	28 February 1942	sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Baltic.
T23	1940	14 June 1941	14 June 1942	scrapped February 1955, after serving in the French Navy French Navy The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...  as the Alsacien.
T24	1940	13 September 1941	17 October 1942	sunk 24 August 1944, by aircraft launched rockets near Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... .
T25	1940	1 December 1941	12 December 1942	sunk 28 December 1943, by British cruisers and in the Bay of Biscay Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...  (Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall was a World War II operation to intercept blockade runners off the west coast of France. It was an effective example of inter-service and inter-national co-operation.-Background:... ).
T26	1941	18 February 1942	27 February 1943	sunk 28 December 1943, by British cruisers and in the Bay of Biscay (Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall Operation Stonewall was a World War II operation to intercept blockade runners off the west coast of France. It was an effective example of inter-service and inter-national co-operation.-Background:... ).
T27	1941	20 August 1942	17 April 1943	destroyed 6 May 1944, T27 ran aground, en route to L'Aber Vrac'h Aber Wrac'h The Aber Wrac'h is a small village and port located on the Wrac'h river in the commune of Landéda in the department of Finistère in France, located in Brittany.The Wrac'h river source is Trémaouézan...  for repairs after an action against Force 26 on the night of 28/29 April 1944. She was finally destroyed by British MTB Motor Torpedo Boat Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"... s on 6 May after several unsuccessful air attacks.
T28	1941	24 June 1942	19 June 1943	escaped from western France after D-Day, scrapped 1959, after serving in the French Navy French Navy The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...  as the Lorraine.
T29	1942	16 January 1943	21 August 1943	sunk 26 April 1944, by and other Canadian destroyers near Brittany.
T30	1942	13 March 1943	24 October 1943	sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Gulf of Finland Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn... .
T31	1942	22 May 1943	5 February 1944	sunk 20 June 1944 by Soviet Navy MTB Motor Torpedo Boat Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"... .
T32	1942	17 July 1943	8 May 1944	sunk 18 August 1944 - mined in the Gulf of Finland.
T33	1942	4 September 1943	15 June 1944	scrapped 1957-1958 after serving in the Soviet Navy as the Primerniy (Примерный).
T34	1942	23 October 1943	12 August 1944	sunk 24 November 1944 - mined near Cape Arkona Cape Arkona Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park.... .
T35	1942	11 December 1943	7 October 1944	scrapped 3 October 1952 - transferred to France and used for spare parts.
T36	1942	5 February 1944	9 December 1944	sunk 5 May 1945, damaged by a mine near Swinemünde Swinoujscie Świnoujście is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. It is situated mainly on the islands of Uznam and Wolin, but also occupies smaller islands, of which the largest is Karsibór island, once part of Usedom, now separated by a Piast... and sunk by Soviet bombing.

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