Z35 was a Type 1936B destroyer

Type 1936B destroyer

The Type 1936B class of destroyers was a class of five destroyers built for the German Kriegsmarine between 1941 and 1942, of which only three - Z36, Z35, and Z43 - were commissioned and saw service...

 of the German 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 It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine.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...

. She was laid down on 6 June 1941 at Deschimag in Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

, launched on 2 October 1942 and commissioned on 22 September 1943. Her service was with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla 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...

 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Niels Bätge

Niels Bätge

Niels Bätge was a German Schnellboot commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Bätge was promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 September 1943...

. On 12 December 1944, while laying a minefield off Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 in the Gulf of Finland, she struck a German mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 and sank.

Design

The Z35 was a Type 1936B destroyer class, which meant that the twin 15.9 cm (6.3 in) turret positioned on the bow and stern of the ship were removed. This was because the older Type 1936A class of destroyers were deemed less stable. The two twin turrets, which were planned to have been used on the O class battlecruisers but diverted due to time constraints were removed and replaced with five single 12.7 centimetres (5 in) turrets, along with more anti-aircraft defences. Besides that, the ship retained the main characteristics of the 1936A class. They displaced 2527 tonnes (2,487.1 LT), and were manned by 321 sailors and officers. Although they had a maximum speed of 38 knots (20.7 m/s), their range was 6200 metres (6.2 km) at 19 knots (10.3 m/s). Her main armament of five 12.7 cm SK C/34 naval gun

12.7 cm SK C/34 naval gun

The 12.7 cm SK C/34 was a German medium-caliber naval gun deployed on destroyers from 1934 through the Second World War. Some of these guns remained in service until 2003 in the coastal defense units of Norway.-Characteristics:...

s could be depressed to -10° and raised to 30°. They had an arc of fire of 360°, meaning that they could rotate a full circle, able to fire at any given point. The guns fired 28 kilograms (61.7 lb) high-explosive shells at a muzzle velocity of 830 metres per second (2,723.1 ft/s) to a range of 17400 metres (19,028.9 yd). The destroyer also carried four 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns

3.7 cm SK C/30

The 3.7 cm SK C/30 was the German Kriegsmarine's primary anti-aircraft gun during the Second World War...

and six 2 cm (0.78740157480315 in) anti-aircraft guns in pairs. She had eight 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes and, when fitted as a minelayer, could carry 76 mines.