X-Nico

4 unusual facts about German World War II destroyers


Battle of Gratangen

Transported by ten destroyers from the Kriegsmarine, the German Task Force under command of General der Infanterie Eduard Dietl had occupied Narvik and the important military depots at Elvegårdsmoen in the early hours of 9 April 1940.

German destroyer Z2 Georg Thiele

The German destroyer Z2 Georg Thiele was a Type 1934 destroyer built for the German Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s.

Mona Islands

Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, under Commander Wilhelm Meendsen-Bohlken, destroyers Friedrich Eckoldt, Erich Steinbrinck and Richard Beitzen, entered the Kara Sea along with submarines U 601 (Captain Grau) and U 251 (Lt. Captain Timm) in August 1942, in order to destroy Soviet warships.

ORP Wilk

On September 2 she spotted a destroyer Erich Steinbrinck, but could not attack it, because she fell herself under attack of minesweepers (the German report on firing a torpedo at Steinbrinck is not confirmed by the Polish).


Hans Lüdemann

A World War II German destroyer, Z18, which was scuttled in the Battle of Narvik was named Hans Lüdemann in his honour.


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