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 - GERMAN DESTROYER Z36, GERMAN DESTROYER Z35, and GERMAN DESTROYER Z43 - were commissioned and saw service. Eight ships to this design were ordered, but the orders for Z.40, Z.41 and Z.42 (all three ordered from Germania Werft at Kiel) were replaced by orders for three "scout cruisers", to be numbered Sp.1, Sp.2 and Sp.3 respectively.

The Z36 and Z35 were lost in the Gulf of Finland after hitting friendly mines, while Z43 was scuttled near the end of the war.

Design
The Type 1936B destroyer class differed from the previous Type 1936A class in several ways. One was that the twin 15 cm turrets, positioned fore and aft, were removed because the older Type 1936As had been found to be too unstable in heavy seas. These two twin turrets were removed and replaced with five single 15 cm (5.9 in) turrets. along with more anti-aircraft defences. Apart from some other minor modifications, the ships retained the main characteristics of the 1936A class. They displaced 2527 t, and were manned by a crew of 321 officers and men. Although they had a maximum speed of 36.5 kn, their range was 2600 nmi at 19 kn. The main armament of five 12.7 cm SK C/34 naval guns 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 kg high-explosive shells at a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s to a range of 17400 m. The destroyers also carried four 37 mm anti-aircraft guns and six 20 mm anti-aircraft guns in pairs. They had eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes and, when fitted as a minelayer, could carry 76 mines.