Name Z23 Yard number 957 Completed 14 September 1940 Construction started 15 November 1938 | Ordered 23 April 1938 Laid down 15 November 1938 Captured 6 May 1945 Launched 20 September 1939 | |
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Builders Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau, AG Weser Similar Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass, German destroyer Z5 Paul Jacobi | ||
Z23 was a Type 1936A-class destroyer built for the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s.
Design and description
Z23 had an overall length of 127 meters (416 ft 8 in) and was 121.90 meters (399 ft 11 in) long at the waterline. The ship had a beam of 12 meters (39 ft 4 in), and a maximum draft of 4.65 meters (15 ft 3 in). She displaced 2,603 long tons (2,645 t) at standard load and 3,605 long tons (3,663 t) at deep load. The two Wagner geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller shaft, were designed to produce 70,000 PS (51,000 kW; 69,000 shp) using steam provided by six high-pressure Wagner boilers with superheaters for a designed speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Z23 carried a maximum of 791 metric tons (779 long tons) of fuel oil which gave a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). Her crew consisted of 11 officers and 321 sailors.
The ship carried four 15 cm TbtsK C/36 guns, two superimposed in single mounts with gun shields aft, and one twin-gun turret forward of the superstructure. Her anti-aircraft armament consisted of four 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and five 2 cm C/30 guns in single mounts. The ship carried eight above-water 53.3-centimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. Four depth charge throwers were mounted on the sides of the rear deckhouse and they were supplemented by six racks for individual depth charges on the sides of the stern. Sufficient depth charges were carried for either two or four patterns of sixteen charges each. Mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of sixty mines. 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) passive hydrophones were fitted to detect submarines and an active sonar system was installed by the end of 1939.