Flottentorpedoboot 39

The first came to the front 1942, T 22.  The type was built until end of war, the last getting  ready was T 36.   In Biscaya and Channel they became the main type, often encountered by the British MTB and other small attack craft.  Often successfully fighting Destroyers and Cruisers, the cruiser HMS Charybdis being sunk by torpedoes.

In Biscaya they did long range escort work for U-Boote, like all German vessels up to cruiser size they had a limited minesweeping capacity. Being faster than Minensucher they could do that much deeper into the sea before the RN reacted. Escort for Blockade runners was a hard job that often failed, the merchant vessel returning-

Another main role was minelaying in Channel and Ostsee.

Normally the Flottentorpedoboote had to deal with much superior RN forces and a strong air force, so most in the West got lost. Post D-Day T 28 was the last doing service there.

Even today many British feel XXX that Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen had been able to go through the Channel. But that was at a time of  strong Luftwaffe and hard hit RN. Fortunately few know about the much bigger humiliation by T 28. It went with 3 S-Boote through the gigantic fleet assembled there since D-Day and arrived safely in the East.

It was a lucky boat, one of the few surviving Flottentorpedoboote. Post 45 it served with French navy. Named Le Lorrain. Scrapped 1959.

T 23 became L’Alsacien and T 35 became US, used as spare parts for the French. And T 33 became the Soviet Primernyj, fate ?

The darkest day for the type was 18th August 1944, three ( T 22, T 30,  T 32 )running onto a German Minefield in Ostsee at Narva Bay,  all sinking.  Bad navigation.