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(Vanilla) Zerstörer 1944, KMS Z-52

Andromeda(USS Louisiana BB-71) all rights reserved.
This ship will become a preset ship in the future.




After the commissioning of the first motorized destroyer, Z 51, a new era in German destroyer construction began. The ongoing work in the K-Amt led to the design series of a large destroyer type suitable for escorting surface combat groups operating in the Atlantic, as was newly demanded by the fleet in the war year 1942. Although the sinking of the battleship Bismarck a year earlier had halted the efforts of heavy German naval forces against British supply shipping in the Atlantic, the Naval War Command remained confident that such operations would be possible again from 1942 onwards. For the future, it seemed necessary to secure the heavy combat ships deployed there with destroyers.

Initially, the K-Amt created the "Zerstörer 1943" design in several variants. What all these designs had in common was an arrangement that resulted from the further development of the "Zerstörer 1936 C" in terms of main armament and the continuation of the path started with the "Zerstörer 1942" type. In plain language, this means that they were to be armed with 12.8 cm dual-purpose guns and equipped with motor propulsion systems.

On June 7, 1943, a decision was made: this led to the cancellation of the "Zerstörer 1943" project series and the preference for the "Zerstörer 1942" as the basis for an equivalent further development to the "Zerstörer 1943."

These designs faced criticism mainly due to the main artillery armament. The solution with four 12.8 cm single mounts in the "Zerstörer 1942 A" variant was rejected because it no longer met the war's requirements from the front's perspective. A modified design in this regard ("Zerstörer 1942 B") featured a 12.8 cm twin turret at both the bow and stern, and a single 12.8 cm mount staggered in height, but this variant also faced criticism. In December 1943, the Commander of Destroyers (FdZ) proposed eliminating the forward 12.8 cm single mount to achieve a shorter ship length, which would result in weight savings and improve the buoyancy of the bow. This was expected to help maintain higher speeds more effectively.

Fundamentally, the front opposed the 12.8 cm gun in a single mount configuration; while they did not overlook the advantage of the larger elevation angle (75°) compared to the 12.8 cm twin turret (which was limited to 52°), from their perspective, the single gun offered too little protection for the crew. These criticisms were addressed in the "Zerstörer 1942 C" variant. For this design, three 12.8 cm twin turrets and appropriately strong anti-aircraft armament (6 x 3.7 cm, 14 x 3 cm) were planned, with two twin turrets at the front and only one at the rear. However, the request to relieve the bow by arranging the three turrets in the opposite order—as proposed by the FdZ—was not heeded.

Notable were the measures intended to significantly improve anti-aircraft capabilities. It was planned to replace the existing 2 cm anti-aircraft machine guns (FlaMG) with the new 3 cm anti-aircraft guns, which were in the final phase of development. Consideration was also given to introducing this new anti-aircraft weapon as a successor to both the 2 cm and the 3.7 cm weapons to simplify ammunition supply and increase onboard ammunition storage. However, this idea was abandoned—at least for this destroyer project—due to the anticipated introduction of the 5.5 cm anti-aircraft gun (Gerät 58) in 1945. Therefore, it was decided to create a new design to accommodate this and other desired changes. This new design, known as "Zerstörer 1944," was completed in February 1944. In this design, the FdZ's proposal for better bow buoyancy was considered by shifting the engine and gearbox rooms slightly aft to compensate for the forward-mounted turrets.

These ships were to be equipped with two M-42 fire control systems and two radio detection devices, the latter mounted on the forward mast.

In the spring of 1944, construction orders for five ships (Z 52 - 56) were placed with Deschimag Bremen. There, the work was limited to construction preparations and the beginning of material provision for the first ship. However, due to the war situation, no further progress could be made at that time, and the order package had to be canceled in July 1944.




(Data as of 1944)
Standard Displacement: 2818 tons
Construction Displacement: 3170 tons
Full Load Displacement: 3703 tons
Overall Length: 132.1m
Length at Waterline: 126m
Width: 12.6m
Draft at Standard Displacement/ Construction Displacement: 4.14m/4.92m
Height to Upper Deck: 7.15m
Number of Shafts/Rudders: 2/2
Propeller Diameter: 3.45m
Fuel Oil Capacity normal/max: 280t/640t
Range: 6800 nm/19 kts
Crew: 12 Officers, 308 Non-commissioned officers and sailors
Propulsion System: 8 M.A.N. 24-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines
Armament:
3 x 2 12,8cm SK L/45.3 C/41 in Drh.L C/41 twin turrets
3 x 1 5,5cm Flak L/76,5 Gerät 58
7 x 2 3cm Flak L/46,6 M-44 in LM-44 twin mounts
2 x 4 53.3 cm torpedo tubes in quad mounts
Depth charge throwers
Mine laying equipment

Special thanks to Higgins-PT, CaptainTadakoro380 and Siegfried Breyer