View source for German torpedo boat T5

{|{{Infobox ship begin}} 
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Torpedoboot1935-Erstzustand.svg
|Ship caption=Right elevation and plan of the Type 1935
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''T5''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=15 January 1936
|Ship builder=[[Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG|DeSchiMAG]], [[Bremen]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=934
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=30 December 1936
|Ship launched=22 November 1937
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=23 January 1940
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship fate=Sunk by [[naval mine|mine]], 14 March 1945
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (as built)
|Ship class= [[Type 35 torpedo boat|Type 35]] [[torpedo boat]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|859|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|1108|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|84.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam= {{convert|8.62|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|2.83|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed= {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{cvt|1200|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|19|kn}}
|Ship power=*4 × [[water-tube boilers]]
*{{cvt|31000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship complement=119
|Ship armament= *1 × single [[10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun|{{convert|10.5|cm|in|abbr=on}}]] gun
*1 × single [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{convert|3.7|cm|1|abbr=on}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*2 × single [[2 cm FlaK 30/38/Flakvierling|{{convert|2|cm|1|abbr=on}}]] AA guns
*2 × triple {{cvt|533|mm|in|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*30–60 [[naval mine|mines]]
}}
|}
The '''German torpedo boat ''T5''''' was one of a dozen [[Type 35 torpedo boat]]s built for the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' (German Navy) during the late 1930s. Completed in 1940, she was assigned escort duties in June–July before she was tasked to escort [[minelayer]]s as they laid their [[minefield]]s in the [[North Sea]] and [[English Channel]] in August and September. ''T5'' was transferred to Norway by November and escorted minelaying missions and supported operations in the [[Baltic Sea]] after the start of [[Operation Barbarossa]] in June 1941. ''T5'' returned to France at the end of the year and then escorted a pair of [[battleship]]s and a [[heavy cruiser]] through the Channel back to Germany in early 1942 in the [[Channel Dash]].

The boat was transferred back to Norway upon her return and resumed her escort duties there before beginning a refit. Upon its completion ''T5'' was assigned to escort convoys in the Baltic Sea until she was transferred back to France in early 1943 where she helped to escort [[blockade runner]]s and [[U-boat]]s through the [[Bay of Biscay]] and lay minefields. The boat returned to Germany and was assigned to the Torpedo School in mid-1943. She returned to active duty in late 1944 and escorted German ships as they bombarded Soviet positions. ''T5'' struck a [[naval mine|mine]] in March 1945 and sank with few casualties.

==Design and description==
The Type 35 was an unsuccessful attempt by the ''Kriegsmarine'' to design a fast, ocean-going [[torpedo boat]] that did not exceed the {{cvt|600|LT|t|adj=on}} displacement limit of the [[London Naval Treaty]] for ships that counted against the national tonnage limit.<ref>Whitley 1991, pp. 47–49</ref> The boats had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|84.3|m|ftin|sp=us}} and were {{convert|82.2|m|ftin|sp=us}} [[Length at the waterline|long at the waterline]]. After the [[bow (ship)|bow]] was rebuilt in 1941 to improve [[seaworthiness]], the overall length increased to {{convert|87.1|m|ftin|sp=us}}.<ref name=g3>Gröner, p. 193</ref> The ships had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|8.62|m|ftin|sp=us}}, and a mean [[draft (hull)|draft]] of {{convert|2.83|m|ftin|sp=us}} at [[deep load]] and displaced {{convert|859|MT|LT|lk=on}} at [[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard load]] and {{convert|1108|MT|LT}} at deep load.<ref name=w2/> Their crew numbered 119 officers and sailors.<ref name=gc>Sieche, p. 237</ref> Their pair of geared [[steam turbine]] sets, each driving one propeller, were designed to produce {{convert|31000|shp|lk=on}} using steam from four high-pressure [[water-tube boiler]]s<ref name=g3/> which would propel the boats at {{convert|35|kn|lk=on}}. They carried enough [[fuel oil]] to give them a range of {{convert|1200|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|19|kn}}.<ref name=w2>Whitley 1991, p. 202</ref>

As built, the Type 35 class mounted a single [[10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun|{{cvt|10.5|cm|in}} SK C/32]] gun on the [[stern]]. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a single [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{cvt|3.7|cm|in}} SK C/30]] [[anti-aircraft gun]] [[superfiring]] over the 10.5&nbsp;cm gun and a pair of [[2 cm FlaK 30/38/Flakvierling|{{cvt|2|cm|1}} C/30]] guns on the [[bridge wing]]s. They carried six above-water {{cvt|533|mm|in|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s in two triple mounts and could also carry 30 [[naval mine|mines]] (or 60 if the weather was good). Many boats exchanged the 3.7&nbsp;cm gun for another 2&nbsp;cm gun, [[depth charge]]s and [[Paravane (weapon)|minesweeping paravanes]] before completion. Late-war additions were limited to the installation of [[radar]], [[radar detector]]s and additional AA guns, usually at the expense of the aft torpedo tube mount.<ref>Whitley 1991, pp. 49–51; Whitley 2000, p. 71</ref>

==Construction and career==
''T5'' was ordered on 15 January 1936 from [[Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG|DeSchiMAG]], [[laid down]] at their [[Bremen]] [[shipyard]] on 30 December 1936<ref name=w9>Whitley 1991, p. 209</ref> as [[yard number]] 934,<ref name=g3/> [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 22 November 1937 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 23 January 1940. The boat was [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)#W|working up]] until June when she was transferred to the Skaggerak for convoy escort duties.<ref name=w9/> From 25–28 July, ''T5'' was one of the escorts for the badly damaged [[battleship]] {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} from [[Trondheim]], Norway to [[Kiel]], Germany. By 31 August ''T5'' was assigned to the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla with her [[sister ship]]s {{Ship|German torpedo boat|T6||2}}, {{Ship|German torpedo boat|T7||2}} and {{Ship|German torpedo boat|T8||2}} as the [[flotilla]] escorted minelayers as they laid minefields in the southwestern part of the North Sea from 31 August to 2 September. The flotilla escorted a minelaying mission in the English Channel on 5–6 September and then laid minefields itself on 8–9 and 15–16 September in the [[Straits of Dover]]. By November the 1st and 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotillas had transferred to [[Stavanger]], Norway and ''T5'' was one of the escorts for a minelaying mission off Stavanger on the night of 27/28 January 1941 together with her sisters {{Ship|German torpedo boat|T9||2}} and {{Ship|German torpedo boat|T12||2}} and the [[minesweeper]]s {{ship|German minesweeper|M15||2}} and {{Ship|German minesweeper|M22||2}}. ''T5'' began a refit in March in Bremen that lasted until September.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 38–40, 57; Whitley, p. 209</ref>

Along with her sisters {{ship|German torpedo boat|T2||2}}, ''T8'' and {{ship|German torpedo boat|T11||2}}, the boat supported German forces invading the [[Estonia]]n islands of [[Saaremaa|Ösel]], [[Hiiumaa|Dagö]] and [[Muhu]] ([[Operation Beowulf]]) in mid-September. ''T2'', ''T5'', ''T7'', ''T8'' and ''T11'' were among the escorts for the Baltic Fleet, a temporary formation built around the battleship {{ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}}, as it [[sortie]]d into the [[Sea of Åland]] on 23–29 September to forestall any attempt by the Soviet [[Red Banner Baltic Fleet]] to breakout from the [[Gulf of Finland]]. Dagö was captured on 12–13 October after ''T5'' is part of a decoy force used to distract the defenders. She went to France in January 1942 and rejoined the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla. On the morning of 12 February, the 2nd and 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotillas (with ''T2'', ''T4'', ''T5'', ''T11'', ''T12'' and {{ship|German torpedo boat|T13||2}}, {{ship|German torpedo boat|T15||2}}, {{ship|German torpedo boat|T16||2}}, and {{ship|German torpedo boat|T17||2}} respectively) rendezvoused with the battleships ''Gneisenau'' and {{ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and the heavy cruiser {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} to escort them through the Channel to Germany in the Channel Dash. After arriving in Germany, ''T5'' and ''T12'' were transferred to Norway for escort duties. On 6 March they briefly screened ''Tirpitz'' as she searched for the Russia-bound [[Convoy PQ 12]]. ''T5'' and ''T7'' escorted the heavy cruiser {{Ship|German cruiser|Admiral Scheer||2}} and the [[replenishment oiler]] ''[[German ship Dithmarschen|Dithmarschen]]'' from Trondheim to [[Narvik]] on 9–10 May. ''T5'' was refitted in [[East Prussia]] from August to November and then remained in the Baltic Sea on escort duties until March 1943.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 99, 102–103, 108, 143, 166; Whitley 1991, pp. 133, 209</ref>

She was transferred to France the following month. Although escorted by ''T2'', ''T5'', and the torpedo boats {{Ship|German torpedo boat|Kondor||2}}, {{ship|German torpedo boat|T22||2}} and {{ship|German torpedo boat|T23||2}}, the Italian blockade runner ''Himalaya'' failed in her attempt to break through the Bay of Biscay when she was spotted by British aircraft and forced to return by heavy aerial attacks on 9–11 April. On 5–8 May, the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla with ''T2'', ''T5'' and the torpedo boats {{ship|German torpedo boat|T18||2}} and ''T22'' laid three minefields in the Channel. The following month the ships returned to the Bay of Biscay to help escort [[U-boat]]s through the Bay. ''T5'', ''T2'' and ''T18'' arrived back in Germany on 1 July and ''T5'' began an engine [[wikt:overhaul|overhaul]] at [[Wesermünde]]. She was transferred to the Torpedo School as a training ship in October and then began a lengthy refit from March to August 1944. Rejoining the 2nd Flotilla, now consisting of ''T5'', {{ship|German torpedo boat|T3||2}}, ''T9'', ''T12'', ''T13'' and ''T16'', the flotilla screened ''Admiral Scheer'' as she shelled Soviet positions during the evacuation of [[Sworbe]], on the island of Ösel, on the night of 23/24 November. While escorting a convoy near [[Hel, Poland|Hela]], East Prussia, ''T5'' and ''T3'' struck mines laid by the  [[Soviet submarine L-21]] on 14 March 1945 and sank at {{Coord|54|39|N|18|47|E|display=inline,title}} with the loss of 20 crewmen aboard ''T5''.<ref>Gröner, p. 194; Rohwer, pp. 143, 241, 249, 256, 374, 398; Whitley 1991, pp. 144–146, 168, 188–189, 209</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{Cite book |last=Gröner|first=Erich|title=German Warships 1815&ndash;1945|year=1990 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|volume=1: Major Surface Warships|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-790-9|author-link=Erich Gröner}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005 |edition=Third Revised |isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
*{{cite book|author1-last=Sieche|author1-first=Erwin|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-146-7|name-list-style=amp|chapter=Germany}}
*{{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |year=2000| publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}
*{{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=German Destroyers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press |date=1991|isbn=1-55750-302-8 |location=Annapolis, Maryland}}
*{{cite book |last1=Whitley |first1=M. J. |title=The "Type 35" Torpedoboats of the Kriegsmarine |date=n.d. |publisher=World Ship Society |location=Kendal, UK |isbn=0-905617-39-8}}

==External links==
*[http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/torpedoboats/torpedoboot1935/index.html Type 35 on German Navy.de]

{{Type 35 torpedo boat}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:T5}}
[[Category:Type 35 torpedo boats]]
[[Category:1937 ships]]