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Action Off Bergen--27/28 Jan. 1945 World Naval Ships Forums Archive


Action Off Bergen--27/28 Jan. 1945


Posts 1 to 7



[B][B]The Kriegsmarine's 4th Destroyer Flotilla comprised the Narvik-class destroyers Z31, Z34, and Z38.[/B][/B] By January 1945, these ships had been stationed in northern Norwegian waters for three and a half years, but had only occasionally put to sea during 1944. Due to Germany's deteriorating position, the flotilla was directed in January to leave Norwegian waters and return to the Baltic. The three destroyers departed Tromsø on the 25th of the month. The Royal Navy's Home Fleet conducted a number of attacks on German shipping travelling off the coast of Norway during January 1945. These included successful attacks by motor torpedo boats on three escorted ships between 6 and 8 January and the interception of a convoy by the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk and light cruiser HMS Bellona near Egersund on the night of 11/12 January. On 27 January, the escort carriers HMS Campania, Nairana and Premier departed the Home Fleet's main base at Scapa Flow to conduct a raid against shipping near Vaago which was designated Operation Winded. The carriers were escorted by the heavy cruiser HMS Berwick and six destroyers [B][B]The British were alerted to the 4th Destroyer Flotilla's movement by Ultra signals intelligence.[/B][/B] The commander of the Home Fleet, Admiral Henry Moore, was informed that the destroyers had sailed on 27 January, shortly after the three carriers and their escort had put to sea. He believed that the German ships were likely to use a route between the coastal islands and the shore, as was common for the Kriegsmarine. If this route was used, it would be preferable for strike aircraft of No. 18 Group RAF to attack the destroyers as Norway's inshore waters were protected by naval mines and coastal batteries. Alternatively, the German ships could make a high-speed night passage outside of the coastal islands. [B][B]In case an offshore route was used, Moore ordered Vice Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, the commander of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, to sail with the cruisers Diadem and Mauritius and patrol off Bergen. The Home Fleet did not have any destroyers available to accompany Dalrymple-Hamilton's force, though Moore considered but decided against cancelling the carrier operation in order to free some of these ships.[/B][/B] [B][B]Battle[/B][/B] Contrary to British expectations, the commander of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, Captain H.F. von Wangenheim, chose to take the faster route outside of the coastal islands. On the evening of 27 January, the destroyers were spotted and attacked by British aircraft whilst west of Sognefjord, but continued their voyage. [B][B]Contact was made between the two naval forces at 00:48 am on 28 January.[/B][/B] At this time, [B][B]the 4th Destroyer Flotilla was proceeding south[/B][/B] and was located about 15 miles (13 nmi; 24 km) southwest of the Utvær lighthouse and 35 miles (30 nmi; 56 km) northwest of Bergen. [B][B]The sea was calm and visibility was excellent due to a full moon. The British and German forces spotted each another simultaneously; at the time the cruisers were about 11 miles (9.6 nmi; 18 km) west of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. Upon sighting the destroyers, the British ships fired star shells to illuminate the area and turned to the south on a course parallel to the German ships[/B][/B]. [B][B]Z31 suffered extensive damage early in the battle. She was struck by seven 6 in (152 mm) shells, which caused her to catch fire, damaged her hydrophone compartment and torpedo transmitting stations and destroyed her forward gun turret. Z31's speed was not affected, but casualties were heavy, with 55 sailors killed and another 24 wounded. After Z31 was damaged, Commander Karl Hetz on board Z34 assumed command of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla.[/B][/B] Z34 made two torpedo attacks on the British cruisers in an attempt to force them to change course, but this was not successful.[B][B] Z38 also tried to launch torpedoes, but had to break off this attack when her funnel caught fire and one of her boiler tubes burst. Z34 suffered a hit on her waterline during this period.[/B][/B] After Z34 was damaged, Hetz decided to turn to the north and attempt to outrun the British cruisers. Z34 fired a third salvo of torpedoes as the flotilla made this turn, again without result, and the three ships laid smoke screens in an attempt to conceal their position. The two cruisers also turned north to chase the German ships. [B][B]This led to a running battle in which Mauritius sustained a hit on her mess deck that did not cause any casualties and Diadem was struck on her boat deck by a shell six minutes later that killed one man and wounded three[/B][/B].The German destroyers were capable of making 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) while Diadem had a maximum speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) and Mauritius 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph). [B][B]As a result, the German vessels gradually pulled ahead and came under the protection of shore batteries at about 2:00 am. The British ships broke off the pursuit and returned to Scapa Flow after these batteries fired on them[/B][/B]. [B][B]Aftermath[/B][/B] E[B][B]arly in the morning of 28 January, the 4th Destroyer Flotilla resumed its journey south and put into Bergen. Z31 entered one of the town's docks to be repaired while Z34 and Z38 departed on the evening of 28 January.[/B][/B] The two ships were attacked from the air the next day but did not suffer any damage and sheltered in a fjord south of Stavanger during daylight hours. They put to sea again on the evening of 29 January and eventually reached Kiel in Germany on 1 February. At Bergen, Z31 received initial repairs, which included removing the wreckage of her forward turret. She departed the town on 8 February bound for Horten. After arriving safely in this port she received further repairs and had her anti-aircraft armament upgraded. Her forward turret was not replaced, but a 4.1 in (100 mm) gun was mounted instead; this was intended to be a temporary measure but remained in place for the remainder of her career. After these repairs were completed, Z31 eventually reached Gotenhafen on 15 March. The last German destroyer remaining in northern Norwegian waters, Z33, sailed for Germany on 5 February 1945 but ran aground while en-route and suffered further damage in the Allied "Black Friday" air raid on the ninth of the month. Following repairs, she arrived at Swinemünde on 2 April. [B][B]The action of 28 January was the last battle to be fought between British and German warships in Norwegian waters during World War II. It was also the second last surface action fought by the Kriegsmarine, with its final engagement taking place on 18 March 1945 when a force of two torpedo boats and a destroyer was defeated by two British destroyers in the Battle of the Ligurian Sea on 18 March 1945. By this time, most of the Kriegsmarine's remaining warships were stationed in the Baltic Sea where they supported German military operations and the evacuation of civilians until the end of the war in May.[/B][/B] Both the British and German navies were dissatisfied with the results of the battle. [B][B]The British were disappointed with the action's inconclusive result, and Admiral Moore regretted his decision to not cancel the escort carrier operation so that destroyers could be attached to the cruiser force. This was unrealistic, however, as the combination of excellent visibility on the night of 27/28 January and the superior speed of the German destroyers meant that the British had no ability to force a result. In a post-war assessment, First Sea Lord Admiral Andrew Cunningham endorsed the tactics Dalrymple-Hamilton used during the engagement, but stated that the size of the British force was "inadequate".[/B][/B] [B][B]The Kriegsmarine was also unsatisfied with the conduct of the battle, with German naval authorities believing that the destroyers should have taken shelter in coastal waters after they were sighted by Allied aircraft on the evening of 27 January.[/B][/B] jainso31


The RN cruisers were perhaps fortunate that they landed the first blow (on Z31) - had it been the other way round, the British raiders could have easily been left in a dire predicament (and unable to out run their adversary's). Don't anyone under-estimate Narvik class (Type 1936A) destroyers, in terms of main armament, they were more like light cruisers - with 5 x 150mm/5.9 inch guns and eight torpedo tubes. Such heavy armament made them a bit top heavy and they weren't good seaboats in rough weather, however on a calm night such as you describe, they were formidable opponents. With the benefit of Ultra intercepts, the Royal Navy knew exactly what they were going up against and therefore I wholeheartedly agree with ABC’s conclusions, that the British force was inadequate for the task assigned to them. Michael


[B][B]THE GERMAN DESTROYERS[/B][/B] [B][B]Class and type: Narvik-class destroyer[/B][/B] Displacement: 2,600 tonnes (standard} 3,605 (max) Length: 127 metres Beam: 12 metres Draught: 4.65 metres Installed power: 70,000 hp (52,200 kW) Propulsion: 2 shafts, geared turbines 6 boilers Speed: 37½ knots (69 km/h) Range: 3650 nmi at 18 knots Endurance: 1936A: 2,150 nautical miles (3,980 km) at 19 knots (35 km/h) 1936A (Mob): 2,240 nautical miles (4,150 km) at 19 knots (35 km/h) Complement: 220 officers and men Armament: 1936A (Mob): 4 or 5 15 cm guns (4x1 or 1x2 & 3x1) 1936A (Mob): 5 15 cm guns (1x2 & 3x1) 4 37 mm guns (later 10, or 14 in 1936A (Mob)) 8 20 mm guns (later 20, or 18 in 1936A (Mob)) 8 533 mm torpedo tubes 60 mines 4 depth charge launchers I take your point about these ships being like a smaller version of a light cruiser Michael-they displaced up to 3600T,fast @ 37.5kts and had lot of hitting power 5X 5.9"guns- one twin turret and three singles; plus eight torpedo tubes. I agree that- had not Z31 been badly damaged by a salvo of seven 6" shells early on, the outcome may well have been different.Yes-that first bit of British shooting put them on the back foot.There is not much more detail in Vince O'Hara's account; other to say that the hit on Z34's waterline was the defining moment for the Germans ie.they reversed course from south to north and sped away-leaving the cruisers-(top speed 32/33kts) in their wake Is there anything else to discuss about this topic??? jainso31


Interestingly, after the war: Z-31 was handed over to the French, Z-34 went to the Americans, and Z-38 transferred to UK


[B]POSTSCRIPT[/B] To complete the story of the German destroyers in Norway.The fourth ship from Narvik,the Z33,left on the 5th February intending to join forces with Z31,which had meanwhile completed emergency repairs at Bergen for the passage to the Baltic.However,Z33 ran aground early on the 8th and had to be towed back to Trondheim.While sheltering in a fjord,south of Stadlander,she was attacked by a strong striking force from 18 Group RAF and was hit by a bomb.Nevertheless the crippled destroyer was towed safely into Trondheim on the 11th. Z31 had left Bergen on the 8th for Oslo fjord,where further repairs were carried out. Both she and Z33,after further mishaps reached the western Baltic in March. So ended the attempt by the Germans to maintain a powerful flotilla of destroyers in north Norway. jainso31


Hello friends! Been a LONG time, but its very good to be back! My thoughts are that the main threat to the two British cruisers were the German torpedoes. Sure the German destroyers had 14 5.9-inch guns between them (Z-31 - 4, the other two 5 each) versus 12 6-inch in Mauritious (not sure if X-turret had been removed yet) and 8 5.25-inch on Diadem. I would suspect that British fire control in 1945 might have been superior, hence more hits scored. Plus, it should otherwise have been more difficult for the British to hit the smaller destroyers, than for the Germans to hit the larger cruisers - especially at such a great range (18 km). The Germans were lucky in that none of the hits received caused a reduction in speed, otherwise they might have gone to the bottom as Friedrich Eckhold did under Sheffield's fire or Hermann Schoemann did under Edinburgh's in 1942. Paul


Hiya Paul old buddy-my reaction to your post was one of surprise.I am of the opinion that the British were particularly unhappy with the result of this action,considering they should have been able to force a more conclusive result. This expectation was however IMO unrealistic, given the superior speed of the German destroyers AND their ability to run to the shelter of friendly gun batteries. All in all though, the British gunfire was initially very effective; and Z31 was fortunate that none of the shells that hit her, did not reduce her speed,the reverse being the case -she would undoubtedly have been lost. jainso31





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