German destroyer Z31

History

Nazi Germany
Name:	Z31
Ordered:	19 September 1939
Builder:	AG Weser (Deschimag), Bremen
Laid down:	1 September 1940
Launched:	15 March 1941
Completed:	11 April 1942
Captured:	8 May 1945
France
Name:	Marceau
Acquired:	2 February 1946
Commissioned:	1 April 1946
Struck:	2 January 1958
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer
Displacement:	2,645 t (2,603 long tons) (standard) 3,655 t (3,597 long tons) full load
Length:	127 m (416 ft 8 in) o/a
Beam:	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft:	4.62 m (15 ft 2 in)
Installed power:	70,000 shp (52,000 kW) 6 × water-tube boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed:	38.5 kn (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph)
Range:	2,239 nmi (4,147 km; 2,577 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement:	321
Armament:	4 × single 15 cm (5.9 in) guns 2 × twin 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns 9 × 2 cm (0.8 in) (1 × 4 and 5 × 1) AA guns 2 × quadruple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 60 mines

Z31 was a German Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer, which was completed in 1942 and served with the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She spent much of the war in Arctic and Norwegian waters, taking part in the Battle of the Barents Sea on 31 December 1942. She survived the war, and was passed on to the French Navy as a war prize, serving under the name Marceau until 1958.

On 28 June 1939, orders for nine destroyers (Z31–Z39) of the new Type 1938B class were placed, with a further three destroyers of the class being ordered in July. The Type 1938B were relatively small destroyers compared with the preceding Type 1936 and 1936A ships, to be armed with four 127mm (5 in) guns in two twin turrets, and designed for long range. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, however, orders for the Type 1938B destroyers were cancelled, with a reversion to a slightly modified version of the previous Type 1936A class, the Type 1936A (Mob) class. Four destroyers (Z31–Z34) were re-ordered from the Deschimag consortium to be built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen on that day, with a further three ships (Z37–Z39) ordered from the Germaniawerft yard.Z31 was laid down on 1 September 1940 (with the yard number 1001), launched on 15 May 1941 and commissioned on 11 April 1942.

Z31 was 127.0 metres (416 ft 8 in) long overall and 121.9 metres (399 ft 11 in) at the waterline, with a beam of 12.0 metres (39.4 ft) and a draught of 3.92–4.62 metres (12 ft 10 in–15 ft 2 in) depending on displacement.Displacement was 2,645 tonnes (2,603 long tons) standard and 3,655 tonnes (3,597 long tons) full load. The ship's machinery consisted of six Wagner boilers feeding high-pressure superheated steam (at 70 atm (1,029 psi; 7,093 kPa) and 450 °C (842 °F)) to 2 sets of Wagner geared steam turbines. Rated power was 70,000 shaft horsepower (52,000 kW), giving a speed of 38.5 knots (71.3 km/h; 44.3 mph). Range was 2,239 nautical miles (4,147 km; 2,577 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). The ship had a complement of 321 officers and ratings.

...
Wikipedia