page_title: Action of 28 January 1945
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Action of 28 January 1945 / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Route of the Allied and German ships involved in the Action of 28 January 1945.
context_page_description: The Action of 28 January 1945 was an inconclusive naval battle of the Second World War fought between two British Royal Navy light cruisers and three Kriegsmarine destroyers near Bergen, Norway. The battle was the last of many actions between British and German warships off Norway during the war and the second-to-last surface engagement to be fought by the Kriegsmarine. It resulted in heavy damage to one of the German destroyers and light damage to another destroyer and both British cruisers.
  Shortly after midnight on the night of 27/28 January, as the three destroyers of the German 4th Destroyer Flotilla were sailing from northern Norway to the Baltic Sea, they were intercepted by the British cruisers HMS Diadem and Mauritius. The destroyers Z31 and Z34 were damaged by gunfire but the German flotilla outran the slower British ships and escaped. The German warships eventually reached the Baltic, though Z31 was delayed until repairs were completed in Norway.
context_section_description: 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. Contact was made between the two naval forces at 00:48 am on 28 January. At this time, the 4th Destroyer Flotilla was proceeding south 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. 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 that of the German ships.
  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 the 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. Z34 made two torpedo attacks on the British cruisers in an attempt to force them to change course, but this was not successful. Z38 also tried to launch torpedoes, but had to break off this attack when her funnel caught fire and a boiler tube burst. Z34 suffered a hit on her waterline during this period.
  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. 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. 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). 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.
caption: Approximate route of the German and Allied ships during the action[7]
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