page_title: German torpedo boat Möwe
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: German torpedo boat Möwe / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: English: 4 Type 23 torpedo boats and the heavy cruiser Deutschland in Naples
context_page_description: Möwe was the lead ship of her class of six torpedo boats built for the German Navy. The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During the Norwegian Campaign of 1940, she played a minor in the attack on Oslo, the capital of Norway. Möwe was torpedoed and badly damaged by a British submarine in May and did not return to active service until 1942 when she was transferred to France. The boat helped to escort blockade runners, commerce raiders and submarines through the Bay of Biscay. She also laid numerous minefields and attacked Allied ships during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Möwe was sunk by British bombers that same month.
context_section_description: Named after the Seagull, the boat was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven (Navy Yard) on 2 March 1925. as yard number 102, launched on 24 March 1926 and commissioned on 1 October 1926. The boat was initially assigned to the 4th Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla. By the end of 1936 Möwe was assigned to the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla and the boat made several deployments to Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Around June 1938, she was transferred to the newly formed 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla.
caption: Four Type 23 boats docked in Naples, Italy, in 1938. Möwe (the leftmost boat) can be recognized by her rounded stern. The heavy cruiser Deutschland is leaving port in the right background.
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