German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass The German destroyer Z1 " Leberecht Maass " was a Type 1934 destroyer built for the German " Kriegsmarine " . The ship was named after Rear Admiral Leberecht Maass who commanded German forces in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914 . Several days after the start of World War II , she unsuccessfully attacked , together with another destroyer , Polish ships anchored at the naval base on the Hel Peninsula . " Leberecht Maass " was lightly damaged during the action . In mid - February 1940 , while proceeding into the North Sea to search for British fishing trawlers , the ship was bombed by a patrolling German bomber that damaged her steering . She either drifted into a newly - laid British minefield or was again hit by bombs and broke in half with the loss of the bulk of her crew . Design and description . " Leberecht Maass " had an overall length of and was long at the waterline . The ship had a beam of , and a maximum draft of . She displaced at standard load and at deep load . The Wagner geared steam turbines were designed to produce which would propel the ship at . Steam was provided to the turbines by six high - pressure Wagner boilers with superheater s . " Leberecht Maass " carried a maximum of of fuel oil which was intended to give a range of at , but the ship proved top - heavy in service and 30 % of the fuel had to be retained as ballast low in the ship . The effective range proved to be only at . The ship carried five 12 . 7 cm SK C / 34 guns in single mounts with gun shield s , two each superimposed , fore and aft . The fifth gun was carried on top of the rear deckhouse . Her anti - aircraft armament consisted of four 3 . 7 cm SK C / 30 guns in two twin mounts abreast the rear funnel and six 2 cm C / 30 guns in single mounts . The ship carried eight above - water torpedo tube s in two power - operated mounts . Four depth charge throwers were mounted on the sides of the rear deckhouse and they were supplemented by six racks for individual depth charges on the sides of the stern . Enough depth charges were carried for either two or four patterns of 16 charges each . Mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines . A system of passive hydrophone s designated as ' GHG ' ( " Gruppenhorchgerät " ) was fitted to detect submarine s . The crew numbered 10 officers and 315 enlisted men , plus an additional four officers and 19 enlisted men if serving as a flotilla flagship . Service history . " Leberecht Maass " was the first destroyer to be built in Germany since World War I . The ship was ordered on 7 July 1934 and laid down at Deutsche Werke , Kiel , on 10 October 1934 as yard number K232 . She was launched on 18 August 1935 and completed on 14 January 1937 . She became the flagship of the " Führer der Torpedoboote " ( Chief of Torpedo Boats ) upon commissioning . " Leberecht Maass " spent most of her first year training and made a port visit to Gothenburg in April 1938 . Upon her return she was taken in hand by Deutsche Werke to have her bow rebuilt to reduce the amount of water that came over the bow in head seas . The ship participated in the August 1938 Fleet Review and the following fleet exercise . In December , " Leberecht Maass " , together with her sisters Z2 " Georg Thiele " , Z3 " Max Schultz " , and Z4 " Richard Beitzen " , sailed to the area of Iceland to evaluate her seaworthiness in a North Atlantic winter with her new bow . On 23 – 24 March 1939 , the ship was one of the destroyers that escorted Adolf Hitler aboard the pocket battleship to occupy Memel . She participated in the Spring fleet exercise in the western Mediterranean , as the flagship of Rear Admiral Günther Lütjens , and made several visits to Spanish and Moroccan ports in April and May . On 3 September 1939 , Z1 " Leberecht Maass " and took part in an attack on the Polish ships and in Gdynia harbour . The Poles replied effectively and forced the German destroyers to make evasive maneuvers and to lay a smoke screen to throw off the aim of the Polish gunners . " Leberecht Maass " was hit in the superstructure by a shell from the coast defense battery at Hel that killed four crewmen and wounded another four men . Lütjens ordered the action broken off 40 minutes later as the German fire was ineffective . The following day , she sailed to Swinemünde to have her damage repaired , a process that took until 10 September . After its completion , " Leberecht Maass " helped to lay defensive minefields in the North Sea . The ship began a scheduled refit in Swinemünde on 29 September and Lutjens transferred his flag to . She was attached to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla on 22 December . On 22 February 1940 , " Leberecht Maass " and five other destroyers , Z3 " Max Schultz " , Z4 " Richard Beitzen " , , and , sailed for the Dogger Bank to intercept British fishing vessels in " Operation Wikinger " . En route , the flotilla was erroneously attacked by a Heinkel He 111 bomber from " KG 26 " . " Leberecht Maass " was hit by at least one bomb , lost steering , and broke in half , sinking with the loss of 280 of her crew , among them the ship ' s commanding officer , " Korvettenkapitän " Fritz Bassenge . Only 60 men were saved . During the rescue effort , Z3 " Max Schultz " hit a mine and sank with the loss of her entire crew . Hitler ordered a Court of Inquiry to be convened to investigate the cause of the losses and it concluded that both ships that been sunk by bombs from the He 111 . The Kriegsmarine had failed to notify its destroyers that the Luftwaffe was making anti - shipping patrols at that time and had also failed to inform the Luftwaffe that its destroyers would be at sea . Postwar evidence revealed that one or both ships struck a British minefield laid by the destroyers and .