German torpedo boats of World War II The German torpedo boat s of World War II were armed principally , if not exclusively , with torpedoes and varied widely in size . They should not be confused with the larger destroyer s , nor with the smaller , torpedo - armed " Schnellboot e " ( known to the Allies as E - boats ) . Classes . WW I Leftovers . Certain old torpedo boats from WW I were still on active service during WW II . While most were converted to various auxiliary duties , several were still used in their original torpedo boat role . Examples included T107 , T108 , T110 , T 111 and T196 . 1923 Type ( " Raubvogel " ) . The six Type 23 torpedo boats ( also known as the " Raubvogel " ( German : " Bird of prey " ) class ) were developed from earlier designs shortly after World War I and came into service in 1926 and 1927 . All built by the Naval Dockyard at Wilhelmshaven , they were named " Albatross " , " Falke " , " Greif " , " Kondor " , " Möwe " and " Seeadler " . They were the first to use electrical welding for hull construction to reduce displacement and they also introduced geared turbines . Despite the innovations , and unlike contemporary German destroyers , the " Raubvogel " s were successful sea - boats , although limited to coastal waters , and most remained in service until 1944 , by which time all had been lost . 1924 Type ( " Raubtier " ) . The immediately following six ships of 1924 Type ( " Raubtier " ( " predator " ) class ) had been intended to mount 12 . 7 cm guns but , instead , received updated 10 . 5 cm weapons . All six were again built by the Wilhelmshaven Naval Dockyard , and were named " Iltis " , " Jaguar " , " Leopard " , " Luchs " , " Tiger " and " Wolf " . Speed and range were improved , but otherwise , they displayed the same good and bad points as the " Raubvogel " s and experienced similar operational conditions and upgrades . They entered service in 1927 and 1928 and all but one had been lost before mid - 1942 . 1935 Type . The 1935 class were a new design , to be a maximum " declared " displacement of around 600 tons in order to come within a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty , and higher speeds than the older 1923 and 1924 classes . In practice these ships were overweight , though still too light to be seaworthy , while their high pressure turbines were unreliable and difficult to repair and maintain . Twelve 1935s were built ; unlike the preceding vessels of the 1923 and 1924 designs , these were given numbers ( " T . 1 " to " T . 12 " ) but no names . Six were sunk , and two others scuttled , by the end of the war . Of the survivors , three were transferred abroad as war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany . 1937 Type . The 1937s incorporated some modifications to the 1935 design , including lower pressure turbines , but with little real improvement . They displayed the same limitations as their predecessors Nine ships were built , all at Schichau , Elbing ; these were unnamed , but numbered " T . 13 " to " T . 21 " . Three were sunk , and one scuttled , by the end of the war ; of the survivors , four were transferred abroad as war reparations and the last was scrapped in Germany . 1939 Type . The 1939 Type ( sometimes referred to as the " Elbing " s ) were classed as " Fleet torpedo boats " ( " Flottentorpedoboot " ) and were a radical design departure from their predecessors , larger and with a more balanced weapons mix . With a full load displacement of 1 , 754 tons and carrying a main armament of four 105mm ( 4 . 1 inch ) single guns and six 21in torpedo tubes in two triple mounts , they were comparable with British destroyers of the period . Fifteen ships were built , again all at Schichau , Elbing ; again , these were unnamed , but numbered " T . 22 " to " T . 36 " . Eleven were lost during World War II ; of the four survivors , " T . 24 " and " T . 28 " were briefly taken into service by the British Navy , " T . 33 " by the Soviet Navy , and " T . 35 " by the United States Navy . 1940 Type . After the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940 , the Dutch shipyards were almost undamaged . Therefore the German Navy contracted three Dutch shipbuilders to build some smaller vessels for the " Kriegsmarine " . Classed as " Fleet torpedo boats " ( " Flottentorpedoboot " ) the 1940 Type was more a destroyer than a torpedo boat , with a full load displacement of 2 , 566 tons and carrying four 5 - inch guns and eight 21 - inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple mountings , and was based on Dutch designs . Twelve were ordered in 1940 - 1941 , and numbered " T . 61 " to " T . 72 " ; but only eight were laid down by 1942 of which three were launched ( the other five were destroyed on the slips ) ; in 1944 these three incomplete ships ( " T . 61 " , " T . 63 " and " T . 65 " ) were transferred to the Baltic Sea to be completed , and " T . 61 " was torpedoed off the West Frisian Islands in September 1944 , while the other two were captured by the Allies at Kiel and scuttled after the war . 1941 Type . The 1941 Type Fleet torpedo boat was an improvement of the 1939 class with more powerful engines and additional anti aircraft artillery was added . Fifteen of these boats were ordered in 1942 - 1944 , once again all at Schichau , Elbing ; these were unnamed , but numbered " T . 37 " to " T . 51 " , but none of them was completed . At the end of the war , three of the few ships already launched ( " T . 37 " , " T . 38 " and " T . 39 " ) were in different stages of construction , and one of them ( " T . 37 " ) was very close to completion . These ships were towed away from Elbing , but their construction was not continued and they were later scuttled . Of the other vessels , " T . 40 " , " T . 41 " , " T . 42 " and " T . 43 " were launched but were scuttled incomplete at Elbing , while the remaining vessels ( " T . 44 " to " T . 51 " ) were destroyed on the slips when East Prussia was evacuated in May 1945 . 1944 Type . The 1944 Type Fleet torpedo boats were planned after a radical change in torpedo boat tactics . They were designed to be able to operate with other fleet units in the North Atlantic . This class had the main focus of armament changed to anti - aircraft artillery . Therefore the main armament were four 10 , 5 cm flak guns , plus an increased number of smaller antiaircraft guns , but those ships kept the torpedo and mine laying abilities of their predecessors . To enable those ships for ocean operations , their range had to be dramatically enlarged . As a technical innovation , all auxiliary machinery were electrical powered instead of the usual steam powered ones . Nine vessels were planned , again all at Schichau , Elbing ; these were unnamed , but numbered " T . 52 " to " T . 60 " . All were cancelled before being laid down . " Torpedoboot Ausland " . The " Torpedoboot Ausland " ( " foreign torpedo boats " ) were small destroyers or large torpedo boats captured by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Kriegsmarine . They were assigned a number prefixed with " TA " . They were numbered from " TA . 1 " to " TA . 47 " ; some never entered service for one reason or another . Additionally , some small destroyers and torpedo boats captured from Norway and Denmark were given names instead of TA prefixes .