German torpedo boat T29
The German torpedo boat "T29" was one of fifteen Type 39 torpedo boats built for the "Kriegsmarine" (German Navy) during World War II. Completed in mid-1943, the boat was transferred to France in January 1944. She fought in the Action of 26 April off the coast of Brittany, and was sunk by four Allied destroyers with the loss of 137 crewmen. Design and description. The Type 39 torpedo boat was conceived as a general-purpose design, much larger than preceding German torpedo boats. The boats had an overall length of and were long at the waterline . They had a beam of , a draft of at deep load and displaced at standard load and at deep load. Their crew numbered 206 officers and sailors. The Type 39s were fitted with a pair of geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller, using steam from four high-pressure water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce which was intended give the ships a maximum speed of . They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at . As built, the Type 39 ships mounted four SK C/32 guns in single mounts protected by gun shields; one  forward of the superstructure, one between the funnels, and two aft, one superfiring over the other. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by four SK C/30 AA guns in two twin-gun mounts on platforms abaft the rear funnel, six C/38 guns in one quadruple mount on the aft superstructure and a pair of single mounts on the bridge wings. They carried six above-water torpedo tubes in two triple mounts amidships and could also carry 30 mines; the full complement of 60 mines made the ships top-heavy which could be dangerous in bad weather. For anti-submarine work the  boats were fitted with a "S-Gerät" sonar and four depth charge launchers. The Type 39s were equipped with a FuMO 21 radar and various FumB radar detectors were installed late in the war. Construction and career. Originally ordered as a Type 37 torpedo boat on 30 March 1939, "T29" was reordered on 10 November 1939 from Schichau. She was laid down at their Elbing, East Prussia, shipyard as yard number 1488, and commissioned on 21 August 1943. After working up, "T29" and her sister arrived in Western France during late January 1944. En route the two torpedo boats were  shelled by British coastal artillery and attacked by a pair of British Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers that caused some minor damage to "T28". Action of 26 April 1944. On the night of 21/22 April 1944, the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, now consisting of "T29" and her sisters and , transferred from Cherbourg to Saint-Malo. After laying a minefield off the Sept-Îles on the north coast of Brittany on the night of 25/26 April, the flotilla was engaged by an Allied force that consisted of the light cruiser and the destroyers , , and off the Île de Batz. The Allied ships  were engaged by German coastal artillery without effect and Franz Kohlauf headed west in search of the Allied ships, but the Germans were spotted first by "Black Prince"s radar at a range of at 02:07. They detected the Allied ships shortly afterwards and reversed course. The Allied ships were faster than the torpedo boats and had closed the range to by 02:20 when "Black Prince" began firing star shells. The destroyers began firing at "T24" and "T27" at a range of as "Black Prince" hung back in support until one of her forward turrets jammed. The Allied fire was accurate  and one shell struck "T27" at 02:31 and reduced her speed to ; Kohlauf ordered her into Morlaix Bay and the Allies lost her radar reflection among the rocks of the bay. "T24" had fruitlessly fired her aft torpedo tubes at her pursuers and was then hit by two shells in her superstructure that started fires that were quickly doused. She fired her remaining torpedoes to no effect at 02:54 and, about that same time, a shell disabled "T29"s rudder. "Ashanti" and "Huron" concentrated on "T29", initially hitting her stern which caused her to veer off-course, while "Haida" and "Athabaskan  continued their pursuit of T24". "Ashanti" and "Huron" hit their target repeatedly at close range; these hits set "T29" on fire, caused a explosion and blew the forward torpedo mount overboard. "Haida" and "Athabaskan" were unable to catch "T24" and returned to help sink "T29", but were initially unable to do so despite firing 15 torpedoes. The destroyers paused to allow the surviving crew to abandon ship around 04:00. When they moved in to recover survivors, a single 2 cm gun opened fire and damaged "Huron" and "Haida". The Allied ships returned fire and sank "T29" at 04:20 at with  the loss of 137 crewmen. A patrol boat later rescued 73 men.