The Z38 was a German destroyer, the keel of which was laid in 1940 and launched in August 1941. The destroyer entered the rope service in the German Navy (German Kriegsmarine) in March 1943. The ship was 127 meters long, 12 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 3,750 tons. The maximum speed of destroyer Z38 was 38.5 knots! The main armament at the time of launch was 5 150 mm guns in one twin and three single turrets, and the secondary armament was: 4 37 mm cannons, 10 20 mm cannons, and 8 533 mm torpedo tubes and mines.
The Z38 was the fourteenth ship of the Narvik or 1936A class, but the sixth of the Mob. These types of destroyers were an extension of the Type 1936 destroyers. The main changes were to strengthen the armament and replace the main artillery from 127 mm cannons with 150 mm cannons. Sea performance has also been slightly improved and the swimming range has been slightly extended. The result was a series of large destroyers that could, under favorable conditions, engage in combat with Allied light cruisers or French large destroyers. The Mob subtype, on the other hand, had reinforced anti-aircraft armament. Destroyer Z38's combat career began in August 1943, and in November of that year it was sent to Norway. In December 1943, the Z38 took part in the initial phase of the operation against the JW-55B convoy. At the beginning of January 1945, the destroyer attempted to break through to the Baltic Sea, which, despite countering the British fleet, was successful. From February this year, it acted against the Soviet fleet and the Red Army in the coastal zone, in the course of which it was damaged. At the end of the war (5-8 May 1945), Z38 transferred the German population from the Helski to Copenhagen. After the war, it was taken over by the British, who incorporated it into the Royal Navy as HMS Nonsuch, but in 1950 it was scrapped.
The Z39 was a German destroyer, the keel of which was laid in 1940 and launched in December 1941. The destroyer entered the rope service in the German Navy (German Kriegsmarine) in August 1943. The ship was 127 meters long, 12 meters wide, and had a full displacement of 3,600 tons. The maximum speed of destroyer Z39 was 38.5 knots! The main armament at the time of launch was 5 150 mm guns in one twin and three single turrets, and the secondary armament was: 4 37 mm cannons, 7 20 mm cannons and 8 533 mm torpedo tubes and mines.
The Z39 was the fifteenth and last ship of the Narwik or 1936A class, and the seventh of the Mob. These types of destroyers were an extension of the Type 1936 destroyers. The main changes were to strengthen the armament and replace the main artillery from 127 mm cannons with 150 mm cannons. Sea performance has also been slightly improved and the swimming range has been slightly extended. The result was a series of large destroyers that could, under favorable conditions, engage in combat with Allied light cruisers or French large destroyers. The Mob subtype, on the other hand, had reinforced anti-aircraft armament. Destroyer Z39's combat career began in early 1944 with the placement of mines in the Danish Straits. He also acted against the Soviet fleet and the Red Army in the coastal zone. In June 1944, the Z39 was damaged in a Soviet bombing raid and withdrawn from the line for renovation to Kiel, which lasted until March 1945! In April this year, he supported the land forces fighting in the Bay of Gdañsk region with his fire. At the end of the war (5-8 May 1945), Z39 transferred the German population from the Helski to Copenhagen. After the war, it was taken over by the Americans, who periodically incorporated it into the US Navy, and in 1947 handed it over to France. There, under the name of Leopard, it served until the mid-1950s. It was scrapped in 1958.