KMS Richard Beitzen (Z4)

KMS Richard Beitzen (Z4) History

Zerstorer (destroyer) Type 1934 was the first destroyer built in Germany after the end of the First World War. The Z4 Richard Beitzen is part of this new class and is named after the commander of a torpedo fleet in World War I who was killed while trying to rescue the crew in the water after the torpedo boat hit a mine.

She represents the fourth of four ships, which includes the lead ship - Z1 Leberecht Maass - and sister ships Z2 Georg Thiele and Z3 Max Schulz. The German government selected the Deutsche Werke Corporation as the main shipyard, and the Z4 was launched in Kiel, Germany in January 1935 and officially commissioned in May 1937.

The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, limited much of the war-fighting capabilities of the former German Empire. In addition, the world powers of the timethe United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italyall met in Washington, D.C. Co-signed the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. This helps manage and limit the size and firepower of naval warships around the world.

So Germany was limited to a dozen finished destroyers plus some reserve ships, and that was it. It has no air force assigned, and its army is severely limited to only a few hundred thousand soldiers and armored vehicles -- no tanks. However, a rebuilding Germany was already planning new warships for its revived navy, while Japan paid little attention to the limitations of the naval treaty.

The treaty stipulated that future German destroyers must displace less than 800 tons, but by 1930 the limit for destroyers was increased to 1,850 tons. Germany saw its neighbors Poland and France build their own frigates, and President Hindenburg and his admirals were expected to abide by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles.

However, the German authorities were increasingly concerned that their historical enemy would overtake them.

This genuine concern put pressure on German manufacturers to design a new type of warship with advanced features to outperform competing warships from other countries. One of the improved features was the installation of 5 x 5 inch L/45 SK C/34 main guns instead of the four used on French, Polish and British destroyers at the time. A fifth gun emplacement was placed directly in front of the rear funnel in the open swing area so that all five guns could withstand when firing full-board to port or starboard.

However, the Z4 had 80 fewer rounds per gun than the British destroyer. She carried 8 torpedo tubes and 1 reload, while the French destroyers were only equipped with 6 torpedo tubes and unloaded.

Her anti-aircraft (AA) protection includes 2 x 37mm guns with 8,000 rounds each and 6 x 20mm AA guns with 12,000 rounds each. Hydrophones were provided for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) protection, as passive defense of active defense was later brought online on some ships. Depth charges are carried out once the submarine is spotted.

Two rails powered four depth charge launchers, although only 18 were carried on board - surprisingly few of these were installed on German warships, despite the Germans' expertise in submarine warfare Possessing superior knowledge, as evidenced by their U-boat raids.

As it turns out, the Type 1934 design had a number of problems, leaving the class with only four ships in total. The class is narrow beam and top-heavy, which creates seakeeping issues in choppy open water. Hull structural failures arose quickly due to poor quality stern and bow structures. The engines are too weak for the displacement they manage and not completely reliable at sea. Reloading torpedo tubes at sea also proved to be a challenge, even for well-trained crews.

Although the basic design was accepted and continues to be the largest German-built model, the small amount of ammunition on board inevitably resulted in a loss of rank. Instead, the designers will incorporate future revisions and ultimately eliminate errors inherent in future courses.

The Z4 entered service on May 13, 1937, and after completing the required sea trials, the Z4 patrolled the German coast while training new crew members. Three days before the start of World War IIofficially marked by the German bombing and subsequent land invasion of neighboring Poland on September 3, 1939Z4 was assigned along with her sister ships and light cruisers Cologne, Leipzig and Nuremberg A variety of operations are carried out in Danze Bay in the North Sea.

The Z4 worked with four Type 1934A destroyers in waters off Newcastle, New South Wales, to assist the British Home Fleet in combat operations. After excavating the mouth of the Tyne, the destroyer returned home, again encountering the light cruisers Cologne, Nuremberg and Leipzig. On this day, the British submarine S-class (N65) is on patrol. She spotted the German fleet and fired a series of torpedoes on the cruiser, hitting Leipzig and Nuremberg.

Z4 and other destroyers chased N65 for over two hours but failed to spot her, eventually returning to take the damaged cruiser back to Germany for repairs.

In January 1940, the Z4, along with a number of other German destroyers, conducted mine operations on the Thames Estuary and Newcastle without incident. Operation Wickinger was a German advance into the North Sea in February 1940, in which the Z4 participated and was supported by five other destroyers. The small fleet was spotted by a Luftwaffe bomber, which mistakenly believed the ships were of British origin, attacked them and sank the Z1 Leberecht Maas. While rescuing the crew, the Z3 Max Schulz crashed into the mine, leaving everyone on board lost.

By the end of 1940, the Z4 was on a number of minelaying missions. In 1942, she was used for escort and coast patrol duties. In mid-July of that year, she sailed with the destroyer fleet 6, where the Z4 helped sink two Russian patrol boats.

A week later, another Russian patrol boat sank along with a seaplane.

On August 10, 1941, Richard Beitzen encountered a Russian patrol boat that had been attacked and sank while fighting three destroyers off Kola Bay. Shore guns hit the destroyers and hit Z4, forcing them to return home for repairs. After patching in German waters, the destroyer was transferred to Le Harve and escorted the KMS Tirpitz battleship to Trondheim Fjord.

She continued to patrol actively before being transferred to Brest. In May 1945, she was officially confiscated by the British as a trophy in the Norwegian port of Oslo, becoming the only ship of her class to fully survive the war.

The British brought her to England, and she was not dismantled as scrap until 1949.

The sisters of the Z4 did not fare well during WWII. On February 22, 1940, after a direct bomb hit, the Z1 Leberecht Maas swept into a minefield and hit a mine that eventually sank 282 people. As mentioned, the Z3 Max Schultz attempted to rescue and hit a mine himself and sank with everyone on board.

In April 1940, Z2 Georg Thiele ran out of ammunition in a skirmish with a British destroyer in the Uftfjord. She was then blown up (sunk) by the crew before she could be boarded and captured by the British.

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