 Z1 Leberecht Maass at anchor
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | Leberecht Maass |
| Namesake | Leberecht Maass |
| Ordered | 7 July 1934 |
| Builder | Deutsche Werke, Kiel |
| Laid down | 10 October 1934 |
| Launched | 18 August 1935 |
| Commissioned | 14 January 1937 |
| Fate | Sunk by naval mine or bombs, 22 February 1940 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Type 1934-class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 11.30 m (37 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 4.23 m (13 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 1,530 nmi (2,830 km; 1,760 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 325 |
| Armament |
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The German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass was the lead ship of her class of four destroyers built for the German Navy (initially called the Reichsmarine and then renamed as the Kriegsmarine in 1935) during the mid-1930s. Completed in 1937, two years before the start of World War II, the ship served as a flagship and spent most of her time training, although she did participate in the occupation of Memel in early 1939.
Several days after the start of the war in September 1939, Z1 Leberecht Maass and another destroyer unsuccessfully attacked Polish ships in the naval base on the Hel Peninsula. She was lightly damaged during the action. In mid-February 1940, while proceeding into the North Sea to attack British fishing trawlers (Operation Wikinger), the ship was bombed by a patrolling German bomber that damaged her steering. Following the attack, Z1 Leberecht Maass broke in half and sank with the loss of most of her crew. A court of inquiry convened during the war determined that she and a sister ship were hit by bombs, but a post-war investigation determined that she had drifted into a newly laid British minefield.