 Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp underway, c. 1939
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp |
| Namesake | Wilhelm Heidkamp |
| Ordered | 6 January 1936 |
| Builder | AG Weser (Deschimag), Bremen |
| Yard number | 923 |
| Laid down | 15 December 1936 |
| Launched | 20 August 1938 |
| Completed | 20 June 1939 |
| Fate | Sunk in the First Battle of Narvik, 11 April 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type 1936 destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 125.1 m (410 ft 5 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 11.8 m (38 ft 9 in) |
| Draft | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 2,050 nmi (3,800 km; 2,360 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement | 323 |
| Armament |
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Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp was one of six Type 1936 destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in the late 1930s. Completed a few months before the start of World War II in September 1939, the ship served as a flagship throughout her career. She briefly patrolled the Skagerrak where she inspected neutral shipping for contraband goods. Z21 Wilhelm Heidkamp later helped to lay four offensive minefields off the English coast that claimed two British destroyers, 2 fishing trawlers, and twenty-seven merchant ships. During the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, she sank a Norwegian coastal defense ship off Narvik and was crippled with the opening shots of the First Naval Battle of Narvik on 10 April, with the loss of 81 crewmen. The ship sank the following day.