 Right elevation and plan of the Type 23
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Germany | |
| Name | Greif |
| Namesake | Griffin |
| Builder | Reichsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven |
| Yard number | 104 |
| Laid down | 5 October 1925 |
| Launched | 15 July 1926 |
| Commissioned | 15 July 1927 |
| Fate | Sunk, 23 May 1944 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Type 23 torpedo boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 87.7 m (287 ft 9 in) (o/a) |
| Beam | 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 3.65 m (12 ft) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbine sets |
| Speed | 32–34 knots (59–63 km/h; 37–39 mph) |
| Range | 1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement | 120 |
| Armament |
|
Greif was the third of six Type 23 torpedo boats built for the German Navy (initially called the Reichsmarine and then renamed as the Kriegsmarine in 1935). The boat made multiple non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. During World War II, she played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940 by transporting troops that captured Arendal. Greif spent the next couple of years escorting minelayers as they laid minefields and laying minefields herself. She also spent the latter half of 1941 escorting convoys through the Skagerrak. The boat had a lengthy refit that lasted all of 1942 and then spent March–April 1943 escorting ships in Norwegian waters before returning to France. While deployed there Greif laid numerous minefields and escorted U-boats through the Bay of Biscay. The boat was sunk by Allied aircraft in May 1944.