Class overview | |
---|---|
Operators | Kriegsmarine |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Sperrbrecher 32 |
Type | Minesweeper |
Displacement | 7,500 tonnes (8,300 short tons) |
Length | 115.1 m (378 ft) |
Beam | 15.3 m (50 ft) |
Draught | 6.5 m (21 ft) |
Propulsion | One diesel engine, one shaft, 3,500 shp (2,600 kW) |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h) |
Armament |
|
Notes | Representative type of converted ships.[1] |
A Sperrbrecher (German; informally translated as "pathfinder" but literally meaning "mine barrage breaker"), was a German auxiliary ship of the First World War and the Second World War that served as a type of minesweeper, steaming ahead of other vessels through minefields and detonating them with its reinforced hull. Also used as anti-aircraft ships, the Sperrbrecher suffered heavy losses in the war.