German destroyer Z1 Leberecht Maass

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	2,223 long tons (2,259 t) (standard) 3,156 long tons (3,207 t) (deep load)
Length	119 m (390 ft 5 in) o/a 114 m (374 ft 0 in) w/l
Beam	11.30 m (37 ft 1 in)
Draft	4.23 m (13 ft 11 in)
Installed power	70,000 PS (51,000 kW; 69,000 shp) 6 × water-tube boilers
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	5 × single 12.7 cm (5 in) guns 2 × twin 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA guns 6 × single 2 cm (0.8 in) AA guns 2 × quadruple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 60 mines 32–64 depth charges, 4 throwers and 6 individual racks

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.