The "Type 35" Torpedoboats of the Kriegsmarine

Kendal, England: World Ship Society, c1986. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. 23, [1] pages. Illustrations. Diagrams. Table of Construction Data. Michael J Whitley (died 2000) or Mike J Whitley was a naval historian with a particular interest in the Kriegsmarine, who wrote and maintained several reference works on warships. The Type 35 torpedo boat was a class of a dozen torpedo boats built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s. Although the first boats were completed a few months after the start of World War II in September 1939, none of them were able to participate in the Norwegian Campaign of April-June 1940. They began escorting convoys and minelayers as they laid their minefields in the North Sea and English Channel in July. Most of the boats were transferred to Norway in November where they made an unsuccessful attempt to attack shipping along the Scottish coast that saw one boat sunk. In early 1943 three boats returned to France where they were twice unsuccessful in escorting an Italian blockade runner through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic. By the end of the year, all of the Type 35s were either in reserve, under repair or assigned to the Torpedo School. Advancing Soviet forces caused them to be recalled to active duty during 1944 to support German forces operating in the Baltic. Three boats were lost that year to Allied bombs. The following year three more were sunk by British aircraft and two lost to Soviet mines. Three survived the war and were seized by the Allies as war reparations. Only the Soviet Union actually made use of its vessel and it was eventually used as a test ship before being scuttled during the 1950s.