View source for German destroyer Z31

{{Short description|Destroyer}}
{{good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Marceau.jpg
|Ship caption=''Z31'' underway while under French control
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Nazi Germany]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Nazi Germany|naval}}
|Ship name=''Z31''
|Ship ordered=19 September 1939
|Ship builder=[[AG Weser]] ([[Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG|Deschimag]]), [[Bremen]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=1 September 1940
|Ship launched=15 May 1941
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship commissioned=11 April 1942
|Ship fate=[[War reparation]] to France
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=[[France]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|France|Naval}}
|Ship name=''Marceau''
|Ship acquired=2 February 1946
|Ship commissioned=1 April 1946
|Ship struck=2 January 1958
|Ship fate=Scrapped early 1960s
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class=[[Type 1936A-class destroyer#1936A (Mob)|Type 1936A (Mob)]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|2603|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|3597|LT|t|abbr=on}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|127|m|ftin|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam= {{convert|12|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|4.62|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × geared [[steam turbine]] sets
|Ship speed= {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|2950|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|19|kn}}
|Ship power=*6 × [[water-tube boiler]]s
*{{convert|70000|PS|kW shp|lk=on|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=332
|Ship armament=
*4 × single [[15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval gun|{{convert|15|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} guns]]
*2 × twin [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{convert|3.7|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} anti-aircraft guns]]
*9 × [[2 cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling|{{convert|2|cm|in|1|abbr=on}}]] (1 × 4 and 5 × 1) AA guns
*2 × quadruple {{convert|53.3|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*60 [[naval mine|mines]]
}}
|}

'''''Z31''''' was a German [[Type 1936A-class destroyer#1936A (Mob)|Type 1936A (Mob)]] [[destroyer]], which was completed in 1942 and served with the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. She was constructed in Germany as part of [[Plan Z]], and commissioned 11 April 1942. She spent much of the war in Arctic and Norwegian waters, taking part in the [[Battle of the Barents Sea]] on 31 December 1942. She survived the war, and was passed on to the [[French Navy]] as a war prize, serving under the name ''Marceau'' until 1958.

==Design and construction==
On 28 June 1939, orders for nine destroyers (''Z31''–''Z39'') of the new [[German World War II destroyers#Type 1938B|Type 1938B]] class were placed by Germany, with a further three destroyers of the class being ordered in July.<ref name="Koop p25">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=25}}</ref> They were ordered as a part of [[Plan Z]], which was a German naval rearmament plan, involving building ten battleships, four aircraft carriers, twelve battlecruisers, three pocket battleships, five heavy cruisers, forty-four light cruisers, sixty-eight destroyers, and 249 submarines. These ships were to be split into two battle fleets: a "Home Fleet", to tie down the British war fleet in the North Sea, and a "Raiding Fleet", to wage war upon British convoys.<ref>{{Harvnb|Miller|1997|p=33}}</ref> The Type 1938B were relatively small destroyers compared with the preceding Type 1936 and 1936A ships, to be armed with four 127mm (5&nbsp;in) guns in two twin turrets, and designed for long range.<ref name="Lent p24-5,80">{{Harvnb|Lenton|1975|pp=24–25, 80}}</ref> Following the outbreak of the Second World War, however, orders for the Type 1938B destroyers were cancelled, with a reversion to a slightly modified version of the previous Type 1936A class, the Type 1936A (Mob) class. On 19 September 1939, four destroyers (''Z31''–''Z34'') were re-ordered from the [[Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau|Deschimag]] consortium to be built at the [[AG Weser]] shipyard in [[Bremen]] on that day, with a further three ships (''Z37''–''Z39'') ordered from the [[Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft|Germaniawerft]] yard.<ref name="Koop p24-5">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=24–25}}</ref><ref name="Whit p67">{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|p=67}}</ref> ''Z31'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 1 September 1940 (with the [[yard number]] 1001<ref name="Gron p77">{{Harvnb|Gröner|1983|p=77}}</ref>), [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 15 May 1941 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 11 April 1942.<ref name="Koop p24">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=24}}</ref>

''Z31'' was {{convert|127|m|ftin}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|121.9|m|ftin}} [[Waterline length|at the waterline]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|12|m|ftin}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|3.92|-|4.62|m|ftin}} depending on displacement.<ref name="Koop p26">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=26}}</ref> [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|2603|LT|t|order=flip}} standard and {{convert|3597|LT|t|order=flip}} full load.<ref name="conways22 p234">{{Harvnb|Sieche|1980|p=234}}</ref> The ship's machinery consisted of six Wagner [[Water-tube boiler|boilers]] feeding high-pressure [[Superheater|superheated]] steam (at {{convert|70|atm|psi kPa|0|abbr=on|lk=on}} and {{convert|450|C}}) to two sets of Wagner geared [[steam turbine]]s.<ref name="Koop p41-2">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=42–42}}</ref><ref name="Lenton p75">{{Harvnb|Lenton|1975|p=75}}</ref> The ship's rated power was {{convert|70000|shp|kW}}, giving a speed of {{convert|38.5|kn}}, while its range was {{convert|2239|nmi}} at {{convert|19|kn}}.<ref name="Koop p27">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=27}}</ref> The ship had a complement of 321 officers and ratings.<ref name="conways22 p234"/><ref name="Lenton p75"/>

The design main armament for the Type 1936A (Mob) class was, like the Type 1936A class on which it was based, five [[15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval gun|15 cm (5.9in) TbtsK C/36 naval gun]]s, with one twin turret forward and three single mounts aft. Development of the twin turret was slow however, and ''Z31'' (like all the Type 1936A class), was completed with an additional single 15&nbsp;cm gun replacing the unavailable twin turret, giving a total of four 15&nbsp;cm guns.<ref name="Whit p63-4">{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|pp=63–64}}</ref><ref name="Koop p34">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=34}}</ref> The forward gun was replaced by the intended twin turret in 1944,<ref name="Lenton p75"/> but the twin turret was replaced by a single [[10.5 cm SK L/45 naval gun|10.5 cm (4.1in) SK L/45 naval gun]] after the twin turret was wrecked in battle in January 1945.<ref name="Koop p35">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=35}}</ref> The ship's anti-aircraft armament consisted of two twin [[3.7 cm SK C/30]] anti-aircraft guns (later replaced by automatic [[3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43#3.7cm Flak M42|Flak M42]] guns) and nine [[2 cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling|2 cm cannon]] in one quadruple and five single mounts.<ref name="Whitley p63-4,67">{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|pp=63–64, 67}}</ref><ref name="Koop p113">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=113}}</ref> A second quadruple 20&nbsp;mm mount was fitted forward of the ship's bridge in 1943, replacing one of the single mounts, while additional 3.7&nbsp;cm guns were fitted in 1945, giving a final anti-aircraft armament in German service of fourteen 3.7&nbsp;cm and twelve 2&nbsp;cm guns.<ref name="Whit p67"/><ref name="Koop p35"/> Eight 53.3{{nbsp}}cm (21&nbsp;in) [[torpedo tube]]s in two quadruple mounts were fitted, and up to 60 [[Naval mine|mines]] could be carried.<ref name="Gron p79">{{Harvnb|Gröner|1983|p=79}}</ref>

==German service==
After commissioning, the ship underwent a lengthy [[wikt:workup|work up]] process, which was common for German destroyers during the Second World War.<ref name="conways22 p232">{{Harvnb|Sieche|1980|p=232}}</ref> Following ''Z31'' being damaged in a collision with a schooner on 6 November 1941, she was transferred to an operational flotilla in Norwegian waters in December 1942.<ref name="Koop p112">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|p=112}}</ref> On 30 December 1942, ''Z31'' left the [[Altafjord]] in northern Norway along with the [[heavy cruiser]]s {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper||2}} and [[German cruiser Deutschland|''Lützow'']] and the destroyers ''[[German destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt|Friedrich Eckoldt]]'', ''[[German destroyer Z4 Richard Beitzen|Richard Beitzen]]'', ''[[German destroyer Z6 Theodor Riedel|Theodor Riedel]]'', {{ship|German destroyer|Z29||2}} and {{Ship|German destroyer|Z30||2}} on [[Operation Regenbogen (Arctic)|Operation Regenbogen]], an attempt to attack the [[Arctic convoys of World War II|Arctic convoy]] [[Convoy JW 51B|JW 51B]].<ref name="Roh p184">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=184}}</ref> The German force encountered the convoy on the morning of 31 December, and in poor visibility, engaged the convoy's escort in the [[Battle of the Barents Sea]]. ''Hipper'' sank the British destroyer {{HMS|Achates|H12|2}} and the minesweeper {{HMS|Bramble|J11|2}} and damaged the destroyers {{HMS|Onslow|G17|2}} and {{HMS|Obdurate|G39|2}},  while ''Lützow'' damaged the destroyer {{HMS|Obedient|G48|2}}, but broke off the engagement after the British cruiser covering force of {{HMS|Sheffield|C24|2}} and {{HMS|Jamaica|44|2}} damaged ''Hipper'' and sank ''Richard Beitzen''. None of the 15 merchant ships in the convoy were damaged.<ref name="Roh p184"/><ref name="russia p48-9">{{Harvnb|Ruegg|Hague|1993|pp=48–49}}</ref>

On 5–6 February 1943, ''Z31'', ''Theodor Riedel'' and the minelayer {{Ship|German minelayer|Brummer|1940|2}} laid a minefield off [[Kildin Island]],<ref name="Roh p191">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=191}}</ref> while on 10–11 March the two destroyers escorted ''Lützow'' from [[Kåfjorden (Alta)|Kaafjord]] to [[Narvik]].<ref name="Roh p198">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=198}}</ref> On 6 September 1943, ''Z31'' set out from the Altafjord as part of a fleet consisting of the battleships {{Ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} and {{Ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2}} and nine destroyers on [[Operation Zitronella]], a raid on Allied-controlled [[Spitzbergen]]. ''Z31'' was hit eight times by shells from coastal artillery off [[Barentsburg]] on 8 September, with one man killed and a second wounded.<ref name="Koop p112"/><ref name="Roh p230">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=230}}</ref> In November, ''Z31'' transferred to southern Norway, where she carried out patrol operations before laying defensive minefields in the entrance to the [[Skagerrak]] from 4–7 December.<ref name="Koop p112"/><ref name="Roh p249">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=249}}</ref>

After that operation, ''Z31'' began a refit at [[Wesermünde]], which continued until August 1944, when she returned to Norway. She was damaged by strafing from British carrier-based fighters during [[Operation Goodwood (naval)|an attack]] on ''Tirpitz'' in the Altafjord on 29 August.<ref name="Koop p112"/> In October 1944, ''Z31'' took part in escort operations as the Germans evacuated the [[20th Mountain Army (Wehrmacht)|20th Mountain Army]] from northern Finland and Norway in response to the Soviet [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive]].<ref name="Koop p112"/><ref name="Roh p309-0">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=309–310}}</ref> The destroyer continued escort and patrol duties for the rest of the year,<ref name="Koop p112"/> together with minelaying operations off [[Honningsvåg]] (with ''Z29'' on 16 December and with {{Ship|German destroyer|Z33||2}} on 27 December) and off [[Hammerfest]] (again with ''Z33'') on 3 January 1945.<ref name="Roh p320,7">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=320, 327}}</ref>

On 25 January 1945, the German 4th Destroyer Flotilla, consisting of ''Z31'', {{Ship|German destroyer|Z34||2}} and {{Ship|German destroyer|Z38||2}} set out from [[Tromsø]] for the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]]. On 28 January, the three destroyers [[Action of 28 January 1945|were intercepted by the British cruisers]] {{HMS|Mauritius|80|2}} and {{HMS|Diadem|84|2}} in the [[Sognefjorden]], north of [[Bergen]]. ''Z31'' was hit seven times by the British ships, with her forward turret being wrecked and 55 men killed and a further 24 wounded. ''Z34'' was also damaged. After escaping, ''Z31'' put into Bergen for temporary repairs, with further work being carried out at [[Horten (town)|Horten]] and [[Oslo]] before the ship reached the Baltic.<ref name="Koop p112"/><ref name="Roh p332">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=332}}</ref>

From 22 March, ''Z31'', working with ''Z34'' and ''Lützow'', shelled advancing Soviet troops near Gotenhafen in [[West Prussia]] (now [[Gdynia]] in Poland), while on 23 March she towed the hulk of the battleship {{Ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} to the entrance of Gotenhafen harbour, ready to be sunk as a [[blockship]]. (''Gneisenau'' was [[scuttling|scuttled]] on 27 March). On 27 March, a 15&nbsp;cm shell accidentally exploded in one of ''Z31''{{'}}s guns, killing four and wounding 18. Nevertheless, ''Z31'' continued to support evacuation of German troops and civilians from Gotenhafen and [[Hel, Poland|Hela]], until the ship was damaged by Soviet bombs, and withdrew westwards with {{Ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2}} and ''Lützow'' on 8 April. ''Z31'' was docked at Swinemünde (now [[Świnoujście]]) for repair on 10 April, and was damaged again by Soviet air attack when on passage to [[Kiel]] on 27 April. She reached [[Brunsbüttel]] on 30 April, and remained there until the end of the war on 8 May.<ref name="Roh p335-8">{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=335–338}}</ref><ref name="Koop p112-3">{{Harvnb|Koop|Schmolke|2014|pp=112–113}}</ref>

==French service==
{{other ships|French ship Marceau}}
Following the end of the war, ''Z31'' was transferred to Great Britain. She was to be given to France as part of Germany's war reparations, thus, following testing in August 1945, she was passed on to France, being transferred to the French Navy  at [[Cherbourg]] on 2 February 1946, and commissioned as ''Marceau'' on 1 April.<ref name="conways22 p234"/><ref name="Koop p113"/> From 1948–1950, ''Marceau'' underwent a major refit, in which the forward 10.5&nbsp;cm gun was replaced by a 15.0&nbsp;cm gun, the ship's anti-aircraft outfit changed to eight [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]]s and US radar was fitted.<ref name="conways22 p234"/><ref name="conways47 p98">{{Harvnb|Jordan|1995|p=98}}</ref> She was stationed in Toulon, and served out of it for several years. She visited Oran, Dakar and Bizerte regularly during exercises with the French fleet.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|p=197}}</ref> She went into reserve in 1953,<ref name="conways47 p98"/> and on 1 February 1954 was laid up as a hulk (''Q103''). She was stricken on 2 January 1958 and sold for scrap later that year, being broken up in the early 1960s.<ref name="Koop p113"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Gröner|first=Erich|title=Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Band 2: Torpedoboote, Zerstörer, Schnelleboote, Minensuchboote, Minenräumboote|year=1983|publisher=Bernard & Graefe Verlag|location=Koblenz, Germany|isbn=3-7637-4801-6|language=German|trans-title=German Warships of 1815–1945: Volume 2: Torpedo Boats, Destroyers, Speedboats, and Minesweepers|author-link=Erich Gröner}}
*{{cite book|author1-last=Jordan|author1-first=John|editor1-last=Chumbley|editor1-first=Stephen |title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press |location= Annapolis, Maryland | isbn=1-55750-132-7|name-list-style=amp|chapter=France |pages=95–131}}
*{{cite book |last1=Koop |first1=Gerhard |last2=Schmolke |first2=Klaus-Peter |title=German Destroyers of World War II |year=2014 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-84832-193-9|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first= H. T.|title=German Warships of the Second World War|year=1975 |publisher=Macdonald and Jane's |location=London | isbn=0356-04661-3|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton}}
* {{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Nathan|title=War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II |date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19511038-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen |last2=Hümmelchen |first2=Gerhard |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 |year=1992 |publisher=Greenhill Books |location=London |isbn=1-85367-117-7|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last1=Ruegg|first1=Bob|last2=Hague|first2=Arnold| title=Convoys to Russia 1941–1945 |year=1993 |publisher=World Ship Society |location= Kendal, UK| isbn=0-905617-66-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|author1-last=Sieche|author1-first=Erwin|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-146-7|name-list-style=amp|chapter=Germany|pages=218–254}}
*{{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |year=2000| publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005 |edition=Third Revised |isbn=1-59114-119-2|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
*{{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=German Destroyers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press |date=1991|isbn=1-55750-302-8 |location=Annapolis, Maryland}}
* {{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Gordon|title=German Destroyers 1939-45|publisher=Osprey Publishing|date=2003|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|isbn=978-1841765044}}

{{Type 1936 destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Z31}}
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)]]
[[Category:Type 1936A-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Destroyers of the French Navy]]