Type 1936 destroyer

The Type 1936 destroyers, also called the Z17 class, were a group of six destroyers, Z17 to Z22, built for the German Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s, shortly before the Second World War. All six were named after German sailors killed in the First World War, and all were built by AG Weser at Bremen as part of the Deschimag combine. The last three were modified during construction with a clipper bow that lengthened them. They were driven by two geared steam turbine sets and armed with five 12.7 centimetre guns and eight torpedo tubes. After training and the occupation of Memel they took part in the minelaying of 1939 and 1940 and in the invasion of Norway, where all but Z20 Karl Galster were sunk or scuttled in the battles of Narvik.