T22
Contents
Description
The Type 1939-class, T22, 1944 is a rank I German destroyer with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X" as part of the fleet closed beta test. It is a big improvement from the first German destroyer Leopard in every major way.
General info
Survivability and armour
The T22 does not possess any armour except its 16 mm steel hull protecting it from small calibre machine gun fire. The main gun mounts are protected from the front, top, and sides by 8 mm thick anti-fragmentation armour shields protecting them from shrapnel. All the ship ammo magazines are located above waterline, making the ship vulnerable to magazine detonations. The machinery is protected by fuel tanks, which can absorb some fragments, but leave the ship vulnerable to fire. The crew complement consists of 206 sailors, which is more than any contemporary destroyer at its BR.
Mobility
The T22 is a quite manoeuvrable ship, having great rudder change authority while also being a fast destroyer at its BR, with a top speed of 61 km/h when fully upgraded.
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Armament
Primary armament
The 10.5 cm cannons perform effectively in spite of a slower calibre than German destroyers at the same BR. They offer a little more forgiveness to the player, while often offering less to the target. The damage dealt by the HE round with the base fuse, along with its reload, allows the player to whittle away at the target, and with a little aiming, can render the target completely defenceless.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z | HE | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Bd.Z | HE | 42 | 34 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z | HE-TF | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Kpf.Z | HE | 785 | 15.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.55 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Bd.Z | HE | 785 | 15.1 | 0.015 | 5 | 1.55 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| Sprgr. L/4.4 Zt.Z | HE-TF | 785 | 15.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.55 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Secondary armament
Equipped with five single-mounted 2 cm/65 C/38 automatic cannons and a single 2 cm/65 Flakvierling 38 automatic cannons in a quadruple mount. The T22 boasts a formidable short range anti-aircraft and anti-shipping capabilities, being able to fire a rain of devastating bullets onto incoming enemies. The Flakvierling is located behind the second funnel on a platform above the deck while one of the single mounts is located at the beam of the ship, and the rest on the sides and on top of the bridge.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| 20 mm HEF-T | HEF-T | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 mm AP | AP | 36 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 15 | 11 |
| 20 mm AP-T | AP-T | 36 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 15 | 11 |
| 20 mm HEF | HEF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| 20 mm HEF-T | HEF-T | 835 | 0.12 | 0 | 0.1 | 10.54 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| 20 mm AP | AP | 785 | 0.15 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| 20 mm AP-T | AP-T | 785 | 0.15 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| 20 mm HEF | HEF | 835 | 0.12 | 0 | 0.1 | 10.54 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Anti-aircraft armament
The anti-aircraft armament consists of a two dual-mounted 3.7 cm SK C/30 cannons with a very low fire rate of only 30 rounds per minute, which makes them very hard to use in their intended role of engaging enemy aircraft. These cannons are located directly behind the second funnel. Thanks to their high muzzle velocity and armour-piercing rounds, they can be used instead to engage coastal vessels at longer distances before they get to range of your 20 mm cannons.
Additional armament
The T22 comes equipped with two triple torpedo launchers located amidship, with the first between the funnels and the second behind the second funnel at the stern of the ship. The torpedo used is the 533 mm G7a, which is used on most of German bluewater ships. With a base speed of 81 km/h, a range of 6 km and a payload of 358.4 kg TNTeq, these are the third most powerful torpedoes in terms of explosive mass. When upgraded with a torpedo mode, the speed decreases to 56 km/h while boosting the range to 14 km.
The T22 can also be equipped with 14, or 2+6 x torpedoes WBG depth charges, with the projectors located directly on each side of the hull around the second funnel. These cannot be aimed precisely, so their usage is niche.
Usage in battles
The T22 is a really capable destroyer with effective anti-ship capabilities due to its high calibre guns, and is best used supporting allied ships and destroying light vessels or lightly-armoured destroyers. The T22 has good manoeuvrability, but it suffers from unprotected ammo racks, leading often to detonation and instant death while utilizing a full broadside. Zigzagging while engaging is advised to evade at least some incoming damage. Its anti-air suite is very good for its BR, making enemy planes hard to get close enough for an attack. Torpedoes can either be launched with torpedo mode towards the enemy across the map right after battle start or without torpedo mode on a closing enemy vessel due to their fast speed, making them hard to evade at close distances.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great reload speed
- Doesn't catch on fire very easily
- Its fast-firing weapons are easy to aim
Cons:
- Low ammo count
- Vulnerable magazines
History
The T22, commissioned on February 28, 1942, belonged to the Type 39 torpedo boat class of the Kriegsmarine. Despite the classification as "destroyer" in War Thunder, the Type 1939 class were considered torpedo boats as opposed to destroyers at the time of the class' inception; the class was designed as an enlarged evolution of the prior Type 1937 torpedo boat class rather than a progression of a destroyer class. However, with a displacement and armament comparable to more typical destroyers, the Type 1939 class could reasonably be considered small destroyers rather than torpedo boats; some later German literature would come to refer to the Type 1939 torpedo boat class as the Schichau destroyer class. This classification as Schichau, alongside the Allied classification of the Type 1939 torpedo boat class as the Elbing class, was derived from the shipyard and city, respectively, at which all ships of the Type 1939 class were built.
Preceding classes of torpedo boats prior to the Type 1939 class were relatively small ships in the bluewater fleet context, at around 800 tons standard displacement and 85 metres long. Those torpedo boats were moderately fast and carried torpedoes as the primary armament, and gun firepower was negligible on these ships. In the intended role of escorting larger ships, an 800-ton torpedo boat would prove to be insufficient; the slim hull of a torpedo boat restricted the ability to install boilers and engines with enough power, and the lack of firepower and reliance on torpedoes reduced the ability of those torpedo boats to fight off a threat. To remedy this, the larger Type 1939 class was designed.
The class had an increased displacement of 1,200 tons standard displacement and increased hull size as well. The gun count was increased to four 105 mm guns in dual-purpose mounts, while the torpedo count remained the same as previous torpedo boat designs. Up to 60 mines could also be carried, although doing so made the ship dangerously top-heavy. In a distinction from destroyers of the time, the Type 1939 class had a large separation between its two engines and smokestacks, allowing a 105 mm gun and torpedo tube to be fitted in between them and increased the ability of damage control to be done in the case of engine damage. However, the boilers and turbines themselves were the same as prior torpedo boats, and therefore the speed of the Type 1939 class was subpar with a 31-knot top speed and 28-knot operational speed.
The operational history of the T22 was not particularly glamorous, and would end unfavourably for the ship. After a period of training through exercises in the Baltic Sea, the T22 was stationed in France. The first mission for the T22 was to escort the Italian cargo ship SS Cortellazzo on a blockade running mission from Bordeaux through the Bay of Biscay on November 29, 1942, accompanied by three other torpedo boats. Although that first mission proceeded without incident, the T22's second mission as an escort to Italian blockade runner Himalaya was called off after British aircraft assaulted the group. Later the T22 would accompany U-boats as part of the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, which consisted of T22, T24, and T25.
T22's first significant battle was on the 22nd of October 1943 off the French coast near Sept-Îles. The 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla as well as six minesweepers and two patrol boats were on a mission to ambush British naval forces under the guise of escorting German blockade runner Münsterland, which had no cargo and acted purely as bait. British intel on Münsterland that indicated the ship was transporting valuable goods and deployed the Dido-class light cruiser HMS Charybdis and six destroyers: H-class HMS Grenville, R-class HMS Rocket, and Hunt-classes HMS Limbourne, HMS Wensleydale, HMS Talybont and HMS Stevenstone. At midnight the British group performed a radar sweep that was detected by the German ships; similarly the British ships detected communications between the Germans upon noticing the British. The Münsterland was ordered to retreat to safety, and after the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla had visual contact with the British force the ships were ordered to fire all torpedoes and retreat; in total 24 torpedoes were launched from German ships. Due to poor weather conditions the British ships were unable to spot the German force, and only saw the trails of the German torpedoes after they were too close to evade. HMS Charybdis was hit by two torpedoes and sank. A torpedo launched from T22 hit HMS Limbourne and detonated her forward ammunition storage, completely blowing the bow of the ship off. HMS Limbourne was later scuttled due to the catastrophic damage. The remaining destroyers retreated, and the Battle of Sept-Îles would become the last naval victory the Kriegsmarine would hold over the Royal Navy.
The T22's second and last significant battle was the Battle of the Bay of Biscay, in late December 1943. German blockade runners Osorno and Alsterufer, transporting important Japanese goods, were escorted by a German force consisting of Type 1936A-class destroyers Z24, Z37, Z32, and Z27 of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla, the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, and two unassociated torpedo boats. The British knew about the mission, having broken the German code, and deployed light cruisers Town-class HMS Glasgow and Emerald-class HMS Enterprise to intercept the German force. By that time blockade runner Alsterufer had been spotted and sunk by several RAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers, and as a result the German escort force attempted to retreat back to friendly bays. At the same time, the two British light cruisers had reached a distance where they could fire on the fleeing German force, and opened up on the group at a range of 19.6 kilometers, using their radars for rangefinding. The German force retaliated with their guns and torpedoes and split into two groups after deploying smoke. HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise also split up, with HMS Glasgow attacking the group with T22. Glasgow focused her fire on T25 and scored several hits on the torpedo boat, severely damaging T25. T22 approached T25 in an attempt to rescue the crew on the crippled ship and simultaneously attempted to engage both British light cruisers, launching a spread of all her torpedoes and opening fire with all her guns. No torpedoes hit, and T22 was forced to disengage from the rescue of T25 and instead deploy a smokescreen and break off from the group. Later T22 would meet up with Z23 and fall back to the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
T22 underwent a refit in Elbing from February 1944 to April, then was reassigned to the 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla in the Baltic. T22's final mission was to lay a minefield in Narva Bay in August, which proved to be a disastrous incident for the flotilla. Upon beginning to lay mines the torpedo boats of the flotilla struck many mines; T30 hit two mines and broke in half and T32 hit one mine, blowing off her bow and disabling her engines. T22 attempted to approach T32 but herself struck a mine, exploding and sinking T22.
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
| F. Schichau GmbH | |
|---|---|
| Minesweepers | |
| M-class Type 1943 | M-802 |
| Torpedo Boats | |
| Type 1939 | T22 · T31 |
| Light Cruisers | |
| Pillau-class | SMS Elbing |
| Battleships | |
| Bayern-class | SMS Baden |
| Germany destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Torpedo boats | |
| Type 1924 | Jaguar · Leopard · Luchs |
| Type 1939 | T22 · T31 |
| Destoyers | |
| Type 1934A | Z12 Erich Giese · Z15 Erich Steinbrinck |
| Type 1936 | Z20 Karl Galster · Z22 Anton Schmitt |
| Type 1936A | Z25 · Z32 |
| Type 1936B | Z43 |
| Type 1936C | Z46 · Z47 |
