Gerard Callenburgh-class

The destroyers of this class were based upon the preceding Admiralen-class destroyers. Often compared to the British Tribal-class destroyers, they outperformed the latter in range and anti-aircraft armament. The main armament of 5 Bofors 120-mm guns in two double and a single mount was enough for contemporary standards. At the start of the war in May 1940, three had been launched. Of these, Isaac Sweers was towed to Britain and completed there with a different armament, the other two were scuttled when evacuation proved to be impossible. One (the former Gerard Callenburgh) was salvaged and completed for the Kriegsmarine as ZH-1.

			Original design sketch. Note the mines on the stern and the floatplane between the stacks.
			Isaac Sweers in 1941 configuration. Note two 4-inch mounts on stern and one mount on the foreship.
			ZH 1 as completed. Note the different bridge.

Construction details
Name	Gerard Callenburgh	Isaac Sweers	Tjerk Hiddes (I)	Philips van Almonde
Dockyard	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Mij, Rotterdam	Koninklijke Mij 'De Schelde', Flushing	Rotterdamsche Droogdok Mij, Rotterdam	Koninklijke Mij 'de Schelde', Flushing
Dockyardnumber		212		213
Laid down	October 12 1938	November 26 1938	October 1 1938	March 2 1939
Launched	October 12 1939	March 16 1940	October 12 1939	-
Commissioned	October 11 1942	May 29 1941	-	-
Status	Sunk by Allied destroyers near Ile de Bas, June 9, 1944 as ZH-1 History	Sunk by German submarine U-431 off Algiers, November 13, 1942 History	Scuttled by destruction parties in Nieuwe Waterweg, May 14, 1940. Raised June 12, 1940. Scrapped in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht.	Blown up at dockyard by destruction parties, May 17, 1940. Remains were scrapped
Pennants	ZH-1 (WW II)	IS (design) G-83 (WW II)	ZH-2*	-
* Pennant number ZH 2 was allocated for Tjerk Hiddes in the assumption she could be salvaged and commissioned.

Specifications
	Design	ZH 1 (ex-Callenburgh)	Isaac Sweers
Displacement	1628 t / 2240 t
Crew	180	230	194
Dimensions	106,3 (oa) 105 (pp) x 10,28 x 3,5 m
Armament	5 x 12 cm Bofors No. 8 4 x 40 mm Bofors 4 x 12.7 mm Vickers MG 8 TT of 53,3 cm	5 x 12 cm Bofors No. 8 4 x 37 mm C/30 16 x 20 mm C/38 8 TT of 53,3 cm	6 x 10,2 cm Mk 16 4 x 40 mm Bofors 4 x 20 mm Oerlikon 8 TT of 53,3 cm
Additional	1 floatplane 24 mines (2 rails) 4 depthcharge mortars	24 mines *** 4 depthcharge mortars	Asdic submarine detection 4 depthcharge mortars
Radar	-	N/A	2 type 289 for Bofors 1 for 4-inch guns
*  ZH 1 was equipped with German tubes. I don't know whether or not Sweers retained her Dutch tubes or received British mounts. ** These 20 mm guns replaced two quad Vickers mounts originally mounted after completion in the UK. ***  Not all sources mention these as armament in the Kriegsmarine.

Related Links

Die Deutsche Kriegsmarine - ZH 1 (ex-Callenburgh) (data + picture)

German Armed Forces (History of ZH 1)

Masters of the Channel Night: The 10th Destroyer Flotilla's Victory off Ile De Batz (loss of ZH-1)

Back

Home