On 8 March 1927, the keel was laid for the first two Type 24 torpedo boats for the German Navy. The Type 24 class succeeded the Type 23, also known as the Raubvogel class. These ships were 4.9 meters longer than the Raubvogel class and included some incremental improvements, but they were known for a significant windward yaw that made it challenging to maintain course in windy conditions and at low speeds.

The first torpedo boat was launched on 12 October 1927 and named after the gunboat SMS Iltis, commissioned in 1898 and sunk in 1914. Former Admiral Wilhelm von Lans gave the launching speech, and his wife christened the boat. The second torpedo boat was launched the same day and named after the famous auxiliary cruiser and minelayer SMS Wolf. Her former commander, Captain Karl August Nerger, gave the speech, and the wife of the former first officer christened the boat.

Of the remaining four boats, two were launched on 4 May 1927, and the last two on 2 April 1927. All four torpedo boats, named Jaguar, Leopard, Luchs, and Tiger, were officially launched on 15 March 1928. Vice-Admiral Iwan Oldekop delivered the christening speech for all four boats. Jaguar was christened by Rear-Admiral Harry Mündel, a former commander of the gunboat Jaguar. Leopard was christened by the daughter of Corvette Captain Hans von Laffert, who had perished with the auxiliary cruiser Leopard, and Luchs by Captain zur See Max Thierichens, the last commander of the previous gunboat of the same name. The last torpedo boat, Tiger, was christened by Rear Admiral Karl von Bodecker.

On 15 November 1935, Wolf was assigned to the II Torpedo Boat Flotilla as a flotilla boat, replacing the torpedo boat Seeadler. Wolf remained in this role until February 1929, when she underwent extensive testing and then embarked on an Atlantic cruise in April-May, visiting the Spanish towns of A Pobra do Caramiñal and Seville, as well as spending the summer in Rotterdam and Stockholm.



On 30 August 1930, Wolf was taken out of service for repairs and only returned to active duty on 6 February 1932. In 1934, she conducted training in Sweden. During the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the heavy cruisers Deutschland and Admiral Scheer, along with the light cruiser Köln and the 2nd Torpedo Boat Flotilla, participated in naval operations off the Spanish coast. Wolf was part of this flotilla and participated in the international naval blockade. On 19 November, Wolf sustained rudder damage and required repairs in Brest. Six months later, on 30 June 1937, she was decommissioned for the second time.

At the end of 1937, Wolf was recommissioned for the third time and served as a training ship until 1938. In February 1938, she was assigned to the 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotilla and returned to Spanish waters with two of her sister ships. In July, she returned to Germany alone. The 3rd Torpedo Boat Flotilla was then renamed the 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Alongside other naval units, it participated in the re-integration of Memelland in March 1939.

After the outbreak of the Second World War, Wolf was employed in mine clearance operations in the North Sea and assigned various security and escort duties in trade warfare. She accompanied the light cruisers Köln, Nürnberg, and later Leipzig, and in March 1940 escorted the auxiliary cruiser Atlantis towards the German Bight. Wolf was part of the third group of Operation Weserübung, destined for Bergen. Departing from Cuxhaven on 8 April 1940, she provided assistance after a collision between two snowboats en route. On 9 April 1940, Wolf, together with Köln and Leopard, began her return journey after successfully completing her mission, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 11 April, where she was transferred to the western sector and participated in further reconnaissance and minelaying operations.



On the night of 7-8 January 1941, Wolf took part in another minelaying operation in the waters around Dover under the code name Operation Renate. On the return journey, at 11:50 a.m., Wolf struck a mine near Dunkirk and sank. Forty-five crew members lost their lives.




Technical Data


Land: Weimar Republic, later Nazi Germany

Company: Reichsmarine, later Kriegsmarine
Year of launch: 12. October 1927
Commissioned: 15. November 1928
Fate: Sunk 8. January 1941 Minehit
Length: 92,6m (303,8ft)
Beam: 8,6m (27,9ft)
Draught: max. 3,5m (11,5ft)
Boiler: 3x oil-fired Double-end Navy Boiler
Oil bunker: 338t
Engines: 2x Geared Turbines
Speed: max. 35,2kn (65km/h 40,4mph)
Armament: 10.5cm L/55 SK C/28
      2cm/65 C/30 AA
      2x tripple 50cm G7 Torpedo mount, 1934: 2x tripple 53,3cm G7a T1 Torpedo mount
Crew:  120-129




Build by: Schatten1936

Renders by: X





Torpedoboat Wolf (1928) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.