Narvik-class destroyers

This amazing Kriegsmarine photo album belonged to a ship officer who served in the  destroyed. You can find many pictures taken during vacations, service, in the frozen north seas, duty, etc. Quality is excellent, and apart from that, it's fully researched with some printed papers full of information about the Z25 destroyer. These quality albums aren't seen too often. Really recommendable.

More info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_1936A-class_destroyer

Some info about Z-25

The second mission, the first real combat mission, found by Z 24, Z 25 and Z 26 against the Nordmeergeleitzug PQ 13 on 29 March, 1942. The Destroyer Group sank a merchant ship before the escort was attentive. The British light cruiser Trinidad attacked and shelled Z 26 This was significant damage it, so he began to sink and had to be evacuated. Z 24 and Z 25 were able to save only 88 of the crew. In an attempt to sink the destroyer abandoned by a coup de grace, the Trinidad was targeted by Z 25, who shot a torpedo. The Trinidad saw the torpedo and started an evasive maneuver, so that the torpedo passed just. Unfortunately for her, however, was previously fired from her on Z 26 torpedo a circle runner. Through their evasive maneuvers got the Trinidad in its train, was struck by own torpedo, and had to return to Murmansk. On 14 May 1942, the Trinidad was back when trying to Britain, sunk by German bombs.

The next combat mission took place on 1 and 2 May, 1942, attacked as Z 24 and Z 25, together with Hermann Schoeman from Kirkenes from the British light cruiser Edinburgh, who had 456 received two torpedo hit on 30 April of U and low ride and considerable list to Murmansk tried to return. Previously, the three boats attacked several times but the convoy QP 11 on, without being able to sink more than just a Soviet ship because of the effective convoy security. In the morning of May 2 successful attack on the Edinburgh guide the boat Hermann Schoeman suffered heavy artillery hits of Edinburgh in the turbine rooms that were running full of water. The unfit efficient boat had to be abandoned and blown up. These went in the middle of battle alongside Z 24, Z 25 while put a veil of smoke that hid the maneuver. The surviving crew members of the Herman Schoeman left behind in their change to Z 24 more hydrogen bombs with detonators triggered time aboard their boats, which set fire to a few minutes later and destroyed it. The other two boats damaged the Edinburgh so strong that it also fell just 20 minutes after Hermann Schoeman.

Z 23, Z 24 and Z 25 were laid in March 1943 on the French coast and tasked with the security of blockade runners U-boats in the Bay of Biscay. Z 24 and Z 25 took on 14 June 1943, the survivors of U 564. [3] In November, Z 27 joined them, but back in December of the British light cruisers Glasgow and Enterprise in the attempt to blockade runner Alsterufer together with the fleet torpedo boats T 25 and T 26 was (which also fell) introduce sunk.

In the battle with the (traveling with a Polish crew) destroyer Tartar and the Polish destroyers Piorun and Błyskawica, the Canadian destroyers Haida and Huron, and the British destroyers Eskimo, Ashanti and Javelin Z 24 was heavily damaged on June 8, 1944. Three of the four 15-inch guns fell out, only a few anti-aircraft guns were still operational, the torpedo tubes had failed, and the destroyer dragged herself with whipped side toward home base. However, he was buried on August 25 in the Gironde. Z 23 was so badly damaged by bombing on 21 August 1944 in La Pallice that the boat had to be put out of service on August 31.

Some of this class destroyer evacuated refugees from East Prussia. Here, Z 28 was sunk on the coast before Sassnitz on March 6, 1945 by British aerial bombs. [4] At the end of the war only three boats of the class remained. Z 25 standing after the war as Hoche and 1958 in the French Navy in the service. Z 29 was first captured by the U.S. and cannibalized in Bremerhaven - then for training purposes later together with the light cruiser Leipzig by the Royal Navy after the war, used as a target and sunk on 16 December 1946 at the Skagerrak. Z 30 was no longer functional and has been scrapped from Britain in 1948.