Part 1: https://thearmoredpatrol.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/looking-at-the-kriegsmarine-episode-1-existing-destroyers/
Source: Altair2012 (EU) – with small edits made by me in order to make it more readable;
Today we will be looking at the German destroyer projects which for one reason or another were never completed.
Zerstörer Type 1936C: After realizing that adding small calibre AA was not very effective the Kriegsmarine developed a variation of the Type 1936B destroyer with Dual Purpose 128mm guns (3×2). Top speed was 37,5 knots and the class would displace 3683 tons with combat load. 5 ships were ordered and 2 laid down but no ship was ever completed. Since the ships were never operational they didn’t receive the fleetwide AA upgrades in 1944/45. Still, the AA consisted of 4-6x37mm and 8-14x20mm. The ships also carried 2×3 533mm torpedo launchers using the standard German G7a torpedo.
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In WoWs: A solid mid tier destroyer. Typical German caracteristics (large, expect lots of health and good guns, slow torpedos with around 6-8 km range. Not as nimble as other nations DDs but still fast.
Zerstörer Type 1938A/Ac: It took the Germans some time to develop a real ocean capable destroyer. What they came up with was not a destroyer but a monster. 145m long and 13,9 m beam, displacing 4902 tons. That is larger than the Tenryū-class cruiser (Tatsuta class in WoWs) and only a little smaller than the Kuma-class. But it doesn’t stop there. Armed with 3x2x150mm (1 turret at the front, 1 midships and one aft) these ships had the firepower of a light cruiser. And it gets better. The Germans also decided to throw in 2 quintuple 533mm torpedo launchers midships (like on the Fletcher) and a dual 88mm Flak(DP) at the stern. The AA was mediocre (besides the 8.8) consisting of 4x37mm and 8x20mm. These huge ships were capable of speeds up to 35,5 knots. 24 units were planned as part of Plan Z but not one was ordered. The design was further developed into the Spähkreuzer (Scout cruiser).
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In WoWs: These ships will outgun every other destroyer. The guns can also hurt cruisers badly. You will do good in a fleet action in the light cruiser role, killing destroyers and providing fire support. But the 38As are also huge so forget staying undetected. The torpedos can work in an ambush at shotgun range or to deny areas to the enemy but don’t expect to snipe with them. The speed matches the Fubuki class but you won’t be as nimble or stealthy. WG could even beef the AA up to 1945 standards with 4x55mm and 5-7x2x30mm and make it a solid and unique Tier 10.
Zerstörer Type 1938B: Meanwhile the Germans also developed a “light” destroyer for operations in the Baltic sea. Still 111m long and displacing 2700 tons these ships were equal in size to American Fletcher class destroyers. Armed with 2x2x127mm and 2×4 torpedo tubes as well as 2x37mm and 2x20mm AA these ships had obsolete AA even before the design phase was finished. 12 ships were ordered in summer 1939 but canceled shortly afterward. Top speed was 36 knots.
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In WoWs: These will be somewhere around T6 else they are outclassed. Forget the AA. These ships will be atypical for the German destroyers. Mediocre guns which will do the job but not very well. At the level of the Type 1936.
Zerstörer Type 1942: Engine testbed based on the Type 1938B. The prototype of a long range diesel engine with a range of 21700km (11700 nautical miles) was to be installed. The engine was supposed to deliver 57120shp bringing the ship to 36 knots. One unit was laid down in 1942 and launched in 1944 the uncompleted ship was damaged by a bomb in 1945 and broke down in 1947. Despite a very similar hull and displacement the ship had a different weapon layout, featuring with 4x1x127mm, 4x2x37mm and 12x20mm but only 2×3 torpedo tubes.
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In WoWs: An small improvement compared to the Type 1938B. Better AA but that should not be the primary focus of destroyers. T7 at most. The long operational range gives you nothing in WoWs. Definitely not a ship to look forwards to with great expectations. Outclassed by other German designs.
Zerstörer Type 1942c/1944:
While the Type 1942 was an incomplete prototype the development of diesel driven destroyers continued. Several proposals for an Atlantic destroyer were made and analyzed. The combined data lead to the Type 1944 (at other occasions called 1942c). With a length of 126m and a beam of 12,6m they displaced 3703 tons. Armed with 3x2x128mm DP Flak guns and 2×4 torpedo tubes the ship were roughly equivalent to the Gearing class. The AA consisted of 3x1x55mm Gerät 58 AA and 7x2x 30mm. Both were probably some of the best AA guns of the war. Speed was estimated around 37,5 knots.
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In WoWs: Solid High tier material. Good guns, good AA, quite mobile with weaknesses in torpedo armament and stealth.
Zerstörer Type 1945: The last German destroyer design. Despite the inability to actually build the ships the Germans continued development which lead to the Type 1945. The design was supposed to be 125,5 m long with a 12m beam, displacing 3700 tons. In contrast to the Zerstörer Type 1944 the 1945 was powered by a high pressure steam engine delivering 80000 shp and enabling speeds up to 39,8 knots. Armament was increased to 4x2x128mm DP guns. AA was further increased to 4x1x55mm and 6x2x30mm. The usual 2×4 torpedo tubes were to be installed.
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In WoWs: The top of the tree. 8 128 mm guns, solid AA and probably lots of health. Although your torpedoes are not good, you get even more guns than the Americans. Historical would be 12 or more rpm and it could work ingame to. The muzzle velocity was higher than the American 5 inch DP guns so you can probably expect a flatter trajectory (at the same range) and more range.
Additional notes: Despite the Germans using the same torpedo during the war some interesting upgrades were made. Especially the LUT (Lageunabhängiger Torpedo/position independent torpedo) since it could be fired in every direction independent from the position of the launcher. These were only used on submarines but it was be possible to use them on surface ships. Additionally the Germans developed sonar homing torpedoes which could again be interesting. You still could evade them (get out of the limited range and targeting cone). There were also acoustic homing torpedoes but those will be useless in the game (no IFF and a couple of German subs managed to sink themselves with the acoustic homing torpedoes. But the ability to launch torpedoes without pointing the tubes in the exact direction could be very beneficial.
From what I’ve seen the best setup would be on main tree with 2 branches which unite with the main tree later. The WWI destroyers would be filling tier 2-4 (which will be part of a different post). You would have a main tree with the normal German destroyers. A sub branch for the Baltic Sea destroyers at T6-7 and a branch with the 150mm armed ships at T8 and 9. You could buff the stats further to make the Type 1938A a tier 10 but from my impression it will be better at T9.
Very professional tech tree:
The general playstyle will focus a lot on your guns and you will win a gunfight with other destroyers. You are a big target however and besides the top of the main tree and the Baltic branch not very maneuverable. It will be a lot easier to hit you and you cannot rely on stealth. The torpedoes will be comparable to the Russian T5 pre-order up to tier 10.
