05321 Trumpeter 1/350 German Zerstorer Z-25, 1944

Z-25 was a German destroyer, or "Zerstörer" of the 1936A type. The third one of this type to be laid down, this class was an attempt to improve the previous 1936 class with an upgrade to a 15cm (5.9") SKC/36 main gun instead of the previous 12.7cm/45 SKC/34. The 1936 type had five single mounts, two fore and three aft; to conserve weight, it was decided install a twin turret instead of two single mounts forward. There were considerable issues in getting the twin mount ready, which led to the members of this class being commissioned with only a single mount was installed instead. Z-25 received her twin turret during the summer of 1942, about a year after she became operational.

The 15cm gun was one of the largest guns ever installed on a destroyer-sized vessel, making these large destroyers almost a light cruiser in weaponry. While these mounts had acceptable elevation theoretically, their actual utility as a AA platform was limited. As a surface mount, they had excellent range and velocity, but the two part ammunition limited rate of fire, and was difficult to load during rough seas- and working the open mounts during North Seas operations were quite limiting.

During her career, Z-25 had many missions as an escort for the Prinz Eugen. From mid-1943 on, her operations were restricted to the Baltic area, where she executed various bombardment and evacuation missions until the end of the war. After nine months under British possession, she was transferred to France in February 1946, where she served as the Hoche 1956 when she was hulked. Decommissioned in 1958, and was scrapped by 1961.

Z-25's Particulars:

• Length: 127m
• Beam: 12m
• Draft: 3.9m
• Displacement: ~3,600t
• Laid down: Deschimag Bremen, 15 February 1939
• Launched: 16 March 1940
• Commissioned: 30 November 1940
• Fate: scrapped 1961
• Armaments:
  • 5 (later 4) 15cm/48 (5.9")
  • various 37mm and 20mm AA
  • 8 53.3cm torpedo tubes, arranged 2x4
  • Up to 60 Mines

This Trumpeter kit of Z-25 models the ship after her partial "Barbara" armament configuration, where the "C" 15cm gunhouse was sent ashore, and the AA fit was greatly increased. This new AA fit included an increase to four 3.7cm/69 M42, eight 3.7cm/83 SKC/30, and 17 2cm light AA in single, twin and quadruple Flak 35 (Vierling) mounts.