German destroyer Z27

	Sister ship Z29, 1945
History
Nazi Germany
Name	Z27
Ordered	23 April 1938
Builder	AG Weser (Deschimag), Bremen
Yard number	W961
Laid down	27 December 1939
Launched	1 August 1940
Commissioned	26 February 1941
Fate	Sunk, 28 December 1943
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Type 1936A destroyer
Displacement	2,543 long tons (2,584 t) (standard); 3,543 long tons (3,600 t) (deep load);
Length	127 m (416 ft 8 in) (o/a)
Beam	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Draft	4.43 m (14 ft 6 in)
Installed power	6 × water-tube boilers; 70,000 PS (51,000 kW; 69,000 shp);
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbine sets
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement	332
Armament	1 × twin, 2 × single 15 cm (5.9 in) guns; 2 × twin 3.7 cm (1.5 in) anti-aircraft guns; 7 × single 2 cm (0.8 in) AA guns; 2 × quadruple 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes; 4 × depth charge launchers; 60 mines;
Service record
Commanders:	Karl Smidt

Z27 was one of fifteen Type 1936A destroyers built for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) during World War II. Completed in 1941, the ship was transferred to Norwegian waters later that year where she remained for most of the next several years, escorting convoys and laying minefields. She sank a Soviet oil tanker in late 1942 before sailing to Germany for a refit. Upon its completion in mid-1943, Z27 returned to Norway and participated in Operation Zitronella, the raid on the island of Spitsbergen in September.

The ship sailed to France the following month and became the flagship of the 8. Zerstörerflottile (8th Destroyer Flotilla) upon her arrival. The flotilla was tasked to escort several blockade runners through the Bay of Biscay in December despite Allied efforts to find and sink them. The first ship made it through the gauntlet successfully, but the second one was found and sunk while the German ships were en route to the rendezvous point. They were intercepted by a pair of British light cruisers and Z27 was sunk during the ensuing Battle of the Bay of Biscay on 28 December, with the loss of approximately 300 of her crew.

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