Libelle-class Torpedo Boats - DDR Speedrunners

[R_nminbiY_n 159]

Libelle-class Small Torpedo Boat

Libelle-class boats and Frankfurt/Oder on parade

 

History:

At the start of the 1970s, the East German Navy began development of a modern torpedo boat with a welded aluminium alloy hull, called Project 131, or the Libelle-class (dragonfly) torpedo boats. Four test boats were built in 1973 at Wolgast, testing various configurations, and in 1974 serial production began. They were armed with a 23mm ZU-23-2 at the rear, 2 mine launchers (which could be replaced with seats to carry 16 frogmen), and 2 533mm torpedoes in rear chutes, akin to the earlier LS-boats and LTS-boats. 

 

42 boats (30 in original run, 12 in 1989) were built in Rechlin and Wolgast and they served in the Light Torpedo Speedboat Brigade (LTSB Brigade) of the 6th Flotilla of the Volksmarine, none had names. They were meant to be used in coastal operations, torpedoing surface ships, laying mines, and transporting naval commandos. They participated in the standard Cold War naval exercises and parades, and there were always 10 ships at combat readiness, fully fuelled and armed. One ship collided with a Project 205 Missile boat and was lost, and 16 retired by 1989. The remaining ships were combined with the remaining Project 206 boats into the 9th Torpedo Speedboat Brigade (later the 9th Rocket Ship Brigade). After Reunification, most of them were disposed, but 4 were preserved as museum ships.

 

There were also dummy Libelle-class boats made out of inflatable rubber.

 

Specifications: 

Armament: 

1x2 23mm/87 Flak DL-2-V-23 in rear mount (500 rounds, 50 round magazines)

2x 533mm Torpedoes (53/39PM or 53/56W)

2x Mine ejection tubes (UDM mines)

 

Displacement:

28 tons standard

35 tons full

 

Length: 18.96m

 

Beam:  4.42m

 

Draft:  1.74m

 

Propulsion: 3 M-50 (F3-F7) diesel engines, 3600 hp, driving 3 shafts

 

Speed: 48 knots (88.9 km/h)

 

Range: 300 nmi (at 37 knots)

 

Crew: 5 (can also have a 6th staff officer) 

 

Systems: 

TSR-222 Radar

 

Images:

Spoiler

Drawings:

Bonus Dummy Boat

Sources:

Mehl, H., Sc häfer Knut, & Israel, U. (1989). Seeleute mit Pilotenhelm. In Vom Küstenschutzboot Zum Raketenschiff: Schiffe und Boote der Volksmarine (pp. 172–175). Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libelle-Klasse

https://www.parow-info.de/f/fd/131.html

https://www.navypedia.org/ships/germany_east/gdr_cf_1311.htm

http://navyworld.narod.ru/TSBootDDR.htm

http://cmano-db.com/ship/1485/

http://www.vierte-flottille.de/schiffeundboote/schnellb/libelle/libelle.html

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Libelle_class

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by RenminbiYen

[super_cacti 1,071]

Open for discussion 

[Milocat 4,849]

+1, would be a great addition to the German coastal tree.

[Arghail 1,220]

An interesting vehicle for sure, and mass produced too. Difficult to balance too, perhaps... Low survivability and powerful armament make this vehicle either useless or OP in the right hands.

[N4CR_ 537]

Hell yes, LS4 big brother. BTR-ZD of the waves xD

[굴러온 310]

Sure. Definitely have to be added. Adding DDR's domestic coastal ships is way much better than adding copy-paste Project 206

[skipper_123 25]

+1

[JamesPond1200@psn 299]

Yes! All the GDR stuff please! +1

[R_nminbiY_n 159]

Cool

[JamesPond1200@psn 299]

Congratulations! Glad we have an authentically East German boat!

[leroyonly 4,310]

As the Project 131 Libelle class has been implemented as per Update 2.23 Apex Predators,

 

Moved to Implemented Suggestions.