Kanonenboot 1938
After the failure of the Flottenbegleiter 1936, which tried to combine too many duties into one ship, the navy turned its attention to an older class, the gunboat. But unlike its predecessors and the later Kolonialkanonenboot 1939, it would not be used in colonial waters, but rather in the coastal regions of Germany, to support other forces, like guard ships and minehunters. For this, the class was armed with four 105mm Flak guns in C/37 twin mounts, as well as two 37mm and four 20mm guns, also in twin mounts, to protect against air attacks. Also included was the ability to hunt submarines. They would have old-fashioned triple expansion engines for a top speed of ~18kn and displacement of ~1890ts.
The class design was finished on December 21st, 1938 and approved on Janurary 9th, 1939. Four ships, designated K1 through K4, were already ordered in November 1938 (before the design had even been approved) and would have been delivered between May 1941 and Februrary 1942. With the outbreak of the war, all orders were cancelled on September 19th, 1939, with no ships having even begun being contructed.
Some say it is possible, that this class was the 'specialised submarine hunter' that was mentioned in the Z-Plan.
![[ img ]](https://dl.dropbox.com/u/89093895/PG_Kanonenboot_1938.png)
