German destroyer ZH1 1940
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | German destroyer ZH1 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1940 | English Wikipedia lead text (year following a loss verb, parsed) |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | destroyer | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | Nazi Germany | Wikidata P137 operator → P17 country |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War II | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | English Channel | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | France | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 35 km from land |
| Position | 48.8667, -4.4667 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
ZH1 was the lead ship of her class of four destroyers built for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the late 1930s. Originally named Gerard Callenburgh, the ship was scuttled while still incomplete by the Dutch during the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, but she was salvaged by the Germans a few months later and commissioned in the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in 1942 as ZH1.
After many delays, the ship was transferred to France in late 1943 where she escorted Axis blockade runners and submarines through the Bay of Biscay. After the Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, she was one of the few remaining destroyers in French waters and they were ordered to attack the invasion shipping off the beaches. During the Battle of Ushant several days later, ZH1 was crippled and scuttled to prevent her capture, most of her crew being rescued by the Allies.
Location
- Recorded position: 48.8667, -4.4667 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: English Channel
- Nearest coast: France
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article German destroyer ZH1 (revision 1379970491), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
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All 599 wrecks of the World War II →
Browse more: Europe wrecks · wrecks off France · English Channel · Second World War