Project 131 Libelle Torpedo boat, also known as the Libelle Klasse (German, 'Dragonfly Class'), was a class of

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s designed, build and used by the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

during the Cold War. Torpedoschnellboot Projekt 131 Typ Libelle

Setup

The Libelle class was based on a welded metal hull, housing a fuel tank and a total of three soviet M-50F4 diesel engines, one to the rear and two to the front. The hull also contained one 533-mm torpedo tube on each side. Project 131 carried no reloads for the torpedo tubes. The boats were designed for short ranges only and were meant to operate from floating bases (projects 62 and 162), anchored close to their area of operation. Each Project 131 boat had a small compartment in the bow to accommodate the crew for some time. On the deck, there was a pilothouse with four seats and an elevated seat in the center for the

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver) is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fishing vessels and yachts, the f ...

. On both sides of the pilothouse, removable ejectors for

sea mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...

could be mounted. On the aft deck, a rear facing

ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develop ...

23 mm gun was mounted for air defence. The torpedoes were ejected to the rear, but faced forward, so that they were initially following the boat's course after hitting the water.

Production and service

30 boats were built in

Rechlin Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Berlin. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs in Nazi Germany ...

and equipped in the Peene-Werft between 1974 and 1977.Harald Fock: "''Kampfschiffe. Marineschiffbau auf deutschen Werften. 1870 bis heute''" Koehler, Hamburg 1995, p .181 The 30 boats were not given any names but had the numbers 131.401 to 131.430 assigned to them. One was lost in a collision off

Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East German tourists during German Democratic ...

in 1986, the others were retired around 1989, with four boats being preserved.Pr. 131 on Museum Dänholm Homepage
ret. 20. August 2016

Setup

Production and service

References

Further reading