List of destroyers of Germany

The following is a list of torpedo boats and destroyers of Germany. In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Once Germany had adopted unrestricted submarine warfare in January 1917, destroyers were called on to escort merchant convoys.

In the Imperial German Navy, there was no clear distinction between torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers, which were all numbered in the same series, the number being preceded by a letter that represented the building contractor. A new numbering series began in 1911; hence years of construction are appended in brackets below, to distinguish the two series.

Kaiserliche Marine

Kriegsmarine

Post war Bundesmarine

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