The ships carried eight torpedo tubes in two power-operated mounts. A pair of reload torpedoes was provided for each mount. They had four depth charge launchers and mine rails could be fitted on the rear deck that had a maximum capacity of 60 mines. A system of passive hydrophones designated as 'GHG' (Gruppenhorchgerät) was fitted to detect submarines. A S-Gerät sonar was also probably fitted. The ship was equipped with a FuMO 24/25 radar set above the bridge as well as FuMB 3 Bali, FuMB 6 Palau, FuMB 26 Tunis, and FuMB 31 radar detectors. Modifications A FuMB 4 Sumatra radar detector was added after completion and a FuMO 63 Hohentwiel radar was installed in 1944–1945 in lieu of the aft searchlight. In early April 1945, one 15 cm gun was transferred to her sister to replace a damaged weapon. About that same time her anti-aircraft guns were removed. When the destroyer was ordered to the German Bight later that month, they were replaced by weapons taken from the wreck of the heavy cruiser Lützow. By the end of the war, Z33s anti-aircraft suite consisted of ten 3.7 cm gun in five twin mounts and a dozen 2 cm guns in one quadruple, two twin and four single mounts. Service history Z33 was first ordered from Seebeckwerft (yard number 665) as a Type 1938B destroyer on 28 June 1939, but the Kriegsmarine cancelled the order in September 1939, re-ordering the ship from AG Weser (Deschimag) (yard number W1003) as a Type 1936A (Mob) destroyer on 19 September 1939. The ship was laid down at Deschimag's Bremen shipyard on 22 December 1940 and launched on 15 September 1941. Construction was slowed by shortage of manpower and materials and Z33 was not commissioned until 6 February 1943. The ship sailed to Norway shortly after she finished working up on 22 July. She took part in Operation Zitronella, the German raid on the island of Spitsbergen in September where she was hit by coastal artillery 33 times, killing 3 crewmen and wounding 25. Z33 was one of the escorts for the battleship during Operation Ostfront on 25 December, an attempt to intercept the British Convoy JW 55B that was bound for the Soviet Union. All of the battleship's escorts were detached the following day to increase the likelihood of intercepting the convoy and did not participate in the ensuing Battle of North Cape.