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The Vasilefs Georgios was a Greek destroyer built by Britain and based on the G class destroyer, however, modified by the Greeks to use German guns and fire control systems. Following the German invasion of Greece she was assigned to export convoys between Greece and Egypt where she would be heavily damaged by German aircraft. Vasilefs Georgios would manage to make it to Salamis Naval Base where she was placed in a floating dry dock for repairs. Before she could be captured by the Germans, the floating dry dock was scuttled causing it to sink with Vasilefs Georgios still inside it. The Germans however managed to raise and complete the repairs to Vasilefs Georgios where she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in March 1942 as ZG 3 Hermes.
Now in German service, between June 1942 and April 1943 ZG3 was used for convoy duties in the Aegean Sea. Following that, from April 1943 onwards the ship was used to escort supply ships to North Africa, where on the 21st of April she managed to spot the British submarine HMS Splendid’s periscope and later picking the submarine up on Sonar. ZG 3 then sank the British submarine with depth charges (though some sources say the sinking was due to the mining operations of ZG 3), rescuing 20 survivors. During the battle of Tunis ten days later, Hermes was heavily damaged by air attacks while the two Italian destroyers she was with were sunk. ZG 3 managed to stay afloat however and was towed to the port of Tunis, subsequently being scuttled as a block ship on the 5th of May 1943. After the capture of Tunis by the Allies, ZG 3 was refloated to clear her out of the way, then scrapped after the war.
As previously mentioned, ZG 3 was an interesting amalgamation of British and German destroyers originally being constructed by the Yarrow & Company shipbuilders in Scotstoun, Scotland as a modified G-class destroyer as the lead ship in a class of two. She was then sent to Greece where her main guns were fitted which consisted of four 12.8 cm SK C/34 naval guns. The rest of her armament consisted of two quadruple 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, two quadruple Vickers 0.5 inch machine guns and four single 3.7 cm guns. This was modified upon her capture by Germany and her subsequent recommissioning to five 20 mm guns and two single 3.7 cm guns. Some sources also suggest that the torpedo tubes were converted into triple launchers. She was also capable of carrying both mines and depth charges.
In War Thunder ZG 3 would be a unique blend of British and German ship design and provide some variety to the lower tier German bluewater tree, either in the tech tree or even as an event prize.
Construction
Laid down: Yarrow & Co. Glasgow, 1937
Launched: 03.03.1938
Commissioned: 15.02.1939 (21.03.1942 in German service)
Fate: sunk 07.05.1943
Specifications
Size: 2088 t fully loaded
Length: 101.6 m
Beam: 10.0 m
Draft: 3.29 m
Armament: 4 x 12.8 cm; 2 x 3.7 cm; 5 x 2 cm; 8 x 53.3 cm torpedoes; 75 Mines; depth charges
Performance: 34000 shp, 32 kn
Sources
ZG3
Greek destroyer Vasilefs Georgios - Wikipedia
M J. Whitley - Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia (1988)
Erich Gröner - Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 [Vol 2] (1983)
Gerhard Koop - German Destroyers of World War II (2014)