About the book: 2001 / The birth of a new fleet began in 1920, when the naval department of the Ministry of Defense was created. In its depths they developed tasks for the design of new ships. The designers, using their wealth of experience, got to work. First, the project for a light cruiser was completed, then for destroyers. True, after commissioning they were classified as destroyers. From 1925 to 1928, two small series of these ships were built, which received the semi-official names "bird" and "animal". These were very successful ships, and until the mid-30s they were the “calling card” of the new German fleet. Then there was a long break in the construction of destroyers - destroyer projects were being developed. The experience of the allied Italy showed that for a war in coastal waters, small ships with sufficiently strong artillery and torpedo weapons were needed, since the draft of destroyers for operations in coastal waters was high. A destroyer could pose a danger even to a cruiser. In addition, the construction of ships of this subclass can be deployed in small shipyards, and their cost was relatively small.