German submarines of World War II: photos and specifications. German submarines of the Second World War: "wolf packs" of the Wehrmacht

Large submarines of the I series "U-25" and "U-26" were built at the shipyard "Deschimag" and commissioned in 1936. Both boats were lost in 1940. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 862 tons, underwater - 983 tons; length - 72.4 m, width - 6.2 m; height - 9.2 m; draft - 4.3 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 3.1 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 18.6 knots; fuel supply - 96 tons of solarium; cruising range - 7.9 thousand miles; crew - 43 people. Armament: 1x1 - 105 mm gun; 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 4-6– 533 mm torpedo tubes; 14 torpedoes or 42 mines.

A series of large ocean-going submarines of the IX-A type consisted of 8 units (U-37 - U-44), built at the Deschimag shipyard and commissioned in 1938-1939. All boats were lost during the war years. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.2 thousand tons; length - 76.5 m, width - 6.5 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 18 knots; fuel supply - 154 tons of solarium; cruising range - 10.5 thousand miles; crew - 48 people. Armament: 1x1 - 105 mm gun, 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 22 torpedoes or 66 min.

A series of large ocean-going submarines of the IX-B type consisted of 14 units (U-64 - U-65, U-103 - U-124), built at the Deschimag shipyard and accepted into building in 1939-1940. All boats were lost during the war years. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.2 thousand tons; length - 76.5 m, width - 6.8 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 18 knots; fuel supply - 165 tons of solarium; cruising range - 12 thousand miles; crew - 48 people. Armament: 1x1 - 105 mm gun, 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 22 torpedoes or 66 min.

A series of medium-sized submarines of the IX-C type consisted of 54 units (U-66 - U-68, U-125 - U-131, U-153 - U-166) , "U-171" - "U-176", "U-501" - "U-524"), built at the shipyard "Deschimag" and put into operation in 1941-1942. 48 boats died during the war years, 3 were sunk by crews, the rest capitulated. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.2 thousand tons; length - 76.8 m, width - 6.8 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 18 knots; fuel supply - 208 tons of solarium; cruising range - 13.5 thousand miles; crew - 48 people. Armament: until 1944 1x1 - 105 mm, 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; after 1944 - 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x4 or 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 22 torpedoes or 66 min.

A series of medium submarines of the IX-C / 40 type consisted of 87 units (U-167 - U-170, U-183 - U-194, U-525 - U- 550", "U-801" - "U-806", "U-841" - "U-846", "U-853" - "U-858", "U-865" - "U-870" , "U-881" - "U-887", "U-889", "U-1221" - "U-1235"), built at the shipyards "Deschimag", "Deutsche Werft" and put into operation in 1942- 1944 During the war, 64 boats were lost, 3 were sunk by crews, 17 capitulated, the rest were damaged and not repaired. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.3 thousand tons; length - 76.8 m, width - 6.9 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 18 knots; fuel supply - 214 tons of solarium; cruising range - 13.9 thousand miles; crew - 48 people. Armament: 1x1 - 105-mm gun, 1x1 - 37-mm and 2x1 and 2x2 - 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 22 torpedoes or 66 min.

Medium submarines "U-180" and "U-195" belonged to the type "IX-D" - high-speed submarines. They were built at the Deschimag shipyard and commissioned in 1942. Since 1944, the boats have been converted into submarines. They transported 252 tons of solarium. The boat "U-180" was lost in 1944, and "U-195" was captured by Japanese troops in 1945 and served under the designation "І-506". Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.6 thousand tons, underwater - 1.8 thousand tons; length - 87.6 m, height - 10.2 m; width - 7.5 m; draft - 5.4 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 6 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 9 / 1.1 thousand hp; speed - 21 knots; fuel supply - 390 tons of solarium; cruising range - 9.5 thousand miles; crew - 57 people. Armament until 1944: 1x1 - 105 mm gun, 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes or 72 minutes; after 1944 - 1x1 - 37 mm and 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.

A series of medium-sized submarines of the IXD-2 type consisted of 28 units (U-177 - U-179, U-181 - U-182, U-196 - U-200) , "U-847" - "U-852", "U-859" - "U-864", "U-871" - "U-876"), built at the shipyard "Deschimag" and commissioned in 1942 -1943 The boats were intended for operations in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. 21 boats died during the war years, 1 was sunk by crews, 7 capitulated. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.6 thousand tons, underwater - 1.8 thousand tons; length - 87.6 m, width - 7.5 m; draft - 5.4 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 main diesel engines, 2 auxiliary diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 + 1.2 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 19 knots; fuel supply - 390 tons of solarium; cruising range - 31.5 thousand miles; crew - 57 people. Armament: 1x1 - 37 mm and 2x1 and 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 24 torpedoes or 72 mines. In 1943-1944, some boats were equipped with the FA-330 towed autogyro.

Of the series of large submarines of the IX-D / 42 type, only one submarine, U-883, was built at the Deschimag shipyard and commissioned in 1945. In the same year, the boat capitulated. During the construction process, it was redesigned into transport. The boat was carrying 252 tons of solarium. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.6 thousand tons, underwater - 1.8 thousand tons; length - 87.6 m, width - 7.5 m; draft - 5.4 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 main diesel engines, 2 auxiliary diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.4 + 1.2 / 1 thousand hp; speed - 19 knots; fuel supply - 390 tons of solarium; cruising range - 31.5 thousand miles; crew - 57 people. Armament: 1x1 - 37 mm and 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 2 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 5 torpedoes.

A series of large submarines of the "XXI" type consisted of 125 units ("U-2501" - "U-2531", "U-2533" - "U-2548", "U-2551", "U-2552", " U-3001" - "U-3044", "U-3047", "U-3501" - "U-3530") built at the shipyards "Blohm & Voss", "Deschimag" and put into operation in 1944-1945 . During the war, 21 boats perished, 88 were sunk by crews, the rest surrendered to the allies. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.6 thousand tons, underwater - 1.8 thousand tons; length - 76.7 m, width - 8 m; draft - 6.3 m; diving depth - 135 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines, 2 main electric motors and 2 silent running electric motors; power - 4 / 4.4 thousand hp + 226 hp; fuel reserve - 253 tons of solarium; speed - 15.6 knots; cruising range - 15.5 thousand miles; crew - 57 people. Armament: 2x2 - 20-mm or 30-mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 23 torpedoes or 29 min.

A series of medium-sized submarines of type "VII-A" consisted of 10 units ("U-27" - "U-36"), built at the shipyards "Deschimag", "Germaniawerf" and put into operation in 1936. During the war 7 boats died, 2 - flooded by crews, 1 - capitulated. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 626 tons, underwater - 915 tons; length - 64.5 m, width - 5.9 m; draft - 4.4 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 2.1-2.3 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 17 knots; fuel supply - 67 tons of solarium; cruising range - 6.2 thousand miles; crew - 44 people. Armament: until 1942 1x1 - 88-mm gun and 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; after 1942 - 1x2 and 2x1-20-mm or 37-mm anti-aircraft guns; 5 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 11 torpedoes or 24-36 mines.

A series of medium submarines of the type "VII-B" consisted of 24 units ("U45" - "U55", "U73 - U76", "U-83" - "U-87", "U-99" - "U- 102"), built at the shipyards "Vulcan", "Flenderwerft", "Germaniawerf" and put into operation in 1938-1941. During the war, 22 boats died, 2 were sunk by crews. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 0.8 thousand tons, underwater - 1 thousand tons; length - 66.5 m, width - 6.2 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 2.8-3.2 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 17-18 knots; fuel supply - 100 tons of solarium; cruising range - 8.7 thousand miles; crew - 44 people. Armament: until 1942 - 1x1 - 88-mm gun and 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; after 1942 - 1x2 and 2x1-20-mm and 1x1 - 37-mm anti-aircraft guns; 5 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 6 torpedoes or 24-36 mines.

A series of medium-sized submarines of the type "VII-C" consisted of 663 units (the designation was within the framework of "U-69" - "U-1310") and was built in 1940-1945. at the shipyards Neptun Werft, Deschimag, Germaniawerft, Flender Werke, Danziger Werft, Blohm + Voss, Kriegsmarinewerft, Nordseewerke, F. Schichau, Howaldtswerke AG. Two modifications of the boat are known: "VIIC / 41" and "U-Flak". Type "VIIC / 41" had an increased hull thickness from 18 to 21.5 mm. This made it possible to increase the working depth of immersion from 100 to 120 meters, and the estimated depth of destruction of the hull - from 250 to almost 300 meters. A total of 91 boats were built ("U-292" - "U-300", "U-317" - "U-328", "U-410", "U-455", "U-827", "U -828", "U-929", "U-930", "U-995", "U-997" - "U-1010", "U-1013" - "U-1025", "U-1063 "- "U-1065", "U-1103" - "U-1110", "U-1163" - "U-1172", "U-1271" - "U-1279", "U-1301" - "U-1308"). One of the modifications of the type "VII-C" were air defense boats, which were designated as "U-Flak". 4 boats were converted: "U-441", "U-256", "U-621" and "U-951". The modernization consisted in installing a new wheelhouse with two quadruple 20 mm and one 37 mm anti-aircraft installations. All boats by 1944 were returned to their original state. In 1944-1945. many boats were equipped with a snorkel. Boats "U-72", "U-78", "U-80", "U-554" and "U-555" have only two bow torpedo tubes, while "U-203", "U-331", " U-35", "U-401", "U-431" and "U-651" did not have feed apparatuses. During the war, 478 boats were lost, 12 were damaged and not repaired; 114 - flooded by crews; 11 boats were transferred to Italy in 1943, the rest of the boats capitulated in 1945 and almost all were sunk at the end of the year. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 0.8 thousand tons, underwater - 1.1 thousand tons; length - 67.1 m, width - 6.2 m; draft - 4.7 - 4.8 m; immersion depth - 100 - 120 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 2.8-3.2 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 17 - 18 knots; fuel supply - 114 tons of solarium; cruising range - 8.5 thousand miles; crew - 44 - 56 people. Armament: until 1942 - 1x1 - 88-mm gun and 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; after 1942 - 1x2 and 2x1-20-mm and 1x1 - 37-mm anti-aircraft guns; 5 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 6 torpedoes or 14-36 mines.

A series of underwater minelayers of the X-B type consisted of 8 units (U-116 - U-119, U-219, U-220, U-233, U-234), built at the Germaniawerf shipyard and commissioned in 1941-1944. To accommodate mines, 30 vertical pipes were provided. Boats were mostly used as transports. The boats "U-219" and "U-234" capitulated in 1945, the rest were lost in 1942-1944. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.7 thousand tons, underwater -2.2 thousand tons; length - 89.8 m, width - 9.2 m; draft - 4.7 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.2-4.8 / 1.1 thousand hp; speed - 16 - 17 knots; fuel supply - 338 tons of solarium; cruising range - 18.5 thousand miles; crew - 52 people. Armament: 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 or 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 2 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 15 torpedoes; 66 min.

A series of underwater minelayers of the type "VII-D" consisted of 6 units ("U-213" - "U-218"), built at the Germaniawerf shipyard and put into operation in 1941-1942. The boat "U-218" capitulated in 1945, the rest were lost in 1942-1944. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.1 thousand tons; length - 77 m, width - 6.4 m; draft - 5 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 2.8-3.2 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 17 knots; fuel supply - 155 tons of solarium; cruising range - 11.2 thousand miles; crew - 46 people. Armament: 1x1 - 88 mm gun; 1x1 - 37 mm and 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 5 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 26 - 39 min.

A series of transport submarines of the "VII-F" type consisted of 4 units ("U-1059" - "U-1062"), built at the Germaniawerf shipyard and commissioned in 1943. The boats were intended to carry 26 torpedoes and transmit them at sea to other submarines. However, the submarines were not used for their intended purpose, but served to transport goods. The boat "U-1061" capitulated in 1945, the rest died in 1944. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.2 thousand tons; length - 77.6 m, width - 7.3 m; draft - 4.9 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 2.8-3.2 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 17 knots; fuel supply - 198 tons of solarium; cruising range - 14.7 thousand miles; crew - 46 people. Armament: 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns; 5 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 14 torpedoes or 36 min.

A series of transport submarines of the XIV type consisted of 10 units (U-459 - U-464, U-487 - U-490), built at the Deutsche Werke shipyard and put into service in 1941-1943 The boats carried 423 tons of solarium and 4 torpedoes. All boats were lost in 1942–1944. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.7 thousand tons, underwater -1.9 thousand tons; length - 67.1 m, width - 9.4 m; draft - 6.5 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 3.2 / 0.8 thousand hp; speed - 15 knots; fuel reserve - 203 tons of solarium; cruising range - 12.4 thousand miles; crew - 53 people. Armament: 2x1 - 37 mm and 1x1 - 20 mm anti-aircraft gun or 1x1 - 37 mm and 2x2 - 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.

The boat "Batiray" was built at the shipyard "Germaniawerft" by order of Turkey, but was requisitioned by the German troops and in 1939 was accepted into the Navy under the designation "UA". The submarine died in 1945. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 1.1 thousand tons, underwater - 1.4 thousand tons; length - 86.7 m, width - 6.8 m; draft - 4.1 m; immersion depth - 100 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 4.6 / 1.3 thousand hp; speed - 18 knots; fuel supply - 250 tons of solarium; cruising range - 13.1 thousand miles; crew - 45 people. Armament: 1x1 - 105 mm guns; 2x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 6 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 12 torpedoes or 36 min.

A series of small (coastal) submarines of the type "II-A" consisted of 6 units ("U-1" - "U-6"), built at the shipyard "Deutsche Werke" and adopted by the system in 1935. In 1938-1939 . boats have been re-equipped. The boats "U-1" and "U-2" were lost in 1940 and 1944, "U-3", "U-4" and "U6" - in 1944 were flooded by crews, and "U-5" - capitulated in 1943. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 254 tons, underwater - 303 tons; length - 40.9 m, width - 4.1 m; draft - 3.8 m; immersion depth - 80 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 700/360 hp; fuel supply - 12 tons of solarium; speed - 13 knots; cruising range - 1.6 thousand miles; crew - 22 people. Armament: 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 3 - 533 mm torpedo tubes; 5 torpedoes or 18 min.

A series of small (coastal) submarines of the type "II-B" consisted of 20 units ("U-7" - "U-24", "U-120", "U-121") built at the shipyards "Germaniawerft", " Deutsche Werke", "Flenderwerft" and adopted by the system in 1935-1940. During the war, 7 boats died, the rest were flooded by crews. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 279 tons, underwater - 328 tons; length - 42.7 m, width - 4.1 m; draft - 3.9 m; immersion depth - 80 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 700/360 hp; fuel supply - 21 tons of solarium; speed - 13 knots; cruising range - 3.1 thousand miles; crew - 22 people. Armament: 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 3 - 533 mm torpedo tubes; 5 torpedoes or 18 min.

A series of small (coastal) submarines of the type "II-C" consisted of 8 units ("U-56" - "U-63") built at the shipyard "Deutsche Werke" and put into operation in 1938-1940. During the war, 2 boats died, the rest were flooded by crews.

A series of small (coastal) submarines of the type "II-D" consisted of 16 units ("U-137" - "U-152") built at the shipyard "Deutsche Werke" and put into operation in 1940-1941. During the war, 3 boats were lost, 4 - capitulated in 1945, the rest were flooded by crews. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 314 tons, underwater - 364 tons; length - 44 m, width - 4.9 m; draft - 3.9 m; immersion depth - 80 m; power plants - 2 diesel engines and 2 electric motors; power - 700/410 hp; fuel supply - 38 tons of solarium; speed - 12.7 knots; cruising range - 5.6 thousand miles; crew - 22 people. Armament: 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 3 - 533 mm torpedo tubes; 5 torpedoes or 18 min.

A series of small submarines of type "XXIII" consisted of 60 units ("U-2321" - "U-2371", U-4701-U-4712), built at the shipyards "Deutsche Werft", "Germaniawerft" and put into operation in 1944 -1945 During the war, 7 boats perished, 32 were sunk by crews, the rest surrendered to the allies. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 234 tons, underwater - 258 tons; length - 34.7 m, width - 3 m; draft - 3.7 m; immersion depth - 80 m; power plants - diesel engine and electric motor; power - 580-630 / 35 hp; fuel supply - 20 tons of solarium; speed - 10 knots; cruising range - 4.5 thousand miles; crew - 14 people. Armament: 2 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 2 torpedoes.

In 1944 at the shipyard Deschimag A.G. Weser, 324 Biber-class midget submarines were built. The British boat "Welman" was taken as the basis for the design. Performance characteristics of the boat: full underwater displacement - 6.5 tons; length - 9 m, width - 1.6 m; draft - 1.4 m; immersion depth - 20 m; power plants - gasoline engine and electric motor; power - 32/13 hp; speed - 6.5 knots; fuel reserve - 110 kg; cruising range - 100 miles; crew - 1 person. Armament: 2 - 533 mm torpedoes or mines.

A series of midget submarines of the "Hecht" type consisted of 53 units: "U-2111" - "U-2113", "U-2251" - "U-2300". The boats were built at the Germaniawerft and CRDA shipyards in 1944 on the basis of the captured British midget submarine Welman. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 11.8 tons, underwater - 17.2 tons; length - 10.5 m, width - 1.3 m; draft - 1.4 m; immersion depth - 50 m; power plants - electric motor; power - 12 hp; speed - 6 knots; cruising range - 78 miles; crew - 2 people. Armament: 533 mm torpedo or mine.

In 1944-1945. at the shipyards "Deschimag" and "AG Weser" 390 single boats were built, which are an enlarged electric torpedo. Performance characteristics of the boat: surface displacement standard underwater - 11 tons; length - 10.8 m, width - 1.8 m; draft - 1.8 m; immersion depth - 30 m; power plants - electric motor; power - 14 hp; speed - 5 knots; cruising range - 60 miles; crew - 1 person. Armament: 2 - 533 mm torpedoes.

In 1944-1945. at the shipyards "Howaldtswerke", "Germaniawerft", "Schichau", "Klöckner" and "CRDA" 285 midget submarines of the "Seehund" type (XXVII-B) were assembled, of which 137 units ("U-5001" - "U- 5003", "U-5004" - "U-5118", "U-5221" - "U-5269") was put into service. The boats were equipped with an automobile diesel engine for surface movement. Gathered at the shipyards from three finished sections. During the war, 35 boats were lost. Performance characteristics of the boat: full surface displacement - 14.9 tons, underwater - 17 tons; length - 12 m, width - 1.7 m; draft - 1.5 m; immersion depth - 50 m; power plants - diesel engine and electric motor; power - 60/25 hp; speed - 7.7 knots; fuel supply - 0.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 300 miles; crew - 2 people. Armament: 2 - 533 mm torpedoes.

Type VII submarines

Historical data

Power plant

Armament

U-Boot Type VII- a series of medium diesel-electric German submarines. They were in service with the Kriegsmarine. A total of 703 boats were built in seven modifications. They took an active part in World War II. In total, Type VII submarines sank 6 aircraft carriers (two were scrapped due to severe damage), 2 battleships, 5 cruisers, 52 destroyers and escort destroyers, as well as dozens of other warships and thousands of transport ships. A total of 546 boats were lost, not counting those sunk by their crews at the end of the war.

General information

History of creation

The strategy of fighting at sea was influenced by the use of submarines in the First World War. The damage inflicted on the merchant shipping of the Entente countries from German submarines was enormous. Due to German submarine attacks, the Entente countries lost 12 million tons of transport tonnage. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forbidden to have submarines, but in the mid-20s of the 20th century, the leadership of the Reichsmarine began the construction of medium and small submarines. The plans were to use the most successful submarine projects of the First World War - the UB III, UC II and UB II types.

In 1922, the firms "Vulcan", "Germany" and "Weser" created a design bureau under the leadership of G. Tehel and a staff of 30 engineers. The task of this bureau is to create new types of submarines. The possibility of creating minelayers, which, in addition to torpedoes, would also carry mines, was considered. Also, the construction of submarines with a displacement of 1500 tons, floating workshops and boats with a Walther engine was considered. This list included a single-hull submarine with an internal arrangement of fuel tanks, this series was given the name VII. On January 10, 1935, an order was approved for the development of a new submarine. Characteristics of type VII:

• Surface displacement - 550 tons.
• Immersion depth - 100 m.
• Engines - 2 diesels of 1050 hp each.
• Max. surface / underwater speed - 16-17 / 8-9 knots.
• Cruising range surface / underwater - 6000 miles at 8 knots / 75 miles at 4 knots.

Construction and testing

In the middle of 1935, two significant events happened at once, on July 18 an Anglo-German agreement was signed and in January 1936 Karl Dönitz was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of the submarine fleet. German construction submarine fleet became legal, but at the same time received a restriction of no more than 45% of the tonnage of submarines in the British fleet.

Design Description

Modifications

Submarines Type VII existed in seven modifications:

Armament

Artillery armament

At the start of the war artillery armament consisted of an 88 mm SKC / 35 cannon with a barrel length of 45 calibers and a single-barreled Flak 30 anti-aircraft gun on a C30 / 37 mount. Ammunition for the SKC / 35 consisted of 220 shells, from the artillery cellar the shells were fed onto the deck manually, in a chain. Ammunition for the Flak 30 consisted of 1,500 rounds.

In the first months of the war, when German submariners tried to act in accordance with the prize right, submarine artillery was actively used. But already on September 26, 1939, the British Admiralty announced plans to install artillery on all merchant ships. A month later, an instruction was introduced, according to which the crew of the boat should not have inspected the merchant ship, and after examining the papers delivered on the boat, in the presence of smuggling, sink the stopped ship with a torpedo.

In addition, the reduction of merchant ships into convoys deprived the gunners of showing their shooting skills. Subsequently, the use of artillery was one-time. The last such incident occurred on September 19, 1942. At Cape Hatteras, the boat U-701, in a fierce surface battle, sank the American armed trawler YP-389. November 14, 1942 received an order to dismantle 88 mm guns.

This order was not carried out immediately and not in all fleets. First of all, the modernization of anti-aircraft weapons with the removal of the deck gun, were subjected to boats stationed in the West of France. Many boats that were on trials and operated in Norway retained their guns until the end of 19944. There is such a case when, in August 1944, U-745 arrived from Kiel for operations in the Gulf of Finland and she had to return to Gotenhafen to dismantle the deck gun.

Anti-aircraft weapons

The anti-aircraft armament of Type VII submarines was constantly increased. On the first modifications, the anti-aircraft gun was located on the deck behind the wheelhouse, but already in the first months of the war it was raised behind the wheelhouse fence. In the initial period of the war, Allied aviation did not pose a threat to German submarines; until the end of 1941, it was able to sink only 4 boats.

In connection with the beginning of air patrols of the Bay of Biscay by the British, in the summer of 1942, the first steps were taken to build up anti-aircraft weapons on submarines. Behind the standard felling fence, a low additional platform was mounted (it was nicknamed by German submariners winter garden) to accommodate the twin Flak 30. The single-barreled gun on the top was replaced by a two-barreled 20 mm anti-aircraft gun MG 151/22, it differed in smaller dimensions, initial speed and firing range.

But since December 1942, the Command of the submarine fleet, convinced of the inefficiency of the MG 151/20, gave the order to install faster-firing 20 mm guns Flak 38. This design was called "cabin 2", ("cabin 1" - this was the name of the scheme with single anti-aircraft guns Flak 30) at the same time, four conventional machine guns were mounted on the rails of the bridge MG 34 caliber 7.92 mm.

Already the first fights of submarines with aircraft showed that the abundance of small-caliber barrels does not guarantee victory over a four-engine flying boat or bomber. New hopes were associated with the entry into service of 37 mm automatic guns, twin and quadruple guns Flak 38. In 1943, the composition was approved anti-aircraft weapons called "cabin 4", it provided for the installation of two twin Flak 38s on the upper platform and Flakvierling 38 on the bottom.

On June 8, 1943, the boat U-758 with "cabinhouse 4" won the battle against eight aircraft with American aircraft carrier, although the submarine was seriously damaged and 11 crew members were killed and wounded, the Americans failed to either drive the boat under water or sink it. On June 30, the Command of the Submarine Fleet issued an order according to which only those submarines that received "cabinhouse 4" were released into the campaign.

While ordinary submarines were waiting for conversion, it was decided to create special "anti-aircraft" aircraft decoy boats. The first such trap boat was U-441. She received two Flakvierling 38s, in front and behind the wheelhouse, and a 37 mm SKC/30 semi-automatic "winter garden". On May 24, on the second vessels of the campaign, she fought with a British flying boat, and having lost one of the quadruple installations, she was able to shoot it down. After that, the boat went for a 2-month repair. And already on July 12, U-441 entered the Bay of Biscay, in a battle with British aircraft, the boat lost all the personnel of the upper watch. At the end of 1943, the Command of the submarine fleet ordered the conversion of trap boats into ordinary ones.

In the battles of the spring-summer of 1943, it turned out that 20 mm machine guns could cause fatal damage to a patrol aircraft, but not before its attack, which, if the pilot persisted, could become fatal for a submarine. In order to stop the attacking aircraft, more long-range weapons were required. And this weapon was an automatic 37 mm anti-aircraft gun Flak 42, she entered service in mid-1943.

By December 1, 1943, 18 submarines replaced Flakvierling with Flak 42. The ammunition load for the 37 mm gun was 1195 rounds, for the 20 mm gun - 4260 rounds. Further improvement of weapons ceased after the adoption of the snorkel. This ended the confrontation between submarines and aircraft. The greatest successes in the fight against aircraft were achieved by U-333, U-648, which shot down 3 aircraft each, and U-256, which won victories over 4 aircraft.

Torpedo armament

The main weapons of Type VII submarines were torpedoes. To launch them, there were four bow and one stern torpedo tubes with a diameter of 533 mm each. Boats of modification A had 6 torpedoes in stock, on the following modifications the stock of torpedoes increased due to the placement of one spare torpedo in the electric motor compartment and two more torpedoes in the superstructure, but they were abandoned at the beginning of 1943 due to their frequent damage as a result of attacks by Allied escort ships.

The torpedo tubes themselves had a number interesting features. The torpedo was pushed out of them using a special pneumatic piston, and not compressed air, this greatly simplified the bubbleless shooting system. Also, changing the depth of walking and turning the gyroscope of torpedoes could be carried out directly in the torpedo tubes through the PSA in the command cabin. Another feature of these torpedo tubes is the ability to lay non-contact mines from them.

The design of the apparatus ensured the release of torpedoes at depths of up to 22 meters. Reloading the devices took relatively little time, only 10 to 20 minutes for torpedoes that were stored inside a pressure hull.

Major modifications of Type VII submarine torpedoes

Shortwave was considered the most important because it provided communication with the headquarters. It included the E-437-S receiver and two transmitters, a 200 watt S-400-S and a spare 40 watt 40-K-39a, and a retractable antenna in the left wing of the bridge fence, if the antenna was absent, then the role of the antennas was performed by galvanized network outlets , isolated from the body and stretched with lanyards. The E-437-S receiver was also used to receive VLF signals.

Medium-wave equipment was intended for communication between submarines. It consisted of an E-381-S receiver, a Spez-2113-S 150 watt transmitter, and a small retractable round vibrator antenna in the right wing of the bridge. The same antenna was a direction finder for the MW range. For encoding and decoding, the Enigma cipher machine was used.

Hydroacoustic equipment

The most important component of the sonar equipment of Type VII boats was the equipment GHG, which consisted of 11, and later 24 hydrophones, they were placed in the bow of the light hull in a semicircle around the stock of the bow horizontal rudders and connected to the receiver in the second compartment of the submarine.

To improve the accuracy of direction finding at the beginning of the war, the KDB system was used, it was a rotating T-shaped antenna with 6 hydrophones, the antenna was located on the upper deck, but since it was not very tenacious by the middle of the war, it was abandoned. On some boats built in recent months war, the layout of hydrophones was improved. 24 hydrophones were placed on a round platform extendable from below in the bow. This scheme had greater noise source direction finding accuracy (it was even mechanically attached to the SBR) apart from a narrow 60 degree area straight aft. But this scheme was not extended to Type VII, since it was developed for Type XXI boats.

Radar stations

Radars supplied to the fleet, in very limited quantities, were primarily equipped with Type IX boats, so a few Type VII boats received them. The first radar tested in Germany in early 1939 was the FuMO29 Gema.

The wavelength of the FuMO station is 29-80 cm, in front of the cabin there was a special mast with a mattress-type antenna of 2x3 m, but they refused to install such a bulky radar on serial boats. This idea was returned to in 1941, the antenna dipoles were already mounted on the cabin itself in two rows of six dipoles, the upper row was the receiving one, and the lower one was transmitting. The detection range of a ship by the FuMO29 station is 6-8 km, an aircraft at an altitude of 500 m is up to 15 km.

In 1942, the production of the FuMO-30, an improved version of the FuMO-29, began, it differed from the latter by a mattress-type antenna of 1x1.5 m, the antenna was located in the left wing of the wheelhouse in place of the retractable HF antenna. In 1944, the FuMO-61 entered service, which was a naval version of the FuMG-200 Hohentwil night fighter radar. Having a slightly shorter wavelength of 54-58 cm and an antenna almost identical to the antenna of the FuMO-30 station, the station had a detection range of ships of 8-10 km, and aircraft of 15-20 km.

Radio intelligence stations

In the spring of 1942, an English patrol plane crashed on the territory of French Tunisia, the Germans completely lost their doubts that the British could use radar to search for boats. In the wreckage of this aircraft, a slightly damaged set of ASV I station was found. Increasing night attacks on boats by aircraft of the Coastal Command forced the Kriegsmarine Command to look for a way out.

By July 1942, the Germans received the first sample of the FuMB1 electronic intelligence station, in honor of the French company that designed this station, it was called "Metoks". On August 26, the Kriegsmarine Command ordered all boats to be equipped with these stations.

Metox itself was the simplest receiver, it recorded a signal with a wavelength of 1.3-2.6 meters. It was connected to the intra-submarine communication system and the entire crew heard the alarm signal, a little later a screen appeared showing the direction to the radiation source. The horizontal rotation of the antenna was carried out manually, in addition, the installation of this station was not provided initially, so the antenna was stored inside a strong case and, upon ascent, was taken out to the bridge and connected to the receiver with a cable. The use of "Metox" made it possible to deprive the British anti-submarine line of effectiveness for six months.

On August 13, 1943, the Kriegsmarine command banned the use of the Metox, because the new British ASV III radar fixed the Metox radiation. At the same time, the FuMB9 Vanz station was put into production, the antenna of this station was a cylinder with a diameter of 20 cm and a height of 10 cm, it recorded radiation in all directions. In November 1943, the second non-radiating modification FuMB9 appeared, and the FuMB10 Borkum station. The operating range of the ASV III radar was closed by the FuMB7 Naxos station.

Later, Naxos and Borkum (or Vanz) were installed on boats. In April 1944 they were replaced by the FuMB 24 "Flyage". Due to the emergence of American flying boats with APS-3 and APS-4 radars, the FuMB25 Myuke station was created. In May 1944, the FuMB24 and FuMB25 stations were merged into the FuMB26 Tunis complex. But with the introduction of snorkels, the need for electronic intelligence stations disappeared.

commanders

Aces submariners who fought on Type VII and sank more than 100,000 tons of transport tonnage:

Notable boats

The most productive submarines Type VII:

Submarine	Dates of combat activity	Number of trips	Days at sea	Total ships sunk / tonnage	Ships damaged / tonnage
U-48	September 1939 - June 1944	12	314	51/ 306 875	3/ 20 480
U-99	June 1940 - March 1941	8	119	35/ 198 218	5/ 37 965
U-96	December 1940 - March 1943	11	414	27/ 181 206	4/ 33 043
U-552	February 1940 - April 1944	15	600	30/ 163 756	3/ 26 910
U-47	September 1939 - March 1941	10	228	30/ 162 769	8/ 62 751
U-94	November 1940 - August 1942	10	358	26/ 141 852	1/ 8022
U-100	August 1940 - March 1941	6	106	25/ 135 614	4/ 17 229
U-32	September 1939- November 1940	9	172	20/ 116 836 U-96 21 Mar The German submarine fleet during World War II In this article you will learn: The submarine fleet of the Third Reich has its own interesting history. The defeat of Germany in the war of 1914-1918 brought her a ban on the construction of submarines, but after Adolf Hitler came to power, it radically changed the situation with weapons in Germany. Creation of the Navy In 1935, Germany signed a naval agreement with Great Britain, which resulted in the recognition of submarines as obsolete weapons, and thus obtaining permission for their construction by Germany. All submarines were subordinate to the Kriegsmarine - the Navy of the Third Reich. Karl Demitz In the summer of the same 1935, the Fuhrer appointed Karl Dönitz commander of all submarines of the Reich, in this post he remained until 1943, when he was appointed commander-in-chief of the German Navy. In 1939, Dönitz received the rank of Rear Admiral. Many operations were developed and planned personally by him. A year later, in September, Karl becomes vice admiral, and a year and a half later he receives the rank of admiral, at the same time he receives the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. It is he who owns most of the strategic developments and ideas used during submarine wars. Dönitz created a new super caste of "unsinkable Pinocchios" from his subordinate submariners, and he himself received the nickname "Papa Carlo". All submariners underwent intensive training, and knew the capabilities of their submarine thoroughly. Dönitz's submarine tactics were so talented that they earned the enemy the nickname " wolf packs". The tactics of the "wolf packs" was as follows: the submarines lined up in such a way that one of the submarines could detect the approach of the enemy convoy. The submarine that found the enemy transmitted an encrypted message to the center, and then it continued its journey already on the surface parallel to the enemy, but rather far behind him. The rest of the submarines focused on the enemy convoy, and they surrounded him like a pack of wolves and attacked, taking advantage of their numerical superiority. Such hunts were usually conducted in the dark. Construction The German Navy was armed with 31 combat and training fleets of the submarine fleet. Each of the fleets had a clearly organized structure. The number of submarines included in a particular flotilla could change. Submarines were often withdrawn from one unit and introduced into another. During combat exits at sea, one of the commanders of the operational group of the submarine fleet was in command, and in cases of very important operations, the commander of the submarine fleet, Befelshaber der Unterseebote, took control. During the war, Germany built and fully manned 1153 submarines. During the war, fifteen submarines were seized from the enemy, they were introduced into the "wolf pack". Turkish and five Dutch submarines took part in the battles, two Norwegian, three Dutch and one French and one English were training, four Italian were transport and one Italian submarine stood at the docks. As a rule, the main targets of the Dönitz submarines were enemy transport ships, which were responsible for providing the troops with everything they needed. During the meeting with the enemy ship, the main principle of the "wolf pack" was in effect - to destroy more ships than the enemy can build. Such tactics bore fruit from the first days of the war in vast expanses of water from Antarctica to South Africa. Requirements The basis of the Nazi submarine fleet were submarines of series 1,2,7,9,14,23. At the end of the 30s, Germany mainly built submarines of three series. The main requirement for the first submarines is the use of submarines in coastal waters, second-class submarines became such, they were easy to maintain, well maneuverable and could sink in a few seconds, but their disadvantage was a small ammunition load, so they were discontinued in 1941. During the battle in the Atlantic, the seventh series of submarines, which were originally developed by Finland, were used, they were considered the most reliable, since they were equipped with snorkels - a device thanks to which it was possible to charge the battery under water. In total, more than seven hundred of them were built. For combat in the ocean, submarines of the ninth series were used, since they had a large radius of action and could even sail to the Pacific Ocean without refueling. complexes The construction of a huge submarine flotilla meant the construction of a complex of defense structures. It was supposed to build powerful concrete bunkers with fortifications for minesweepers and torpedo boats, with the presence of firing points and shelters for artillery. Special shelters were also built in Hamburg, Kiel at their naval bases. After the fall of Norway, Belgium and Holland, Germany received additional military bases. So for their submarines, the Nazis created bases in Norwegian Bergen and Trondheim and French Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, Bordeaux. In German Bremen, a plant for the production of submarines of the 11th series was equipped, it was equipped in the middle of a huge bunker near the Weser River. Several bases for submarines were provided to the Germans by the Japanese allies, a base in Penang and the Malay Peninsula, and an additional center was equipped in Indonesian Jakarta and Japanese Kobe for the repair of German submarines. Armament The main weapons of Dönitz's submarines were torpedoes and mines, the effectiveness of which was constantly increasing. Also, the submarines were equipped with artillery pieces of 88 mm or 105 mm caliber, and anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of 20 mm could also be installed. However, since 1943 artillery pieces were gradually withdrawn, since the effectiveness of the deck guns decreased significantly, but the danger of an air attack, on the contrary, made it necessary to increase the power of anti-aircraft weapons. For the effectiveness of underwater combat, German engineers were able to develop a radar radiation detector, which made it possible to avoid English radar stations. Already at the end of the war, the Germans began to equip their submarines with a large number of batteries, which made it possible to reach speeds of up to seventeen knots, but the end of the war did not allow the fleet to be re-equipped. fighting Submarines participated in combat operations in 1939-1945 in 68 operations. During this time, 149 enemy warships were sunk by submarines, including two battleships, three aircraft carriers, five cruisers, eleven destroyers and many other ships, with a total tonnage of 14,879,472 gross register tons. The sinking of the Korages The first major victory of the "wolf packs" was the sinking of the aircraft carrier "Koreydzhes". This happened in September 1939, the aircraft carrier was sunk by the submarine U-29 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Shewhart. After the sinking of the aircraft carrier, the submarine was pursued by the destroyers accompanying it for four hours, but U-29 was able to slip out, almost without damage. Destruction of Royal Oak The next brilliant victory was the destruction of the battleship Royal Oak. This happened after the U-47 submarine under the command of Lieutenant Commander Gunter Prien penetrated the British naval base in Skala Flow. After this raid, the British fleet had to be relocated to another location for six months. Victory over Ark Royal Another resounding victory for Dönitz's submarines was the torpedoing of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal. In November 1941, the submarines U-81 and U-205, located near Gibraltar, were ordered to attack british ships returning from Malta. During the attack, the Ark Royal aircraft carrier was hit, at first the British hoped that they could tow the wrecked aircraft carrier, but this did not work out, and the Ark Royal sank. From the beginning of 1942, German submariners began to conduct military operations in territorial waters USA. The cities of the United States were not even dark at night, cargo ships and tankers moved without military escort, so the number of American ships destroyed was calculated by the stock of torpedoes on the submarine, so the U-552 submarine sank seven American ships in one exit. Legendary submariners The most successful submariners of the Third Reich were Otto Kretschmer and Captain Wolfgang Luth, who managed to sink 47 ships each with a tonnage of over 220 thousand tons. The most successful submarine was U-48, whose crew sank 51 ships with a tonnage of about 305,000 tons. The submarine U-196, under the command of Eitel-Friedrich Kentrath, stayed on the voyage for 225 days. Equipment To communicate with the submarines, radiograms were used, encrypted on a special Enigma encryption machine. Great Britain made every possible effort to obtain this device, since there was no other way to decipher the texts, however, as soon as it became possible to steal such a machine from a captured submarine, the Germans first of all destroyed the device and all encryption documents. However, they succeeded after capturing U-110 and U-505, and a number of encrypted documents also fell into their hands. U-110 was attacked by British depth charges in May 1941, as a result of damage, the submarine was forced to surface, the Germans planned to escape from the submarine and sink it, but they did not have time to sink it, so the boat was captured by the British, and Enigma fell into their hands and magazines with ciphers and maps of minefields. In order to keep the secret of the capture of the Enigma, the entire surviving crew of submariners was rescued from the water, the boat itself was soon sunk. The resulting ciphers allowed the British until 1942 to keep abreast of German radio messages, until Enigma was complicated. The capture of encrypted documents on board U-559 helped break this cipher. She was attacked by British destroyers in 1942 and taken in tow, a new variation of the Enigma was also found there, but the submarine began to sink quickly and the cipher machine, along with two British sailors, drowned. victories During the war, German submarines were captured many times, some of them were also subsequently put into service with the enemy fleet, such as U-57, which became the British submarine Graf, which conducted combat operations in 1942-1944. The Germans lost several of their submarines due to the presence of defects in the structure of the submarines themselves. So the submarine U-377 went to the bottom in 1944 due to the explosion of its own circulating torpedo, the details of the sinking are not known, since the entire crew also died. Fuhrer convoy In the service of Dönitz, there was also another subdivision of submarines, called the Fuhrer's Convoy. The secret group included thirty-five submarines. The British believed that these submarines were intended to transport minerals from South America. However, it remains a mystery why at the end of the war, when the submarine fleet was almost completely destroyed, Dönitz did not withdraw more than one submarine from the Fuhrer's Convoy. There are versions that these submarines were used to control the secret Nazi Base 211 in Antarctica. However, two of the convoy submarines were discovered after the war near Argentina, the captains of which claimed to be transporting an unknown secret cargo and two secret passengers in South America. Some of the submarines of this “ghostly convoy” were never found after the war, and there were almost no mentions of them in military documents, these are U-465, U-209. In total, historians talk about the fate of only 9 out of 35 submarines - U-534, U-530, U-977, U-234, U-209, U-465, U-590, U-662, U863. Sunset The beginning of the end for the German submarines was 1943, when the first failures of the Dönitz submariners began. The first failures were due to the improvement of the Allied radar, the next blow to Hitler's submarines was the growing industrial power of the United States, they managed to build ships faster than the Germans sank them. Even the installation of the latest torpedoes on submarines of the 13th series could not tip the scales in favor of the Nazis. During the war, Germany lost almost 80% of its submariners; at the end of the war, only seven thousand were alive. However, Dönitz's submarines last day fought for Germany. Dönitz himself became Hitler's successor, later arrested and sentenced to ten years. Categories:// from 03/21/2017 The outcome of any war depends on many factors, among which, of course, weapons are of considerable importance. Despite the fact that absolutely all German weapons were very powerful, since Adolf Hitler personally considered them the most important weapon and paid considerable attention to the development of this industry, they failed to inflict damage on the opponents, which would significantly affect the course of the war. Why did it happen? Who stands at the origins of the creation of the submarine army? Were the German submarines of World War II really so invincible? Why were such prudent Nazis unable to defeat the Red Army? You will find the answer to these and other questions in the review. general information Collectively, all the equipment that was in service with the Third Reich during World War II was called the Kriegsmarine, and submarines made up a significant part of the arsenal. Underwater equipment passed into a separate industry on November 1, 1934, and the fleet was disbanded after the war ended, that is, having existed for less than a dozen years. In such a short period of time, the German submarines of World War II brought a lot of fear into the souls of their opponents, leaving their huge mark on the bloody pages of the history of the Third Reich. Thousands of dead, hundreds of sunken ships, all this remained on the conscience of the surviving Nazis and their subordinates. Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine During World War II, one of the most famous Nazis, Karl Doenitz, was at the helm of the Kriegsmarine. German U-boats certainly played an important role in World War II, but without this man this would not have happened. He was personally involved in creating plans to attack opponents, participated in attacks on many ships and achieved success in this path, for which he was awarded one of the most significant awards of Nazi Germany. Doenitz was an admirer of Hitler and was his successor, which did him a lot of harm during the Nuremberg trials, because after the death of the Fuhrer, he was considered the commander-in-chief of the Third Reich. Specifications It is easy to guess that Karl Doenitz was responsible for the state of the submarine army. German submarines in World War II, whose photos prove their power, had impressive parameters. In general, the Kriegsmarine was armed with 21 types of submarines. They had the following characteristics: displacement: from 275 to 2710 tons; surface speed: from 9.7 to 19.2 knots; underwater speed: from 6.9 to 17.2; diving depth: from 150 to 280 meters. This proves that the German submarines of the Second World War were not only powerful, they were the most powerful among the weapons of the countries that fought against Germany. Composition of the Kriegsmarine 1154 submarines belonged to the military boats of the German fleet. It is noteworthy that until September 1939 there were only 57 submarines, the rest were built specifically for participation in the war. Some of them were trophies. So, there were 5 Dutch, 4 Italian, 2 Norwegian and one English and one French submarines. All of them were also in service with the Third Reich. Navy Achievements The Kriegsmarine inflicted considerable damage on its opponents throughout the war. So, for example, the most productive captain Otto Kretschmer sank almost fifty enemy ships. There are also record holders among the courts. For example, the German submarine U-48 sank 52 ships. Throughout World War II, 63 destroyers, 9 cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers and even 2 battleships were destroyed. The largest and most remarkable victory for the German army among them can be considered the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak, the crew of which consisted of a thousand people, and its displacement was 31,200 tons. Plan Z Since Hitler considered his fleet extremely important for the triumph of Germany over other countries and had extremely positive feelings for him, he paid considerable attention to him and did not limit funding. In 1939, a plan was developed for the development of the Kriegsmarine for the next 10 years, which, fortunately, never materialized. According to this plan, several hundred more of the most powerful battleships, cruisers and submarines were to be built. Powerful German submarines of World War II Photographs of some surviving German submarines give an idea of ​​the power of the Third Reich, but only faintly reflect how strong this army was. Most of all, the German fleet had type VII submarines, they had optimal seaworthiness, were of medium size, and most importantly, their construction was relatively inexpensive, which is important in They could dive to a depth of 320 meters with a displacement of up to 769 tons, the crew ranged from 42 to 52 employees. Despite the fact that the “sevens” were quite high-quality boats, over time, the enemy countries of Germany improved their weapons, so the Germans also had to work on modernizing their offspring. As a result of this, the boat has several more modifications. The most popular of these was the VIIC model, which became not only the personification military power Germany during the attack on the Atlantic, but was much more convenient than previous versions. The impressive dimensions made it possible to install more powerful diesel engines, and subsequent modifications were also distinguished by durable hulls, which made it possible to dive deeper. German submarines of the Second World War were subjected to a constant, as they would say now, upgrade. Type XXI is considered to be one of the most innovative models. In this submarine, an air conditioning system and additional equipment was created, which was designed to more long stay underwater teams. A total of 118 boats of this type were built. Results of the Kriegsmarine The Germany of World War II, whose photos can often be found in books about military equipment, played a very important role in the advance of the Third Reich. Their power cannot be underestimated, but it should be borne in mind that even with such patronage from the bloodiest Fuhrer in world history, the German fleet did not manage to bring its power closer to victory. Probably, only good equipment and a strong army are not enough; for the victory of Germany, the ingenuity and courage possessed by brave warriors were not enough Soviet Union. Everyone knows that the Nazis were incredibly bloodthirsty and shunned little on their way, but neither the incredibly equipped army nor the lack of principles helped them. armored vehicles, great amount ammunition and the latest developments did not bring the expected results to the Third Reich. German submarines made long-distance crossings on the surface of the water, plunging only when the enemy appeared. 33 submarines capable of entering Atlantic Ocean, sank 420 thousand tons of merchant tonnage. And this is just for the first four months since the beginning of the war. They stood in the way of the movement of enemy transports and waited for the target to appear, attacked and broke away from the convoy forces pursuing them. Success in the first months of the war spurred Germany to build new submarines. And this brought even more losses to the merchant fleet of the anti-Hitler coalition. The peak of the submarine war was 1942, when the Germans sank 6.3 million tons of the merchant fleet. And during the entire war, the Allies lost 15 million tons. The turning point occurred at the end of 1942, which caused panic among the fascist command. Their submarines disappeared without a trace one after another. The commanders of the miraculously returned submarines said that the planes were looking for them when they were on the surface in any weather: in fog, at night. And hit with bombs. The reason for the increased losses of the Germans was the appearance of radar equipment on aircraft and ships. German submarines had to hide under water, and there they had insufficient sailing time. On the radar screen of an aircraft flying at an altitude of 9750 feet (3000 m), the surfaced submarine was visible at a distance of 80 miles (150 km). After the start of the use of radar, Allied aircraft were able to constantly monitor the area of ​​​​operation of German submarines. England alone had 1,500 anti-submarine patrol aircraft, and the total number of Allied aircraft was more than double that number. If the plane was flying at a speed of 150 km/h, then he saw a submarine half an hour of flight to her, and she, depending on the weather, 5-7 mi-way under a clear sun and generally could not outline it in clouds and fog. In the best case for her, she managed to dive into the water, but often the dive took place under the bombs bursting nearby. The bombs damaged or sank the submarine. When land-based aircraft with a range of at least 600 miles (1600 km) appeared, British coastal defense became enemy number one for German submarines. In response to radar, the Germans invented a radar receiver that informed German submariners that a submarine had been detected by American radar, and in October 1942 they began installing these receivers on their submarines. This invention of the Germans reduced the effectiveness of American radars, since in some cases the submarine managed to submerge under water. However, German detector receivers (from the Latin "detextor" - "opener") turned out to be useless when changing the wavelength at which American radars began to operate. The US Harvard Radio Laboratory has designed 14 radar installations operating on decimeter waves. They were urgently delivered by aircraft to the British for installation on British aircraft patrolling the Bay of Biscay. At the same time, the production of a similar series for US naval aviation aircraft and a model for army aviation was accelerated. German location receivers-detectors could not detect exposure to decimeter waves, and therefore the German submariners were completely unaware of how the Anglo-American aircraft detected them. The detector was silent, and air bombs rained down on the head. Microwave radar enabled Anglo-American patrols in the spring and early summer of 1943 to locate and sink large numbers of German submarines. Hitler reacted with great irritation to the invention of the microwave radar, and in his New Year's address in 1944 to the German armed forces, he pointed to the "invention of our enemy" that caused such irreparable losses to his submarine fleet. Even after the Germans discovered a decimeter radar on one American aircraft shot down over Germany, they were not able to detect the operation of these locators. English and American convoys received "eyes" and "ears". The radar became the "eyes" of the fleet, the sonar added "ears", but this was not enough. There was another way to detect submarines: they were given out by radio. And the allies took advantage of it. German submarines, having surfaced on the surface of the water, were talking among themselves, with the headquarters of the submarine fleet, which was located in Paris, and received orders from the commander, Grand Admiral Doenitz. Radiograms were carried on the air from all points where German submarines were located. If you intercept any radiogram from three points, determining in each direction from where the radio waves propagate, then, knowing the coordinates of the listening stations, you can find out from which point on the earth the German submarine went on the air, and therefore find out its coordinates: where it is now located. This method was first used by the British Navy to combat enemy submarines. To do this, high-frequency radio direction finders were installed along the English coast. It was they who determined the place of the enemy submarine, which was negotiating with other submarines and superiors. The direction-finding transmission itself revealed the secret of the submarine's coordinates. The received bearings were sent by coast stations to the Admiralty, where specialists mapped the location and course of the German submarine in the Atlantic. Sometimes, during the operation of the radio station of the German submarine, up to 30 bearings could be obtained. DF system in African and American shores, and also called "huff-duff" in the British Isles. How it worked can be seen from the episode where Lieutenant Schroeder sank a German submarine. On June 30, 1942, at about noon, high-frequency radio direction finders in Bermuda, Hart Land Point, Kingston, and Georgetown registered the operation of the submarine's radio station. Officers - operators of the naval base plotted bearings on the map and revealed that the submarine was at 33 ° northern latitude and 67° 30 W, about 130 miles from St. George. Lieutenant Richard Schroeder was patrolling in his Mariner aircraft in the Bermuda area 50 miles (90 km) from the discovered submarine. Heading to the place indicated to him, he found the U-158 submarine 10 miles (18 km) from the indicated coordinates. The boat was on the surface, and 50 members of her crew basked in the sun. Schroeder dropped two high-explosive bombs and missed, but two depth charges hit the target. One depth charge fell close to the hull of the boat, but the second landed directly on the superstructure and exploded at the moment when the submarine went to dive. The boat sank along with the entire crew. Convinced of the effectiveness of the huff-duff devices, they equipped the ships of the convoy. If the high-frequency radio direction finder "huff-duff" was only on one ship of the convoy, then it turned into a search ship and went at the tail of the middle column. The Germans did not know for a long time, and then they ignored the ship's huff-duff instruments. Their submarines continued to “talk” among themselves and, when approaching the convoy, exchange information with Grand Admiral Doenitz, thereby revealing their location. This valuable system, whose name "huff-duff" is untranslatable, served a good service in the fight against German submarines. In total, during the years of the Second World War, 1118 Nazi submarines took part in the hostilities. Of these, 725 (61%) were destroyed by the Allies. 53 died by different reasons, 224 were sunk by the Nazi crews after the surrender of Germany and 184 capitulated. Fascist submariners during the Second World War sank 2 battleships, 5 aircraft carriers, 6 cruisers, 88 other surface ships and about 15 million tons of Allied merchant tonnage. Article rating: (No ratings yet) Loading... To share with friends: Similar posts An example of a photo card of a laboratory chemist's working day Tree of knowledge of good and evil and moral freedom A new portal has appeared in the field of inclusive higher education Portal for support of inclusive education Perception, its types and properties Topic "process of perception"