Type VIID (1941)

At the start of World War II, the Kriegsmarine waited for four Type XB minelayers under construction, based on the Type IX long range U-boats for laying the intended anchored SMA mines on the US coast and in Asia. Regular VIIC on the other hands could also lay TMB ground mines through torpedo tubes. But the Kriegsmarine saw a need for a medium-sized model, tailored to lay SMA mines around the British Isles, so the latest Type VIIC was developed into a Type VIID minelayer as a “quick conversion”. The new design was obtained by simply adding a 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) section with five mineshafts between the control room and the crew compartment. Since the saddle tanks were extended along, this enabled the addition of extra fuel storage, enough for an oceanic range, albeit a bit less than the XB. Six were ordered on 16 February 1940, the lead boat laid down on 1 October 1940, and they were commissioned by early 1942, but since their intended SMA mine were not ready, yet they were used at first for regular combat patrols. Eventually, of all six (U-213 to U-218) delivered by F. Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel. Only the last, U218, survived the war.

Artist’s depiction in an U-Boat pen, AFV club 1:350 scale kit.

Type VIID development

The XB and the need for a smaller submarine

The Kriegsmarine already experimented with minelayers by building for Finland the Vetehinen series in 1930. Already that type was used in a prolific way with three types used in WWI, the UC-I to UC-III. In 1936, the Kriegsmarine intended against to use these types, and for this developed a brand new model of long cruises, based on the new Type IX, a development of the large Type Ia U-Boat of 1936. The Type X was designed around a brand new mine, the Schachtmine A (SMA) moored mine. They were carried in wells and in dry storage, however the detonators needed to be individually adjusted before launch. The Type XA was also projected, adding to a mine chamber extra mine shafts in the saddle tanks, but they never entered production.

The simpler Type XB was chosen instead, based on this design, with a mine chamber replaced by six vertical wet storage shafts forward and 18 SMA mines in shafts, plus 48 in 12 shafts set into the saddle tanks, but only armed with two torpedo tubes in the stern. They could also carry cargo. The first was eventually launched by May 1941.
However already in 1939, the protracted development of the Type X, both the minelayer and the SMA mine, and the expected great cost, mean only few could be made.

The Kriegsmarine staff looked for an alternative, one being the mine-launched TMA mines that could be carried by virtually all Type VIIs. But as the SMA moored mines looked far more promising, the idea emerged of a cheaper alternative to carry them, like the UC-I of old, a coastal type good enough, in case of war with France and the US, to lay mines along their ports and shores. The Type VIIA was a much cheaper alternative to the Type X, and the engineers looked directly at its better successor in development, the Type VIIB, and later as the VIIC, as an ideal base for development.

It was hoped that by just stretching out the aft section to integrate extra mine wells, the basic design could be kept, and if successful, more VIIC could be in turn stretched the same way to add extra minelaying submarines at no cost and rapidly. The advantage of keeping a standard design, would be accompanied by the extra range procured by the longer saddled tanks, and the armament would remain the same as the regular VIIC, so to retain their integral combat capacity as a backup, whereas the massive Type XB had only defensive stern tubes.

Construction

Profile, origin unknown, from the blueprints.com
Once the design was approved, the first VIID was ordered as U-213 at F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel under N°645 contract on 16 February 1940, laid down on 1 Oct 1940 at F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel at werk 645. She was launched on 24 Jul 1941 and commissioned later on 30 August. In the end, only six of these were built. In between, operational needs changed, the SMA mines encountered a troublesome development and instead they started to be used as regular patrol submarines. Next, it appeared they could be used as transport submarines, and when the need arose, their design was reused for the specialized Type VIIE, based on the VIID design. All 213 to 218 U-boote were ordered from Kiel.

Design of the Type VIID

Hull & General layout

Blueprint of the VIID, reddit, warshipsporn direct link imgurl

The Type VIID was essentially a stretched-out Type VIIC, with a brand-new section of 9.8 m (32 ft 2 in) with five mineshafts in line, each large enough for 5 SMA mines or 7 TMB models. A new continuous beam section was added and placed between the control room and the crew compartment of the petty officers. Since the hull was not deep enough, it was decided to add a “hump” over them above the deck and behind the conning tower, making the type, the ancestor of modern SSBNs…

The Type VIID displaced 965 tonnes surfaced and light, 1,080 tonnes submerged unladed, and 1,285 tonnes submerged and fully loaded. It was almost ten meters longer than the regular VIIc at 76,90 meters long overall (252 ft), with now a pressure hull of 59.80 meter long (196), a beam of 6,38 meters overall for the outer hull (21 ft) and 4,70 meters (15.4) for the pressure hull, like the original Type VIIC. The draught was also comparable at 5 meters (16 ft). Total height, from the keel to the top of the conning tower was 9,70 m (32 ft).

Powerplant

Essentially nothing was changed in that area. Like a regular Type VIIC, the VIIC was provided the same two Germania diesels typical for the Kiel Yard, as being in-house diesel with compressors for extra boost for surface running, for a total of between 2,800 and 3,200 bhp when compressed, for 16 to 16.7 knots. When underwater, they were powered by two AEG electric motors rated for 750 hp total, for a top speed of 7.3 knots.

The biggest change was the range: The advantage of a longer section was to add extra space for the saddle tanks, and thus, the diesel oil carried was now of 155t versus 114t for a regular VIIC. Thus, the range went from 8,500 nm at 10 kts to 11,200 nautical miles at the same speed. However, given the large size and greater displacement, the batteries were more hard-pressed and the submerged range fell from 80 nm at 4 knots to 69, which was substantial.
In addition, the bulk made them less agile than the VIIC, and they dived more slowly.

Armament of the Type VIID

Both the bow and stern sections being unchanged compared to a VIIC, the VIID carried the same armament, with four bow tubes with a single stern tube, for 14 torpedoes or 39 TMA mines and 15 SMA mines. This combination gave U-Boat commander greater flexibility, keeping their SMA mines and all 14 torpedoes or mixing the latter with TMA mines. In general, they always kept four torpedoes on board as a rule of thumb. This was completed with the usual standard 8.8 cm Krupp deck gun and a 20 mm FLAK 38 AA gun on the rear CT platform.

Deck Gun: 8.8 cm/45 (3.46″) SK C/35

The type VIID U-boats had the 8,8cm as deck gun. This deck gun was produced by Krupp but had absolutely no relation to the famous German Army 8,8 anti-tank and anti-aircraft gun. They did not even share the same ammunition. The 8.8 cm/45 (3.46″) SK C/35 was also used on Type 40 minesweepers and sub-chasers. After 1942, many U-Boats had it removed to install more FLAK instead. Only in the Mediterranean and the Northern Sea, U-boats kept their guns for a few months longer. It seems the original 37 mm was only sported at completion but the first two boats and replaced, the 8,8 cm was installed at completion on all the others as the production at Krupp was ramped up.

This was a pure “marine gun”, with materials resistant to corrosion, simpler mechanisms and limited lubrication, partly made internal. The goal was to have a permanent deck gun that could stay very long periods underwater at great pressures that could damage mechanisms and smaller parts. It was tested in a pressure chamber to the equivalent of around 200m (650 ft) which was the max theoretical diving depth at the time. These constraints made for a completely different gun than the more complex land-based 8,8 cm FLAK gun. The 8,8 cm caliber had been used for many decades in the German Navy, all the way back to the 1890s and saw many iterations over the years. Unlike its land-based counterpart, it was a pure anti-ship model as it was limited by its mount to 30°.

The model used on the Type VIID was designed in 1935 and introduced in 1938, was provided AP round (AP 35) which was far weaker than for its more famous land cousin. At 700 mps (2,300 fps) versus 840 m/s (2,690 ft/s) it lacked the speed and range as well, but was very impressive an efficient as a naval gun, especially for such as “small” submarine. More

Specs 8.8 cm/45 (3.46″) SK C/35

Weight: 5,346 lbs. (2,425 kg), Barrel alone 1,711 lbs. (776 kg)
Lenght: 157 in. (3.985 m) bore 146.9 in (3.731 m).
Rate of fire: 15 rounds per minute
Shell: 33 lbs. (15 kg) 14 in (385.5 mm) HE, AP, Incendiary, Illumination (90-10.2 kgs).
Busrting charge: AP 35S 0.064 kg. HE L/4.5 0.698 kg, HE L/45 Inc. Brandkörper A
Propellant charge: 3.70 lbs. (1.68 kg) RP C/32, 3.90 lbs. (1.77 kg) RP C/38, 4.63 lbs. (2.1 kg) RP C/40N and PL/V41
Muzzle velocity: HE 2,300 fps (700 mps), Illum.: 1,970 fps (600 mps).
Range: 13,070 yards (11,950 m) at 30°. Depression -10° on Ubts LC/35 mount.
Ammunition stowage Type VIID: 220 rounds.
Barrel life: 12,000 rounds.

G7E Torpedo (T3)

By mid-1942 the improved version had an increased battery capacity, asking for a 50% superior range as the T3a. Range was now, 7500m at 30 knots, but in a preheated state it was 4,500m at 28 knots. Thy did not have the previous faulty exploders and had a brand-new system, with a perfected proximity feature. This enabled what the US and other navies looked for, a torpedo that can dive below the keel of a ship and explode, breaking it.

TMA Mines

In alternative to their torpedoes, the Type VIID U-Boats could also carry 26 TMA mines, for a ratio of two for one. Type VIIDs managed many mine laying missionsas initially intended with these, but the size of their individual minefields was still fairly limited, so losses were few, but not unheard of. The TMA mines were shaped as cylinders, they were moored mines, attached by cable to float above the surface, while the anchor secured its position. The correct depth setting needed to be applied depending on the observed depths. Two could be carried in each torpedo tube.
Length/Diameter: 11.1ft (3.38m)/21in (533mm)
Maximum Depth: 270m (885 ft)
Warhead: 215kg. (473 Ibs.)

SMA Mines

The SMA is a moored mine, similar to the TMA, but with a much larger explosive charge and it was not compatible with existing tubes, but required specialized minelayers with vertical shafts attached like the Type X and Type VIID.
Length/Diameter: 7.1ft (2.15m)/4.4ft (1.33m)
Maximum Depth: 250m (820 ft)
Warhead: 350kg. (771 Ibs.)

Sonars

Gruppenhorchgerät

The GHG was an early acoustic system, a hydrophone array used on all models, including the Type VII. It was developed in WWI already following Pierre Curie discovery in 1880 using the piezoelectric principle. Atlas Werke AG in Bremen and Electroacustik (ELAC) in Kiel worked on transducers, detectors and amplifiers and found the best being the Seignette crystal formed from a mixture of different salts. From 1935, crystal receivers were permanently installed on German submarines.
The GHG was the final product, GHG made of two groups of 24 sensors, one on each side of the boat. Each sensor had a tube preamplifier. These 48 low frequency signals were routed to a switching matrix and the sonar operator could determine the side and direction of the sound source. To improve resolution, a frequency of 1, 3 and 6 kHz could be setup. There was however a dead zone of 40° fore and aft, but range was 20 km to individual ships and 100 km against a full Convoy.
The Search area was 2 × 140° with a resolution of less than a degree at 6 kHz, 1.5° for 3 kHz, 4° for 1 kHz and without crossover 8°.
The Royal Navy in May 1942 captured a submarine and its ELAC equipment. Later the Balkongerät was tested on U-194 in January 1943 and installed a few Type VII/41 or 42 but became standard on the Type XXI.

Appearance

The VIID started their career in with the wartime Type VIIC scheme, so Upper colour in dark grey, possibly Schlickgrau 58 and Upper colour in shades of grey.
Dunkelgrau 51: (RAL7000, FS35237, RGB: R120, G131, B137)
Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau: (RAL7016, in between FS36076 and FS35042, RGB: R54, G61, B65).
Schlickgrau 58: (slightly darker than FS36134, RGB: R77, G81, B76)

U217 and U218

⚙ specifications
Displacement	965 tonnes surfaced, 1020/1285 t submerged
Dimensions	76.9(59.80 ph) x 6.38(4.7 ph) x 4.70-5 m draught
Propulsion	2 shafts, 3200 bhp diesels, 750 shp electric
Speed	16.7 knots surfaced, 7.3 knots submerged
Range	11,200 nmi/10 knots surfaced, 69 nmi/4 knots submerged
Depth	220 m (722 ft), CD 230–250 m (750–820 ft)
Armament	5× 533 mm TTs (1 stern, 14), 26 TMA, 39 TMB or 15 SMA mines, 8.8 cm deck gun, twin 2 cm C/30 AA
Sensors	Gruppenhorchgerät
Crew	4 officers, 42–49 enlisted

VIID in service

U-213 was ordered on 16 Feb 1940 at Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel, laid down at werk 645 on 1 Oct 1940, launched on 24 July 1941 and commissioned on 30 Aug 1941 under command of Oblt. Amelung von Varendorff until 31 July 1942 (her loss). Her career was short and uneventful. She had three patrols, the first between 30 August 1941 and 31 Dec. 1941 as part of the 5. Flottille (training), then combat patrol from 1 Jan. 1942 to 30 April 1942 with the 1. Flottille and from 1 May 1942 to her loss with the 9. Flottille. She had no ships sunk or damaged but was herself sunk on 31 July 1942 in the North Atlantic, south-east of the Azores (location determined), by depth charges from British sloops HMS Erne, HMS Rochester and HMS Sandwich with all hands lost.

U-214 was ordered also on 16 February 1940, laid down on 5 Oct. 1940 at Krupp, werk 646, launched on 18 Sep. 1941 and commissioned on 1 Nov. 1941 under command of Oblt. Günther Reeder, until 10 May 1943 (he won the German Cross in Gold). Until 10 May 1943 and then again until July 1943 he was replaced by Oblt. Rupprecht Stock (also awarded the German Cross in Gold), then until July 1944 and for a brief period until her loss on 26 July 1944 by Oblt. Gerhard Conrad. She had 10 patrols, her first time was in training from Nov 1941 to 30 Apr 1942 with the 5. Flottille and then between 1 May 1942 and 26 Jul 1944 all her patrols were with the 9. Flotilla. U-214 operated with the wolfpack Blücher from 14 August 1942 to 28 August 1942 and Iltis from 6 Sep 1942 to 23 Sep 1942. In total, she had three merchant ships sunk (18,266 GRT), One 1,525 tons warship sunk (to confirm, sources are diverging), one ship damaged for 6,507 GRT, and one auxiliary warship HMS Cheshire damaged (10,552 GRT).
on 22 May 1942 while in the North Sea she was attacked while surfaced by an aircraft which dropped three bombs, but she only had minor damage.
On 16 June 1942 in the Bay of Biscay she was strafed by an aircraft by night, equipped with a Leigh light, which also made a pass and dropped three depth charges before being repelled by flak. However, U-214 was badly damaged and forced back to Lorient. This was in her 2nd patrol, just 13-17 June.
She had a 3rd patrol in August 1942 from Brest, her most successful: She attacked the Convoy SL-118 west of Portugal, sinking 6,318 GRT Dutch cargo ship Balingkar, 7,522 GRT British cargo ship Hatarana, damaged the APC HMS Cheshire.
Her 4th patrol was in the Caribbean Sea, sinking the 4,426 GRT Polish merchant ship Paderewski by torpedoes and gunfire. She was back in February 1943 after 87 days at sea, a record.
On 7 May 1943 (5th patrol) also crossing the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic she was attacked out of the sun by a British Halifax bomber HR745 (RAF Sqdn 58/S, pilot W/C W.E. Oulton), took three depth charges which she managed to dodge and evaded, dived with only minor damage. Kptlt Günther Reeder was severely wounded by gunfire and his career ended after this. He was replaced by Oblt. Rupprecht Stock, the XO, which took command and brought her back to base. This aircraft was credited the kill of U-663 but it was rectified postwar.
She had a 6th patrol in May-June 1943, badly damaging by one of her laid mine off Dakar on 20 June, the US 6,507 GRT merchant ship Santa Maria. She was evacuated, did not sink, was re-boarded and towed to safety later.
On 9 Sept. 1943 (7th patrol) 92 miles SW of Santa Maria in the Azores, while back from Panama, she was caught by a TBF Avenger from USS Croatan (Hunter Killer Group) (piloted Lt J.W. Steere) picking a radar contact from above cloud cover, plunging, and dropping four depth charges but hit by FLAK in its air intake and bomb bay. One depth charge amazingly hit the bridge, bounced off and exploded 10m (33ft) away off the port side.
On 8 October she laid 15 mines 5 miles off Colón and on the 12th, she laid a single type EMS 1 floating mine in her wake. Later, she was attacked hy a PMB Mariner from VP-210. She was back on 30 November aft 101 days at sea, a new record.
Her eight patrol in February-April was uneventful (West African coast down to the cape).
In May 1944, while in maintenance, she was the first in her class fitted with a Snorkel underwater-breathing apparatus. On her CT was painted a coat of arm displaying the Berlin bear.
Her 9th patrol saw her on 11 June 1944, attacked, but shot down by FLAK a British B-24 Liberator bomber (Sqdn. 224/S). U214 was however damaged in this mine-laying patrol, and had to return to Brest. She was sunk in her 10th patrol on 26 July 1944 in the Channel south of Start Point by depth charges from the Captain class frigate HMS Cooke, all hands lost.

U-215 was ordered on 16 Feb. 1940, laid down on 15 November at F. Krupp Germaniawerft, werk 647, launched on 9 Oct. 1941 and commissioned on 22 Nov. 1941 under Kptlt. Fritz Hoeckner until her loss on 3 July 1942. She made a single patrol, after her training time between 22 November 1941 and 30 June 1942 in the 5. Flottille. During that time on 13 June outbound, she was bombed and damaged by an aircraft in the North Sea, but able to continue patrol after repairing at sea. Her unique war patrol started on 1st July 1942 with the 9. Flottille and she managed to sink a single ship (7,191 GRT) but on the 3th July in the North Atlantic, east of Boston, she was detected and depth charged by British anti-submarine trawler HMS Le Tiger, all hands lost.
He wreck was rediscovered in July 2004. She was located at a depth of 270ft (82 m) about 130 miles (209 km) SSW of Shelburne in Nova Scotia, first U-boat wreck discovered in Canadian waters.

U-216 Ordered was ordered on 16 Feb. 1940, laid down on 1 Jan 1941 at Germaniawerft, werk 648, launched on 23 Oct. 1941 and commissioned on 15 Dec. 1941 under Oblt. Karl-Otto Schultz. He was her commander until 20 Oct 1942 when lost. She was in training from 15 December 1941 to 31 August 1942 with the 5. Flottille and started her first war patrol on 1 Sept. 1942 with the 9. Flottille, sinking a single ship (4,989 GRT) on 25 September 1942, the British Boston. She also took part in six wolfpacks, successively Lohs, Pfeil, Blitz, Luchs, Letzte Ritter and Wotan from 5 to 17 October 1942. She was sunk on 20 October 1942 in the North Atlantic south-west of Ireland by 6 depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (224 Sqn RAF/H), all hands lost.

U217 was ordered on 16 Feb. 1940, laid down on 30 Jan. 1941 at Germaniawerft, werk 649, launched on 15 Nov. 1941 and commissioned on 31 Jan. 1942 under Oblt. Kurt Reichenbach-Klinke, her only commander. Between February and 31 June 1942 she was training with the 5. Flottille and had her first out of three war patrols from 1 Aug 1942 with the 9. Flottille. In these 3 patrols (14 July – 16 October 1942, 24 November 1942 – 23 February 1943, 19 April – 5 June 1943) she sank 3 ships for a total of 10,651 GRT: On 19 August 1942, the British trawler Sea Gull D (75t), on 14 December 1942 the Swedish Etna (2,619 GRT) and on 3 February 1943 the British cargo ship Rhexnor (7,957 GRT).
On 5 June 1943 in the North Atlantic, south-west of the Azores she was spotted and sunk by depth charges by an Avenger (VC-9 USN/T-11), assisted by a Wildcat (VC-9 USN/F-13) from US escort carrier USS Bogue, hunter-killer group. All hands lost.

U-218 was ordered on 16 Feb. 1940, laid down on 17 March 1941 at Krupp Germaniawerft, werk 650, launched on 5 Dec. 1941 and commissioned on 24 Jan 1942 under her 1st commander, Oblt. Richard Becker until August 1944. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold. She made 10 patrols but had little success wit 2 small ships sunk (346 GRT), two damaged (7,361+ 7,177 GRT including a british auxiliary.
Between August 1944 and 12 May 1945 she was under command of Kptlt. Rupprecht Stock (German Cross in Gold). She was the only surviving U-Boat in her class.
After training until 31 Aug. 1942 in the 5. Flottille she was deployed until 30 Sep. 1944 with 9. Flottille, then between 1 Oct. 1944 to 1 March 1945 she was deployed with the 8. Flottille and versed into the 11. Flotille from March 1945 to 8 May 1945, surrendering on 12 May 1945 at Bergen, Norway. She was transferred to Loch Ryan, Scotland on 2 June 1945 and sunk as part of Operation Deadlight on 4 December 1945, 8,9 nm of Inishtrabull, Northern Ireland.

Read More

uboat.net/types/viib.htm
web.archive.org navypedia.org viid.htm
uboataces.com mines.shtml
en.wikipedia.org/ U-215
u-boot-archiv.de U215.html
cbc.ca/ canada first-ever-u-boat-found

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Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press.
Möller, Eberhard; Brack, Werner (2004). The Encyclopedia of U-Boats.
Helgason, Guðmundur. U-Boat War in World War II
Busch, Harald (1955). U-Boats at War.
Rossler, Eberhard (1981). The U-Boat.
Stern, Robert C. (1991). Type VII U-boats.
Conway’s all the world’s fighting ships 1921-47
Type VII by Marek Krzysztalowicz
U-Boote by Jean-Philippe and Dallies-Labourdette
The U-Boat Type VII by Robert Cecil Stern
Type VII U-Boat (Anatomy of the Ship) by David Westwood
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Greenhill Books NIP
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Conway Maritime Press.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour

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