Germany (Planned 1943): None commissioned, 174 cancelled 24 July 1943 The Type VII/42 capitalized on the deep-diving VIIC/41 while being an attempt to defeat sonar by coating the outer hull with rubber anechoic tiles. Tests had been ongoing since 1941, on U-67 until the project was abandoned. It was decided to enable these submarines to … Read more
Germany (Built 1941-45): 91 submarines commissioned Development In 1941, Karl Dönitz confered with his top atlantic flottilla commanders and some decorated U-Boat captains at his Lorient HQ, Villa Kerlilon, about U-boat performances and how they could be improved. Of course at the same time he was aware of Professor Walter’s work on a new type … Read more
Kriegsmarine (1941), 6 minelayer submarines (U-213 to U-218) from Germaniawerft 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 … Read more
Kriegsmarine (1939), 593 submarines. U-69 to U-1210 After the Type VIIA mid-sized oceanic submersible pre-serie in the interwar, the question of fuel oil storage was solved by the next VIIB, with external saddle tanks, and more powerful diesels and being more agile. It seems like the perfect recipe was found, but after twenty-four were built, … Read more
Kriegsmarine (1936), 24 submarines The Type VIIA as a sort of “pre-serie” for an experimental mid-sized oceanic submersible in the interwar was in everything a success. Apart for one aspect. It was soon clear its only real drawback was its fuel oil storage for its role and expected patrol areas. That’s what engineered solved by … Read more
Kriegsmarine (1934), U-26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 With the Type VIIA we start a new cycle “in depth” about the Type VII the most produced submarine in history, most famous U-Boat of WW2. In these series of articles, we will dive deeper into the nitty-gritty details of the successive … Read more
Germany (1944), Coastal Subs, 16 planned, 7 completed The Type-XVII U-Boat was the only attempt of the Kriegsmarine to run operational submarines with a very early type of “AIP” or “air independent propulsion”, a graal of underwater propulsion we now now and use, but which was sitll in its infancy in 1939. This was a … Read more
Nazi Germany, 980 planned, 61 completed (1944-45) The true Elektroboot The Type XXI were large scale production Kriegsmarine’s “wunderwaffe” planned by Nazi Germany at the end of the war. Alongside the smaller Type XXIII “Elektobote” and numerous “midgets” at a stage events verged on desperation, the Type XXIII was also supposed to reverse the situation. … Read more
Type XB, the minelayer U-Boats Germany (1939-45): U-116, U-117, U-118, U-119, U-219, U-220, U-233, U-234 The Type X (XB) U-boats were a special type of German submarines of WW2 originally designed as long-range minelayers, but later used as long-range cargo transports as the Type IXD U-Boats, Italian Romolo-class submarines and several Japanese Types. In all, … Read more
Type XIV “Milchkühe” U-Boats, Hitler’s Milk Cows Germany (1941-42): 10 U-boats Maintaining Wolf Packs at sea One aspect of the Battle of the Atlantic was to maintain operating U-Boats at sea as long as possible. It mostly concerned the standard Type VII, which had a limited autonomy. In the massive expanses of the Atlantic, locating … Read more
