Fórum Defesa Brasil

KRIEGSMARINE SHIPS

FLOTTENORPEDOBOATS


Flottentorpedoboot 1939
After the unsuccessful Torpedoboot 1935 and Torpedoboot 1937 a radical change in German torpedo boat design took place. Unlike their predecessors which were focused on Torpedo attacks, the new class of Fleet torpedo boats were multi purpose ships, usable for torpedo attacks, anti aircraft defense and escort duty.
Those ships were more a light destroyer than the classical torpedo boat and the last torpedo boats build in Germany. Since they got the engines of already ordered but later canceled ships of the Torpedoboot 1937 class, they were about 1,5 kn slower than those ships, but they were the best seagoing ships of their kind in the Kriegsmarine.
Since many of those ships only got operational in 1943 or later, they were mainly used in the Baltic Sea only, but some of the earlier ships saw intensive operations in France at the time of the allied invasion.
Several ships survived World War 2 and served in the French or Russian navy until the 1950s.

T22
Flottentorpedoboot 1942 - 1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1940
Launched: 1941
Commissioned: 28.02.1942
Fate: sunk 18.08.1944

T23
Flottentorpedoboot 1942 - 1955 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1940
Launched: 14.06.1941
Commissioned: 14.06.1942
Fate: scrapped February 1955

T24
Flottentorpedoboot 1942 - 1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1940
Launched: 13.09.1941
Commissioned: 17.10.1942
Fate: sunk 24.08.1944

T25
Flottentorpedoboot 1942 - 1943 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1940
Launched: 01.12.1941
Commissioned: 12.12.1942
Fate: sunk 28.12.1943

T26
Flottentorpedoboot 1943 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1941
Launched: 18.02.1942
Commissioned: 27.02.1943
Fate: sunk 28.12.1943

T27
Flottentorpedoboot 1943-1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1941
Launched: 20.08.1942
Commissioned: 17.04.1943
Fate: sunk 04.05.1944

T28
Flottentorpedoboot 1943-1959 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1941
Launched: 24.06.1942
Commissioned: 19.06.1943
Fate: scrapped 1959

T29
Flottentorpedoboot 1943-1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 16.01.1943
Commissioned: 21.08.1943
Fate: sunk 26.04.1944

T30
Flottentorpedoboot 1943-1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 13.03.1943
Commissioned: 24.10.1943
Fate: sunk 18.08.1944

T31
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 22.05.1943
Commissioned: 05.02.1944
Fate: sunk 20.06.1944

T32
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 17.07.1943
Commissioned: 08.05.1944
Fate: sunk 18.08.1944

T33
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 - 1957 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 04.09.1943
Commissioned: 15.06.1944
Fate: scrapped 1957-1958

T34
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 23.10.1943
Commissioned: 12.08.1944
Fate: sunk 24.11.1944

T35
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 - 1952 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 11.12.1943
Commissioned: 07.10.1944
Fate: scrapped 03.10.1952

T36
Flottentorpedoboot 1944 - 1945 Flottentorpedoboot 1939 Class
Laid down: Schichau Elbing, 1942
Launched: 05.02.1944
Commissioned: 09.12.1944
Fate: sunk 05.05.1945

KRIEGSMARINE SHIPS

FLOTTENORPEDOBOATS


Flottentorpedoboot 1940
A class of torpedo boats based on Dutch designs Flottentorpedoboot 1940 Class
After the invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, the Dutch shipyards were almost undamaged. Therefore the German Navy contacted the Dutch shipbuilders to build some smaller vessels for the Kriegsmarine.
The so called Flottentorpedoboot 1940 was more a destroyer than a torpedo boat and based on Dutch designs.
24 ordered in 1940-1941, but only three were launched. In 1944 the incomplete ships were transferred to the Baltic Sea to be completed, but they were either destroyed or captured by the Allies after the war.
Some of the material already build for the Flottentorpedoboote 1940, like turbines and boilers, was later used for the first Dutch destroyers build after the war, the Holland , Gelderland , Noordbrabant and Zeeland.


Flottentorpedoboot 1941
The planned successors of the Flottentorpedoboot 1939. Flottentorpedoboot 1941 Class
Based on the successful design of the Flottentorpedoboot 1939, the Flottentorpedoboot 1941 should improve the few flaws of their predecessors. Therefore the engines were more powerful and additional anti aircraft artillery was added.
15 of those boats were ordered in 1942-1944, but none of them was completed. At the end of the war, the few ships already launched were in different stages of construction, one of them, the T37 was very close to completion. Those ships which could be moved to the west were towed away from Elbing, but their construction was not continued.


The projected fleet torpedo boats 1944 were planed after a radical change in torpedo boat tactics. Unlike all predecessors which should have operated in coastal waters or the North Sea, the Flottentorpedoboote 1944 should be able to operate with other fleet units in the North Atlantic.
Therefore the main focus of armament changed, too. While previous torpedo boats were mainly seen to attack with their torpedoes, this design preferred anti aircraft artillery. Therefore the main armament were four 10,5 cm flak guns, plus a increased number of smaller antiaircraft guns, but those ships kept the torpedo and mine laying abilities of their predecessors.
To enable those ships for ocean operations, their range had to be dramatically enlarged.
As a technical innovation, all auxiliary machinery were electrical powered instead of the usual steam powered ones.
9 of them (T52-T60) were ordered on 28.03.1944, but all orders were canceled shortly after that.

KRIEGSMARINE SHIPS

UBOATS

When talking about the German Kriegsmarine in World War II, the German U-Boats are often the first thing that comes into mind. At the outbreak of the war of the war, Germany had 57 U-Boats, most of them not capable of operations in the Atlantic. It was planned to build about 250 in the Naval construction program called Z-Plan, but since this plan was never realized, Germany entered the war with a much less number of submarines than the allied nations. In following 6 years, over 1100 boats were built, and was often seen as the biggest threat to Great Britain in the whole war.
Those submarines operated in all oceans of the world - from the North Sea, to the Atlantic, the American Coast (Operation Donnerschlag), the Arctic and even the Indian Ocean and the Pacific - until mid 1943 they were superior to their allied hunters. But with the introduction of radar, Huff Duff, and a continuous air cover for allied convoys, the former hunter got the hunted, even the introduction of new, revolutionary Submarines like the Type XXI could not change this.
Besides their success in the early years of the war, the U-Boats paid a terrible price for it. About 80% of all U-Boats were destroyed, 28.000 of the 40.000 U-boat personal were killed during the war, 8.000 were captured.
Since detailed information for all U-Boat classes and single ships would be too voluminous for this web page, only a short overview about the single U-Boat types is given here.


Typ I
Experimental Atlantic U-Boats build in the mid 1930s
The Type I was an experimental submarine type build in 1934/35 designed for Atlantic operations. Based on submarines build for
Turkey in 1932, only two of these U-Boats were build. Both were lost very early in World War II.


Typ II
Small costal U-boats, the so-called "Einbäume"
The U-Boat Type II was the first class of U-Boats built in Germany after the Treaty of Versailles. They were designed using the
Finnish coastal submarine "Vesikko " (Mink) as the prototype. This boat was designed by Ingenieurskantoor von Schepsbouw in Netherlands in 1931, which was led my German U-Boat constructors.
Being quite small boats, the so called "Einbäume" were limited by their small range and limited load of torpedoes, but were very
maneuverable and had a fast diving speed. About 46 of these coastal submarines were build, at the outbreak of the war those boats were the backbone of the German U-Boat fleet.
Since the first variants (IIA) were limited by their short endurance, later versions (IIB-IID) were lengthened to increase fuel load, the technical data shown above represent the Type IIB. While none of the German Type II boats is left today, the Vesikko is still existing as a museum ship in Finland.


Typ VII
The most build German U-boat during World War II
With over 650 boats build, the Type VII was the most important submarine in the German Kriegsmarine. Built between 1936 and 1944 those boats mainly operated in the North Atlantic, and were known for the so called "Rudeltaktik" - a simultaneous night attack of several surfaces U-Boats on allied convoys. Besides torpedo attacks they could also be used for mine laying and were well known for their maneuverability and fast diving speed. Shortly after the introduction of the first model a improved version with a better maneuverability (Type VIIB) was built. The most built variant was the Type VIIC whose variant Type VIIC/41 was made of thicker steel to increase the diving depth. Other variants include the mine laying Type VIID and the torpedo supply variant Type VIIF. Today, one of those boats, U995 , is on display in Laboe, Germany.


Typ IX
Large U-boats for long distance operationes.
Besides the Type VII , the much larger Type IX was the second important submarine class of the Kriegsmarine. Built for long range operations, those boats operated around the world - the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and even the Pacific was their operational area, but they were also used in the North Atlantic, especially during Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag) - the U-Boat offensive at the American coast. Caused by their bigger size, those class of ships was not so maneuverable than the Type VII , making them more vulnerable. There were several subtypes of the Type IX (A,B,C,D) the last one slightly bigger than the rest and also used as transport submarines to Japan.
Of the over 300 boats build, only one (U505 ) still exists today as a museum ship in Chicago.


Typ X
A small class of large mine layer U-boats.
The 8 Uboats of Typ X were the largest submarines used by the Kriegsmarine in World War II. Originally designed especially for
mine operations, those big ships were also used to transport duties. Two of those boats survived the war, one by entering an US port in May 1945 (U234 ) while U219 was taken over by the Japanese Navy in the same month and further used as I505 .


Typ XIV
Only lighly armed supply U-Boats.
Since the Kriegsmarine had no bases in other parts of the world (although some U-Boats operated from Japanese bases in the
Pacific), the U-Boats depended on supply ships. After surface ships proved to be too vulnerable the idea of a supply submarine was born - the so called "Milchkuh" (Milkcow). Based on the successful Type VII design, the Type XIV could carry 4 spare torpedoes and over 400 ts of diesel fuel, while its own armamment consisted of anti aircraft guns only. The first of the 20 boats build was put into service in 1941 and they were useful for submarine operations in distant areas. But caused by their very bad maneuverability and diving speed, all were sunk by allied forces during the war.


Typ XXI
The first real submarines - the so called "Elektroboote"
The Typ XXI was the answer to the increasing danger to German U-Boats by allied anti submarine forces in the second half of the war. Due to their powerful electrical engines and hydrodynamical shaped hull, those very advanced submarines were faster submerged than on the surface. The boats were built in sections to increase the production numbers, but although more than 134 were build only 7 of the new "Elektroboote" (Typ XXI and XXIII ) operated against allied forces. The design of the Typ XXI influenced the submarine construction in many countries after the war, e.g. the Russian W-Class was based on them.
After the war, the former U2540 was raised and entered service in the Bundesmarine as Wilhelm Bauer , it is now on display in Bremerhaven, Germany.


Typ XXIII
Modern costal U-boats, build at the end of the war.
Like the Typ XXI , the small coastal U-Boats of the Typ XXIII were a new step in submarine design. Build as a replacement of the old Typ II , those boats were faster submerged than on the surface, caused by their powerful electric engine and hydrodynamical shaped hull. Although more than 300 boats were ordered, only few were completed and even fewer got operational (see Typ XXI ), but those few proved that they were capable to operate even with the heavy allied anti submarine warfare in the second half of the war. Two of those boats were used by the Bundesmarine after the war (U2365 , U2367 renamed to Hai and Hecht )

KRIEGSMARINE SHIPS

MINISUBMARINES
The History of the German mini-submarines (Kleinkampfmittel) is the one of another desperate attempt to prevent the final outcome of the war. While other nations like Britain and Italy used such vessels in successful in special operations, their German counterparts were unable to archive similar results.
Used between early summer of 1944 and the end of the war, those small vessels were a kind of last line of defense at the shorelines and had to operate against advanced allied anti-submarine forces at the French invasion coast. While the early developments even were unable to dive, the last developments showed some quite advanced boats, but caused by the very short development times, none of them was flawless. Only with the appearance of the Seehund , the first really operational vessel was designed, but at this time (spring of 1945) their use was against all odds.
Besides the designs on this page - which were all build in high numbers - several other prototypes and studies, like boats that could drive on the sea ground were made, but none of these never got operational


Neger
Manned torpedo
The Neger was the first attempt to build a so called "Kleinkampfmittel". Since it had to be build in huge numbers and without long design work, a simple solution was chosen: Two G7e torpedoes were connected above each other, in the upper one the warhead was removed, a transparent dome and a driver cockpit was installed. The Neger had to approach closely to its target, fire its torpedo and disengage.
Since this vehicle was not able to dive, it was very vulnerable against enemy attacks, once the transparent dome was damaged, the driver almost had no chance to escape from the sinking vessel. The Neger was first used in Italy in April 1944 and saw action the whole year. Despite heavy losses, it was also used against the invasion beachhead in France, sinking one cruiser, one destroyer and several smaller ships. About 200 of these crafts were build.


Marder
Manned torpedo
Since the Neger was very vulnerable against attacks, an enhanced, submersible version was build, the Marder . Being almost identical to the Neger , the Marder was able to dive to a depth of 10 meters, making it easier to approach and disengage possible targets. Although this was a clear improvement compared with its predecessor, the craft had two disadvantages. First, diving operations and controlling the Marder submerged was very complicated and took almost the complete attention of the driver. Second, the vehicle still had to sail on the surface when attacking a target since it was not equipped with a periscope or other device enabling an submerged attack.
The Marder was unsuccessfully used in the Mediterranean against US ships in the Gulf of St. Tropez, where several crafts were sunk during their attack. It was also planned to transport them close to an allied port with a Type VII U-Boat (U 997 ), but this was canceled because of technical problems. About 300 Marder were build.


Molch
The first real mini submarine of the Kriegsmarine
The Molch was the first mini-submarine of the Kriegsmarine. Based on torpedo technology, it was basically build as a big manned
torpedo for a crew of one, carrying two standard torpedoes. The first of the 363 build Molche was delivered on 12.06.1944 and it soon got clear that its complicated system of trim and diving tanks made it very difficult to control during combat operations. A first Molch flotilla (60 vehicles) was used in autumn 1944 in Italy, a second was send to Holland in December 1944, a third and fourth planed to used in Holland and Norway were not realized anymore. Since the Molch was not successful in combat operations, it was then used as a training vessel for the more advanced mini-submarines.


Hecht
Mini submarine
The Hecht was the result of the call for an electrical mini-submarine capable to attack moving targets with an torpedo or a ground mine. Although the craft archived this goals, its very bad maneuverability made it impossible to use it for combat operations, instead the double seated mini sub was only used for training purposes. The Hecht was planed to used either the single torpedo mounted under the hull, or the mine installed in the bow of the craft. In addition two other exchangeable bows were planned, an additional battery storage or a cell for two divers. The last version and the mine were never build. Instead the over 50 build Hechte were mainly equipped with the additional batteries to enhance their endurance during training maneuvers.


Biber
Single seated Mini Submarine
The Biber was one of most used German mini-submarine during World War II. Operating since March 1944, the single seated vessel was widely used in different theaters of operations, but despite the high number of boats build (324) their success was only marginal and they where replaced by the more powerful Seehund minisub in February 1945. When used against the invasion fleet in the Normandy, about 60-70% of the boats were lost, many through allied anti-submarine warfare, many caused by CO2 poisoning of the submarine driver. Their operations in Dutch rivers and channels proved more successful, when the small vessels operated against bridges. It was also planned to transport them from Norway to the Murmansk area via a normal submarine, but this operation had to be canceled, the same happened to a secret operation to transport Biber submarines to the Suez Channel with a BV-222 flying boat.


Seehund
Mini submarine
All previous manned torpedoes or mini-submarines did not perform as expected since they all were constructed very fast and with the intention to used existing material. As it got obvious that these designs could not match their mission parameters, a real
mini-submarine based on technology of the U-boats was build - the Seehund .
The first of the 285 crafts was completed in September 1944 and go operational status in January 1945. It proved to be superior to all previous designs, therefore a mass production of over 1000 crafts was ordered. Used against allied supply lines in the
Schelde-Themse area, 70% of all Seehund operations had enemy contact and 90% of them survived their mission. Seehunde sunk nine merchant ships (damaging three more) and the French destroyer La Combattante .
A Seehund is now on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

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Agradecimentos ao Sintra

Um pequeno video onde mostra a vida nos U-boats (com música dos Rammstein:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt5et_ ... e-warriors