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Uncompleted U-boat Projects
During World War II, Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' considered various submarine designs for specialized operations or improving U-boat performance. Many of these designs did not come to fruition for various reasons. Some were abandoned due to practical considerations. Others towards the end had to be abandoned as the yards were overrun by allied forces. *The Type III U-boat was a 1934 project for a purpose-built minelayer based on the German Type I submarine, Type IA U-boat. The Type III U-Boat would have been similar to the Type IA, but with a hull lengthened by 7.5 m, and a total displacement of 970 tons. The Type III U-Boat was planned to carry an armament of 54 to 75 naval mine, mines (depending on the type carried), two 105-mm deck guns, and one 20-mm antiaircraft gun. *The Type IIIA (originally known as Type VII) U-boat was a planned minelayer similar to the Type IA U-boat. It would have had a larger outer hull than the Type IA, and featured a large, watertight cylindrical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type XXVI Submarine
The Type XXVI was a German submarine project towards the end of the Second World War. Only five boats went into production, none of which were completed. Concept After the use of electric propulsion in submarine construction in the course of the development of the Type XXI and XXIII submarines, the designs of Types XVII, XVIII and XXII by Walterwerke were not pursued any further. When it turned out that the XXI boats were unsuitable for the tactical requirements of the convoy raids, the Kiel family company saw the opportunity for a "Walter U-boat" again and on October 12, 1943 presented a concept with the designation XXVIA . On March 28 of the following year, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Karl Dönitz, decided to have the boat built under the type designation XXVIW (for Walter). A week later, the naval war command formulated the requirements that the new type of boat had to meet, which was now given the designation XXVI. Then the Ingenieurbüro Glückauf (IBG) was ent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molch
''Molch'' (German language: "newt" or "salamander") was an unsuccessful series of one-man midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'', but was not successful in combat operations and suffered heavy losses. Description The Molch was based on torpedo technology, and carried two G7e torpedoes attached externally on either side of the craft. It was fully electrical and was created for coastal operations, with a range of at . The front section of the boat held a large battery. Behind the battery was the operator's position, which sat between two small trimming tanks. Behind the operator sat the electric motor. The complicated system of tanks made it difficult to control during combat operations. The first of 393 boats were delivered on June 12 1944 and were built by AG Weser in Bremen. Operational history The Molch were first used in the Mediterranean against the Allied "Operation Dragoon" in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hai (midget Submarine)
''Hai'' (shark) was an advanced model of the Marder (submarine), Marder-class midget submarines created in Nazi Germany during World War II and operated by the K-Verband. Its prototype performed poorly during test runs and therefore no other boats were produced. The ''Hai'' was long and its length allowed for larger batteries, giving it the maximum speed of under water. In addition, the ''Hai'' could remain under water for up to two hours. References Bibliography * * External links * Midget submarines World War II submarines of Germany {{Germany-submarine-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biber (submarine)
''Biber'' (German for "beaver") was a German midget submarine of the Second World War. Armed with two externally mounted torpedoes or mines, they were intended to attack coastal shipping. They were the smallest submarines in the Kriegsmarine. The Biber was hastily developed to help meet the threat of an Allied invasion of Europe. This resulted in basic technical flaws that, combined with the inadequate training of their operators, meant they never posed a real threat to Allied shipping, despite 324 submarines being delivered. One of the class's few successes was the sinking of the cargo ship '' Alan A. Dale''. Several survive in museums, including one in operational condition. Development Construction of the first prototype began in February 1944 and was completed in less than 6 weeks. The initial prototype, officially titled ''Bunteboot'' (but better known as ''Adam''), was heavily influenced by the British Welman submarine. It differed from the final design in a number of r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midget Submarine
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff. Both military and civilian midget submarines have been built. Military types work with surface ships and other submarines as mother ships. Civilian and non-combatant military types are generally called submersibles and normally work with surface ships. Most early submarines would now be considered midget submarines, such as the United States Navy's and the British Royal Navy's (both named for the same John Philip Holland, designer). Military submarines Uses Midget submarines are best known for harbor penetration, although only two World War II boats, the British X-class submarine, X-craft and the unsuccessful Welman subm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type XXIII Submarine
German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektroboote ("electric boats") to become operational. They were small coastal submarines designed to operate in the shallow waters of the North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where larger Type XXI submarine, Type XXI electric boats were at risk in World War II. They were so small they could carry only two torpedoes, which had to be loaded externally. As with their far larger sisters—the Type XXI—they were able to remain submerged almost all of the time and were faster than conventional U-boats, due to the improved streamlining of their shape, batteries with larger capacity and the submarine snorkel, snorkel, which allowed the diesel engines to be used while submerged. The Type XXI and XXIII U-boats revolutionized post-war submarine design. Nearly a thousand Type XXIII boats were projected towards the close of World War II, but most of these were either cancelled, scrapped incomplete, or only projected. Background W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type XXI Submarine
Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric ''Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only two were put into active service and went on patrols, but these were not used in combat. They were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than spending most of their time as surface ships that could submerge for brief periods as a means of escaping detection. They incorporated many batteries to increase the time they could spend submerged, to as much as several days, and they only needed to surface to periscope depth for recharging via a snorkel. The design included many general improvements as well: much greater underwater speed by an improved hull design, greatly improved diving times, power-assisted torpedo reloading and greatly improved crew accommodations. However, the design was also flawed in many ways, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Type XVII Submarine
The Type XVII U-boats were small coastal submarines that used a high-test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air-independent propulsion and high submerged speeds. Background In the early 1930s Hellmuth Walter had designed a small, high-speed submarine with a streamlined form propelled by high-test peroxide (HTP) and in 1939 he was awarded a contract to build an experimental vessel, the 80 ton , which achieved an underwater speed of during trials in 1940. In November 1940 Admirals Erich Raeder and Werner Fuchs (head of the ''Kriegsmarine''s Construction Office) witnessed a demonstration of the ''V-80''; Raeder was impressed, but Fuchs was slow to approve further tests. Following the success of the ''V-80's'' trials, Walter contacted Karl Dönitz in January 1942, who enthusiastically embraced the idea and requested that these submarines be developed as quickly as possible. An initial order was placed in summer 1942 for four Type XVIIA development submarine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Type XIV Submarine
The Type XIV U-boat was a modification of the Type IXD, designed to resupply other U-boats, being the only submarine tenders built which were not surface ships. It was nicknamed the "''Milchkuh/Milchkühe (pl.)''" (milk cows) or ''U-Tanker''. Design German Type XIV submarines were shortened and deepened versions of the Type IXDs. The boats had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. The U-boats had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarines were powered by two Germaniawerft supercharged four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/38-8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. They had two shafts and two propellers. The boats were capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarines had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boats co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Type X Submarine
Type X (XB) U-boats were a special type of German submarine (U-boat). Although intended as long-range mine-layers, they were later used as long-range cargo transports, a task they shared with the Type IXD and Italian ''Romolo''-class submarines. History The Type X was originally designed specifically to accommodate the newly developed ''Schachtmine A'' (SMA) moored mine. The initial design provided dry storage for the mines, which needed their detonators to be individually adjusted before launch; this submarine was projected to have displaced up to 2,500 tonnes. A further variant, the Type XA was projected, which would have supplemented the main mine chamber with extra mine shafts in the saddle tanks. Neither type entered production. A total of eight Type XB boats were produced, which replaced the mine chamber of the projected Type XA with six vertical wet storage shafts in the forward section of the hull. Up to 18 mines could be carried in these shafts, with an additional 48 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Type VII Submarine
Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Conception and production The Type VII was based on earlier German submarine designs going back to the World War I Type UB III and especially the cancelled Type UG. The type UG was designed through the Dutch dummy company ''NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw Den Haag'' (I.v.S) to circumvent the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, and was built by foreign shipyards. The Finnish ''Vetehinen'' class and Spanish Type E-1 also provided some of the basis for the Type VII design. These designs led to the Type VII along with Type I, the latter being built in AG Weser shipyard in Bremen, Germany. The production of Type I was stopped after only two boats; the reasons for this are not certain. The design of the Type I was further used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
