An elektroboot ("electric boat" in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
) was a
submarine designed to operate entirely submerged, rather than as
submersibles that could submerge as a temporary means to escape detection or launch an attack.
History
Even before the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
the rocket designer
Hellmuth Walter
Hellmuth Walter (26 August 1900 – 16 December 1980) was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines. His most noteworthy contributions were rocket motors for the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349 interce ...
had been advocating the use of
hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%â ...
(known as ''perhydrol'') as a fuel. His engines were to become famous for their use in rocket-powered aircraft—notably the
Me 163 Komet—but most of his early efforts were spent on systems for submarine propulsion.
In these cases the hydrogen peroxide was
reduced chemically and the resulting gases used to spin a turbine at about 20,000 rpm, which was then geared to a propeller. This allowed the submarine to run underwater at all times, as there was no need for air to run the engines. The system also used up tremendous amounts of fuel, and any boat based on the design would either have to be huge or have limited range.
Thus the system saw only limited development even though a prototype was running in 1940. But when problems with the existing
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
designs became evident in 1942, the work was stepped up. Eventually two engineers identified a solution to the problem.
Instead of running the submarine entirely on the perhydrol, they used it just for bursts of speed. Most of the operations would then be carried out as with a normal boat, using a
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
to charge batteries. However while a conventional design would use the diesel as the primary engine and the batteries for short periods of underwater power, in this case the boat would run almost all the time on batteries in a low-speed cruise, turning on the perhydrol during attacks. The diesel was now dedicated entirely to charging the batteries, which it needed only three hours to do.
The perhydrol design suffered from several design flaws which were not fixed before the end of the war. As an intermediate solution, the perhydrol propulsion system was dropped in favour of a conventional diesel/electric solution, but retaining the streamlined hull-shape. The battery capacity was increased significantly along with fuel stores, and the boat was designed to operate underwater for long periods.
militaryfactory.com, Elektroboat
/ref>
Electric U-boats
The result was the "Elektroboot" series, the Type XXI U-boat
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 t ...
and a short range Type XXIII U-boat
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 la ...
, finalized in January 1943 but with production only commencing in 1944–1945. When under water, the Type XXI managed to run at , which was faster than a Type VII running full out on the surface and almost as fast as the ships attacking her. After the war, tests carried out by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on two captured Type XXIs showed they could outrun some ASW ships by going in the direction of heavy seas. (The US Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine, , used a modified Type XXI hull shape.) For most of the trip it ran silently underwater on batteries, surfacing only at night, and then only to snorkel depth. Weapons were likewise upgraded, with automated systems allowing the torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s to be reloaded in less than one-fourth of the time, firing homing torpedoes that would attack on their own. Even the interior was improved: it was much larger and fitted with showers and a meat refrigerator for long patrols.
The design was to be produced in two versions, primarily the Type XXI, and lesser numbers of the smaller Type XXIII. Both were much larger and more difficult to build than the existing designs, the Type XXI taking some 18 months. Mass production of the new type did not really get started until 1944 and subsequently only one combat patrol was carried out by a Type XXI before the war ended. This patrol is considered controversial. According to some sources, the ''U-2511
German submarine ''U-2511'' was a Type XXI submarine of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The '' Elektroboot'' submarine was laid down on 7 July 1944 at the Blohm & Voss yard at Hamburg, launched on 2 September 1944, and comm ...
'' did not make any contact with the enemy. Another version suggests that the U-boat did make contact with of the Royal Navy, but did not fire as the captain had already received orders of surrender. A number of boats were commissioned into Allied navies after the war for research purposes, and one
And One is a German new wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz in 1989.
History
The band formed after Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in 1989 at a Berlin club. Being fans of early EBM music, Naghavi and Ruiz dec ...
into the ''Bundesmarine
The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...
'' of post-war Germany.
References
Further reading
*
{{WWII German ships
Type XXI submarines
World War II submarines of Germany
Ship types