The Type IX U-boat was designed by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for Europe. It was derived from the
Type IA
A Type Ia supernova (read: "type one-A") is a type of supernova that occurs in binary systems (two stars orbiting one another) in which one of the stars is a white dwarf. The other star can be anything from a giant star to an even smaller white ...
, and appeared in various sub-types.
Type IXs had six
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; four at the bow and two at the stern. They carried six reloads internally and had five external torpedo containers (three at the stern and two at the bow) which stored ten additional torpedoes. The total of 22 torpedoes allowed U-boat commanders to follow a convoy and strike night after night. Some of the IXC boats were fitted for mine operations; as mine-layers they could carry 44
TMA or 66
TMB mine TMB may refer to:
Organizations
* Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited, India
* Texas Medical Board
* Thai Military Bank
* Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, Spain
Places
* Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport near Miami, Florida, US, IATA code
*Tsi ...
s.
Secondary armament was provided by one
deck gun with 180 rounds. Anti-aircraft armament differed throughout the war. They had two periscopes in the tower. Types IXA and IXB had an additional periscope in the control room, which was removed in Type IXC and afterward.
These long range boats were frequently equipped with
Focke-Achgelis Fa 330
The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 ''Bachstelze'' ( en, Wagtail) was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see further.
Development
Because of their low profi ...
rotor kite
A rotor kite or gyrokite is an unpowered, rotary-wing aircraft. Like an autogyro or helicopter, it relies on lift created by one or more sets of rotors in order to fly. Unlike a helicopter, gyrokites and rotor kites do not have an engine poweri ...
towed rotary-wing aircraft.
Type IXA
List of Type IXA submarines
DeSchiMAG
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (abbreviated Deschimag) was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945. The leading company was the shipyard AG Weser in Bremen.
History
The Deschimag was founded in 19 ...
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" (abbreviated A.G. „Weser”) was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ...
of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
built eight Type IXA U-boats.
* - scuttled 8 May 1945
* - scuttled 5 May 1945
* - sunk 14 September 1939
* - sunk on 13 October 1939 by a mine
*- sunk by depth charges on 5 February 1940
* - sunk on 13 October 1939 by depth charges
* - sunk on 30 July 1943
* - sunk by mine on 13 March 1940
Type IXB
Type IXB was an improved model with an increased range. It was the most successful version overall with each boat averaging a total of over sunk.
Notable IXB boats included commanded by
Reinhard Hardegen
''Korvettenkapitän'' Reinhard Hardegen (18 March 1913 – 9 June 2018) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was credited with the sinking of 25 ships (2 were later refloated), at a total of 136,661 tons. After the war, he spent ...
, which opened up the attack in the US waters in early 1942 known as
Operation Drumbeat
The "Second Happy Time" (; officially Operation Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season") was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis powers, Axis s ...
, and operating off
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
under the command of
Günter Hessler
Günter Hessler (14 June 1909 – 4 April 1968) was a German naval officer during World War II. He commanded the Type IXB U-boat , sinking twenty-one ships on three patrols, totalling of Allied shipping. Hessler was a recipient of the Knight's ...
, which had the most successful single mission of the war ever with close to sunk.
List of Type IXB submarines
DeSchiMAG AG Weser of Bremen built 14 Type IXB U-boats. Thirteen were sunk in the course of the war.
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Type IXC
![U-505 Engine Gauge Telegraph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/U-505_Engine_Gauge_Telegraph.jpg)
The Type IXC was a further refinement of the class with storage for an additional 43 tonnes of fuel, increasing the boat's range. This series omitted the control room periscope leaving the boats with two tower scopes.
As mine-layers they could carry 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines, though the 35 boats of through and through were not fitted for mine operations.
The only U-boat sunk in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
, , was a Type IXC.
''U-505'' survives at the
Museum of Science and Industry in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and was completely renovated after being moved in 2004 to a purpose-built indoor berth.
List of Type IXC submarines
DeSchiMAG AG Weser and
Seebeckwerft
Seebeckwerft A.G. was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremerhaven at the mouth of the river Weser. Founded in 1876, it became later one of the leading shipbuilding companies in the region.
History
Seebeckwerft was founded in 1876 in ...
of Bremen, and
Deutsche Werft
Deutsche Werft (English: German Shipyard) was a shipbuilding company in Finkenwerder Rüschpark, Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1918 by Albert Ballin and with Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH), ''Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft'' ( AEG) and ' ...
of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
built 54 Type IXC submarines. Only four survived the war, one of which is preserved in the US.
* - Sunk 6 May 1944
* - Sunk 16 July 1943
* - Sunk 10 April 1944
* - Sunk, 6 May 1943
* - Sunk by aircraft 3 June 1943
* - Sunk, 15 December 1941
* - Sunk by aircraft and surface ships, 17 May 1943
* - taken out of service 4 July 1944
* - sunk 12 March 1943
* - Scuttled 17 December 1941
* - sunk by ship in July 1942
* - sunk 3 July 1944
* -
scuttled post war by British
* - Sunk 8 March 1943
* - Sunk 13 June 1942
* - Sunk 30 June 1942
* - Sunk 28 July 1943
* - Sunk 14 July 1943
* - Sunk 27 September 1943
* - Sunk 3 September 1942
* - Sunk 12/13 March 1943
* - Sunk 6 January 1943
* - Sunk 27 September 1942
* - sunk on 30 July 1942
* - Sunk by mine 9 October 1942
* - Sunk, 13 December 1943
* - sunk 16 November 1942
* - sunk by aircraft 27 April 1943
* - sunk, 17 April 1943
* - sunk by Cuban Navy, 15 May 1943
* - Sunk by escorts, 10 September 1941
* - Sunk by aircraft 6 July 1942
* - Sunk, 15 March 1942
* - Sunk, 30 July 1943
* - Captured by US Navy, 4 June 1944. Preserved in museum
* - Sunk by aircraft 12 July 1943
* - Sunk by aircraft 13 January 1943
* - Sunk by aircraft 12 November 1943
* - Sunk by aircraft 15 July 1943
* - given to French Navy post war
* - transferred to Japan on 16 September 1943
* - Sunk by aircraft 2 October 1942
* - Sunk by aircraft 19 July 1943
* - Sunk 8 July 1943
* - Sunk, 9 April 1944
* -
scuttled post war by British
* - Sunk by aircraft 21 November 1942
* - Sunk, 22 April 1944
* - Posted missing 31 January 1943
* - Sunk, 30 October 1942
* - Sunk 2 June 1943
* - Sunk 23 February 1943
* - Sunk, 25 August 1943
* - Sunk on 22 March 1943 by aircraft
Type IXC/40
Type IXC/40 was an improved Type IXC with slightly increased range and surfaced speed. The remains of are on display at Woodside Ferry Terminal,
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
.
List of Type IXC/40 submarines
DeSchiMAG AG Weser and Seebeckwerft of Bremen, and Deutsche Werft of Hamburg, built 87 of this type.
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Type IXD
Type IXD was significantly longer and heavier than the IXC/40. It was faster than the IXC but at the cost of slightly reduced maneuverability. They had three pairs of Daimler Benz diesels: two pairs for cruise and one for high speed or battery recharge. There were three variants: the IXD1, IXD2 and IXD/42. The IXD1 had unreliable engines and they were later converted for use in surface transport vessels.
The IXD2 comprised most of the class and had a range of . The IXD/42, was almost identical but with more engine power ( instead of ).
In 1943 and 1944 the torpedo tubes were removed from a number of IXD boats converted for transport use. In their new role they could transport 252 tonnes of cargo. The range was extended to .
List of Type IXD submarines
DeSchiMAG AG Weser of Bremen built 30 Type IXD U-boats.
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Several Type IXD/42 U-boats were contracted to be built by DeSchiMAG AG Weser of Bremen, but only two were commissioned. They were:
* was launched on 28 April 1944 and commissioned 27 March 1945. Her career ended in
Operation Deadlight
Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II.
Operation
Of the 156 U-boats ...
.
* was launched on 17 May 1944 but was badly damaged on 30 March 1945 by US bombs while still in the dockyard.
*, , and were laid down but construction halted on 30 September 1943 when all IXD/42 contracts were cancelled.
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Type 009 Submarine
Submarine classes
World War II submarines of Germany