Submarines dictate the rules in naval warfare and force everyone to meekly follow the routine.
Those stubborn people who dare to ignore the rules of the game will face a quick and painful death in the cold water, among floating debris and oil stains. Boats, regardless of flag, remain the most dangerous combat vehicles, capable of crushing any enemy.
I bring to your attention a short story about the seven most successful submarine projects of the war years.
Boats type T (Triton-class), UK
The number of submarines built is 53.
Surface displacement - 1290 tons; underwater - 1560 tons.
Crew - 59…61 people.
Working immersion depth - 90 m (riveted hull), 106 m (welded hull).
Full surface speed - 15.5 knots; in underwater - 9 knots.
A fuel reserve of 131 tons provided a surface cruising range of 8,000 miles.
Weapons:
- 11 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber (on boats of subseries II and III), ammunition - 17 torpedoes;
- 1 x 102 mm universal gun, 1 x 20 mm anti-aircraft "Oerlikon".
HMS Traveler
A British underwater Terminator capable of knocking the crap out of any enemy's head with a bow-launched 8-torpedo salvo. The T-type boats had no equal in destructive power among all the submarines of the WWII period - this explains their ferocious appearance with a bizarre bow superstructure that housed additional torpedo tubes.
The notorious British conservatism is a thing of the past - the British were among the first to equip their boats with ASDIC sonars. Alas, despite its powerful weapons and modern means detection, boats open sea type "T" did not become the most effective among the British submarines of World War II. Nevertheless, they went through an exciting battle path and achieved a number of remarkable victories. “Tritons” were actively used in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean Sea, destroyed Japanese communications in the Pacific Ocean, and were spotted several times in the frozen waters of the Arctic.
In August 1941, the submarines "Tygris" and "Trident" arrived in Murmansk. British submariners demonstrated a master class to their Soviet colleagues: in two trips, 4 enemy ships were sunk, incl. "Bahia Laura" and "Donau II" with thousands of soldiers of the 6th Mountain Division. Thus, the sailors prevented a third German offensive to Murmansk.
Other famous T-boat trophies include the German light cruiser Karlsruhe and the Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara. The samurai were “lucky” to get acquainted with a full 8-torpedo salvo of the Trenchant submarine - having received 4 torpedoes on board (+ another one from the stern tube), the cruiser quickly capsized and sank.
After the war, the powerful and sophisticated Tritons remained in service with the Royal Navy for another quarter of a century.
It is noteworthy that three boats of this type were acquired by Israel in the late 1960s - one of them, INS Dakar (formerly HMS Totem) was lost in 1968 in the Mediterranean Sea under unclear circumstances.
Boats of the "Cruising" type XIV series, Soviet Union
The number of submarines built is 11.
Surface displacement - 1500 tons; underwater - 2100 tons.
Crew - 62…65 people.
Full surface speed - 22.5 knots; in underwater - 10 knots.
Surface cruising range 16,500 miles (9 knots)
Submerged cruising range - 175 miles (3 knots)
Weapons:
- 2 x 100 mm universal guns, 2 x 45 mm anti-aircraft semi-automatic guns;
- up to 20 minutes of barrage.
...On December 3, 1941, German hunters UJ-1708, UJ-1416 and UJ-1403 bombed a Soviet boat that tried to attack a convoy at Bustad Sund.
Hans, can you hear this creature?
- Nain. After a series of explosions, the Russians lay low - I detected three impacts on the ground...
-Can you determine where they are now?
- Donnerwetter! They are blown away. They probably decided to surface and surrender.
The German sailors were wrong. From depths of the sea A MONSTER rose to the surface - the cruising submarine K-3 series XIV, unleashing a barrage of artillery fire on the enemy. From the fifth salvo Soviet sailors managed to sink U-1708. The second hunter, having received two direct hits, began to smoke and turned to the side - his 20 mm anti-aircraft guns could not compete with the “hundreds” of the secular submarine cruiser. Scattering the Germans like puppies, K-3 quickly disappeared over the horizon at 20 knots.
The Soviet Katyusha was a phenomenal boat for its time. Welded hull, powerful artillery and mine-torpedo weapons, powerful diesel engines (2 x 4200 hp!), high surface speed of 22-23 knots. Huge autonomy in terms of fuel reserves. Remote control ballast tank valves. Radio station capable of transmitting signals from the Baltic to Far East. An exceptional level of comfort: shower cabins, refrigerated tanks, two seawater desalinators, an electric galley... Two boats (K-3 and K-22) were equipped with Lend-Lease ASDIC sonars.
But, strangely enough, neither high performance, nor the most powerful weapons made the Katyusha effective - in addition to the dark story of the K-21 attack on the Tirpitz, during the war years on boats XIV series accounted for only 5 successful torpedo attacks and 27 thousand brigades. reg. tons of sunk tonnage. Most of victories were won with the help of mines. Moreover, its own losses amounted to five cruising boats.
K-21, Severomorsk, today
The reasons for the failures lie in the tactics of using Katyushas - the powerful submarine cruisers, created for the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, had to “tread water” in the shallow Baltic “puddle”. When operating at depths of 30-40 meters, a huge 97-meter boat could hit the ground with its bow while its stern was still sticking out on the surface. It was a little easier for the North Sea sailors - as practice has shown, the effectiveness combat use“Katyusha” was complicated by poor training of personnel and lack of initiative by the command.
It's a pity. These boats were designed for more.
“Baby”, Soviet Union
Series VI and VI bis - 50 built.
Series XII - 46 built.
Series XV - 57 built (4 took part in combat operations).
Performance characteristics of boats type M series XII:
Surface displacement - 206 tons; underwater - 258 tons.
Autonomy - 10 days.
Working immersion depth - 50 m, maximum - 60 m.
Full surface speed - 14 knots; in underwater - 8 knots.
Cruising range on the surface is 3,380 miles (8.6 knots).
Submerged cruising range is 108 miles (3 knots).
Weapons:
- 2 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, ammunition - 2 torpedoes;
- 1 x 45 mm anti-aircraft semi-automatic.
Baby!
The project of mini-submarines for the rapid strengthening of the Pacific Fleet - the main feature of the M-type boats was the ability to be transported by rail in a fully assembled form.
In the pursuit of compactness, many had to be sacrificed - service on the Malyutka turned into a grueling and dangerous undertaking. Difficult living conditions, strong roughness - the waves mercilessly tossed the 200-ton “float”, risking breaking it into pieces. Shallow diving depth and weak weapons. But the main concern of the sailors was the reliability of the submarine - one shaft, one diesel engine, one electric motor - the tiny “Malyutka” left no chance for the careless crew, the slightest malfunction on board threatened death for the submarine.
The kids quickly evolved - performance characteristics of each new series differed significantly from the previous project: the contours were improved, the electrical equipment and detection equipment were updated, the diving time was reduced, and the autonomy increased. The “babies” of the XV series no longer resembled their predecessors of the VI and XII series: one-and-a-half-hull design - the ballast tanks were moved outside the durable hull; The power plant received a standard two-shaft layout with two diesel engines and underwater electric motors. The number of torpedo tubes increased to four. Alas, Series XV appeared too late - the “Little Ones” of Series VI and XII bore the brunt of the war.
Despite their modest size and only 2 torpedoes on board, the tiny fish were simply distinguished by their terrifying “gluttony”: in just the years of World War II, Soviet M-type submarines sank 61 enemy ships with a total tonnage of 135.5 thousand gross tons, destroyed 10 warships, and also damaged 8 transports.
Babes originally intended only for action in coastal zone, learned to fight effectively in open maritime areas. They are on par with more large boats they cut enemy communications, patrolled at the exits of enemy bases and fjords, deftly overcame anti-submarine barriers and blew up transports right at the piers inside protected enemy harbors. It’s simply amazing how the Red Navy were able to fight on these flimsy ships! But they fought. And we won!
Boats of the “Medium” type, series IX-bis, Soviet Union
The number of submarines built is 41.
Surface displacement - 840 tons; underwater - 1070 tons.
Crew - 36…46 people.
Working immersion depth - 80 m, maximum - 100 m.
Full surface speed - 19.5 knots; submerged - 8.8 knots.
Surface cruising range 8,000 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 148 miles (3 knots).
“Six torpedo tubes and the same number of spare torpedoes on racks convenient for reloading. Two cannons with large ammunition, machine guns, explosive equipment... In a word, there is something to fight with. And 20 knots surface speed! It allows you to overtake almost any convoy and attack it again. The technique is good...”
- opinion of the S-56 commander, Hero Soviet Union G.I. Shchedrin
The Eskis were distinguished by their rational layout and balanced design, powerful armament, and excellent performance and seaworthiness. Initially German project company "Deshimag", modified to Soviet requirements. But don’t rush to clap your hands and remember the Mistral. After the start of serial construction of the IX series in Soviet shipyards, the German project was revised with the goal of a complete transition to Soviet equipment: 1D diesel engines, weapons, radio stations, a noise direction finder, a gyrocompass... - there were none in the boats designated “series IX-bis”. foreign made bolt!
The problems with the combat use of the "Medium" type boats, in general, were similar to the K-type cruising boats - locked in mine-infested shallow water, they were never able to realize their high combat qualities. Things were much better in the Northern Fleet - during the war, the S-56 boat under the command of G.I. Shchedrina made the transition through the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, moving from Vladivostok to Polyarny, subsequently becoming the most productive boat of the USSR Navy.
An equally fantastic story is connected with the S-101 “bomb catcher” - during the war years, the Germans and Allies dropped over 1000 depth charges on the boat, but each time the S-101 returned safely to Polyarny.
Finally, it was on the S-13 that Alexander Marinesko achieved his famous victories.
S-56 torpedo compartment
“Cruel alterations in which the ship found itself, bombings and explosions, depths far exceeding the official limit. The boat protected us from everything..."
- from the memoirs of G.I. Shchedrin
Gato type boats, USA
The number of submarines built is 77.
Surface displacement - 1525 tons; underwater - 2420 tons.
Crew - 60 people.
Working immersion depth - 90 m.
Full surface speed - 21 knots; submerged - 9 knots.
Cruising range on the surface is 11,000 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 96 miles (2 knots).
Weapons:
- 10 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, ammunition - 24 torpedoes;
- 1 x 76 mm universal gun, 1 x 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, 1 x 20 mm Oerlikon;
- one of the boats, USS Barb, was equipped with a multiple launch rocket system for shelling the coast.
Ocean-going submarine cruisers of the Getou class appeared at the height of the war in the Pacific Ocean and became one of the most effective tools of the US Navy. They tightly blocked all strategic straits and approaches to the atolls, cut all supply lines, leaving Japanese garrisons without reinforcements, and Japanese industry without raw materials and oil. In battles with the Gatow, the Imperial Navy lost two heavy aircraft carriers, lost four cruisers and a damn dozen destroyers.
High speed, lethal torpedo weapons, the most modern radio equipment for detecting the enemy - radar, direction finder, sonar. The cruising range allows for combat patrols off the coast of Japan when operating from a base in Hawaii. Increased comfort on board. But most importantly - excellent preparation crews and the weakness of Japanese anti-submarine weapons. As a result, the "Getow" mercilessly destroyed everything - it was they who brought victory in the Pacific Ocean from the blue depths of the sea.
...One of the main achievements of the Getow boats, which changed the whole world, is considered to be the event of September 2, 1944. On that day, the Finback submarine detected a distress signal from a falling plane and, after many hours of searching, found a frightened and already desperate pilot in the ocean . The one who was saved was one George Herbert Bush.
The cabin of the submarine "Flasher", memorial in Groton.
The list of Flasher trophies sounds like a naval joke: 9 tankers, 10 transports, 2 patrol ships with a total tonnage of 100,231 GRT! And for a snack, the boat grabbed a Japanese cruiser and a destroyer. Lucky damn thing!
Electrobots type XXI, Germany
By April 1945, the Germans managed to launch 118 submarines of the XXI series. However, only two of them were able to achieve operational readiness and go to sea in last days war.
Surface displacement - 1620 tons; underwater - 1820 tons.
Crew - 57 people.
Working depth of immersion is 135 m, maximum depth is 200+ meters.
Full speed in the surface position is 15.6 knots, in the submerged position - 17 knots.
Cruising range on the surface is 15,500 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 340 miles (5 knots).
Weapons:
- 6 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, ammunition - 17 torpedoes;
- 2 Flak anti-aircraft guns of 20 mm caliber.
U-2540 "Wilhelm Bauer" permanently moored in Bremerhaven, present day
Our allies were very lucky that all German forces were thrown at Eastern front- the Krauts did not have enough resources to release a flock of fantastic “Electric Boats” into the sea. If they appeared a year earlier, that would be it! Another turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Germans were the first to guess: everything that shipbuilders in other countries are proud of - large ammunition, powerful artillery, high surface speed of 20+ knots - is of little importance. The key parameters that determine the combat effectiveness of a submarine are its speed and cruising range when submerged.
Unlike its peers, “Electrobot” was focused on being constantly under water: a maximally streamlined body without heavy artillery, fences and platforms - all for the sake of minimizing underwater resistance. Snorkel, six groups of batteries (3 times more than on conventional boats!), powerful electric. engines full speed, quiet and economical electric. "sneak" engines.
The stern of U-2511, sunk at a depth of 68 meters
The Germans calculated everything - the entire Elektrobot campaign moved at periscope depth under the RDP, remaining difficult to detect for enemy anti-submarine weapons. At great depths, its advantage became even more shocking: 2-3 times greater range, at twice the speed of any wartime submarine! High stealth and impressive underwater skills, homing torpedoes, a set of the most advanced detection means... “Electrobots” opened a new milestone in history submarine fleet, defining the vector of development of submarines in the post-war years.
The Allies were not prepared to face such a threat - as post-war tests showed, the “Electrobots” were several times superior in mutual hydroacoustic detection range to the American and British destroyers guarding the convoys.
Type VII boats, Germany
The number of submarines built is 703.
Surface displacement - 769 tons; underwater - 871 tons.
Crew - 45 people.
Working immersion depth - 100 m, maximum - 220 meters
Full surface speed - 17.7 knots; submerged - 7.6 knots.
Cruising range on the surface is 8,500 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 80 miles (4 knots).
Weapons:
- 5 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, ammunition - 14 torpedoes;
- 1 x 88 mm universal gun (until 1942), eight options for superstructures with 20 and 37 mm anti-aircraft mounts.
* the given performance characteristics correspond to boats of the VIIC subseries
The most effective warships of all who have ever plowed the world's oceans.
A relatively simple, cheap, mass-produced, but at the same time well-armed and deadly weapon for total underwater terror.
703 submarines. 10 MILLION tons of sunk tonnage! Battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, corvettes and enemy submarines, oil tankers, transports with aircraft, tanks, cars, rubber, ore, machine tools, ammunition, uniforms and food... Damage from actions German submariners exceeded all reasonable limits - if not for the inexhaustible industrial potential of the United States, capable of compensating for any losses of the allies, German U-bots had every chance to “strangle” Great Britain and change the course of world history.
U-995. Graceful underwater killer
The successes of the Sevens are often associated with the “prosperous times” of 1939-41. - allegedly, when the Allies appeared the convoy system and Asdik sonars, the successes of the German submariners ended. A completely populist statement based on a misinterpretation of “prosperous times.”
The situation was simple: at the beginning of the war, when for every German boat there was one Allied anti-submarine ship, the “sevens” felt like invulnerable masters of the Atlantic. That's when they appeared legendary aces, which sank 40 enemy ships. The Germans already held victory in their hands when the Allies suddenly deployed 10 anti-submarine ships and 10 aircraft for each active Kriegsmarine boat!
Beginning in the spring of 1943, the Yankees and British began to methodically overwhelm the Kriegsmarine with anti-submarine equipment and soon achieved an excellent loss ratio of 1:1. They fought like that until the end of the war. The Germans ran out of ships faster than their opponents.
The whole history of the German “sevens” is a formidable warning from the past: what threat does the submarine pose and how high are the costs of creating effective system countering the underwater threat.
A funny American poster of those years. "Hit the weak points! Come serve in the submarine fleet - we account for 77% of the sunk tonnage!" Comments, as they say, are unnecessary
The article uses materials from the book “Soviet Submarine Shipbuilding”, V. I. Dmitriev, Voenizdat, 1990.
German fighting submarines
During the Second World War
German submarines operated in the Atlantic from the early days of World War II. On September 1, 1939 German submarine fleet consisted of only 57 submarines, of which: 35 were small series II coastal submarines (with a displacement of 250 tons) and 22 were ocean-going submarines (with a displacement of 500 and 700 tons). With such a small force, the German submarine fleet began the Battle of the Atlantic.
Start of hostilities
German submarines on the Atlantic
At first, the problems of the German submarine fleet were the insufficient number of submarines and their insufficient construction (the main shipbuilding facilities were occupied by the construction of cruisers and battleships) and the very unfortunate location of German ports. German submarines had to sail to the Atlantic through the North Sea, which was full of British ships, minefields, and carefully patrolled by British base and carrier aircraft.
A few months later, thanks to the offensive campaigns of the Wehrmacht in Western Europe The situation in the Atlantic has changed radically.
In April 1940 German troops occupied Norway and thus destroyed the Scotland-Norway anti-submarine line. At the same time, the German submarine fleet received conveniently located Norwegian bases in Stavanger, Trondheim, Bergen and other ports.
In May 1940, Germany occupied the Netherlands and Belgium; Anglo-French troops were defeated at Dunkirk. In June, France was destroyed as an allied state fighting Germany. After the armistice, Germany occupied the northern and western parts of the country, including all French ports on the coast of the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean.
Britain has lost its greatest ally. In 1940, the French fleet was fourth in the world. Only a handful of French ships joined the Free French forces and fought against Germany, although they were later joined by a few Canadian-built corvettes which played a small but important role in the fight against Nazi Germany.
British destroyers were withdrawn from the Atlantic. The Norwegian campaign and the German invasion of the Low Countries and France placed British destroyer fleets under great strain and significant losses. Many destroyers were taken off convoy routes to support Norwegian operations in April and May, and then withdrawn to the English Channel to support the Dunkirk evacuation. In the summer of 1940, Britain faced a serious threat of invasion. The destroyers were concentrated in the Channel, where they prepared to repel the German invasion. Here the destroyers suffered heavily from air attacks by the German air commander in the Atlantic. (Luftwaffe Fliegerführer Atlantik). Seven destroyers were lost in the Norwegian campaign, a further six in the battles of Dunkirk and a further 10 in the Channel and North Sea in May–July, most of them to air attacks because they lacked adequate anti-aircraft armament. Most of the other destroyers were damaged.
In June 1940, Italy entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. The Mediterranean theater of operations was opened. Great Britain declared war on Italy and strengthened its Mediterranean fleet (6 battleships against 6 Italian ones), placing a new squadron in Gibraltar, known as the H force (H) - the newest English battleship Hood with a displacement of 42,000 tons, two battleships Resolution " and "Valiant", eleven destroyers and the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" - to counter the French fleet in the Western Mediterranean.
All these events radically changed the situation in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjacent seas.
Germany did not have the opportunity to destroy the allied navies in a direct combat clash, so it began to act on enemy communications. To do this, she used: surface ships (large or boats), surface commercial raiders, submarines, aviation.
"Happy Time" of German submarines
The end of the German campaign in Western Europe meant that the U-boats that had been involved in the Norwegian campaign were now relieved of fleet operations and returned to the war of communications to sink Allied ships and ships.
German submarines received direct access to the Atlantic. Since the English Channel was relatively shallow and had been blocked by minefields since mid-1940, German submarines had to navigate around British Isles to reach the most profitable "hunting grounds".
From the beginning of July 1940, German submarines, after patrolling in the Atlantic, began to return to new bases in Western France. The French bases at Brest, Lorient, Bordeaux, Saint-Nazaire, La Pallis and La Rochelle were 450 miles (720 km) closer to the Atlantic than the German bases in the North Sea. This greatly expanded the range of German submarines in the Atlantic, allowing them to attack convoys much further west and conduct more long time on patrol, doubling effective number submarines.
The number of Allied ships sunk began to grow rapidly. In June 1940, the total tonnage of sunken ships of the allied and neutral fleets amounted to 500 thousand tons. In the following months, the British lost transport ships with a total displacement of about 400 thousand tons every month. Great Britain found itself in an extremely difficult situation.
The number of submarines on patrol in the Atlantic began to increase. In turn, the composition of Allied escorts available for convoys, which consisted of 30 to 70 mostly unarmed merchant ships, was significantly reduced. The only consolation for the British was that the large merchant fleets of occupied Norway and the Netherlands were under British control. Great Britain occupied Iceland and the Faroe Islands in order to obtain bases for itself and prevent them from falling into enemy hands after the occupation of Denmark and Norway by German troops.
French Atlantic bases began building concrete bunkers, docks and submarine yards that were impenetrable to Allied bombers until Barnes Wallis developed his highly effective tallboy bomb.
German submarine base in Lorient, Western France
From June to October 1940, more than 270 Allied ships were sunk. The period from June 1940 to February 1941 was remembered by German submarine crews as " Happy time "(Die Glückliche Zeit). 1940 and 1941, when German submarines achieved enormous successes in Allied communications with relatively small losses, the crews of the submarines also called “ fat years».
which was torpedoed but remained afloat
Collections IWM. Photo No.: MISC 51237.
The initial operations of German submarines from French bases were quite effective. This was the heyday of U-boat commanders such as Günther Prien (U-47), Otto Kretschmer (U-99), Joachim Schepke (U-100), Engelbert Endras (U-46), Victor Auern (U-37) and Heinrich Bleichrodt (U-48). Each of them accounted for 30-40 sunk Allied ships.
The most famous of all German submariners was Gunter Prien(1909-1941), commander of the submarine U-47, the first holder of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves among submariners. He was one of the most successful submarine commanders. Prien earned the nickname "The Bull of Scapa Flow", which he received after torpedoing the British battleship Royal Oak, which was located in a guarded roadstead in the harbor of Scapa Flow. Gunther Prien went missing in the Atlantic Ocean along with his submarine and its entire crew on March 8, 1941, after an attack on convoy OB-293 en route from Liverpool to Halifax.
U-47
The greatest difficulty for submarines was finding convoys in the vastness of the ocean. The Germans had a handful of long-range Focke-Wulf 200 Condor aircraft based in Bordeaux (France) and Stavanger (Norway) that were used for reconnaissance but were essentially converted civilian airliners. This plane was a temporary solution. Due to ongoing tensions between air force(Luftwaffe) and the Navy (Kriegsmarine), the primary source of convoy observations was the submarines themselves. Since the submarine's bridge is located very close to the water, the range of visual observation from submarines was very limited.
Further naval reconnaissance Focke-Wulf FW 200
Source: Aircraft of the Fighting Powers, Vol II. Ed: H J Cooper, O G Thetford and D A Russell,
Harborough Publishing Co, Leicester, England 1941.
In 1940 - early 1941, half of the ships merchant fleet Allied submarines were sunk. By the end of 1940, the British navy and air force had sunk 33 boats. But in 1941, German shipyards increased the production of submarines to 18 units per month. In August 1941, the German submarine fleet already had 100 submarines in service.
"Wolf packs" of Dönitz submarines
In February–March 1941, the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during a raid in North Atlantic destroyed 22 Allied transport ships with a total displacement of 115,600 tons. However, in May 1941, the British sank the largest German battleship, the Bismarck, and from the summer of 1941 Germany abandoned the use of large surface ships against Allied communications. Submarines remained the only means of combat operations on long-distance communications. At the same time, boats and aircraft operated on close communications.
Commander of the German submarine fleet, Vice Admiral Karl Dönitz developed tactics for attacking submarines on convoys of Allied ships (tactics "wolf packs") when a group of submarines attacked simultaneously. Karl Dönitz organized a supply system for submarines directly in the ocean far from the bases.
Vice Admiral Karl Dönitz,
commander of the submarine fleet in 1935-1943,
Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy in 1943-1945.
In March 1941, the German submarine fleet suffered its first significant losses when it lost three of its the best commanders submarines. They died along with the crews of G. Prien and J. Schepke. O. Kretschmer was captured.
In 1941, the British began to increasingly use the convoy system, which allowed large, organized groups of transport ships to cross the dangerous Atlantic Ocean under the protection of escorts from warships - cruisers, destroyers and escort aircraft carriers. This significantly reduced the losses of transport ships and caused an increase in losses of German submarines.
From the beginning of 1941, British aviation began to take an active part in attacks on German submarines. However, the aircraft did not yet have a sufficient range and were an effective anti-submarine weapon only at short distances.
Dönitz's "wolf packs" of submarines caused great damage to Allied convoys. Until the end of 1941, the German submarine fleet was the dominant force in the Atlantic. Great Britain defended its transport shipping, which was vital for the mother country, with great effort.
On December 11, 1941, Germany declared war on the United States, and immediately German submarines began sinking American merchant ships off the coast of the United States. The American merchant fleet was not ready for war; its single transports were defenseless. German submarines destroyed them without much difficulty. Several months passed before the Americans began to use the effective British convoy system, which immediately reduced the losses of American transport ships.
From December 1941 to March 1943, there was a reduction in air support for the "wolf packs" of submarines. During this period, the German navy lost 155 submarines. During the same period, transport ships and warships of the enemy and neutral countries with a total displacement of about 10 million tons were sunk, 80% of them by submarines. In 1942 alone, German submarines managed to sink transports with a displacement of about 7.8 million tons.
1942–1943 were critical in the Battle of the Atlantic. The British began to use the Asdik underwater detection system, radars, and long-range aircraft. The convoys were escorted by naval “support groups”. The protection of allied communications began to improve, the effectiveness of German submarines began to decline, and the number of their losses increased.
During the first half of 1942, the losses of Allied transports from “wolf packs” of submarines reached maximum number 900 ships (displacement 4 million tons). During the entire 1942, 1,664 Allied ships (with a displacement of 7,790,697 tons) were sunk, of which 1,160 ships were sunk by submarines.
Instead of using surface fleet raids, Germany switched to unrestricted submarine warfare (uneingeschränkter U-Boot-Krieg), when submarines began to sink civilian merchant ships without warning and without trying to save the crews of these ships.
On September 17, 1942, German Navy Submarine Commander Karl Dönitz issued the Triton Zero or Laconia-Befehl order, which prohibited submarine commanders from providing assistance to the crew and passengers of sunken ships. This was necessary to avoid pursuit of submarines by Allied anti-submarine forces.
Until September 1942, according to the rules of war, German submarines, after an attack by Allied ships, provided assistance to sailors of sunken ships and ships. On September 12, 1942, the submarine U-156 sank the British transport ship Laconia and assisted in the rescue of the crew and passengers. On September 16, 4 submarines (one Italian), with several hundred rescued on board, were attacked by American planes, whose pilots knew that the Germans and Italians were saving the British. As a result of the air raid, the submarine U-156 was severely damaged.
The next day, having learned about what had happened, the commander of the submarine fleet, Admiral Dönitz, issued the order: “ It is prohibited to make any attempts to rescue the crews of sunken ships and vessels. ».
In 1942, combat operations in the Atlantic proceeded with varying degrees of success. German submarines were heading to the shores of the Northern and South America, Central and Southern Africa, some to the Indian and Pacific oceans. However, the German submarine fleet was unable to achieve the complete destruction of the Allied Atlantic communications.
The turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Losses of the German submarine fleet in 1943
On January 30, 1943, Grand Admiral Raeder was removed from his post as Commander-in-Chief of the German Reich Navy and Karl Dönitz was appointed in his place, who was awarded the military rank of Grand Admiral.
At the beginning of 1943, about 3 thousand ships and up to 2,700 Allied aircraft operated against 100-130 German submarines searching communications.
By the beginning of 1943, the Allies had created new types of aircraft with a longer range, as well as new radars. The Allied navies improved their anti-submarine tactics. Since April 1943, American and British anti-submarine strike groups, led by escort aircraft carriers, began operating in the Atlantic.
In 1943, the number of German submarines reached 250 units. However, in March - May, the Allies sunk 67 German submarines - the maximum number.
In total, in May 1943, the German submarine fleet lost 41 submarines and more than a thousand crew members from depth charges of Allied aircraft and destroyers, mainly in the Central Atlantic, among whom was Peter Dönitz, the youngest son of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy.
In 1943, German submarines sank in the Atlantic transport ships allies with a total displacement of 500 thousand tons. However, losses of Allied merchant fleets began to decline. In June they dropped to 28 thousand tons. The construction in the USA of a large series of Liberty-class transport ships made it possible by the end of 1943 to make up for the losses.
Since May 1943, great changes have occurred. Allied aircraft began flying constantly over the Bay of Biscay, where the main German submarine bases were located along the French coast. Many of them began to die even before the Allies reached the Atlantic communications. Since submarines of that time could not remain constantly under water, they were constantly attacked by planes and ships of the Allied fleets on their way to the Atlantic. A small number of German submarines managed to approach the heavily guarded convoys. Neither the submarines' own radars, nor enhanced anti-aircraft weapons, nor homing acoustic torpedoes helped in attacks on convoys.
In 1943, a turning point came - for every Allied ship sunk, the German submarine fleet began to lose one submarine.
A German submarine under fire from an Allied aircraft in the South Atlantic in 1943.
The Collection Database of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: 304949.
On November 5, 1943, the German submarine U-848 type IXC repels an air attack in the South Atlantic. In the submarine's conning tower there is a twin 20-mm anti-aircraft gun artillery installation Flak 38, on deck – 105 mm SKC /32 cannon.
The end of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Defeat of the German submarine fleet
From April 1943 to June 1944, the final turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic occurred. The Allies went on the offensive. During this period, there was a qualitative and quantitative growth in the anti-submarine forces and weapons of the allied fleets. The Allies deciphered the radio communication codes of German submarines, and a new type of radar was developed. There was a massive construction of escort ships and escort aircraft carriers. More and more aircraft were allocated to search for submarines. As a result, there was a reduction in losses in the tonnage of transport ships, and the losses of the German submarine fleet increased significantly. The Allies not only defend their communications, but also attack German submarine bases.
After Italy left the war, Germany lost its bases in the Mediterranean.
The German Navy and its submarine fleet finally lost the Battle of the Atlantic by the end of 1944. The Allies by then had absolute superiority at sea and in the air.
January 30, 1945 Soviet submarine S-13 (commander Alexander Marinesko) sank a German passenger liner in the Baltic Sea "Wilhelm Gustlow" with a displacement of 25,484 tons. For the destruction of the Wilhelm Gustlow liner, Alexander Marinesko was included in the list of personal enemies of Adolf Hitler. On the Wilhelm Gustlow, the elite of the German submarine fleet was evacuated from the Danzig port (Gdansk): 100 submarine commanders who completed an advanced course in operating boats with a single Walther engine, 3,700 non-commissioned officers of the submarine fleet - graduates of the diving school, 22 high-ranking party officials from East Prussia, several generals and senior officers of the Reich Security Main Directorate (RSHA), an SS battalion of the auxiliary service of the Danzig port (300 people). In total, about 8 thousand people died. In Germany, mourning was declared, as after the surrender of the 6th Army in Stalingrad.
Captain 3rd rank A. I. Marinesko, commander of the Soviet submarine S-13
In March 1945, the last special group of German submarines (6 units) - the Sea Wolf detachment - entered the Atlantic. The group was heading towards the United States. The Americans received false information that on board German submarines there were V-2 (V-2) ballistic missiles for shelling cities on Atlantic coast USA. Hundreds of American aircraft and dozens of ships were sent to intercept these submarines. As a result, five of the six submarines were destroyed.
Over the last five weeks of the war, the German submarine fleet lost 23 submarines with crews, while sinking 10 ships with a displacement of 52 thousand tons.
During the Second World War combat losses Germany's submarine fleet consisted of 766 submarines. In 1939, 9 were sunk, in 1940 – 24, in 1941 – 35, in 1942 – 86, in 1943 – 242, in 1944 – 250 and in 1945 – 120. submarines.
At the end of the war, a large number of German submarines were destroyed during massive bombing of naval bases and submarine sites.
Of the 39 thousand sailors and submarine crew members, about 32 thousand people died. The vast majority - in the last two years of the war.
On April 30, 1945, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz gave the order to launch Operation Regenbogen, during which all German ships, including submarines, except those necessary for fishing and post-war mine clearance, were to be destroyed. However, at the request of the Allies, on May 4, Doenitz gave the order to cancel Operation Regenbogen. The crews of 159 submarines surrendered. But the submarine commanders in the Western Baltic did not comply with Dönitz's last order. They sank 217 combat-ready submarines, 16 decommissioned submarines and 5 submarines on the stocks.
After the surrender of Germany, the Allies carried out Operation Deadlight. From November 1945 to January 1946 west coast Great Britain's allies sank 119 captured German submarines by dropping bombs on them from aircraft.
Canadian sailors on the captured German submarine U-190, June 1945.
Edward W. Dinsmore/Canada. Dept. of National Defense. Library and Archives Canada No. PA-145577.
Canadian sailors raise their banner higher german flag over the captured German submarine U-190, St. John's, Newfoundland, June 1945.
German submarines sank a total of 2,828 Allied or neutral ships—a total of 14,687,231 tons. According to confirmed data, 2,603 Allied transport ships and warships with a total displacement of 13.5 million tons were sunk, of which 11.5 million tons were losses of the British fleet. At the same time, 70 thousand military sailors and 30,248 merchant seamen died. The British Navy lost 51,578 men killed and missing in action.
German submarines had the greatest success compared to surface ships and aircraft. They accounted for 68% of the sunk transport ships and 37.5% of the sunk Allied warships.
Of the total number of ships sunk by submarines, 61% are single ships; 9% were ships that lagged behind the convoys, and 30% were ships sailing as part of the convoys. The ratio of losses to victories was 1:3.3 in favor of submarines according to Anglo-American data and 1:4 according to German data.
Germany began the war with 57 submarines, of which 35 were Type II littoral submarines. Then Germany deployed big program for the construction of an ocean-going submarine fleet. During World War II (5 years and 8 months), 1,157 submarines were built in German shipyards. In total, therefore, the German submarine fleet was armed with 1,214 submarines, of which 789 (according to Anglo-American data) or 651 (according to German data) were destroyed.
After the loss of advanced and then some of the main naval bases, Germany lost favorable conditions for combat operations at sea. By the end of the war, US and British industry were building new transport ships and warships faster than the Allies were suffering losses. As a result, Germany was defeated in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Photo 1. U 995 - German museum submarine
This locality was chosen for the installation of the museum for a reason - the fact is that in Laboe there is a naval memorial, which at first was dedicated to the fallen German sailors on the battlefields of the First World War, then began to be considered a memorial dedicated to all German sailors who died during the First and the Second World Wars, and as a result the German Maritime Union reclassified it as a monument to all fallen sailors of all nations and is a call for peace at sea.
Photo 2. Naval Memorial
History of the U 995
Let's return to the submarine.
Photo 3. Entrance to the submarine
Historical reference:
At the end of 1942, the Hamburg shipyard began production of a new Type VII submarine, which was launched in the middle of 1943.
The new submarine was based in Kiel, not far from Laboe, where the crew underwent training, and then went to the naval base in Trondheim, Norway, where it began serving in the summer-autumn of 1944. During the remaining time of the war, U 995 made 9 combat missions, the main target of which was Allied convoys. At the end of the war, the submarine was in disrepair, which was the reason why the Allied forces did not destroy it during Operation Deadlight. After the end of the war, she came under the jurisdiction of Norway, was repaired and served for about 10 more years, and then was given free of charge to the German authorities, who towed her to Kiel and carried out repair work to turn her into a museum. In the early 70s, the grand opening of the museum took place, where the first visitor was the well-known Admiral Dönitz. Today, tens of thousands of people visit the submarine every year.
This is the information that was presented in the information booklet in English, which you can pick up when purchasing a ticket.
Inside the submarine
We go inside and see the aft torpedo compartment and the electric motor control room.
Photo 4. Aft torpedo compartment
Electric motors were used during the ascent. Thanks to them, the submarine continued to move without immersing in water, but this noticeably affected its speed.
Photo 5. Electric motor control room
In the room with electric engines you can see instruments and a control center with a communications point, where orders from senior officers were sent from the bridge.
Electric motor control room
The diesel engine room is the heart of the submarine. There is a diesel engine located here, which is monitored by a mechanical engineer (usually 1-2 people). These sailors enjoyed greater privileges and were given more time to rest.
The heart of the submarine
Are you still complaining about the size of your own kitchen? Then sympathize with the local “chef” who had to cook lunch for a team of 40-50 people on a low-power electric stove of two burners. It is very difficult to expand in this space. In addition, the lighting is still poor. The pan is secured with a chain with a lock - apparently there were precedents for taking it out.
Photo 6. Lunch from the chef
Photo 7. Private rest room
The number of beds was always less than the number of crew and often two people shared one bed. This did not cause any inconvenience due to the fact that there was a rotation method, according to which it turned out that one of the sailors was on duty, and the second rested, slept, had lunch and was engaged in other personal matters.
Photo 8. Regiment of an ordinary soldier
The largest room on the submarine is the control center and control room.
Photo 9. Hatch to the submarine control center
From here orders were given, the route was laid out and active life was in full swing. In addition to following orders from above, each officer was aware that he must save the lives of his team. Navigation charts, a periscope, a radio room and other devices for monitoring the movement of the submarine are located here.
Immediately after the control center there is a radio room and a receiving point, they are located parallel to the sleeping places of the submarine officers - thus it turns out that even during rest they must be the first to receive information about the situation in the given area, or orders from above, plus interception of allied radio signals. Interception is a responsible task, which, as a rule, was performed by people with excellent hearing and good reaction in order to catch the enemy's signal as early as possible. Largely thanks to the deciphering of the Enigma code by the Allies, German superiority in the Atlantic was lost.
Radio room - in addition to communication with the shore and other submarines, much attention was paid to intercepting enemy signals
The officers were the only ones who had their own regiment, plus some personal space. Personal space was expressed in a locker and key compartments where they could store dress uniform, personal belongings, letters from home.
Personal space of officers
I seem to have told you everything, but one more main question remains - what about the latrine? Of course, there is a latrine. The officers have their own, with a washbasin, while the rest of the crew have a shared one. I provide a photo of the officer’s amenities, it’s a pity that it’s through glass.
Photo 10. Officer's restroom
The last room, and perhaps the most combat-ready part of the submarine, is the torpedo compartment.
Photo 11. Torpedo room
One of the most important tasks faced service personnel torpedo compartment. Basically, the submarine had 5 torpedoes - 4 were loaded into the torpedo compartments, and one was for reloading.
Torpedo compartment
The torpedoes for U 995 weighed about 300 kg, had an electric motor and, when fired, reached a speed of about 30 km per hour. Reloading the torpedo compartment was perhaps the most important job of the rank and file.
The torpedo room was the last one in the U 995 museum. At the exit you can find a machine, as in many places in Europe, which can turn your 5-cent coin into a medallion with the image of a landmark for 1 euro. Not being a particular fan of this setting, I still made a medallion for myself as a souvenir.
At the exit from the museum
Afterword
The trip to the museum is over. Visiting such places has always been a priority for me, because I have always been interested in how life was carried out during one of the largest and bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century. The U 995 submarine museum is not the largest, but it is unique. Unique in that here you can fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere that reigns at a depth of hundreds of meters under water - when you cannot know for sure whether you will float up tomorrow or remain at the bottom of the sea depths: without the exact coordinates of the place of your death and without a grave, which Relatives could visit.
How to get there:
From the city of Kiel by bus number 100 to Laboe - we get off at the harbor stop and walk along the coast to the monument.
The cost of visiting the museum is 4.5 Euro. 
If you happen to travel to the north of Germany, be sure to visit these places and get inspired by the spirit of history.
Goodbye Laboe!
In December 1941, German submarines went to sea on a secret mission - they crossed the Atlantic undetected and took up positions a few miles off the east coast of the United States. Their target was the United States of America. The German command's plan received the code name " Drum beat", which consisted of delivering a surprise attack on American merchant shipping.
In America, no one expected the appearance of German submarines. The first attack took place on January 13, 1942, and America was completely unprepared. January turned into a real carnage. Shipwrecks and corpses washed ashore, and oil covered the waters off the coast of Florida. During this period, the US Navy did not sink a single German submarine - the enemy was invisible. At the very height of the operation, it seemed that the Germans could no longer be stopped, but an unusual reversal occurred - the hunters turned into prey. Two years after the start of Operation Drumbeat, the Germans began to suffer significant losses.
One of these lost German submarines was U869. It belonged to the German submarines of the 9th series, which were marked as IX-C. It was these submarines with a long range that were used to patrol the remote coasts of Africa and America. The project was developed in the 1930s during the rearmament of Germany. It was on these boats that Admiral Karl Dönnitz relied big hopes with their new group tactics.
IX-C class submarines
In total, more than 110 submarines were built in Germany class IX-C. And only one of them remained intact after the war, and is exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The submarine U-505 was captured by US Navy ships in 1944.
Technical data of the IX-C class submarine:
Displacement - 1152 tons;
Length - 76 m;
Width - 6.7 m;
Draft - 4.5 m;
Weapons:
Torpedo tubes 530 mm - 6;
105 mm gun - 1;
37 mm machine gun - 1;
20 mm machine gun - 2;
Crew - 30 people;
The only purpose of this submarine is to destroy. A glance from the outside gives little insight into how she operated. Inside, the submarine is a cramped tube filled with weapons and technical devices. Torpedoes weighing 500 kg, aimed at the target, were the main weapon of submarines. About 30 submariners lived in cramped conditions, sometimes for three months. On the surface, thanks to two 9-cylinder diesel engines, the submarine reached a speed of 18 knots. The range was 7,552 miles. Underwater, the German submarine ran on electric engines, which powered batteries located under the floor of the compartments. Their power was enough to travel about 70 miles at a speed of 3 knots. In the middle of the German submarine there was a conning tower, below it a central control room with many different instruments and control panels for movement, diving and ascent. The only means of defense for a German submarine was the depths of the world's oceans.
The commander of the submarine fleet, Karl Dönnitz, planned a war only against Britain, but could not imagine that he would have to confront the United States at the same time. By the end of 1943, the presence of Allied aircraft over the ocean completely changed the situation. Now it was dangerous even at night thick fog, because an aircraft equipped with a radar could detect a German submarine on the surface of the water.
German submarine U869
After several months of preparation, U869 was ready to go to sea. Its commander, 26-year-old Helmut Noverburg, was appointed captain for the first time. On December 8, 1944, U869 left Norway for the Atlantic. This was her first patrol. Three weeks later, the fleet command sent a radiogram with a combat mission - to patrol the approaches to New York Bay. The submarine U869 had to acknowledge receipt of the order. Several days passed, and the command knew nothing about the fate of the submarine. In fact, the submarine U869 responded, but was not heard. The headquarters began to understand that the boat was most likely running out of fuel, and it was assigned new area patrolling Gibraltar was almost a homecoming. German command expected the return of boat U869 by February 1, but she never received new order. The encryption department assumed that U869 had not received the radio and was continuing on its previous course towards New York. Throughout February, the command was at a loss as to where the submarine U869 was patrolling. But no matter where the submarine went, the decryption department decided that the German submarine was heading home.
On May 8, 1945, the war in Europe ended. German command signed an act of surrender, and German submarines at sea were ordered to surface and surrender.
Hundreds of German boats were never able to return to their home base. And U869 has been considered lost since February 20, 1945. The cause of the submarine's death could have been the explosion of its own torpedo, which described a circle and returned. This information was communicated to the families of the crew members.
diagram of the location on the bottom of the lost submarine U869
But in 1991, while fishing 50 km from New Jersey, a local fisherman lost his net, which got caught on something on the bottom. When divers examined the place, they discovered the missing submarine, which turned out to be the German submarine U869.
There is also another amazing fact about this submarine. One of the submariners who was part of the U869 team survived and lives in Canada. Of the 59 people on the submarine's crew, he survived thanks to an unexpected turn of fate. Shortly before going to sea, Herbert Dishevsky was hospitalized with pneumonia and was unable to participate in the campaign. Like the families of the dead submariners, he was sure that his submarine sank off the coast of Africa until he learned of the true facts.
For most of us, World War II is photographs and newsreels. Very distant events in time and space, but the war continues to present scores today, for those who survived, for the relatives of the victims, for those who were still children and even for those who had not yet been born when the monstrous hurricane raged. World War II scars like U869 are still hidden beneath the surface, but are much closer than we think.
The starting point in the history of the German submarine fleet was 1850, when the two-seater Brandtaucher submarine, designed by engineer Wilhelm Bauer, was launched in the harbor of Kiel, which immediately sank when attempting to dive.
Next significant event was the launch of the submarine U-1 (U-boat) in December 1906, which became the ancestor of a whole family of submarines, which suffered the hard times of the First World War. In total, before the end of the war, the German fleet received more than 340 boats. Due to the defeat of Germany, 138 submarines remained unfinished.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was prohibited from building submarines. Everything changed in 1935 after the establishment of the Nazi regime and with the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, in which submarines ... were recognized as obsolete weapons, which lifted all bans on their production. In June, Hitler appointed Karl Doenitz commander of all submarines of the future Third Reich.
Grand Admiral and his "wolf packs"
Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz is an outstanding figure. He began his career in 1910, entering the naval school in Kiel. Later, during the First World War, he showed himself to be a brave officer. From January 1917 until the defeat of the Third Reich, his life was connected with the German submarine fleet. He had the main credit for developing the concept of underwater warfare, which boiled down to operating in stable groups of submarines, called “wolf packs.”
The main objects of “hunting” of “wolf packs” are enemy transport ships that provide supplies to troops. The basic principle is to sink more ships than the enemy can build. Very soon such tactics began to bear fruit. By the end of September 1939, the Allies had lost dozens of transports with a total displacement of about 180 thousand tons, and in mid-October, the U-47 boat, quietly slipping into the Scapa Flow base, sent the battleship Royal Oak to the bottom. Anglo-American convoys were especially hard hit. Wolfpacks raged across a vast theater from the North Atlantic and Arctic to South Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.
What did the Kriegsmarine fight on?
The basis of the Kriegsmarine - the submarine fleet of the Third Reich - were submarines of several series - 1, 2, 7, 9, 14, 17, 21 and 23. At the same time, it is especially worth highlighting the boats of the 7th series, which were distinguished by their reliable design, good technical equipment, weapons, which allowed them to operate particularly successfully in the Central and North Atlantic. For the first time, a snorkel was installed on them - an air intake device that allows the boat to recharge its batteries while underwater.Kriegsmarine Aces
German submariners were characterized by courage and high professionalism, so every victory over them came at a high price. Among the submarine aces of the Third Reich, the most famous were captains Otto Kretschmer, Wolfgang Lüth (each 47 ships sunk) and Erich Topp - 36.
Deathmatch
The huge losses of the Allies at sea sharply intensified the search for effective means of combating " wolf packs" Soon, anti-submarine patrol aircraft equipped with radars appeared in the sky, and means of radio interception, detection and destruction of submarines were created - radars, sonar buoys, homing aircraft torpedoes and much more. Tactics have been improved and cooperation has improved.
Destruction
The Kriegsmarine faced the same fate as the Third Reich - complete, crushing defeat. Of the 1,153 submarines built during the war, about 770 were sunk. Along with them, about 30,000 submariners, or almost 80% of the entire submarine fleet personnel, went down.