The small submarine Tarpon , named after the fish tarpon , was a planned project of the German Navy towards the end of the Second World War . His idea for creation goes back to the submarine commander captain lieutenant of the reserve Fritz Kalipke. In the autumn of 1944 he approached the command of the small weapons of the Kriegsmarine under the leadership of Hellmuth Heye with the proposal to develop a miniature submarine, the two torpedoes of which were not to be attached below or to the side of the hull as usual, but one below the other on the forecastle . This, he said, would make the micro-submarine easier to handle for the pilot on the long march back.
The command of small ordnance approached the Howaldtswerke in Kiel in order to implement the small submarine using the components of the Hecht project. A purely electric drive should be provided, which should enable a driving range of approx. 180 nm with a displacement of 4 to 5 tons. 1/3 or up to half of the two torpedoes attached below the forecastle were to be stored in pipe tunnels, the openings of which were closed after being fired. The planning had progressed so far that the production of a prototype was imminent. Before the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht , however, none could be manufactured.
Individual evidence
↑ Harald Fock: Naval small weapons. Manned torpedoes, small submarines, small speedboats, explosives yesterday - today - tomorrow. Nikol, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-930656-34-5 , p. 90.
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