Submarine class X

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Type XB
U234 KptLt error USS Sutton.jpg
Ship data
country German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge) German Empire
Ship type Submarine
Shipyard Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction period 1939 to 1941
Units built 8th
period of service 1941 to 1944
Ship dimensions and crew
length
89.8 m ( Lüa )
width 9.2 m
Draft Max. 4.7 m
displacement surfaced: 1,763 t
submerged: 2,177 t
 
crew 52 men
Machine system
machine 2 diesel
motors 2 electric motors
Machine
performanceTemplate: Infobox ship / maintenance / service format 		surfaced: 4,200 PS
submerged: 1,120 PS
propeller 2
Mission data submarine
Radius of action 18,450 nm
Dive time 35 sec
Immersion depth, max. 150 m
Top
speed
submerged 		7 kn (13 km / h)
Top
speed
surfaced 		17 kn (31 km / h)
Armament
  • 2 × torpedo tube ø 53.3 cm, 15 torpedoes
  • 1 10.5 cm L / 45 to 1943
  • 1 × 3.7 cm anti-aircraft gun
  • 2 × 2 cm flak after 1943

The submarines of the submarine class X , officially called Type X , were the largest submarines in the German Navy . They were a development from the U-mine cruiser (Project 45) of the First World War. They were designed as mine-laying submarines and built by the Germania shipyard in Kiel . There were two types: The type XA was not built due to technical inadequacies in the mine design and the resulting large external dimensions. The improved type XB, in which the problems with the mines could be eliminated, ultimately went into series production with much smaller dimensions.

The naval armament of the type XB submarines consisted of mine shafts (two groups of six shafts each on port and starboard, and one group with six shafts in the forecastle). 66 mines could be included in it. In addition to two torpedo tubes with max. 15 torpedoes were installed, a 10.5 cm Utof SK, a 2 cm and a 3.7 cm anti-aircraft gun. The former two were later exchanged for a 2 cm Flakvierling.

Due to their large bunker capacities, the boats were also used as "auxiliary suppliers" (see also submarine class XIV ). They could just as well be used as transport submarines. For this purpose, the cargo was stowed in pressure-resistant freight containers in the mine shafts.

A total of eight submarines of this class were built: U 116 , U 117 , U 118 , U 119 , U 219 , U 220 , U 233 and U 234 . All boats built were of the type XB, while no boats of the type XA were built.

The U 234 became known after the war when it was still in the Atlantic from the US with its cargo destined for Japan, consisting of 560 kg of uranium oxide and two dismantled rocket or jet planes of the types Messerschmitt Me 163 and Me 262 . Marine was applied.

facts and figures

  • Drive:
    • Two nine-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines Germaniawerft F 46 a 9 pu with supercharging, 2100 hp each
    • Submerged two double machines AEG GU720 / 8-287, each 560 HP.
  • Range:
    • popped up:
      • 18,450 nautical miles (34,170 km) at 10 knots (19 km / h)
      • 6,750 nautical miles (12,500 km) at 16.9 knots (30.5 km / h)
    • submerged:
      • 188 nautical miles (347 km) at 2 knots (3.5 km / h)
      • 93 nautical miles (172 km) at 4 knots (7 km / h)
  • Crew: 5 officers and 47 men

literature

  • Eberhard Möller, Werner Brack: Encyclopedia of German U-Boats. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-613-02245-1 .
  • David Jordan: Submarines. The submarine war of 1939–1945. Tosa, Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-85492-548-4 .
  • Joseph Mark Scalia: On a secret mission to Japan: U 234. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-548-26292-9 .
  • Warships. Moewig, Rastatt 2000, ISBN 3-8118-1664-0 .
  • Wolfgang Hirschfeld: patrols. The log of a submarine radio operator. Kaiser, Klagenfurt 1991, ISBN 3-7043-3097-3 .

See also

Web links

Type X at uboat.net (engl.)