The submarine class XXVII K was the prototype of a miniature submarine of the German Navy during the Second World War . The idea came from the naval construction officer Karl Heinz Kurzak, who, after successfully testing an Otto cycle engine, pushed the conception of such a submarine in cooperation with the Germania shipyard in Kiel .
Development history
The first draft, called the K draft, was available on May 21, 1944. His presentation to the commander of the small combat units of the Kriegsmarine, Admiral Hellmuth Heye , took place on May 25, 1944. The design was based on the small submarine Hecht . The primary armament consisted of two type G 7a torpedoes , which were to be anchored on both sides of the hull in apron-shaped attachments. A MWM-GS-145 diesel engine from Süddeutsche Bremsen AG Munich , throttled to 566 rpm, served as the drive, which was already used in large numbers in the Navy. A Siemens G-107 was intended as the crawler motor, which was to be used exclusively for underwater travel, which was to achieve a speed of 5.2 kn at 6 kW .
However, the development of a closed-circuit motor was not quite finished, so Kurzak had to modify his original design. The revised concept was submitted to the Navy High Command (OKM) on August 10, 1944 . All main dimensions were now slightly enlarged. The main drive was now a Daimler-Benz cycle engine, which should produce 59 kW (80 PS) in cycle operation. A 6 kW (8 hp) motor was planned as the electric motor. The sailing range was calculated above water at 340 nm at 8 kn. In addition, there was another 71 nm at 10 kn underwater travel.
On September 8, 1944, Kurzak asked the OKM to be allowed to test the planned engine units in a seal . In order to ensure the space for the drive unit, the seal had to be extended with a 1.8 meter wide spacer. The OKM thereupon granted the approval for the construction of three prototypes, which were given the designations U 5188 , U 5189 and U 5190 and which were produced at the Germania shipyard and the Schichau works .
By the beginning of April 1945, the two hulls ordered by the Germania shipyard were ready. The circulation engines intended for them reached the works around the same time, but were destroyed during an Allied bombing before they were installed. The prototypes were no longer completed by the end of the war. They were scrapped after the war ended.
literature
Harald Fock: Naval small weapons. Manned torpedoes, small submarines, small speedboats, explosives yesterday - today - tomorrow. Nikol, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-930656-34-5 , pp. 75/76.
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