Submarine class XXXII
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The U-Boot-Klasse XXXII was a design of a small submarine of the German Navy during the Second World War . This type of submarine was intended for use by the small combat units of the Kriegsmarine in the English Channel and was not produced in series.
Development history
The reported successes of the Japanese micro-submarines in the attack on Pearl Harbor had led the Hauptamt für Kriegsschiffbau (K-Amt) to develop a project to build comparable small submarines for the Navy, the small submarine project " K " . The shape of the model armed with three torpedoes, which did not get beyond the project stage, was itself reminiscent of a torpedo. In the fall of 1943, under the impression that the Tirpitz was damaged by stick mines that had been installed by British X-Crafts below the waterline on the hull of the battleship as part of Operation Source , the K-Office took up the idea of a German small U- Boot up again. The first design that was ready for construction was the Type XXVII A , called Hecht . Since the naval war command intended to use small submarines not only for such mining operations, but also near the coast to fight moving ships, the pike should be able to be equipped with torpedoes in addition to sticky mines. The model did not go into series production, instead the follow-up model XXVII B 5 , the so-called seal , which hardly resembled the pike , was produced and used by the small combat units. The submarine class XXXII was developed in autumn 1944 and was based on the Hecht model .
Conception
In contrast to its predecessor, the Hecht , the Type XXXII was designed for the use of torpedoes. While the seal was a submersible that operated primarily above water, the Type XXXII was essentially intended to be used underwater. For this purpose, these submarines should be able to be laid aground even when the current is running in opposite directions, which the seal was unable to do because it carried its torpedoes under the hull. The type XXXII torpedoes were attached next to the tower , which made loading in the water possible. Another difference to the seal was the higher tower and a correspondingly longer periscope that could be used at greater depths. The tower was big enough that the commander could stand in it when using periscope.
Technical specifications
This submarine class was powered by a diesel-powered four-stroke engine when it was on the surface, which guaranteed a range of 80 nm at a speed of 21 knots . The 25 hp electric motors, which were also used in the seal , were intended for the drive under water . The Type XXXII was armed with two torpedoes.
Since the high command of the Navy ordered the shutdown of all projects that were not yet in series production at the beginning of 1945, as well as a few other similar projects - Seeteufel , Biber II and Biber III - even the smallest submarine type XXXII was no longer produced.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906 - 1966 . Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1996, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , page 205
literature
- Eberhard Rössler: History of the German submarine building. Volume 2: Development, construction and characteristics of the German submarines from 1943 until today . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8