U-cruiser

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German submarine cruiser SM U 155 on the Thames after the war as an exhibit

U-cruisers (also submarine cruisers or U-boat cruisers ) were large submarines in the First and Second World War with a water displacement of over 2000 tons in overwater position, which carried artillery heavy for this type of ship and with which trade wars were to be carried out overseas.

history

U 139 of the Imperial Navy
V6 (USS Nautilus , SS-168) of the United States Navy

These large submarines were built in addition to torpedoes and a gun armament to carry. Another reason was the higher payload and range possible due to its size. Some of these boats even allowed the carriage of several seaplanes - which were stored dismantled in the watertight hangar during the journey .

The advantage of the gun armament over the new torpedoes was, in addition to the range, the accuracy compared to ship targets at high speeds. The handling of the weapon was in principle known and practiced by the surface units. The cheaper shells took up much less space than the more complex and error-prone torpedoes.

The complex construction of a turret , particularly the breakthrough in the pressure hull for the barbed , had a negative effect on the structural durability of these boats. Furthermore, the speed under water and the diving speed of the submarines were worsened because the shape of the gun superstructures did not meet the hydrodynamic requirements. The controls of the guns were partly exposed to the swell. If there were towers, the shooting was mostly done in a half-submerged state to protect the boat.

These include:

  • The French Surcouf with two 203 mm guns in the turret and aircraft on board
  • The British Fleet Submarines
    • The K-Class boats with three guns of 102 mm and 76 mm in the bridge structure
    • The British X1 boat with four 13 cm guns in two turrets
    • The British HMS M1 with a 305 mm gun. The individual gun could be fired remotely from periscope depth, for regular firing and reloading had to be surfaced. The M2 and M3 were sister boats and were converted into a mother ship for seaplanes and a mine-layer ( M-Class ).
  • The Japanese I-400 aircraft carrier with up to three bombers (take off in 45 minutes).
  • The SM U 155, converted from the merchant submarine Germany and taken over by the Imperial Navy .
  • The boats of the series SM U 139 - SM U 141 (project 46) and the even larger boats SM U 142 - SM U 144 (project 46a) of the Imperial Navy, designed and built from the outset as sub-cruisers .
  • The SM UD 1 (Project 50) of the Imperial Navy, which was driven by steam turbines , was no longer stacked.
  • The Soviet K-Class .
  • Various American boats between the wars, with regular construction and heavy barrel armament on open deck, in particular the "V-Boats" V1 (USS Barracuda , SS-163) to V6 ( USS Nautilus , SS-168 )

Japan built U-cruisers during World War II because of their greater range and large payload. These boats should u. a. maintain the connection with the German Reich .

The British fleet submarines were created with the wrong aim that submarines had to keep up with the surface units in surface speed. The boats, some of which were equipped with a steam turbine drive, proved to be error-prone and cumbersome, and the diving process was slow and dangerous. Of the 18 K-class boats built, six sank through accidents, the most serious of which was the “ Battle of the Isle of May ”.

The American and German ocean-going boats of World War II were larger than regular coastal boats, but they were regularly armed. The German class XIV submarines ("dairy cows") were used to supply the deep-sea boats. The boats are not counted among the submarine cruisers despite their higher displacement. Of the submarine class XI , nine German U-cruisers were to be built by 1944, but the order was canceled after the start of the war.

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