Type XXI submarine 1 Type XXI submarine U-3008 in U.S. Navy service in 1948. Class overview Name: Type XXI U-boat Operators: Kriegsmarine Postwar: French Navy German Navy Royal Navy Soviet Navy United States Navy Cost: 5.750.000 Reichsmark per boat [1] Built: 1943–45 Building: 267 [2] Planned: 1170 Completed: 118 Cancelled: 785 General characteristics Class & type: Submarine Displacement: 1,621 t (1,595 long tons) surfaced 1,819 t (1,790 long tons) submerged Length: 76.7 m (251 ft 8 in) Beam: 8 m (26 ft 3 in) Draught: 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) Propulsion: Diesel/Electric 2× MAN M6V40/46KBB supercharged 6-cylinder diesel engines, 4,000 shp (3,000 kW) 2× SSW GU365/30 double acting electric motors, 5,000 PS (3.7 MW) 2 × SSW GV232/28 silent running electric motors, 226 shp (169 kW) Speed: 15.6 kn (28.9 km/h) surfaced 17.2 kn (31.9 km/h) submerged 6.1 kn (11.3 km/h) (silent running motors)
Transcript
Type XXI submarine 1
Type XXI submarine
U-3008 in U.S. Navy service in 1948.
Class overviewName: Type XXI U-boat
Operators: KriegsmarinePostwar:
French Navy German Navy Royal Navy Soviet Navy United States Navy
Cost: 5.750.000 Reichsmark per boat[1]
Built: 1943–45
Building: 267[2]
Planned: 1170
Completed: 118
Cancelled: 785
General characteristicsClass & type: Submarine
Displacement: 1,621 t (1,595 long tons) surfaced1,819 t (1,790 long tons) submerged
Range: 15,500 nmi (28,700 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced340 nmi (630 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h) submerged
Test depth: 240 m (787 ft)
Complement: 5 officers, 52 enlisted men[3]
Armament: 6 × 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes (bow), 23 torpedoes (or 17 torpedoes and 12 mines)4 x 2 cm (0.8 in) anti-aircraft guns
Type XXI U-boats, also known as "Elektroboote" (German: "electric boats"), were the first submarines designed tooperate primarily submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a means to escape detection orlaunch an attack.
Description
US Navy diagram of a Type XXI U-boat,showing a small bulbous bow feature at the
ventral stem
The key improvement in the Type XXI was greatly increased batterycapacity, roughly triple the Type VIIC. This gave these boats greatunderwater range, and dramatically reduced the time spent on or nearthe surface. They could travel submerged at about 5 kn (5.8 mph;9.3 km/h) for two or three days before recharging batteries, which tookless than five hours using the snorkel. The Type XXI was also farquieter than the VIIC, making it harder to detect when submerged.
Type XXI U-boats in Bergen, Norway
The Type XXI's streamlined and hydrodynamically clean hull design— even featuring a small, pioneering form of the later bulbous bow atthe ventral end of the stem as designed — allowed high submergedspeed. The ability to outrun many surface ships while submerged,combined with improved dive times (also a product of the new hullform), made it far harder to chase and destroy. It also gave the boat a'sprint ability' when positioning itself for an attack. Older boats had tosurface to sprint into position. This often revealed a boat's location,especially after aircraft became available for convoy escort. The newhull design also reduced visibility by marine or airborne radar when
surfaced; whether this was a goal of the design or coincidence is still debated.
They also featured a hydraulic torpedo reloading system that allowed all six bow torpedo tubes to be reloaded fasterthan a Type VIIC could reload one tube.Wikipedia:Citation needed The Type XXI could fire 18 torpedoes in under20 minutes. The class also featured a very sensitive passive sonar for the time.The Type XXIs also had better facilities than previous U-boat classes, including a freezer for food.
ConstructionBetween 1943 and 1945, 118 boats were assembled by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg, AG Weser of Bremen, and F. Schichau of Danzig. Each hull was constructed from eight prefabricated sections with final assembly at the shipyards. This new method could have pushed construction time below six months per vessel, but in practice all the assembled U-boats were plagued with severe quality problems that required extensive post-production work to rectify. One of the reasons for these shortcomings was that sections were made by companies having little
experience in shipbuilding, following a decision by Albert Speer. As a result, of 118 Type XXIs completed, onlyfour were fit for combat before the war ended in Europe.It was planned that final assembly of Type XXI boats would eventually be carried out in the Valentin submarinepens, a massive, bomb–hardened concrete bunker built at the small port of Farge, near Bremen. Construction tookplace between 1943 and 1945, using around 10,000 concentration camp prisoners and prisoners of war asforced–labour. The facility was 90% completed when, in March 1945, it was badly damaged by Allied bombing withGrand Slam "earthquake" bombs and abandoned. A few weeks later, the area was captured by the British Army.
Sensors
Radar DetectorThe FuMB Ant 3 Bali radar detector an antenna was located on top of schnorkel head.
Radar TransmitterThe Type XXI boats were fitted with the FuMO 65 Hohentwiel U1 with the Type F432 D2 radar transmitter.
U-2511 and U-3008 were the only Type XXIs to go on war patrols,and neither sank any ships. U-2511 had a British cruiser in her sightson 4 May when news of the German cease-fire was received. She madea practice attack before leaving the scene undetected.
In 1957, U-2540, which had been scuttled at the end of the war, wasraised and refitted as research vessel Wilhelm Bauer of theBundesmarine. She was operated by both military and civilian crews ina research role until 1982. In 1984, she was opened to the public by theDeutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (German Maritime Museum) inBremerhaven, Germany.
FranceU-2518 became French submarine Roland Morillot. She saw active service during the Suez Crisis in 1956, andremained in commission until 1967. She was scrapped in 1969.
Soviet UnionFour Type XXI boats were assigned to the Soviet Union by the Potsdam Agreement; these were U-3515, U-2529,U-3035, and U-3041, which were commissioned into the Soviet Navy as B-27, B-28, B-29, and B-30 (later B-100)respectively. However, Western intelligence believed the Soviets had acquired several more Type XXI boats; areview by the U.S. Joint Intelligence Committee for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January 1948 estimated the SovietNavy then had 15 Type XXIs operational, could complete construction of 6 more within 2 months, and could buildanother 39 within a year and a half from prefabricated sections, since several factories producing Type XXIcomponents and the assembly yard at Danzig had been captured by the Soviets at the end of World War II. U 3538— U 3557 (respectively TS-5 – TS-19 and TS-32 – TS-38) remained incomplete at Danzig and were scrapped orsunk in 1947. The four boats assigned by Potsdam were used in trials and tests until 1955, then scuttled or used forweapon testing between 1958 and 1973. The Type XXI formed the basis for the Project 614, essentially a copy of theType XXI, and many of its characteristics were also incorporated into the Project 613 submarine (known in the Westas the Whiskey class).
United KingdomThe U-3017 was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS N41. She was used for tests until being scrapped inNovember 1949.
United StatesThe United States Navy took over the U-2513 and U-3008, operating them both in the Atlantic. In November 1946President Harry S. Truman became the first American President to travel on a submarine when he visited U-2513;the submarine dove to 440 feet (130 m) with the President on board.[4] The U-2513 was sunk as a target in 1951;U-3008 was scrapped in 1956.
SurvivorsThe only boat to survive intact is Wilhelm Bauer (ex-U-2540). The wrecks of other Type XXI boats are known toexist. In 1985, it was discovered that the partially scrapped remains of U-2505, U-3004, and U-3506 were still in thepartially demolished "Elbe II" U-boat bunker in Hamburg. The bunker has since been filled in with gravel, althougheven that did not initially deter many souvenir hunters who measured the position of open hatches and dug down tothem to allow the removal of artifacts.[5] The wrecks now lie beneath a car park, making them inaccessible.U-2513 lies in 213 feet (65 m) of water 70 nautical miles (130 km) west of Key West, Florida. The boat has beenvisited by divers, but the depth makes this very difficult and the site is only considered suitable for advanced divers.Four other boats lie off the coast of Northern Ireland, where they were sunk in 1946 as part of Operation Deadlight.Both U-2511 and U-2506 were found by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney during his Operation Deadlightexpeditions between 2001 and 2003. Both were found to be in remarkably good condition.
InfluencesThe Type XXI design directly influenced advanced post-war submarines, the GUPPY improvements to theAmerican Gato, Balao, and Tench class submarines and the Soviet submarine projects designated by NATO as theWhiskey, Zulu[6] and Romeo classes. The Chinese built Romeo-class submarines based on Soviet-supplied designs.The subsequent Ming class, some of which are still in operation in 2013, is in turn based on the Romeo.
Notes[1][1] Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, vol.III, p.124[2] Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, vol.III, p. 124–8[3] Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, vol.III, p.125[4] "Truman Dives 440 Feet In German Sub" (http:/ / news. google. com/ newspapers?id=p1kbAAAAIBAJ& sjid=1EwEAAAAIBAJ&
pg=3101,1930838& dq=truman+ sub& hl=en), The Pittsburgh Press, November 21, 1946, p9[5] Hitler's U-boat Bases (2002), Jak P Mallmann Showell, Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-2606-6[6] Fitzsimons, Bernard, general editor. The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus Publishing Company, 1978),
Volume 24, p.2594, "'Whiskey'", and p.2620, "'Zulu'".
References• Kohl, Fritz; Eberhard Rossler (1991). The Type XXI U-boat. Conway Maritime. ISBN 1-55750-829-1.• Fitzsimons, Bernard, general editor. The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus
Publishing Company, 1978), Volume 24, p. 2594, "'Whiskey'", and p. 2620, "'Zulu'".
External links• U-Boot Type XXI in Detail (http:/ / ipmsstockholm. org/ magazine/ 2003/ 11/ detail_uboot_xxi. htm) with photos.• Type XXI (http:/ / www. uboat. net/ types/ xxi. htm) on www.uboat.net• Type XXI (http:/ / www. uboataces. com/ uboat-type-xxi. shtml) on www.uboataces.com
Article Sources and ContributorsType XXI submarine Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=611646206 Contributors: 8ty3hree, Aldis90, Alureiter, Andrew Gray, Andy Dingley, AuthorDionysos, Autodidact1,Balcer, Bellhalla, Benjamin22b, BigBen212, Bilsonius, Biruitorul, Bliksim, Bobblewik, Breno, Britzingen, CaptainDDL, Catsmeat, Chris the speller, Daniel Maggs, Dawkeye, Delusion23,Denniss, Dili, Droll, Farquharson64, Geoffreybrooks, GraemeLeggett, Haus, Historian932, Hmains, IstvanWolf, JHunterJ, Jerryobject, Jimp, John, John K, John Prattley, Joseph Solis inAustralia, Joshbaumgartner, Jsnx, Keallu, L E Holland51, Larzan, Laschatzer, Llywrch, LorenzoB, Matrek, Maury Markowitz, Megapixie, Meltdown627, Meritused, Meritused2, MichaelZimmermann, Mr Stephen, N328KF, NZSnowman, Neckername, Noha307, Oberiko, Open-box, Ort Hodox, Parsecboy, Pibwl, Pol098, RASAM, RL0919, Rama, Rcbutcher, Salmagnone,Salmanazar, Salsb, Seano1, Sewebster, Shem1805, Shirik, Sietse Snel, Socrates2008, Spellmaster, SpookyMulder, Stan Shebs, Tedernst, The Bushranger, The Epopt, The PIPE, Thunderbird2,Tnt1984, Trekphiler, Triskaideka, Udisblizbadjoke, Ultraviolet scissor flame, UrbanTerrorist, Ventusa, Vmaldia, White Shadows, Wjl2, WommelWeise, YXN, Yooden, ÄDA - DÄP, 92anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:U3008.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:U3008.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: D.W., Deep silence, Editor at Large, J 1982, PMG, Pil56, Rama, Rave,Rcbutcher, Stefan Bernd, 1 anonymous editsFile:War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:War_Ensign_of_Germany_1938-1945.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnimeAddict AA, Blusts, Chaddy, Covi, Cycn, Davepape, Denniss, F l a n k e r, Foroa, Foundert, Fry1989, Glossologist, Herbythyme, Lord Leatherface, Ludger1961, Madden, Mattes, Mogelzahn,Orrling, R-41, Rave, Ricordisamoa, Sahapon-krit hellokitty, Skipjack, 江 帆, 9 anonymous editsFile:Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Civil_and_Naval_Ensign_of_France.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: created byUser: David NewtonFile:Naval Ensign of Germany.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Naval_Ensign_of_Germany.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anime Addict AA, Burts,Denelson83, Erlenmeyer, Fry1989, Lokal Profil, Ludger1961, Mattes, Ricordisamoa, SiBr4, Stunteltje, WerWil, 3 anonymous editsFile:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg License: Public Domain Contributors:AnonMoos, Avicennasis, Bender235, Cathy Richards, Cycn, Dancingwombatsrule, Ec.Domnowall, Fry1989, Homo lupus, Pumbaa80, SiBr4, Stunteltje, Xiengyod, Yaddah, 4 anonymous editsFile:Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Naval_Ensign_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg License: Public Domain Contributors:User:Zscout370File:Flag of the United States.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnomieFile:SRH025-p40.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SRH025-p40.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was user:Megapixie at en.wikipediaFile:U2511 Bergen.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:U2511_Bergen.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: unknown british seamanFile:FuMO-61 Hohentwiel U Radar Transmitter Type F 432 D2.jpg Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FuMO-61_Hohentwiel_U_Radar_Transmitter_Type_F_432_D2.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:User:NZSnowmanFile:2004-Bremerhaven U-Boot-Museum-Sicherlich retouched.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:2004-Bremerhaven_U-Boot-Museum-Sicherlich_retouched.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: AlMare, BlackIceNRW, D.W., Garitzko, Rave, WerWil
