German submarines of the Second World War: photos and technical specifications

The outcome of any war depends on many factors, of which, of course, armament is of no small importance. Despite the fact that absolutely all the German submarines of the Second World War were very powerful, since Adolf Hitler personally considered them to be the most important weapon and paid considerable attention to the development of this industry, they failed to inflict damage to the adversaries, which would have significantly affected the course of the war. Why did it happen? Who is at the source of the creation of the underwater army? Were the German submarines of the Second World War really invincible? Why were such prudent Nazis still unable to defeat the Red Army? The answer to these and other questions can be found in the review.

general information

In the aggregate, all the equipment that was in service with the Third Reich during the Second World War was called the Kriegsmarine, and the submarines constituted a significant part of the arsenal. In a separate industry underwater equipment passed on November 1, 1934, and the fleet was disbanded after the war was over, that is, lasted less than a decade. For such a short period of time, German submarines of the Second World War brought a lot of fear into the souls of their opponents, leaving their huge mark on the bloody pages of the history of the Third Reich. Thousands of dead, hundreds of sunk ships, all this remained on the conscience of the surviving Nazis and their subordinates.

Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine

During the Second World War at the helm of Kriegsmarine was one of the most famous Nazis - Karl Doenitz. German submarines in the Second World War played, of course, an important role, but without this person this would not happen. He personally engaged in creating plans to attack opponents, participated in attacks on many ships and achieved success on this path, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves , one of the most significant awards of Nazi Germany. Deniz was an admirer of Hitler and was his successor, which did him a lot during the Nuremberg trial, after the death of the Führer he was considered the commander-in-chief of the Third Reich.

Specifications

It's easy to guess that Karl Doenitz was responsible for the state of the underwater army. German submarines in the Second World War, photos of which prove their power, possessed impressive parameters.

In general, Kriegsmarine had 21 submarines in service. They had such characteristics:

• Displacement: from 275 to 2710 tons;
• Above-water speed: from 9.7 to 19.2 knots;
• Underwater speed: from 6.9 to 17.2;
• Depth of immersion: from 150 to 280 meters.

This proves that the German submarines of the Second World War were not just powerful, they were the most powerful among the weapons of countries that fought with Germany.

Composition of Kriegsmarine

1154 submarines belonged to the military boats of Germany's fleet. It is noteworthy that up to September 1939 there were only 57 submarines, the rest were built specifically to participate in the war. Some of them were captured. So, there were 5 Dutch, 4 Italian, 2 Norwegian and one English and French submarines. All of them were also in service with the Third Reich.

Achievements of the Navy

Kriegsmarine throughout the war has caused considerable damage to his opponents. For example, the most productive captain, Otto Kretschmer, sank nearly fifty enemy ships. There are record holders among the courts. For example, the German U-48 submarine sank 52 vessels.

Throughout the Second World War, the German naval forces succeeded in destroying 63 destroyers, 9 cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers and even 2 battleships. The largest and most notable victory for the German army among them is the flooding of the Royal Oak battleship, whose crew consisted of thousands of people, and its displacement was 31,200 tons.

Plan Z

Since Hitler considered his fleet extremely important for the triumph of Germany over other countries and had extremely positive feelings for him, he paid him considerable attention and did not limit the financing. In 1939, the Kriegsmarine development plan was developed for the next 10 years, which, fortunately, never came to fruition. According to this plan, several hundred of the most powerful battleships, cruisers and submarines were to be built.

Powerful German submarines of World War II

A photo of some preserved German underwater engineering gives an idea of the power of the navy of the Third Reich, but only weakly reflects how strong this army was. Most of all in the German fleet there was a submarine of type VII, they possessed optimal seaworthiness, had average dimensions, and most importantly, their construction was relatively inexpensive, which is important in wartime.

They could sink to a depth of 320 meters at a displacement of up to 769 tons, the crew was from 42 to 52 employees. Despite the fact that the "Seven" were quite good boats, over time, Germany's enemy countries improved their weapons, so the Germans also had to work on the modernization of their offspring. As a result, the boat has several more modifications. The most popular of these was the VIIC, which was not only the embodiment of Germany's military power during the attack on the Atlantic, but was also much more convenient than previous versions. Impressive dimensions made it possible to install more powerful diesel engines, and subsequent modifications were also distinguished by solid bodies, which allowed them to sink deeper.

German submarines of the Second World War were subjected to a constant, as they say now, upgrade. One of the most innovative models is considered to be type XXI. In this submarine, an air conditioning system and additional equipment was created, which was intended for a longer stay of the team under water. In total, 118 boats of this type were built.

Results of Kriegsmarine activities

German submarines of the Second World War, whose photos can often be found in books on military equipment, played a very important role in the Third Reich's offensive. Their power can not be underestimated, but it should be borne in mind that even with such patronage from the most bloody Fuhrer in world history, the German fleet never managed to bring its power closer to victory. Probably, only good equipment and a strong army are not enough, Germany lacked the savvy and bravery that the brave warriors of the Soviet Union possessed to win Germany. Everyone knows that the Nazis were incredibly bloodthirsty and on their way did not disdain anything, but neither the incredibly equipped army nor the lack of principles helped them. Armored vehicles, a huge amount of ammunition and the latest developments did not bring the Third Reich of the expected results.