Submarines of World War II: photo. Submarines of the USSR and Germany of the Second World War

Underwater fleet became part of the Navy of different countries already during the First World War. Surveying work in the field of underwater shipbuilding began long before it began, but only after 1914 the requirements of fleet management for the tactical and technical characteristics of submarines were finally formulated. The main condition under which they could act was concealment. Submarines of the Second World War differed in their structure and principles of action from their predecessors of previous decades. Constructive difference, as a rule, consisted of technological innovations and some nodes and assemblies invented in the 1920s and 1930s, improving the seaworthiness and survivability.

German submarines before the war

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles did not allow Germany to build many types of ships and create a full-fledged navy. In the pre-war period, ignoring the restrictions imposed by the Entente countries imposed in 1918, German shipyards nevertheless launched a dozen submarines of the ocean class (U-25, U-26, U-37, U-64, etc.). Their displacement in the above-water position was about 700 tons. Smaller in size submarines (500 tons) in the amount of 24 pcs. (With numbers from U-44) plus 32 units of coastal-coastal range had the same displacement and were auxiliary forces to the Kriegsmarine. All of them were armed with nasal guns and torpedo tubes (usually 4 bow and 2 stern).

So, in spite of many prohibitive measures, by 1939 the German naval forces were armed with modern submarines. The Second World War immediately after its inception showed the high efficiency of this class of weapons.

Strikes against Britain

Britain took the first blow of Hitler's war machine. Ironically, the admirals of the empire most highly estimated the danger emanating from the German battleships and cruisers. According to the experience of the previous large-scale conflict, they assumed that the zone of action of submarines would be limited to a relatively narrow coastal strip, and their detection would not be a big problem.

It turned out, however, that German submarines of the Second World War could become a much more dangerous weapon than a surface fleet. Attempts to establish a naval blockade of the northern coast were not successful. On the first day of the war, the Atenia liner was torpedoed, and on September 17, the aircraft carrier Korejdes sank, the planes of which the British hoped to use as an effective anti-submarine. Blocking the actions of the "wolf packs" of Admiral Dennitsa did not succeed, they acted more and more defiantly. On October 14, 1939, the U-47 submarine entered the water area of the Royal Navy base of Scapa Flow and from its above-ground position torpedoed the anchored battleship Royal Oak. The ships perished every day.

The Sword of the Day and the Shield of Britain

By 1940, the Germans had let British ships sink to the bottom with a total tonnage of over two million tons. It seemed that the catastrophe of Britain was inevitable. Interest for historians are chronicles, telling about the role played by submarines of the Second World War. The film "The Battle for the Atlantic" tells of the struggle of fleets for control over the oceanic highways, which provided the supply of belligerent countries. It was difficult to fight the "wolves", but every problematic task is fraught with a solution, it was found this time too. The achievements in the field of radar detection made it possible to detect not only visually, but also in conditions of zero visibility, and at a distance, German submarines.

The Second World War had not yet reached its peak phase, it was April 1941, but the U-110 submarine was already sunk. She was the last survivor of those with whom Hitler began fighting.

What is snornhel?

From the very beginning of the appearance of submarines, designers considered various options for power supply of the power plant. Submarines of the Second World War were set in motion by an electric motor, and in the above-water position by a diesel engine. The main problem, preventing the preservation of secrecy, was the need to periodically pop up to recharge the batteries. It was during the forced demasking that the submarines were vulnerable, they could be spotted by planes and radars. In order to reduce this risk, the so-called snornel was invented. It is a retractable pipe system through which the atmospheric air required for fuel combustion enters the diesel compartment and exhaust gases are removed .

The use of shnorhel helped reduce losses of submarines, although in addition to radar, there were other means of detecting them, for example sonar.

The innovation is left without attention

Despite the obvious advantages, only German submarines of the Second World War were equipped with snorkels . The USSR and other countries left this invention without attention, although the conditions for borrowing experience were. It is believed that the first shnorheli used Dutch shipbuilders, but it is also known that in 1925 such devices were designed by the Italian military engineer Ferretti, but then this idea was abandoned. In 1940, Holland was captured by fascist Germany, but its submarine fleet (4 units) managed to leave for Great Britain. There, too, did not appreciate this, of course, the right device. Shnorheli dismantled, finding them very dangerous and questionably useful device.

No other revolutionary technical solutions were built by submarine ship builders. The accumulators, the apparatus for charging them improved, the air regeneration systems improved, but the principle of the submarine device remained unchanged.

Submarines of the Second World War, the USSR

Photo of the heroes-Northwestern Lunin, Marinesko, Starikova printed not only Soviet newspapers, but also foreign ones. Submariners were real heroes. In addition, the most successful commanders of Soviet submarines became personal enemies of Adolf Hitler himself, and they did not need better recognition.

A huge role in the naval battle that unfolded on the northern seas and in the Black Sea basin was played by Soviet submarines. The Second World War began in 1939, and in 1941 Hitler's Germany attacked the USSR. At that time in the arsenal of our fleet there were submarines of several basic types:

1. Submarine Decembrist. The series (except for the title unit, two more - Narodovolets and Krasnogvardeets) was laid in 1931. The full displacement is 980 tons.
2. Series "L" - "Leninets." The project of 1936, displacement - 1400 tons, the ship is armed with six TA, in the ammunition of 12 torpedoes and 20 sea mines, two guns (nasal - 100 mm and fodder - 45 mm).
3. Series "L-XIII" with a displacement of 1200 tons.
4. Series "Щ" ("Pike") with a displacement of 580 tons.
5. Series "C" , 780 tons, is armed with six TA and two guns - 100 mm and 45 mm.
6. Series "K" . Displacement - 2200 tons. Designed in 1938, a submarine cruiser that develops speed of 22 knots (above-water position) and 10 knots (underwater position). Boat of ocean class. Armed with six torpedo tubes (6 TA nasal and 4 stern).
7. A series of "M" - "Baby". Displacement - from 200 to 250 tons (depending on the modification). Projects 1932 and 1936, 2 TA, autonomy - 2 weeks.

"Baby"

Submarines of the "M" series are the most compact submarines of the Second World War of the USSR. The film "The Navy of the USSR. Chronicle of Victory "tells about the glorious combat path of many crews who skillfully used the unique navigation characteristics of these ships in combination with their small size. Sometimes the commanders managed to quietly get into the well-protected enemy bases and escape from the persecution. "Baby" could be transported by rail and launched in the Black Sea and the Far East.

Along with the merits, the M series, of course, had its shortcomings, but without them any technique is not complete: short autonomy, only two torpedoes in the absence of stock, tightness and tedious conditions of service associated with a small number of crew. These difficulties did not prevent the heroic sailors-submariners from gaining impressive victories over the enemy.

In different countries

Interesting are the quantities in which the submarines of the Second World War were in service with the fleets of different countries before the war. As of 1939, the largest submarine fleet was owned by the USSR (over 200), followed by a powerful Italian submarine fleet (more than a hundred units), France (86), France (fourth), the fourth (69) Japan (65) and the sixth - Germany (57). In the course of the war, the balance of forces changed, and this list lined up in almost the reverse order (with the exception of the number of Soviet boats). In addition to those launched in our shipyards, the British Navy submarine, which was part of the Baltic Fleet after the annexation of Estonia, was also in the USSR Navy (Lembit, 1935).

After the war

The battles broke out on land, in the air, on the water and under it. For many years, the Soviet "Pike" and "Baby" continued to defend their home country, then they were used to train cadets of naval military schools. Some of them became monuments and museums, others rusted in submarine cemeteries.

Submarines in the decades after the war almost did not take part in the hostilities that are constantly taking place in the world. There were local conflicts, sometimes escalating into serious wars, but the submarines were not in combat. They became more and more secretive, moved more slowly and faster, gained unlimited autonomy thanks to the achievements of nuclear physics.