U-Boat
Encyclopedia : U : UB : UBO : U-Boat
- "U-boat" is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by General Electric; see List of GE locomotives
U-boat is the anglicization of the German word [U-Boot] , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot (its literal meaning: "undersea boat"), the German word for submarine. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both world wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada and the United States to Europe. Austrian submarines of World War I were also known as "U-boats".
The distinction between U-boat and submarine is common in English-language usage but unknown in German where the term U-Boot refers to any submarine.
World War I
Early in the war, U 9 sank the British ships Aboukir, Cressy and Hougue. On May 7, 1915, U 20 sank the liner RMS Lusitania. Though there was a great deal of outrage at the sinking of an "innocent" merchant ship at the time, historians now believe the Lusitania had 10 tons of weapons aboard, making it a valid target under international law. Of the 1,198 lives lost, 128 were American civilians, including a noted theatrical producer and a member of the prestigious Vanderbilt family. This event turned American public opinion against Germany and was a significant factor in getting the United States involved in the war on the Allied side.
With the United States already on the side of the Allies, Germany announced on 31 January 1917 that its U-boats would engage in unrestricted submarine warfare. On 17 March 1917, German submarines sank three American merchant vessels. See First Battle of the Atlantic.
At the end of WWI, as part of the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles restricted the total tonnage of the German fleet. The treaty also restricted the independent tonnage of ships and forbade the construction of submarines. Before the start of WWII, Germany started rebuilding U-boats and training crews hiding these activities under "research" or other covers, so that when WWII started, Germany already had a few U-Boats ready for warfare.
World War II
During World War II, U-boat warfare was the major component of the Battle of the Atlantic, which lasted the duration of the war. Germany had the largest submarine fleet in World War II, due to the Treaty of Versailles which limited the surface navy of Germany to six battleships (of less than 10,000 tonnes each), six cruisers and 12 destroyers. Although Winston Churchill, the United Kingdom's Prime Minister wrote "The only thing that really frightened me during the war was the U-Boat peril", evidence later accumulated showed that 98% of convoyed British ships in first 28 months of the war crossed the Atlantic safely, and at no time were the U-boats close to a successful blockade of the United Kingdom.Blair, Clay: "Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942", pp 426-7. Random House Press, 1996.
In the early stages of the war the U-boats were extremely effective in destroying allied shipping, ranging from the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Arctic to the West and Southern African coasts and even as far east as Penang. Because speed and range were severely limited underwater while running on battery power, U-boats were required to spend most of their time surfaced running on diesel engines, diving only when attacked or for rare daytime torpedo strikes. Contary to popular notion, the most common u-boat attack (especially in the early years of the war) was conducted on the surface and at night.
The U-boat (and the modern attack submarine) is essentially a sophisticated launch platform for their main weapon, the torpedo. World War II torpedoes suffered from many limitations: they could only be launched from periscope depth or while surfaced; until later on in the war they were completely unguided, travelling in a straight line until they either impacted with a target or ran out of energy. Torpedoes were fitted with one of two types of fuses, one which detonated the warhead upon impact with a solid object and another which detonated magnetically, upon sensing a large metal object nearby. Ideally, when using magnetic torpedoes, the commander would know the target ship's draft (how low its keel sits in the water) and set the torpedo's depth so that it passed just underneath, detonating via the magnetic fuse. The explosion would create a temporary gas bubble underneath the suddenly unsupported keel, which would split as a result. In this way, even large or heavily-armored ships could be sunk or disabled with a single well-placed hit. In practice, however, both the depth-keeping equipment and magnetic fuses were notoriously unreliable in the early part of the war. Torpedoes would all too often run at an improper depth, detonate prematurely or even bounce harmlessly off the target's hull. Many commanders lost all faith in their torpedoes and the problems took some time to be fully rectified.
In the later years, Germany developed an acoustic homing torpedo which was designed to run to an arming distance of 400 meters and then zero in on the loudest noise it heard. This sometimes turned out to be the U-boat itself, and at least two submarines were probably sunk by their own torpedoes. U-boats also adopted "pattern-running" torpedoes which ran to a preset distance, then travelled in either a circular or ladder-like pattern. When fired at a convoy, this increased the probability of a hit in case the weapon missed its primary target.
Advances in convoy tactics, the full entry of the U.S. into the war with its enormous ship-building capacity, high frequency direction finding (referred to as "Huff-Duff"), radar, sonar (called ASDIC in Britain), depth charges, the cracking of the German Enigma code, the introduction of the Leigh Light, and the range of escort aircraft, all turned the tide against the U-boats. In the end, the U-boat fleet suffered extremely heavy casualties, losing 743 U-boats and about 30,000 submariners (a 75% casualty rate).
During World War II, the Kriegsmarine produced many different types of U-boats as technology evolved. Most notable are type VII as the "workhorse" of the fleet which was by far the most-produced type; type IX boats were larger and specifically designed for long-range patrols. With the type XXI "Elektroboot", German sub designers finally realized that the U-boat depended on its submerged ability both for survival and lethality. The XXI featured a revolutionary streamlined hull design and propulsion system which allowed it to cruise submerged for long periods and reach unprecedented submerged speeds. It also possessed a "Schnorchel" (snorkel) which allowed the boat to run its diesels while submerged at periscope depth, reducing the possibility of detection.
U-505 is a Type IXC, notable for its capture by the United States Navy in 1944. It is presently a museum ship in Chicago, Illinois at the Museum of Science and Industry. The capture of U-505 was noteworthy due to the capture of her codebooks, but somewhat unnecessary because the British already had the ability to read recent German codes. U-110, a Type IXB, had been captured in 1941 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, helping to stay on top of the German Enigma code upgrades, before the entry of the US into World War II.
Two significant attacks took place in 1942 when German U-boats attacked four allied ore carriers at Bell Island, Newfoundland. The carriers SS Saganaga and the SS Lord Strathcona were sunk by U 513 on September 5 1942, while the SS Rosecastle and PLM 27 were sunk by U-518 on November 2 with the loss of 69 lives. When the submarine fired a torpedo at the loading pier, Bell Island became the only location in North America to be subject to direct attack by German forces in World War II.
Post-WWII
In the 1960s Germany (then West Germany) re-entered the submarine business. Because Germany was initially restricted to a 450 tonne displacement limit, the Bundesmarine focused on small coastal submarines to protect against the Soviet threat in the Baltic sea. The Germans sought to use advanced technologies to offset the small displacement with one of the first being amagnetic steel to protect against naval mines and MAD.While the initial Type 201 was a failure due to hull cracking the subsequent Type 205, first commissioned in 1967, was a success with 12 being built for the German navy. To continue the U-Boat tradition and "brand name" the new boats received the classic U designation starting with the U 1.
With the Danish government's purchase of two Type 205 boats the Germany government realized the potential for the submarine as an export commodity. Three of the improved Type 206 boats were sold to the Israeli Navy becoming the Gal class. The German Type 209 diesel-electric submarine was the most popular export-sales submarine in the world from the late 1960s into the first years of the 21st century. With a larger 1000-1500 tonne displacement the class was very customizable and has seen service with 14 Navies with 51 examples being built as of 2006.
Germany has brought the U-Boat name into the 21st Century with the new Type 212. The 212 features an air-independent propulsion system utilizing hydrogen fuel cells. This system is safer than previous closed cycle diesel engines and steam turbines, cheaper than a nuclear reactor and quieter than both. The Type 212 is considered to be the quietest submarine in the world. While the Type 212 is also being purchased by Italy, the Type 214 has been designed as the follow-on export model and has been sold to Greece and South Korea.
In July 2006 Germany will commission its newest U-boat, the U 34, a Type 212.
Popular culture
- Das Boot (1981) is a critically acclaimed German movie adapted from a mini-series about life aboard a U-Boat. The mini-series itself was adapted from a novel of the same name by war correspondant Lothar-Günther Buchheim.
- The Enemy Below and the more recent U-571, are movies revolving around WWII submarine warfare.
- Silent Hunter III, a computer submarine simulation game, centers on the German U-boat of WWII.
- , a First-person shooter computer game, featured a level in which the player fought their way through a German U-boat.
- Uboot is a Polish cocktail made from beer and vodka.
- "U Boat" is also the name of the final track on the album Kasabian by the band of the same name.
See also
- List of U-boats
- List of the most successful U-boats
- Karl Dönitz
- Operation Deadlight
- S. S. Athenia
- Laconia incident
- Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA
Notes
References
- Buchheim, Lothar-Günther, Das Boot (Original German edition 1973, eventually translated into English and many other Western languages). Movie adaptation in 1981, directed by Wolfgang Petersen
- Gannon, Michael (1998) Black May. Dell Publishing. ISBN 0-440-23564-2
- Kurson, Robert (2004). Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II. Random House Publishing. ISBN 0-375-50858-93
- Stern, Robert C. (1999). Battle Beneath the Waves: U-boats at war. Arms and Armor/Sterling Publishing. ISBN 1854092006.
External links
- http://www.uboat.net/
- [The storage battery plant for submarines in Hagen, Germany]
- [Subsim.com]
- http://ubootwaffe.net
- [The Diary of a U-boat Commander] – Project Gutenberg edition (WWI)
- [German U-Boats 1935–1945] (in German)
- [Book excerpt: U-Boat Attack]
- [U-Boat U-35 and Prisoners-of-War, WWII]
- [U-Boat U-434, POWs in Canada]
- [German U-Boat and Battle of the Atlantic]
- [German Midget submersible-MOLCH]
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