A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, as well as medium-sized or smaller vessels, such as the midget submarine and the wet sub. Submarines are referred to as "boats" rather than "ships" irrespective of their size.
The Type A Ko-hyoteki class was a class of Japanese midget submarines (Kō-hyōteki) used during World War II. They had hull numbers but no names. For simplicity, they are most often referred to by the hull number of the mother submarine. Thus, the midget carried by I-16-class submarine was known as I-16's boat, or "I-16tou."
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched and recovered and which provide living accommodation for the crew and support staff.
HMS Sceptre (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, Sceptre attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine X24, which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and X24 was towed back to England. Sceptre then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow X24 to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.
Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use.
The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo.
Seeteufel was a two-man amphibious midget submarine, developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Only one prototype was built in 1944, although its testing was relatively successful and negotiations began for another series of three to test the necessary changes before beginning series production in 1945. These plans were cancelled at the beginning of that year when the decision was made to concentrate production on designs already being built.
The I-201-class submarines were submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. These submarines were of advanced design, built for high underwater speed, and were known as Sentaka-Dai type submarine or Sentaka type submarine. The type name, was shortened to Suichū Kōsoku Sensuikan Ō-gata.
Biber was a German midget submarine of the Second World War. Armed with two externally mounted 53-centimetre (21 in) torpedoes or mines, they were intended to attack coastal shipping. They were the smallest submarines in the Kriegsmarine.
Seehund, also known as Type XXVII, was a midget submarine manufactured by Nazi Germany during World War II. Designed in 1944 and operated by two-man crews, it was used by the Kriegsmarine during the closing months of the war, sinking nine merchant vessels and damaging an additional three, while losing 35 boats, mostly attributed to bad weather. The French Navy used four captured boats after the war until 1953.
Molch was an unsuccessful series of one-man midget submarines created during World War II. Built in 1944, it was the first mini-submarine of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, but was not successful in combat operations and suffered heavy losses.
Delphin (dolphin) was a midget submarine created during World War II. Designed in 1944, only three prototypes were created by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine by the end of the war, all of which were destroyed. The Delphin was built for underwater speed attacks, as German engineers under the leadership of Ulrich Gabler discovered that past midget submarines were too slow to match the speeds of large ships in the English Channel.
Neger was a torpedo-carrying craft generally described as a human torpedo which could not submerge, but was difficult to see during night operations. The vessel was used by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine between 1943 and 1945. The name comes from the constructor Richard Mohr whose surname means Moor.
Horia Macellariu was a Romanian rear admiral, commander of the Royal Romanian Navy's Black Sea Fleet during the Second World War.
Hecht, also known as Type XXVIIA, was a two-man all-electric German midget submarine created during World War II.
Constanța Shipyard is the largest shipyard in Romania and one of the largest in Europe having a market share of 20% in the Black Sea basin. The shipyard has two drydocks, one used for the construction of ships up to 150,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT), and the second one used for the construction of ships up to 250,000 DWT, and two floating docks with a capacity of 8,000 tonnes and 15,000 tonnes.
Marder was a German midget submarine developed from the Neger. The craft was 8.3 metres long and unlike the Neger included a flooding tank in the nose allowing it to dive. Another improvement was the dome through which the pilot viewed the outside world that also served as the craft's entrance and exit was made openable from the inside. Maximum diving depth was about 25 metres (82 ft).
The CB class was a group of midget submarines built for the Italian Navy during World War II. However, they were also used by several other navies, seeing action in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea.
Mališan was a CB-class midget submarine in service with the Yugoslav Navy. Mališan was laid down in 1943 as CB-20 for the Regia Marina. Following the Italian Armistice in September 1943, the unfinished boat was captured by the Germans who handed it to the Navy of the Italian Social Republic. The boat was captured by Yugoslav Partisans in Pula in 1945 and commissioned in the JRM shortly after the war.
The National Republican Navy was the navy of the Italian Social Republic, a World War II German puppet state in Italy.
Nazi Germany