History
The origin of the Hecht began with the salvage of the two British X class submarines HMS X6 and X7 which had been sunk during Operation Source, an attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. Hauptamt Kriegschiffbau subsequently produced a design for a two-man submarine based on inspection of the British boats, designated Type XXVIIA and named Hecht ("Pike")
Like the British X class boats, the Type XXVIIA was designed to carry explosive charges to be laid beneath enemy ships, but it was markedly smaller and had substantial differences from the X class. It dispensed with a dual diesel/electric propulsion system, relying instead solely on electrical power in the form of a 12 hp AEG torpedo motor, on the basis that since it would operate submerged there was no need for a diesel engine. However, this resulted in a very low endurance of 69 nmi (128 km; 79 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).
Since the boat would need to be able to pass through anti-submarine nets and similar obstacles, it was designed without hydroplanes or fins, her trim being controlled with adjustable weights within the pressure hull. In practice this proved totally ineffective since the weights could not be moved quickly enough and hydroplanes and fins were subsequently fitted. Submerged control was still poor, since Hecht was not fitted with ballast tanks.
Even though Hecht had been designed to transport an explosive charge, Karl Dönitz insisted that a torpedo be carried so that attacks could be carried out on vessels in coastal waters and Hecht was designed to be armed either with an underslung torpedo or an underslung mine, and a limpet mine in the nose. [1]
Externally, Hecht resembled the British Welman submarine. The detachable explosive charge was fitted to the nose of the submarine, while the forward section held the battery and a gyrocompass, the first to be fitted to a German midget submarine and considered essential for navigation since the craft was intended to operate almost exclusively below the surface. [2] Behind this was the control compartment with seats for the two man crew arranged one behind the other on the centreline with the engineer in front and the commander behind him. The commander was provided with a periscope and a clear acrylic dome for navigational purposes.
On 18 January 1944, Dönitz discussed the new design with Adolf Hitler who expressed his approval, and on 9 March contracts were placed with Germaniawerft of Kiel for construction of a prototype, followed by a further contract for 52 submarines on 28 March.
Fifty-three Hechts were built in total between May and August 1944, but their unsatisfactory performance meant they never saw action, and were mostly used for training Seehund crews. [1]
The submarine could also carry a diver in the nose rather than a magnetic mine. [3]
German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektroboote to become operational. They were small coastal submarines designed to operate in the shallow waters of the North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where larger Type XXI electric boats were at risk in World War II. They were so small they could carry only two torpedoes, which had to be loaded externally. As with their far larger sisters—the Type XXI—they were able to remain submerged almost all of the time and were faster than conventional U-boats, due to the improved streamlining of their shape, batteries with larger capacity and the snorkel, which allowed the diesel engines to be used while submerged. The Type XXI and XXIII U-boats revolutionized post-war submarine design. Nearly a thousand Type XXIII boats were projected towards the close of World War II, but most of these were either cancelled, scrapped incomplete, or only projected.
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.
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.
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German submarine U-216 was a Type VIID mine-laying U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid down 1 January 1941 by Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 648. She was launched on 23 October 1941 and commissioned on 15 December 1941 with Oberleutnant zur See Karl-Otto Schultz in command.
German submarine U-374 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was ordered on 23 September 1939. Her keel was laid down by Howaldtswerke in Kiel on 18 December 1939, she was launched on 10 May 1941 and formally commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 21 June 1941 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Unno von Fischel.
German submarine U-386 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-439 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-465 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-525 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.
German submarine U-585 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-590 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-598 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
German submarine U-597 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.
Kriegsmarine