Schwertwal

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Kleinst U-Boot-Schwertwal I und II Kleinst U-Boot-Schwertwal I und II.jpg
Kleinst U-Boot-Schwertwal I und II

Schwertwal (German for Orca, lit. "Sword Whale") was a German miniature submarine design that reached the trial stage in late April 1945. It had a crew of two and was designed to have a high subsurface speed of around 20 knots. The high speed was archived by the use of a Walther turbine. The submarine carried an armament of two torpedoes. The submarine lacked a periscope and the pilot viewed the outside world through an acrylic glass dome. [1]

Contents

The prototype was scuttled at the end of World War II but was raised by the British Navy and examined before being scrapped. [1]

Further developments

Design work for an even faster version began but the plans never left the drawing board. [1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Kemp, p. 192

References