Hitler's Attack U-Boats
The Kriegsmarine's WWII Submarine Strike Force
Jak P. Mallmann Showell
- “A
- definitive
- introduction
- by
- a
- highly
- recognized
- authority
- who
- writes
- beautifully
- and
- clearly.”
- —Naval
- Historical
- FoundationThe
- fact
- that
- German
- submarines
- almost
- managed
- to
- cut
- off
- Britain’s
- vital
- imports
- during
- the
- First
- World
- War
- hadn’t
- been
- forgotten
- by
- Hitler—and
- when,
- in
- 1935,
- he
- repudiated
- the
- Treaty
- of
- Versailles,
- Britain,
- magnanimously,
- signed
- an
- Anglo-German
- Naval
- Agreement.
- This
- allowed
- the
- Germans
- to
- build
- their
- submarine
- strength
- up
- to
- one
- third
- of
- the
- Royal
- Navy’s
- tonnage.When
- war
- broke
- out
- in
- 1939,
- German
- U-boats
- went
- quickly
- into
- action,
- but
- with
- only
- four
- years
- of
- production
- and
- development,
- the
- main
- armament
- of
- these
- submarines
- was
- considerably
- weaker
- than
- equivalent
- boats
- in
- other
- navies
- and
- many
- other
- features,
- such
- as
- living
- conditions,
- were
- also
- significantly
- inferior.
- Yet,
- the
- German
- U-boat
- onslaught
- against
- British
- merchant
- ships
- in
- autumn
- 1940
- was
- highly
- successful
- because
- the
- attacks
- were
- made
- on
- the
- surface
- at
- night
- and
- from
- such
- close
- range
- that
- a
- single
- torpedo
- would
- sink
- a
- ship.Soon,
- though,
- Allied
- technology
- was
- able
- to
- detect
- U-boats
- at
- night,
- and
- new
- convoy
- techniques,
- combined
- with
- powerfully
- armed,
- fast
- modern
- aircraft
- searching
- the
- seas,
- meant
- that
- by
- 1941
- it
- was
- clear
- that
- Germany
- was
- losing
- the
- war
- at
- sea.
- Something
- had
- to
- be
- done.
- The
- new
- generation
- of
- attack
- U-boats
- that
- had
- been
- introduced
- since
- Hitler
- came
- to
- power
- needed
- urgent
- improvement.
- This
- is
- the
- story
- of
- the
- Types
- II,
- VII,
- and
- IX
- that
- had
- already
- become
- the
- ‘workhorse’
- of
- the
- Kriegsmarine’s
- submarine
- fleet
- and
- continued
- to
- put
- out
- to
- sea
- to
- attack
- Allied
- shipping
- right
- up
- to
- the
- end
- of
- the
- war.
- The
- Type
- II
- was
- a
- small
- coastal
- boat
- that
- struggled
- to
- reach
- the
- Atlantic;
- the
- Type
- VII
- was
- perfectly
- at
- home
- there,
- but
- lacked
- the
- technology
- to
- tackle
- well
- protected
- convoys;
- while
- the
- Type
- IX
- was
- a
- long-range
- variety
- modified
- so
- it
- could
- operate
- in
- the
- Indian
- Ocean.This
- book
- by
- the
- renowned
- Kriegsmarine
- historian
- explores
- these
- attack
- U-boats
- at
- length,
- including
- details
- of
- their
- armament,
- capabilities,
- and
- crew
- facilities;
- the
- story
- of
- their
- development
- and
- operational
- history;
- and
- just
- what
- it
- was
- like
- to
- operate
- such
- a vessel.
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