The outcome of any war depends on many factors, among which, of course, weapons are of no small importance. Despite the fact that absolutely all German submarines of the Second World War were very powerful, since Adolf Hitler personally considered them the most important weapon and paid considerable attention to the development of this industry, they failed to inflict damage on the opponents that would significantly affect the course of the war. Why did it happen? Who stands at the origins of the creation of the submarine army? Were the German submarines of World War II really so invincible? Why were such prudent Nazis unable to defeat the Red Army? The answer to these and other questions you will find in the review.
General information
In the aggregate, all the equipment that was in service with the Third Reich during World War II was called the Kriegsmarine, and submarines made up a significant part of the arsenal. Underwater equipment passed into a separate branch on November 1, 1934, and the fleet was disbanded after the war ended, that is, having existed for less than a dozen years. For such a short periodtime, the German submarines of World War II brought a lot of fear into the souls of their opponents, leaving their huge mark on the bloody pages of the history of the Third Reich. Thousands of dead, hundreds of sunken ships, all this remained on the conscience of the surviving Nazis and their subordinates.
Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine
During World War II, one of the most famous Nazis, Karl Doenitz, was at the helm of the Kriegsmarine. German U-boats certainly played an important role in World War II, but without this man this would not have happened. He was personally involved in creating plans to attack opponents, participated in attacks on many ships and achieved success in this path, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves - one of the most significant awards of Nazi Germany. Doenitz was an admirer of Hitler and was his successor, which hurt him a lot during the Nuremberg trials, because after the death of the Fuhrer he was considered the commander-in-chief of the Third Reich.
Specifications
It is easy to guess that Karl Doenitz was responsible for the condition of the submarine army. German submarines in World War II, whose photos prove their power, had impressive parameters.
In general, the Kriegsmarine was armed with 21 types of submarines. They had the following characteristics:
- displacement: from 275 to 2710 tons;
- surface speed: 9.7 to 19.2 knots;
- underwater speed: 6.9 to 17.2;
- depthdives: from 150 to 280 meters.
This proves that the German submarines of the Second World War were not only powerful, they were the most powerful among the weapons of the countries that fought against Germany.
Composition of the Kriegsmarine
1154 submarines belonged to the military boats of the German fleet. It is noteworthy that until September 1939 there were only 57 submarines, the rest were built specifically for participation in the war. Some of them were trophies. So, there were 5 Dutch, 4 Italian, 2 Norwegian and one English and one French submarines. All of them were also in service with the Third Reich.
Navy Achievements
The Kriegsmarine inflicted considerable damage on its opponents throughout the war. So, for example, the most productive captain Otto Kretschmer sank almost fifty enemy ships. There are also record holders among the courts. For example, the German submarine U-48 sank 52 ships.
Throughout World War II, the German navy managed to destroy 63 destroyers, 9 cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers and even 2 battleships. The largest and most remarkable victory for the German army among them can be considered the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak, the crew of which consisted of a thousand people, and its displacement was 31,200 tons.
Plan Z
Since Hitler considered his fleet to be extremely important for the triumph of Germany over other countries and had extremely positive feelings for him, he devoted considerable attention to itattention and did not limit funding. In 1939, a plan was developed for the development of the Kriegsmarine for the next 10 years, which, fortunately, never materialized. According to this plan, several hundred more of the most powerful battleships, cruisers and submarines were to be built.
Powerful German submarines of World War II
Photos of some surviving German submarines give an idea of the power of the Third Reich's navy, but give little indication of how strong that army was. Most of all, the German fleet had Type VII submarines, they had optimal seaworthiness, were of medium size, and most importantly, their construction was relatively inexpensive, which is important in wartime.
They could dive to a depth of 320 meters with a displacement of up to 769 tons, the crew ranged from 42 to 52 employees. Despite the fact that the “sevens” were quite high-quality boats, over time, the enemy countries of Germany improved their weapons, so the Germans also had to work on modernizing their offspring. As a result of this, the boat has several more modifications. The most popular of these was the VIIC model, which not only became the epitome of German military power during the attack on the Atlantic, but was also much more convenient than previous versions. The impressive dimensions made it possible to install more powerful dieselengines, and subsequent modifications were also distinguished by strong hulls, which made it possible to dive deeper.
German submarines of World War II were subjected to a constant, as they would say now, upgrade. Type XXI is considered to be one of the most innovative models. In this submarine, an air conditioning system and additional equipment was created, which was intended for a longer stay of the crew under water. A total of 118 boats of this type were built.
Kriegsmarine results
German submarines of the Second World War, photos of which can often be found in books about military equipment, played a very important role in the offensive of the Third Reich. Their power cannot be underestimated, but it should be borne in mind that even with such patronage from the bloodiest Fuhrer in world history, the German fleet did not manage to bring its power closer to victory. Probably, only good equipment and a strong army are not enough; for the victory of Germany, the ingenuity and courage that the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union possessed was not enough. Everyone knows that the Nazis were incredibly bloodthirsty and shunned little on their way, but neither the incredibly equipped army nor the lack of principles helped them. Armored vehicles, a huge amount of ammunition and the latest developments did not bring the expected results to the Third Reich.
