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Type II U-Boat

1935 WORLD WAR 2

History of Type II Submarines

The Reconstruction Army was forced to be creative during the rearmament of the 1930s due to restrictions imposed on the German Armed Forces at the end of the First World War (1914-1918). This sometimes means researching, developing and producing abroad, and finally bringing the finished product home.

The case of the Type II submarine proves this, as it was born in Finland and developed a slower diving speed from the private submarine CV-707 "Vesikko" in 1933, which arrived in 1934 and started commissioning in 1935.

The series was more or less inspired by the British success of similar coastal genres in the First World War. As a result, German-designed designs have excellent maneuverability and a compact footprint, as their primary role is to operate close to the coast ("shore"), patrolling the enemy's valuable targets, either on the surface or under water.

In June 1935, the rearmed Germans declared a political victory in forcing Britain to sign a new Anglo-German treaty to allow greater expansion of German naval services - now within the new limit of 45% of the current size of the Royal Fleet navy.

50 of these small boats ended up being built in four different standards - Type IIA (6 boats), Type IIB (20 boats), Type IIC (8 boats) and Type IID (16 boats). The collection was built under the joint management of Deutsche Werke, Germaniawerft, Flender Werke and Galati shipyards from 1934 to 1940. The stage was commissioned from 1935 to 1945. The original production form was the Type IIA, but inherent life limitations led to the Type IIB, which improved on this quality by increasing fuel storage. The Type IIC came later, essentially a Type IIB with a more powerful engine.

The Type IID differed by the addition of "saddle tanks", which were located on the sides of the fuselage to improve ballast capabilities.

Externally, the layout of these boats is traditional, with the fins set above the midship, the bow is usually raised in shape (with a flat running deck), and the stern contains the steering gear and twin propeller units. Internally, the propulsion scheme includes 2 x MWM RS127S 6-cylinder 700hp marine diesels for surface cruising and 2 x SSW PGVV322/36 double-acting 410hp electric motors for underwater work.

The boat can reach surface speeds of 13 knots and underwater speeds of 7.5 knots, with a range of up to 4,040 miles (surfaced, otherwise 65 miles underwater). The submarine is capable of performing an "emergency dive" in as little as 25 seconds - a useful feature when trying to disappear from the enemy's line of sight.

The crew number is twenty-five.

Due to the small hull, armament is limited to 3 x 533 mm (21") bow facing torpedo tubes with six available reloads. Mines can also be carried, but not torpedo loads. For this ship initially equipped with 1 x 20mm anti-aircraft (AA) guns, which later gave way to as many as four during the war.

The German Navy developed so rapidly that the Type II went into series production almost immediately after its introduction. However, the Type II's coast-facing design limited its tactical value after warfare shifted from sea to ocean.

This left the Type II with little offensive role in the developing war, and many batches were reserved for training purposes or to test new submarine-guided components that the Germans were testing.

Type IIA ships operate from U-1 to U-6. Type IIB ships from U-7 to U-24 and U-120 and U-121. Type IIC ships are U-56 to U-63. Type IID ships are U-137 to U-152.