U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , a shortening
of Unterseeboot, which means "undersea boat" employed by Germany, particularly
in World War I and World War II. The unrestricted submarine warfare of World War 1
and World War 2 came close to bringing England to its knees .
Germany was denied a submarine force after WW I . Despite the ban, Germany
set up a clandestine uboat design office in Holland in 1922. In 1932, the Weimar
government approved the building of 16 uboats . Donitz was given command of
Germany's first post war uboat flotilla in 1935 and set about planning to succeed
where the WW I uboats had failed .
Engine room of WWI uboat
At the outbreak of the war, Germany had three main types of uboats in construction .
Type II was manoeuvrable and could crash dive in 25 seconds . their small sized and
weapon loads led to their being stopped produced in 1941 . A majority of the uboats t
hat fought in the battle of the Atlantic were type VIIs . These were built in large numbers
with over 800 being built by the end of the war . This uboat carried between 11 and 14
torpedoes . Type IX uboats were designed for long range operations and could reach
Indian Ocean and the Pacific without refueling . The Kriegsmarine's building schedule
was based on the belief that there would be no war till the mid 1940s, when they hoped
to match the British Navy . when war broke out in 1939, Germany only had 46 operational
uboats . Between the wars, Donitz developed a new uboat tactic, the wolf pack , using groups
of uboats to attack allied shipping .
German stamp WW 2
By the end of the war, the Type XXI uboats, the fastest ever built with a Schnorchel
that let it operate as long as there was fuel could have wrought havoc in the allied
navies, but like the Me-262 jet fighter in was produced to late and in too few numbers
to have ant effect on the outcome of the war .
1st U Boat Flotilla U-Flottille Weddigen founded Sept 27, 1935
Uboat submariners captured by US Coast Guard
World War 1 uboats in color
Uboats in the Gulf
In 1942, with the U.S. military still gearing for battle, Hitler brought the war to America.
In a little known mission, dozens of Nazi U-boats penetrated the Gulf of Mexico, attacking
and sinking numerous merchant freighters and oil tankers. While experts thought they
knew most of what went on there, their theories were challenged in 2001 when an
underwater survey team discovered the wreck of U-166 on the Gulf's seafloor--over 140
miles distant from where records said she sank .
The last voyage of U234. In March 1945 it leaves Germany bound for Japan. Its cargo
includes an ME262 jet fighter and V2 rocket components, together with over 500
KG of uranium - bound for the Japanese atomic bomb program.
Documentary on Nazi U-boat technology
a documentary on German U-boats (short for Unterseeboot: underwater boat) includes
some nice footage of a few impenetrable U-boat bunkers constructed at Adolf
Hitler's suggestion. The reference to "slave laborers" is a misnomer unless one
calls all prisoners everywhere on this planet "slave laborers". We also see a visit
by the Japanese Imperial Navy. The narrator points out that they took both technology
and tactics from the Germans. There's also very interesting footage of a Fa-330 or
Bachstelze (literally "wagging tail") a sort of mini-helicopter that was towed from
behind a surfaced U-boat providing an ingenius observation platform.
WWll in Colour-1941 U-Boat Campaign Against the U.S
Mini uboat Seehund Type XXVII , produced from 1944, two man crews, mini uboats
sank 9 merchant ships . the Seehund's small size made it almost impossible for Asdic
to get a return from her hull, while her very quiet slow speed running made her almost
immune to detection by hydrophone. As Admiral Sir Charles Little, Commander-in-Chief
, Portsmouth put it, "Fortunately for us these damn things arrived too late in the war to
do any damage".
A German U-boat is shown being resupplied at
sea by a Type XIV milkcow submarine.
WWII German Cadets Study Diesel
Engines at U-Boat Training School
Now comes in uncut and director's cut versions .
The full, original uncut is 4 hour 50 minute (290 minute).
The US theatrical release was 2 1/2 hours and the Director's Cut is 3 1/2 hours.
Hans Goebeler is known as the man who “pulled the plug” on U-505
in 1944 to keep his beloved U-boat out of Allied hands. 'Steel Boat, Iron
Hearts' is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat.
Diary of a U-boat Commander
Captain Karl von Schenk of the Kaiser's Navy is a stereotypical German nobleman
- supremely self-confident, touchy about the divisions of class and any infringement on his
place. He thinks he is handsome, has a suitably manly physique, an excellent singing voice,
and a facility with writing. His wartime service related in his diary is a series of triumphs
over harrowing circumstances, bringing his boat back in spite of the best efforts of the Royal Navyto stop him.
By the end of 1943 the German submarine war on Atlantic convoys was all but
defeated, beaten by superior technology, code-breaking and air power. With losses
mounting, Donitz withdrew the wolfpacks, but in a surprise change of strategy,
following the D-Day landings in June 1944, he sent his U-boats into coastal waters,
closer to home, where they could harass the crucial Allied supply lines to the new European