The Kriegsmarine (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war "Reichsmarine" (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The "Kriegsmarine" was one of three official branches, along with the "Heer" and the "Luftwaffe" of the "Wehrmacht", the German armed forces from 1933 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the "Kriegsmarine" grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. "Kriegsmarine" ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans.
Introduction
Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine | Introduction
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what does gulf stream refer to?
user
It is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current
assistant
where does it originate?
user
It originates in the Gulf of Mexico and stretches to the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean as the North Atlantic Current.
assistant
does it help a cyclone to form?
user
Its presence has led to the development of strong cyclones of all types, both within the atmosphere and within the ocean.
assistant
does it have any specific properties?
user
It is a western-intensified current, driven largely by wind stress.
assistant
did it's origin witness any shipwreck?
user
A ship "Mardi Gras" sank around the early 19th century about off the coast of Louisiana in of water. The German submarine "U-166" was a Type IXC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II was laid down.
assistant
where does the submarine belong to?
user
The Kriegsmarine, navy of Nazi Germany
assistant
how many ships it has?
user
The list of "Kriegsmarine" ships includes all ships commissioned into the "Kriegsmarine", the navy of Nazi Germany, during its existence from 1935 to the conclusion of World War II in 1945. See the list of naval ships of Germany for ships in German service throughout the country's history.
List of Kriegsmarine ships | Introduction
The Treaty of Versailles disallowed submarines, while limiting the size of the "Reichsmarine" to six battleships, six cruisers, and twelve destroyers. Following the creation of the "Wehrmacht", the navy was renamed the "Kriegsmarine". With the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the Germany was allowed to increase its navy's size to be 35:100 tonnage of the Royal Navy, and allowed for the construction of U-boats. This was partly done to appease Germany, and because Britain believed the "Kriegsmarine" would not be able to reach the 35% limit until 1942. The navy was also prioritized last in the German rearmament scheme, making it the smallest of the branches.
Wehrmacht | Navy
The commands were Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines ("Führer der Unterseeboote"), Torpedo Boats, Minesweepers, Reconnaissance Forces, Naval Security Forces, Big Guns and Hand Guns, and Midget Weapons.
Kriegsmarine | Command structure
By the start of World War II, much of the "Kriegsmarine" were modern ships: fast, well-armed and well-armoured. This had been achieved by concealment but also by deliberately flouting World War I peace terms and those of various naval treaties. However, the war started with the German Navy still at a distinct disadvantage in terms of sheer size with what were expected to be its primary adversaries – the navies of France and Great Britain. Although a major re-armament of the navy (Plan Z) was planned, and initially begun, the start of the war in 1939 meant that the vast amounts of material required for the project were diverted to other areas.
Kriegsmarine | Ships
The sheer disparity in size when compared to the other European powers navies prompted German naval commander in chief Grand Admiral Erich Raeder to write of his own navy once the war began "The surface forces can do no more than show that they know how to die gallantly." A number of captured ships from occupied countries were added to the German fleet as the war progressed. Though six major units of the "Kriegsmarine" were sunk during the war (both "Bismarck"-class battleships and both "Scharnhorst"-class battleships, as well as two heavy cruisers), there were still many ships afloat (including four heavy cruisers and four light cruisers) as late as March 1945.
Kriegsmarine | Ships
The Submarine Arm of the "Kriegsmarine" was titled the "U-bootwaffe" ("submarine force"). At the outbreak of war, it had a fleet of 57 submarines. This was increased steadily until mid-1943, when losses from Allied counter-measures matched the new vessels launched. The principal types were the Type IX, a long range type used in the western and southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans; the Type VII, the most numerous type, used principally in the north Atlantic; and the small Type II, for coastal waters. Type X was a small class of minelayers and Type XIV was a specialized type used to support distant U-boat operations – the ""Milchkuh"" (Milkcow).
Kriegsmarine | Submarines
The "Kriegsmarine" was responsible for coastal artillery protecting major ports and possible invasion points, and also handled anti-aircraft batteries protecting major ports. In 1939–1945 German shipyards launched 1,162 U-boats, of which 785 were destroyed during the war (632 at sea) along with 30,000 crew. The British anti-submarine ships and aircraft accounted for over 500 kills. At the end of the war, 156 U-boats surrendered to the Allies, while the crews scuttled 221 others, chiefly in German ports. In terms of effectiveness, German and other Axis submarines sank 2828 merchant ships totaling 14.7 million tons (11.7 million British); many more were damaged.
Naval history of World War II | Submarines
List of ships of the Second World War
List of Kriegsmarine ships | See also
Under the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was only allowed a minimal navy of 15,000 personnel, six capital ships of no more than 10,000 tons, six cruisers, twelve destroyers, twelve torpedo boats and no submarines or aircraft carriers. Military aircraft were also banned, so Germany could have no naval aviation. Under the treaty Germany could only build new ships to replace old ones. All the ships allowed and personnel were taken over from the "Kaiserliche Marine", renamed the" Reichsmarine". From the outset, Germany worked to circumvent the military restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans continued to develop U-boats through a submarine design office in the Netherlands ("NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw") and a torpedo research program in Sweden where the G7e torpedo was developed.
Kriegsmarine | Post–World War I origins
Three s were ordered in 1939, but with the start of the war the same year there were not enough resources to build the ships.
Kriegsmarine | Battlecruisers
More battleships were planned (the H-class), but construction was abandoned in September 1939.
Kriegsmarine | Battleships
Kriegsmarine: Modern German Navy: Export Models:
List of submarine classes | Germany
The Kriegsmarine (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war "Reichsmarine" (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The "Kriegsmarine" was one of three official branches, along with the "Heer" and the "Luftwaffe" of the "Wehrmacht", the German armed forces from 1933 to 1945. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the "Kriegsmarine" grew rapidly during German naval rearmament in the 1930s. The 1919 treaty had limited the size of the German navy and prohibited the building of submarines. "Kriegsmarine" ships were deployed to the waters around Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) under the guise of enforcing non-intervention, but in reality supported the Nationalists against the Spanish Republicans.
Kriegsmarine | Introduction
After the war, the German surface ships that remained afloat (only the cruisers and , and a dozen destroyers were operational) were divided among the victors by the "Tripartite Naval Commission". The US used the heavy cruiser in nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in 1946 as target ship. Some (like the unfinished aircraft carrier ) were used for target practice with conventional weapons, while others (mostly destroyers and torpedo boats) were put into the service of Allied navies that lacked surface ships after the war. The training barque SSS "Horst Wessel" was recommissioned USCGC "Eagle" and remains in active service, assigned to the United States Coast Guard Academy.
Kriegsmarine | Post-war division
World War Two began in 1939, meaning that very few of Germany's heavy ships were finished at that point. Germany's main naval opponents were France and England. Compared to the number Germany had upon entry (in parentheses) they had: 22 battleships (two), seven carriers (none), 22 heavy cruisers (four), 61 light cruisers (six), 255 destroyers (34), 135 submarines (57, of which less than half could actually serve in the Atlantic or North Sea). Due to the clear advantage her enemies had, Raeder remarked that the "Kriegsmarine" could not hope to win, and thus the only course for them was to "die valiantly".
German destroyer Z39 | Plan Z
The three vessels have a combined displacement of 60,000 tonnes. Including these ships, the total ships' displacement available to the "Deutsche Marine" is 280,000 tonnes.
German Navy | Ships and submarines
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Adolf Hitler soon began to more brazenly ignore many of the Treaty restrictions and accelerated German naval rearmament. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 18 June 1935 allowed Germany to build a navy equivalent to 35% of the British surface ship tonnage and 45% of British submarine tonnage; battleships were to be limited to no more than 35,000 tons. That same year the "Reichsmarine" was renamed as the "Kriegsmarine". In April 1939, as tensions escalated between the United Kingdom and Germany over Poland, Hitler unilaterally rescinded the restrictions of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement.
Kriegsmarine | Nazi control
Hitler demanded that the program was to be completed by 1945. The main force of Plan Z were six H-class battleships. In the version of Plan Z drawn up in August 1939 the German fleet was planned to consist of the following ships by 1945: Personnel strength was planned to rise to over 200,000. The planned naval program was not very far advanced by the time World War II began. In 1939 two s and two H-class battleships were laid down and parts for two further H-class battleships and three s were in production. The strength of the German fleet at the beginning of the war was not even 20% of Plan Z.
Kriegsmarine | Plan Z
By November 1939, all eight submarines had been fully constructed and commissioned into the "Kriegsmarine".
German Type IXA submarine | Construction
A multitude of other ships also remained unfinished by the end of the war: escorts, gunboats, landing craft, fleet tenders, AA batteries, training ships, auxiliary ships, patrol boats, minelayers, mine hunters, fast torpedo attack boats (E-Boats) and more.
List of Kriegsmarine ships | Torpedo boats
Some ship types do not fit clearly into the commonly used ship classifications. Where there is argument, this has been noted.
Kriegsmarine | Ships
Even before the Nazi seizure of power on 30 January 1933 the German government decided on 15 November 1932 to launch a prohibited naval re-armament program that included U-boats, airplanes and an aircraft carrier.
Kriegsmarine | Post–World War I origins
Germany captured and commissioned 14 submarines from six countries into the "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. Turkey United Kingdom Norway
List of German U-boats | Foreign U-boats
The main combat ships of the "Kriegsmarine" (excluding U-boats):
Kriegsmarine | Surface ships
In the World War II era, Germany commissioned some 1,250 U-boats into the "Kriegsmarine."
List of German U-boats | World War II U-boats
A significant number of foreign warships were captured and recommissioned into the "Kriegsmarine". Some were never completed.
List of Kriegsmarine ships | Captured foreign warships
The "Kriegsmarine" completed four battleships during its existence. The first pair were the 11-inch gun , consisting of the and , which participated in the invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung) in 1940, and then in commerce raiding until the "Gneisenau" was heavily damaged by a British air raid in 1942 and the "Scharnhorst" was sunk in the Battle of the North Cape in late 1943. The second pair were the 15-inch gun , consisting of the and . The "Bismarck" was sunk on her first sortie into the Atlantic in 1941 (Operation Rheinübung) although she did sink the battlecruiser "Hood" and severely damaged the battleship "Prince of Wales", while the "Tirpitz" was based in Norwegian ports during most of the war as a fleet in being, tying up Allied naval forces, and subject to a number of attacks by British aircraft and submarines.
Kriegsmarine | Battleships
During her service in the Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine", "U-255" sank ten commercial ships for , one warship of 1,200 tons, and sank another commercial ship for a total loss of .
German submarine U-255 | Ships attacked
54 building orders were cancelled in 1918, while 34 U-boats were never completed and broken up in the ship yards.
German Type UC III submarine | Introduction
Submarines show submerged displacement. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
List of ships of World War II (K) | Introduction
The building-up of the German fleet in the time period of 1935–1939 was slowed by problems with marshaling enough manpower and material for ship building. This was because of the simultaneous and rapid build-up of the German army and air force which demanded substantial effort and resources. Some projects, like the D-class cruisers and the P-class cruisers, had to be cancelled.
Kriegsmarine | Nazi control
Only four ships, "T23", "T28", "T33" and "T35", of the fifteen built survived the war. The Allies divided the surviving ships of the "Kriegsmarine" amongst themselves in late 1945 and the British were awarded the first pair, the Soviets received "T33" and the Americans "T35". After protests by France, the Royal Navy turned theirs over in February 1946, which the French renamed "L'Alsacien" and "Le Lorrain". They both began lengthy overhauls that replaced their radars and 3.7 cm guns. The sisters were recommissioned in December 1949 and assigned to the Aircraft Carrier Group of the Mediterranean Squadron. They were later assigned to the Anti-submarine Group before they were condemned in 1954–1955 and subsequently sold for scrap.
Type 39 torpedo boat | Postwar service
The military campaigns in Europe yielded a large number of captured vessels, many of which were under construction. Nations represented included Austria (riverine craft), Czechoslovakia (riverine craft), Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, Greece, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, United States (several landing craft) and Italy (after the armistice). Few of the incomplete ships of destroyer size or above were completed, but many smaller warships and auxiliaries were completed and commissioned into Kriegsmarine during the war. Additionally many captured or confisticated foreign civilian ships (merchantmen, fishing boats, tugboats etc.) were converted into auxiliary warships or support ships.
Kriegsmarine | Captured ships
"U-766" was launched in Wilhelmshaven on 29 May 1943, and was commissioned on 30 July 1943 under the command "Oberleutnant zur See" Hans-Dietrich Wilke. She was part of the 8th U-boat Flotilla for training until 29 February 1944, when she was transferred to the frontline in the 6th U-boat flotilla. She sailed five uneventful patrols. She was de-commissioned at La Rochelle on 24 August 1944, and was surrendered on 8 May 1945.
French submarine Laubie (S610) | Kriegsmarine
The Dutch workers hampered construction at every turn, but shortages of brass, copper and aluminum were such that construction of all ships except for two was suspended by April 1942, even though steel and machinery for the first dozen had either been assembled or was in production. Supposedly eight ships had been begun by the end of the year; by mid-1944 the "Kriegsmarine" was expecting only four ships to be finished before the end of the year, another four in 1945 and the last four in 1946, the last dozen ships having been cancelled earlier. "T65" was the first of three Type 40s that the "Kriegsmarine" had towed to Germany for completion.
Type 40 torpedo boat | Construction
The submarine's keel was laid down in November 1942 by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg. It was commissioned in October 1943. "U-1224" was used as a training ship for Japanese sailors, and engaged in technology transfer activities. It began its career doing training for Japanese sailors in the Baltic Sea. A small crew of Kriegsmarine sailors trained 48 Japanese sailors at sea from October 1943 to February 1944.
German submarine U-1224 | Kriegsmarine
At least eight U-boats engaged a small number of targets in the area throughout the conflict. (By comparison the Italian "Regia Marina" operated 58 submarines in the area as part of the "Sottomarini Legionari".)
Kriegsmarine | Spanish Civil War
The "Kriegsmarine" ordered "T61"–"T68" on 19 November 1940, although "T65"–"T68" were only provisional orders that were finalized on 6 January 1941. A batch of four more, "T69"–"T72", were ordered on 3 May and the final batch of twelve, "T73"–"T84", on 27 August. The contracts for "T67", "T68" and "T72" were transferred from Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij to other builders in September 1943 before construction began. The "Kriegsmarine" originally estimated that the first six ships would be assigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla which was expected to be formed in early 1943. The destroyers probably had a lower priority for labor and materials than the large numbers of minesweepers being built in Dutch shipyards, so that the first ships were not laid down until 1942.
Type 40 torpedo boat | Construction
Construction of the was started in 1936 and construction of an unnamed sister ship was started two years later in 1938, but neither ship was completed. In 1942 conversion of three German passenger ships ("Europa", "Potsdam", "Gneisenau") and two unfinished cruisers, the captured French light cruiser and the German heavy cruiser , to auxiliary carriers was begun. In November 1942 the conversion of the passenger ships was stopped because these ships were now seen as too slow for operations with the fleet. But conversion of one of these ships, the "Potsdam", to a training carrier was begun instead. In February 1943 all the work on carriers was halted because of the German failure during the Battle of the Barents Sea which convinced Hitler that big warships were useless.
Kriegsmarine | Aircraft carriers
German submarine "U-436" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out eight patrols. She sank six ships, total ; and one warship of 291 tons. Two ships were damaged, totalling 15,575 GRT.
German submarine U-436 | Introduction
He continued his naval career in the naval arm of the Weimar Republic's armed forces. On 10 January 1921, he became a "Kapitänleutnant" (lieutenant) in the new German navy ("Vorläufige Reichsmarine"). Dönitz commanded torpedo boats, becoming a "Korvettenkapitän" (lieutenant-commander) on 1 November 1928. On 1 September 1933, he became a "Fregattenkapitän" (commander) and, in 1934, was put in command of the cruiser "Emden", the ship on which cadets and midshipmen took a year-long world cruise as training. In 1935, the "Reichsmarine" was renamed "Kriegsmarine". Germany was prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles from possessing a submarine fleet. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 allowed submarines and he was placed in command of the U-boat flotilla "Weddigen", which comprised three boats; ; and; .
Karl Dönitz | Interwar period
The pocket battleships were the (renamed "Lützow"), , and . Modern commentators favour classifying these as "heavy cruisers" and the "Kriegsmarine" itself reclassified these ships as such ("Schwere Kreuzer") in 1940. In German language usage these three ships were designed and built as "armoured ships" ("Panzerschiffe") – "pocket battleship" is an English label. The "Graf Spee" was scuttled by her own crew in the Battle of the River Plate, in the Rio de la Plata estuary in December 1939. "Admiral Scheer" was bombed on 9 April 1945 in port at Kiel and badly damaged, essentially beyond repair, and rolled over at her moorings.
Kriegsmarine | Pocket battleships ("Panzerschiffe")
The "Kriegsmarine" saw as her main tasks the controlling of the Baltic Sea and winning a war against France in connection with the German army, because France was seen as the most likely enemy in the event of war. But in 1938 Hitler wanted to have the possibility of winning a war against Great Britain at sea in the coming years. Therefore he ordered plans for such a fleet from the "Kriegsmarine". From the three proposed plans (X, Y and Z) he approved Plan Z in January 1939. This blueprint for the new German naval construction program envisaged building a navy of approximately 800 ships during the period 1939–1947.
Kriegsmarine | Plan Z
Submarines show submerged displacement. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
List of ships of World War II (Q) | Introduction
During her service in the "Kriegsmarine", "U-41" sank five commercial ships for ; damaged one commercial vessel of and captured two ships totalling .
German submarine U-41 (1939) | Service history
Following the German defeat in World War I, the German navy was reorganized as the "Reichsmarine" according to the Treaty of Versailles. The new navy was permitted to retain eight pre-dreadnought battleships under —two of which would be in reserve—for coastal defense. "Hessen" was among the battleships retained, initially as one of the vessels in reserve. After being refitted, rearmed, and slightly modernized, "Hessen" returned to service with the "Reichsmarine" on 5 January 1925. She received her old gun armament back, with the exception her tertiary battery; she received only four of the 8.8 cm guns, with another four in high-angle anti-aircraft mounts.
SMS Hessen | Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine
The "Kriegsmarine" ordered nine Type 44s ("T52"–"T60") from Schichau on 28 March 1944 with yard numbers 1720–1745 and 1447–1449. The ships were scheduled for completion beginning on 15 September 1946, but none of them were laid down before the contracts were canceled when the shipyard was forced to close by advancing Soviet forces in January 1945.
Type 44 torpedo boat | Construction
The first 3 ships were ordered in February 1941, these were designated SP1, SP2, and SP3, and formally named Z40, Z41, and Z42. The order was placed for the Germania Shipyard in Kiel to build these vessels. In December 1941, 3 engines for SP4, SP5 and SP6 were ordered but not the ships. SP1 was the only ship for which the keel was laid down and actual construction started. During an air raid in April 1942 the ship plans were destroyed and construction was halted. The metal was scrapped and used to build submarines and regular destroyers that were already further along in their build programs.
Spähkreuzer 1938 | Construction
At the outbreak of the Second World War Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" had 21 destroyers (Ger: "Zerstörer") in service, while another one was just being completed. These 22 vessels – comprising 3 classes (Type 34, 34A and 36) – had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels (no destroyers remained in German hands following the close of the First World War). Including that final pre-war vessel, a further 19 were brought into service during the war and more were captured from opposing navies, including the Italian Navy ("Regia Marina") after the Italian Armistice with the Allies in 1943.
German World War II destroyers | Introduction
The Kriegsmarine operated at least two requisitioned merchant ships named "Sylt" during the Second World War. Both ships were seized in May 1945 at Trondheim, Norway. They became "Empire Tegidad" and "Empire Continent" respectively.
German ship Sylt | Introduction
Following his return from Japan, Losigkeit joined the staff with the "General der Jagdflieger" (Inspector of Fighters), an office held by "Oberst" Adolf Galland. Fearing a British invasion of Norway, Adolf Hitler had ordered the "Oberkommando der Marine" (OKM—German Navy high-command) to return the German battleships and and the heavy cruiser from their current location in Brest in Brittany to German bases. The "Kriegsmarine" successfully transferred the ships on 11–13 February 1942 in Operation Cerberus, also known as the "Channel Dash". Further "Kriegsmarine" vessels were ordered to Norway to combat the convoys heading to the Soviet Union. To protect these naval units from aerial attacks, Galland instructed Losigkeit with the creation of a fighter unit on 14 February.
Fritz Losigkeit | "Jagdgruppe Losigkeit"
The ships were designed as follow-ons to the "Deutschland"-class cruisers. In 1933, the rise of the Nazi Party brought Adolf Hitler to power in Germany. At the time, he opposed a large-scale naval rearmament program, but decided to allow limited construction to counter French naval expansion. He therefore authorized the "Kriegsmarine" to build two additional "panzerschiffe" (armored ships) to supplement the three "Deutschland"s. He stipulated that displacement be limited to and the primary battery would remain two triple turrets mounting guns. Admiral Erich Raeder, the commander in chief of the "Kriegsmarine", advocated increasing the armor protection for the new "panzerschiffe" and inquired about the possibility of including a third triple turret.
D-class cruiser (Germany) | Design
This is a list of naval ship classes that were in service with the "Bundesmarine" (navy of West Germany), or are still in service with the "German Navy" (navy of reunited Germany). Some projects, that were not built or future designs are also present.
List of German Navy ship classes | Introduction
Her keel was laid down on 19 July 1944 by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg. She was commissioned on 12 October 1944 with "Kapitänleutnant" Hans Bungards in command. Bungards was relieved on 27 April 1945 by "Fregattenkapitän" Erich Topp, who commanded the boat for less than two weeks. "U-2513" conducted no war patrols. On 8 May 1945, Topp surrendered his command at Horten Naval Base, Norway. "U-2513" was taken to Oslo on 20 May, then to Lishally, Northern Ireland, which she reached on 7 June. In August 1945, the U-boat was transferred to the United States.
German submarine U-2513 | Kriegsmarine
German submarine "U-432" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out eight patrols. She sank 20 ships and one warship. Two ships were damaged.
German submarine U-432 | Introduction
The World War I era Pre-dreadnought battleships and were used mainly as training ships, although they also participated in several military operations, with the latter bearing the distinction of firing the opening shots of WWII. and were converted into radio-guided target ships in 1928 and 1930 respectively. was decommissioned in 1931 and struck from the naval register in 1936. Plans to convert her into a radio-controlled target ship for aircraft was canceled because of the outbreak of war in 1939.
Kriegsmarine | Pre-dreadnought battleships
For unnamed submarines see: List of U-boats of Germany
List of naval ships of Germany | Unnamed by Number
Germany has commissioned over 1,500 U-boats () into its various navies from 1906 to the present day. The submarines have usually been designated with a "U" followed by a number, although World War I coastal submarines and coastal minelaying submarines used the "UB" and "UC" prefixes, respectively. When Germany resumed building submarines in the 1930s, the numbering of the submarines was restarted at 1. The renumbering was restarted at 1 a third time when Germany resumed building submarines in the 1960s.
List of German U-boats | Introduction
Types XXI and XXIII, the ""Elektroboot"", could have negated much of the Allied anti-submarine tactics and technology, but only a few of this new type of U-boat became ready for combat at the end of the war. Post-war, they became the prototype for modern conventional submarines, such as the Soviet .
Kriegsmarine | Submarines
"U-3008" left Wilhelmshaven for patrol on 3 May 1945, but returned to port after the surrender. On 21 June 1945 she was taken by the Allies from Wilhelmshaven to Loch Ryan, thence transferred to the United States, reaching New London, Connecticut, on 22 August.
German submarine U-3008 | Kriegsmarine
Germany employed at least 13 Q-ships, including the German "Dutch" "Atlantis", which sank a number of ships with a total tonnage of 145,960t including the Norwegian tanker "Tirranna" on 10 June 1940, and "Schürbeck" which sank the British submarine HMS "Tarpon". Nine Q-ships were commissioned by the Royal Navy in September and October 1939 for work in the North Atlantic: "Prunella" and "Edgehill" were torpedoed and sunk on 21 and 29 June 1940 without even sighting a U-Boat. The rest of the vessels were paid off in March 1941 without successfully accomplishing any mission.
Q-ship | Second World War
The British, French and Soviet navies received the destroyers, and some torpedo boats went to the Danish and Norwegian navies. For the purpose of mine clearing, the Royal Navy employed German crews and minesweepers from June 1945 to January 1948, organized in the German Mine Sweeping Administration, the GMSA, which consisted of 27,000 members of the former "Kriegsmarine" and 300 vessels. The destroyers and the Soviet share light cruiser were all retired by the end of the 1950s, but five escort destroyers were returned from the French to the new West German navy in the 1950s and three 1945 scuttled type XXI and XXIII U-boats were raised by West Germany and integrated into their new navy.
Kriegsmarine | Post-war division
Her captain and most of her crew were rescued by US vessels, and taken to Argentia Naval Station. It was from this crew that the USN eventually learned that no V-1/2 attacks from the U-boats were planned by the Kriegsmarine.
German submarine U-546 | Introduction
Submarines show submerged displacement. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
List of ships of World War II (G) | Introduction
German submarine "U-664" was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" for service during World War II. She was laid down on 11 July 1941 by Howaldtswerke, Hamburg as yard number 813, launched on 28 April 1942 and commissioned on 17 June 1942 under "Oberleutnant zur See" Adolf Graef.
German submarine U-664 | Introduction
This is a list of active German Navy ships as of March 2020. There are approximately 65 ships in commission including; 10 frigates, 5 corvettes, 2 minesweepers, 10 minehunters, 6 submarines, 11 replenishment ships and 20 miscellaneous auxiliary vessels.
List of active German Navy ships | Introduction
Thousands of smaller warships and auxiliaries served in the "Kriegsmarine", including minelayers, minesweepers, mine transports, netlayers, floating AA and torpedo batteries, command ships, decoy ships (small merchantmen with hidden weaponry), gunboats, monitors, escorts, patrol boats, sub-chasers, landing craft, landing support ships, training ships, test ships, torpedo recovery boats, dispatch boats, aviso, fishery protection ships, survey ships, harbor defense boats, target ships and their radio control vessels, motor explosive boats, weather ships, tankers, colliers, tenders, supply ships, tugs, barges, icebreakers, hospital and accommodation ships, floating cranes and docks, and many others. The "Kriegsmarine" employed hundreds of auxiliary "Vorpostenboote" during the war, mostly civilian ships that were drafted and fitted with military equipment, for use in coastal operations.
Kriegsmarine | Miscellaneous
German submarine "U-1105", a Type VII-C/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine", was built at the Nordseewerke Shipyard, Emden, Germany, and commissioned on 3 June 1944. "Oberleutnant zur See" Hans-Joachim Schwarz was given command. He would command "U-1105" for the remainder of the war.
German submarine U-1105 | Introduction
Kriegsmarinewerft (or, prior to 1935, Reichsmarinewerft) Wilhelmshaven was, between 1918 and 1945, a naval shipyard in the German Navys extensive base at Wilhelmshaven, ( west of Hamburg).
Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven | Introduction
The first forty-nine boats ("U-2321" to "U-2331", and "U-2334" to "U-2371") were ordered from Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, while two ("U-2332" and "U-2333") were ordered from Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft's yard at Kiel. Twenty-nine further boats ("U-2372" to "U-2400") were ordered from Deutsche Werft's wartime occupied yards at Toulon, but the first nine of these were scrapped incomplete on the stocks and the remainder never commenced. Another sixty were ordered to be built by the company at other yards in occupied nations - thirty at Genoa ("U-2401" to "U-2430"), fifteen at Monfalcone ("U-2431" to "U-2445") and another fifteen at Mykolaiv and Linz ("U-2446" to "U-2460"), where a further forty ("U-2461" to "U-2500") were projected but never ordered.
Type XXIII submarine | Construction
German submarine "U-396" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out five patrols. She did not sink or damage any ships. She was posted missing in mid or late April 1945.
German submarine U-396 | Introduction
Realizing that even three months would not be enough to repair the boat, the "Kriegsmarine" sold the vessel to Spain for 1.5 million Reichsmarks. On 2 August 1942, at 10 am, (one day before the three-month period was due to expire), the Spanish navy commissioned the boat as the "G-7". "U-573"s crew suffered no casualties during her career in the "Kriegsmarine". The men had been interned in Cartagena and were gradually released in groups of two or three. The last five members of the crew left with "Kapitänleutnant" Heinsohn on 13 February 1943. He returned to the "Kriegsmarinearsenal" in Gotenhafen (Gdynia, Poland), then German-annexed Poland, In March he was ordered to Brest, then in German-occupied France to take command of , and died with all his crew two months later.
German submarine U-573 | 4th patrol and internment
201 Squadron RAF which then escorted it, the submarine proceeded to the Allied base at Loch Eriboll, Scotland on 10 May 1945 to surrender.
German submarine U-1105 | Kriegsmarine
The "Kriegsmarine" (German navy) also started development of submarines capable of launching aircraft and ordered four very large "cruiser" U-boats in early 1939. These boats were to be twice as large as any existing U-boat and were to have had a crew of 110 while carrying a single Arado Ar 231 floatplane, but were canceled at the outbreak of war later that year. Although not strictly an aircraft, some U-boats carried the Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 (English: Wagtail). It was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II.
Submarine aircraft carrier | Germany
The "Vorläufige Reichsmarine" () was formed after the end of World War I from the Imperial German Navy. The provisions of the Treaty of Versailles restricted the German Navy to 15,000 men and no submarines, while the fleet was limited to six pre-dreadnought battleships, six light cruisers, twelve destroyers, and twelve torpedo boats. Replacements for the outdated battleships were restricted to a maximum size of 10,000 tons.
Reichsmarine | "Vorläufige Reichsmarine"
Although a total of 980 Type XXIII submarines were planned, many were scrapped incomplete (or indeed never ordered in many cases), only the following 63 vessels were built: Notes: (1) – Four vessels scuttled at Hamburg on 2 May 1945. (2) – Three vessels scuttled at Kiel on 3 May 1945. (3) – Twenty-one vessels scuttled at Flensburg on 5 May 1945. (4) – Four vessels bombed at Kiel on 4 May 1945 while building, and construction abandoned.
Type XXIII submarine | Boats in class
German submarine "U-2346" was a Type XXIII U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She was ordered on 20 September 1943, and was laid down on 14 September 1944 at Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg, as yard number 500. She was launched on 31 October 1944 and commissioned under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See" Hermann von der Höhon on 20 November 1944.
German submarine U-2346 | Introduction
German submarine "U-437" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out eleven patrols, but sank no ships. She was a member of sixteen wolfpacks. She was damaged by British bombs in Norway in October 1944 and stricken; she was broken up in 1946.
German submarine U-437 | Introduction
It was determined, however, that a third turret could not be added to the ship and still remain within the 19,000 ton limit prescribed by Hitler. The ships were designed under the contract names D and E, and designed under the provisional names "Ersatz Elsass" and "Ersatz Hessen" as replacements for the old pre-dreadnoughts and . The contract for the first ship, D, was awarded on 25 January 1934 to the "Kriegsmarinewerft" in Wilhelmshaven. The ship's keel was laid on 14 February That month, the "Kriegsmarine" decided to alter the designs to counter the new ships building in France. Displacement was increased to and a third 28 cm triple-turret was added.
D-class cruiser (Germany) | Design
German submarine "U-322" was a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out two patrols, sinking one ship of and causing two others totaling 14,367 tons to be declared total losses. The boat was sunk in December 1944 by a Canadian corvette in the English Channel.
German submarine U-322 | Introduction
The battleship command was in turn left vacant in 1939 until reestablished in 1941 and the following year merged with the type command for German cruisers.
Commander of Ships of the Line | Transition to Kriegsmarine
Only one was ordered shortly before World War II; no work was ever done on it. No names were assigned, and they were known by their contract names: 'O', 'P', and 'Q'. The new class was not universally welcomed in the Kriegsmarine. Their abnormally-light protection gained it the derogatory nickname "Ohne Panzer Quatsch" (without armour nonsense) within certain circles of the Navy.
Battlecruiser | Naval rearmament
The initial plan was for a single squadron of seven ships armed with long range missiles and two squadrons of fourteen ships armed with shorter range missiles. In reality only four ships were built before production switched to the anti-submarine variant the Kresta II class. All the ships were built by the Zhdanov Shipyard in Leningrad.
Kresta I-class cruiser | Ships
Rank designations of the Kriegsmarine as to Match 30, 1934, are contained in the table below.
Generaloberstabsarzt | Kriegsmarine
Rank designations of the Kriegsmarine as to Match 30, 1934, are contained in the table below.
Generalarzt | Kriegsmarine
Submarines show submerged displacement. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
List of ships of World War II (R) | Introduction
German submarine "U-400" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 18 November 1942 at the Howaldtswerke yard in Kiel as yard number 32, launched on 8 January 1944 and commissioned on 18 March under the command of "Kapitänleutnant" Horst Creutz.
German submarine U-400 | Introduction
During her service in the "Kriegsmarine", "U-43" sank 21 merchant ships (one under friendly fire) for a total of , damaged one vessel of , and another of - enough for it to be declared a total loss.
German submarine U-43 (1939) | Summary of raiding history
These vessels evolved through the 1930s from small vessels, relying almost entirely on torpedoes, to what were effectively small destroyers with mines, torpedoes and guns. Two classes of fleet torpedo boats were planned, but not built, in the 1940s.
Kriegsmarine | Torpedo boats
Submarines show submerged displacement. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
List of ships of World War II (F) | Introduction
All of these were cancelled and never commenced. Eight hundred additional units were intended to be built by Deutsche Werft - five hundred at Hamburg ("U-4001" to "U-4500"), of which the first 120 were ordered and started were subsequently scrapped incomplete, with the others cancelled and never begun; and three hundred at Kiel ("U-4701" to "U-5000"), where twelve ("U-4701" to "U-4712") were actually built although only eight were launched and the other four bombed on 4 May 1945 while still on the stocks (orders for "U-4713" to "U-4891" were cancelled, while "U-4892" to "U-5000" were projected only).
Type XXIII submarine | Construction
Units of the command were reallocated from "Netzsperrflottille Mitte".
Surface flotillas of the Kriegsmarine | Submarine net flotillas
German submarine "U-358" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She carried out five patrols before being sunk north of the Azores by British warships in March 1944. She sank four ships and one warship.
German submarine U-358 | Introduction
It also operated anti-aircraft batteries protecting major ports. In April 1940, the German Navy was heavily involved in the invasion of Norway, where it suffered significant losses, which included the heavy cruiser sunk by artillery and torpedoes from Norwegian shore batteries at the Oscarsborg Fortress in the Oslofjord. Ten destroyers were lost in the Battles of Narvik (half of German destroyer strength at the time), and two light cruisers, the "Königsberg" which was bombed and sunk by Royal Navy aircraft in Bergen, and the "Karlsruhe" which was sunk off the coast of Kristiansand by a British submarine. The "Kriegsmarine" did in return sink some British warships during this campaign, including the aircraft carrier .
Kriegsmarine | World War II
Hans-Georg von Friedeburg was then Commander-in-Chief of the OKM for the short period of time until Germany surrendered in May 1945. Subordinate to these were regional, squadron and temporary flotilla commands. Regional commands covered significant naval regions and were themselves sub-divided, as necessary. They were commanded by a "Generaladmiral" or an Admiral. There was a "Marineoberkommando" for the Baltic Fleet, Nord, Nordsee, Norwegen, Ost/Ostsee (formerly Baltic), Süd and West. The "Kriegsmarine" used a form of encoding called "Gradnetzmeldeverfahren" to denote regions on a map. Each squadron (organized by type of ship) also had a command structure with its own Flag Officer.
Kriegsmarine | Command structure
As a result of "Bismarck"s sinking, Hitler forbade any further Atlantic sorties, and her sister ship "Tirpitz" was sent to Norway. The "Kriegsmarine" was never again able to mount a major surface operation against Allied supply routes in the North Atlantic; henceforth its only weapon was the U-boat campaign.
Operation Rheinübung | Conclusion
There were 64 Type UC II submarines commissioned into the Imperial German Navy.
German Type UC II submarine | List of Type UC II submarines
During the war, some merchant ships were converted into "auxiliary cruisers" and nine were used as commerce raiders sailing under false flags to avoid detection, and operated in all oceans with considerable effect. The German designation for the ships was "'Handelstörkreuzer"' thus the HSK serial assigned. Each had as well an administrative label more commonly used, e.g. Schiff 16 = Atlantis, Schiff 41 = Kormoran, etc. The auxiliary cruisers were:
Kriegsmarine | Auxiliary cruisers
German submarine "U-1204" was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's "Kriegsmarine" during World War II. She was ordered on 14 October 1941, and was laid down on 15 May 1943 at F Schichau GmbH, Danzig, as yard number 1574. She was launched on 9 December 1943 and commissioned under the command of "Oberleutnant zur See" Heinrich Mäueler on 17 January 1944.
German submarine U-1204 | Introduction
In twelve patrols she sank twelve ships, including one warship for a total of . Her initial sortie from Kiel was cut short by a battery explosion on 28 June 1942. She was obliged to put into Bergen in Norway.
German submarine U-596 | Service history