Type VII U-boat: The Kriegsmarine’s Workhorse
The Type VII U-boat was based on the German submarine models of late WWI and became the most common type of German submarine deployed during WWII.
Despite the fact it was never really designed for long-range operations in the first place, the Type VII saw action in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
Costing 4 million Reichsmarks per unit ($84 million in today’s money), the Type VII was a small vessel, with a length of just 67 meters and a weight of 769 tons.
It could sail with a crew of 44 to 52 officers and sailors and had a range of roughly 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km). The max speed surfaced was below 18 knots (33 kph). The speed and range underwater (on batteries) were dramatically cut down.
Armament and Capabilities
The armament of the Type VII-C consisted of five 533mm torpedo tubes with a full complement of 14 torpedoes. It also typically had an 88mm deck gun and at least one anti-aircraft gun.
Crash dive time could be brought below 30 seconds with a well-drilled crew. This submarine could dive at depths exceeding 230 meters but could typically remain underwater for about 14 hours: it was a race to see what would run out first, power or air. Being a small craft, it usually was clean air that ran out first onboard the Type VII.
Tactics During the War
At the beginning of the war, U-boat crews would hunt on the surface, only diving when detecting enemy air activity. Toward the middle of the conflict, when allied convoys started being well escorted and benefited from air cover, U-boat commanders would hide below the surface during the day and surface at night to replenish air and batteries. Toward the end of the war, with allied planes being equipped with radars, U-boat captains had to adapt by sailing surfaced during the day (giving its lookouts a better chance at spotting enemy aircraft) and hiding under the surface at night to avoid detection by airborne radars.
Production and Legacy
703 Type VII U-boats were completed by the end of the war out of a total of 1,162 U-boats built. This fleet of unterseeboot was responsible for the loss of 3,500 merchant vessels and 175 warships between 1939 and 1945.
As a side note, German U-boats sank 5,000 ships during WWI!
The Soviet, Norwegian, Spanish, French, and British navies all used captured Type VII U-boats at some point during the war or even subsequently.
-RBM
