The success of German submarines during the First World War in
almost cutting off Britain's vital imports had not been forgotten
by Adolf Hitler and when, in March 1935, he repudiated the Treaty
of Versailles, Britain, magnanimously, signed up to an Anglo-German
Naval Agreement. This allowed the Germans to build their submarine
strength up to one third of the British Royal Navy's tonnage. When
war broke out in 1939, German U-boats went quickly into action, but
with only four years of production and development, the main
armament of these submarines was considerably weaker than
equivalent boats in other navies and many of the other main
features, such as living and the fighting conditions, were also
significantly inferior. Nevertheless, the German U-boat onslaught
against British merchant ships during the autumn of 1940 was highly
successful because the attacks were made on the surface at night
and from such close range that a single torpedo would sink a ship.
Soon, though, Allied technology was able to detect U-boats at
night, and new convoy techniques, combined with powerfully-armed,
fast modern aircraft searching the seas, meant that by 1941 it was
clear that Germany was losing the war at sea. Something had to be
done. The new generation of attack U-boats that had been introduced
since Hitler came to power needed urgent improvement. This is the
story of the Types II, VII and IX that had already become the
workhorse' of the Kriegsmarine's submarine fleet and continued to
put out to sea to attack Allied shipping right up to the end of the
war. The Type II was a small coastal boat that struggled to reach
the Atlantic; the Type VII was perfectly at home there, but lacked
the technology to tackle well protected convoys; whilst the Type IX
was a long-range variety that was modified so that it could operate
in the Indian Ocean. In this latest book by the renowned
Kriegsmarine historian Jak Mallmann Showell, these attack U-boats
are explored at length. This includes details of their armament,
capabilities, crew facilities, and just what it was like to operate
such a vessel, and of course the story of their development and
operational history.
General
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