WWII submarines.....

[Lucky13]

Which submarines would you put on a top 10 list and in which order?

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

First ones easy and then it gets harder.

1. Type XXI (Germany)
2. Type VII (Germany)
3. Tench Class (USA)
4. Balao Class (USA)
5. Gato Class (USA)
6. I-200 Class (Japan)
7. I-15 Class (Japan)
8. A Class (England)
9. Type IX (Germany)
10. 600 Class (Italy)

[Glider]

1 Type XXI (Germany)
2 USA Fleet Class incl Gato, Balao and Tench
3 U/V Class (British)
4 Type IX (Germany)
5 Foca Class (Italian)
6 T class (British)
7 Type VII (Germany)
8 Cagni (Italian)
9 Aurore (France)
10 K6 Class (Japan)

I found the first four pretty easy and the rest were difficult. Happy to debate any of them.

[comiso90]

Very short operational history but Japan's I-400 was amazing and influenced post-war designs.

Each submarine had four 3,000 horsepower (2.2 MW) engines and fuel enough to go around the world one-and-a-half times, more than enough to reach the United States from either direction. It displaced 6,500 tons and was over 400 feet (120 m) long, three times the size of ordinary submarines. It had a figure-eight hull shape for additional strength to handle the on-deck hangar for housing the three aircraft. In addition, it had four anti-aircraft guns and a large deck cannon as well as eight torpedo tubes.

They were able to carry three Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft, each carrying an 800 kilogram (1,764 lb) bomb 650 miles (1000 km) at 295 miles per hour (474 km/h). Its name was combination of sei (clear sky) and ran (storm), literally “storm out of a clear sky,” because it was presumed that the Americans would not know they were coming. The existence of the seiran class of aircraft was unknown to Allied intelligence. The wings of the seiran folded back, the horizontal stabilizers folded down, and the top of the vertical stabilizer folded over so the overall forward profile of the aircraft was within the diameter of its propeller. When prepared for flight, they had a wing span of 40 feet (12 m) and a length of 38 feet (11.6 m). A crew of four could prepare and get all three airborne in 45 minutes. The planes were launched from a 120-foot (37-m) catapult on the deck of the giant submarine. A restored Seiran airplane is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Only one was ever recovered and it had been ravaged by weather and souvenir collectors, but the restoration team was able to reconstruct it accurately.

I-400 class submarine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

The most influential on post war designs was the Type XXI.

Below is a few pics of U-2540 which is a Type XXI and a museum in Bremerhaven, Germany.

[Lucky13]

I remember reading somewhere a while back, that there are three XXI trapped somewhere in a uboat bunker, is that true?

[comiso90]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

The most influential on post war designs was the Type XXI.

Below is a few pics of U-2540 which is a Type XXI and a museum in Bremerhaven, Germany.

That does have very modern lines to it...

I bet North Korea would buy it today!

[Erich]

there wre at least 3 big boy 2500+class at Hamburg all sealed up in old bombed out pens with the boots still intact. not sure if they have been open to light but a few locals and very lucky in my opinion have delved into those hell holes to view them and it is all on film.

personally besides the XXI I would prefer the short range but very unseen Seehünds with the K-Verband which has a short and very interesting history put into service way too fast with the two man crews in most cases given minimum training let alone knowing anything about their rigs

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

I remember reading somewhere a while back, that there are three XXI trapped somewhere in a uboat bunker, is that true?

Yes at the Elbe II Bunker in Hamburg, Germany. There are 3 Type XXIs in the bunker.

Go to this website for the pictures. This is the best U-Boat website on the interenet and has the histories of all the U-Boats and all the surviving boats today.

uboat.net - History - Type XXI U-boats in Elbe II bunker in Hamburg

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by comiso90

That does have very modern lines to it...

I bet North Korea would buy it today!

They were the first subs built for complete underwater ops. Very ahead in technology and design for there time.

[Lucky13]

Thank you Adler.....

[comiso90]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

Yes at the Elbe II Bunker in Hamburg, Germany. There are 3 Type XXIs in the bunker.

Go to this website for the pictures. This is the best U-Boat website on the interenet and has the histories of all the U-Boats and all the surviving boats today.

uboat.net - History - Type XXI U-boats in Elbe II bunker in Hamburg

Cool!

Was the bunker destroyed by a Tallboy or was it demolished after the war?

[Erich]

like I said it was visited many years ago and the boots filmed on tape

for all your enjoyment:

UK München 1926: The English version of Munich Submariners Association

[delcyros]

The bunker was unsuccesfully attacked but survived ww2 (including two Tallboy raids) with only minor damages. The three XXI boats inside (U-3004, U-2505, U-3506) were scuttled by the KM in the closing hours of ww2. The british tried to blow up the bunker in 46-47 and as a result of these demolitions the mid wall gave way.
Following an accident of souvenir hunters, the whole bunker was flooded with sand beginning in 1995 and is no longer accessable. The whole construction revealed to be a bit of the sturdy type and resisted demolition charges in 2001 (again) so that the upper walls and remaining side walls had to be broken up expensively while the lower parts and the buried boats have been covered by sand and beton. They will remain there for some centuries...

[Henk]

It was not smart to covert it with sand. Why did they not rather open it up and make so taht the public can fiew the boats. People who does not see the value of History.