Term Paper on "German U-Boats"

Term Paper 8 pages (2362 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

German U Boats

The German U-boat

Origins of the U-boat

The U-boat was a German submarine used in World War One and World War Two.

The abbreviation stands Unterseeboot or 'undersea boat.' (the Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military)

Germany was a relative late-comer to submarine construction and only began the construction of U-Boats after 1914. (Blue Max Militaria)

However, they benefited from technological developments in this field from other countries and from their own industries which provided the knowledge and expertise, and it "...was not long before German yards were completing submarines equal if not superior to any in the world. (Blue Max Militaria)

The early submarines used in the First World War were comparatively slow, but faster than convey ships on the surface. (Kemble 2001) They were most effective when used in groups or 'hunting packs'. The German U-boats were particularly effective in the First World War and "...German U-boats came close to winning the First World War in 1917 and managed to repeat this performance in the Second World War." (Blue Max Militaria)

In 1918 the Germans conducted a submarine offensive against the United States in which five submarines succeeded in sinking a number of ships off the American coast. (Sims & Hendrick, 1920, p. 310) the submarines that took part on World War Two were not essentially different from those used in World War One. (Kemble, Mike 2001) U-Boats spent almost ninety percent of their time above water. The speed of the submarines, while enough to keep pace with conveys on the surface, was much reduced once they became submerged.

2. The significance of the U-Boat

The strength of the U-boat from a strategic military perspective, points to the fact that they were "invisible." This also provides the important element of surprise.."..the characteristic property and greatest strength of the U-boat is its invisibility. This comes from its ability to submerge...Invisibility gives the U-boat its own advantage in combat: surprise." (the U-boat and Allied Naval Communication Intelligence) Conversely, the submarine or U-boat loses all of its tactical and strategic advantage if it is discovered. "...because it was an offensive weapon incapable of surviving a defensive role in combat. Extremely vulnerable, its only defense was again its source of strength, namely invisibility." (the U-boat and Allied Naval Communication Intelligence)

Another disadvantage of the U-boat was its low speed. This fact was a necessary result of the propulsion system needed to allow for submersion. This requirement, "...doubled the machine installation... resulting in a corresponding reduction in the performance..." (the U-boat and Allied Naval Communication Intelligence) Another negative aspect was the limited observation and look-out opportunities.

However, despite these disadvantages, the U-boat was able to be an immensely effective method of reducing enemy shipping and transport and only lost its military significance with the breaking of the codes that reduced the invisibility factor of the submarines. The German U-boat was to be a strategically decisive factor in the early stages of the Second World War.

2. A brief history of the U-boat the Second World War

Military experts speculate that if the U-boats had been successful in their initial aims, the outcome of the Second World War may have been very different.

Many of the myths and popular legends about U-boats relate to their activities in the Second World War. The U-boats were a major part of the German war machine and were primarily intended to disrupt Allied resources and supplies that were so necessary to the war effort against Germany. "They fought their battles beneath the hostile waters of the Atlantic as Germany committed the might of its submarine fleet in an attempt to starve Britain into submission by cutting vital supply lines from America and Canada. (Williams a. 2002)

Some of the leading U-Boat commanders of the war were Gunther Prien, Otto Kretschmer and Joachim Schepke. (Williams a. 2002) in the first years of the Second World War the German U-boats appeared to be a virtually unstoppable force and in the last half of 1940,"...300 ships were sunk by 18 U-boat commanders, halving Britain's imports and forcing the introduction of rationing. "(Williams a. 2002) as Martienssen (1949) states in his extensive study of U-boats during this period, the Grand Admiral of the German Kriegsmarine or German Navy, Erich Raeder, was aware that submarines could prove to be a very effective weapon against Allied conveys.

Their presence would mean a tremendous strain on the British Fleet which would have to increase convoy escorts accordingly, with a consequent decrease in the actual number of the convoys. This in itself would considerably restrict the flow of supplies to England, and would be almost as efficacious as actual attacks on the convoys. (Martienssen, 1949, p. 16)

In theory the German's felt that the U-boats, with their particular properties, were capable of dealing a severe blow to the enemy, despite Allied sea power. (the U-boat and Allied Naval Communication Intelligence) in the first years of the Second World War this theory proved to be correct and the U-boats inflicted severe damage to the Allied conveys. For instance, in 1941, 432 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats, which amounted to 2,171,754 tons of shipping and supplies lost by the allies. (Kemble, Mike 2001) This was a serious setback for the allies as they could not build ships fast enough to carry on the necessary supplies. The situation was to worsen in 1942 when 1644 Allied ships were sunk. During that year the number of U-boats rose from 91 to 212. (Kemble, Mike 2001) by February of 1943 losses to the allies reached 359,000 tons.

However, this pattern of increasing destruction began to decline after 1943 as the allies slowly but surely came to terms with the U-boat threat and developed strategies for countering and eventually diminishing their danger. This was achieved mainly through the use of intelligence and by exploiting the main vulnerability of submarines; namely their visibility and location. This was achieved largely through the capture of the Enigma code machine. By breaking the code that the U-boats used to communicate their positions, the British managed to eventuality gain the upper hand.

3. The decline of U-Boats in the Second World War

The Battle of the Atlantic which began 1940 was a concerted effort by the German commander, Raeder, to use all the U-Boats "... For an all-out attack on Britain's supplies. Harbours and bases in France and Norway" (Martienssen, 1949, p. 104)

The success of the German U-boats had in preventing supplies from reaching their destination and the decimation of the Allied merchant and military ships, led to the warning in early 1943 from the British Admiralty "...of the real possibility of defeat in the Atlantic if the convoy escorts failed to deter and ward off the U-boat attacks..." (Lightbody, 2004, p. 178) at this point the battle for the Atlantic was in the balance and it seemed as if the U-boats were gaining the upper hand.

However, in order to maintain the intensity of their attacks on the convoys, the U-boats were forced to take greater risks and this in turn led to greater U-boat losses.

Whereas in the first half of 1942 the average number of U-boats lost per month was 3.5, this leapt to 6.5 U-boats per month in the second half of the year. A brief lull ensued in January 1943 with the loss of only six U-boats, but the upward trend was renewed in February and March with nineteen and fifteen U-boats sunk respectively. (Lightbody, 2004, p. 178)

This process of attrition was to lead to the reduction of experienced U-boat captains and sailors. The rising losses rapidly depleted the U-boat fleet of its most experienced crews and captains, and the result was the promotion of officers to command with minimal or in some cases no prior experience of combat. Most of these men did not survive their first operational patrols. (Lightbody, 2004, p. 178)

By the middle of 1943 the U-boat in fact began to lose the fight against the Allies. In March of that year the Allied commanders launched an effective counter offensive against the U-boats. Through the introduction of new strategies and techniques of countering the U-boat threat, the tide was changed in the favor of the Allies in the sea war.

Among these new strategies was the increase in the number of destroyers that escorted the convoys. The destroyers also continued pursuit of the U-boats for days and succeeded in sinking more U-boats. Technological developments were also enlisted in the fight against the U-boats. One technology that was effective in countering the U-boats was the 'Huff Duff' high frequency direction-finding radar. This technology "...detected U-boats on the surface and, combined with ASDIC ('sonar' in the USN), gave the Royal Navy the ability to track U-boats whether on the surface or submerged." (Lightbody, 2004, p. 178) the introduction of the new bow mounted 'hedgehog' depth-charge launcher was also effective in increasing the rate and extent of the depth charges used against the submarines.… READ MORE

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