Type X submarine

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Type X (XB) U-boats were a special type of large German submarine (U-boat). Eight were built during World War II. Although intended as long-range mine-layers, they were mainly used as supply submarines, a task they shared with the Type XIV.

Design

All U-boats of the German Kriegsmarine were potential minelayers since the Germans had devised TMB and TMC torpedo-mines which could be ejected through torpedo tubes. These torpedo-mines were ground mines which had to be laid in shallow waters of maximum depth. For minelaying in deeper waters a torpedo mine would not be effective since the space needed for the anchor of the mine would reduce the size of the warhead. The Germans had in mind to develop a larger SMA moored mine, to be laid through mine shafts by a large, dedicated submarine.Template:Sfn

Two designs were produced for a minelaying submarine:Template:Sfn the initial Type X design had the same layout as the world war I Type UE II, with a bow torpedo compartment and dry storage for mines in a stern compartment, which were ejected through horizontal tubes. Dry storage allowed mine detonators to be individually adjusted before launch. This submarine was projected to displace . A further variant, the Type XA was projected to displace up to , by adding lateral mine shafts in the saddle tanks for mines in wet storage. But in the end the German navy adopted a much smaller Type XB submarine, which kept the saddle mine shafts but substituted the stern dry storage mine compartment for a bow wet storage mine compartment with six vertical shafts. This allowed to install larger diesel engines for better surface speed. Instead of the four bow torpedo tubes, two stern torpedo tubes were installed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

On 25 September 1937, plans were approved to start building a Type XB U-boat on 1 October 1938 at the Germaniawerft in Kiel, with a building time of two years. The design of the large U-boat took more time than foreseen, and construction was delayed. In October 1938, after Hitler made clear he wanted to reject the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, the German navy initiated the Plan Z for the construction of a large German fleet. The plan Z called for the construction of nine Type XB by 1944: three to be build between April 1939 and September 1941, one between April 1941 and December 1943 and a further five between April 1942 and September 1945. The first three Type XB Template:GS - Template:GS were ordered in January 1939. At the outbreak of World War II, the plan Z was cancelled and various U-boat construction programmes were considered, before on 15 June a restricted Construction Programme was approved, which foresaw the delivery of four Type XBs between April 1941 and January 1942.Template:Sfn As Dönitz supported Type XB construction, by June 1941 four more were ordered, for delivery in 1942-43.Template:Sfn

The first Type XB was launched in May 1941.Template:Sfn

Characteristics

A Type XA U-boat had an overall length of , a beam of and a draft of . On the surface a Type XA displaced , and submerged Template:Cvt. The length of the pressure hull was and had a maximum diameter of .Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The boat was powered on the surface by two nine-cylinder, four-stroke MAN AG F46 a 9 pu diesel engines, giving a total of , which gave a maximum speed of . With a fuel capacity of Template:Cvt, the range was at . When submerged it was propelled by two double-acting AEG GU 720/8-287 electric motors, giving a total of . Maximum submerged speed was and maximum range was at . Their complement consisted of five officers and forty-seven men.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Service history

Six of the eight boats built were sunk during the war (four with all hands) but two survived World War II. One survivor was Template:GS, which surrendered to US Navy ships on 14 May 1945 while en route for Japan with a cargo that included 560 kg uranium oxide, two Me 262 jet fighters, and 10 jet engines.

The other type XB to survive was Template:GS which reached Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in December 1944 with a cargo including dismantled V-2 rockets for Japan. Following Germany's surrender, U-219 was seized by the Japanese at Batavia on 8 May 1945 and on 15 July 1945 was placed into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy as I-505.

List of Type X submarines

There were eight Type X submarines commissioned.

	SunkTemplate:Sfn	FateTemplate:Sfn
Template:GS	6 October 1942	Disappeared in the North Atlantic and was presumed sunk
Template:GS	7 August 1943	Sunk in the North Atlantic by aircraft from .
Template:GS	12 June 1943	Sunk near the Canary Islands by aircraft from .
Template:GS	24 June 1943	Sunk in the Bay of Biscay by ramming and depth charges from
Template:GS	8 May 1945	Seized by the Japanese at Batavia. On 15 July 1945 she was placed into service with the Imperial Japanese Navy as I-505.
Template:GS	28 October 1943	Sunk in the North Atlantic by aircraft from .
Template:GS	5 July 1944	Sunk southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia by destroyer escorts and .
Template:GS	14 May 1945	Surrendered to US Navy ships

External links

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