German Type XVII submarine

The Type XVII U-boats were small coastal submarines which used Hellmuth Walter's high test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air-independent propulsion and high submerged speeds.

Background

In the early 1930s Hellmuth Walter had designed a small, high-speed submarine with a streamlined form propelled by high test peroxide and in 1939 he was awarded a contract to build an experimental vessel, the 80 ton "V-80", which achieved an underwater speed of convert|28.1|kn|abbr=on during trials in 1940. In November 1940 Admirals Erich Raeder and Werner Fuchs (head of the Kriegsmarine's Construction Office) witnessed a demonstration of the "V-80"; Raeder was impressed but Fuchs was slow to approve further tests.

Following the success of the "V-80's" trials, Walter contacted Karl Dönitz in January 1942, who enthusiastically embraced the idea and requested that these submarines be developed as quickly as possible. An initial order was placed in summer 1942 for four Type XVIIA development submarines. Of these, "U-792" and "U-794", built by Blohm & Voss, were commissioned in October 1943 and achieved convert|20.25|kn|abbr=on submerged. The other pair of Type XVIIA submarines, "U-793" and "U-795", were constructed by Germaniawerft and commissioned in April 1944. The "U-793" achieved a submerged speed of convert|22|kn|abbr=on in March 1944 with Admiral Dönitz aboard. In June 1944 the "U-792" achieved convert|25|kn|abbr=on over a measured mile.Polmar, p. 33]

The Type XVIIA submarines were found to be very to handle at high speed, however they were plagued by mechanical problems, low efficiency, and the fact that a significant amount of power was lost due to increased back pressure on the exhaust at depth. Also, the length to beam ratio was too high, resulting in an unnecessarily high drag.

Admiral Fuchs argued that introducing a new type of U-boat would hinder current production efforts, but Dönitz argued the case for them and on 4 January 1943 the Kriegsmarine ordered 24 Type XVII submarines.cite book | last = Grier | first = Howard D. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Hitler, Dönitz, and the Baltic Sea | publisher = Naval Institute Press | date = 2007 | location = | pages = p. 174 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1591143454]

Construction of operational Type XVII submarines - the Type XVIIB - was begun at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg. The Type XVIIB, unlike the XVIIA, had only a single turbine. The initial order was for 12 submarines, "U-1405" through "U-1416".cite book | last = Akermann | first = Paul | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901-1955 | publisher = Periscope Publishing Ltd. | date = 2002 | location = | pages = p. 471 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1904381057] However, Blohm & Voss were already struggling to cope with orders for Type XII submarines and the Kriegsmarine reduced the order to six.

Twelve Type XVIIG of slightly improved design, "U-1081" through "U-1092", were at the same time ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel.cite book | last = Akermann | first = Paul | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Encyclopedia of British Submarines 1901-1955 | publisher = Periscope Publishing Ltd. | date = 2002 | location = | pages = p. 471 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1904381057]

A projected Type XVIIK would have abandoned the Walter system for closed-cycle Diesel engines using pure oxygen from onboard tanks.

Construction

Three Type XVIIB boats were completed by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg between 1943 and 1944: "U-1405", "U-1406", and "U-1407". "U-1405" was completed in December 1944, "U-1406" in February 1945, and "U-1407" in March 1945.Polmar, p. 35]

A further three boats ("U-1408" to "U-1410") were under construction, but were not complete when the war ended. Another six Type XVIIB's ("U-1411" to "U-1416") were cancelled during the war in favour of the Type XXI. [ [http://www.uboat.net/types/xviib.htm uboat.net - U-boat Types - Type XVIIB ] ]

Postwar

All three completed boats of this Type were scuttled by their crews at the end of the Second World War, U-1405 at Flensburg, and "U-1406" and "U-1407" at Cuxhaven, all in the British Zone of Occupation. "U-1406" and "U-1407" were scuttled on 7 May 1945 by Oberleutnant Gerhard Grumpelt even though a superior officer, Kapitän zur See Kurt Thoma, had prohibited such actions. Grumpelt was subsequently sentenced to 7 years imprisonment by a British military court. [cite book | last = Madsen | first = Chris | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942-1947 | publisher = Routledge | date = 1998 | location = | pages = p. 180 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 071464823X]

At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 "U-1406" was allocated to the US and "U-1407" to Britain and both were soon salvaged. The uncompleted "U-1408" and "U-1410" were discovered by British forces at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg.

The US Navy did not repair and operate the "U-1406" as it had with the two Type XXI submarines it had captured. She travelled to the US as deck cargo, having been stripped after being damaged by fire and twice flooded. Portsmouth Navy Yard estimated it would cost $1 million to put her into service, but plans to do so were rejected due to the perceived fire hazard and high cost of HTP and she was broken up in New York harbour sometime after 18 May, 1948. [cite book | last = Friedman | first = Norman | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History | publisher = Naval Institute Press | date = 1994 | location = | pages = p. 249 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1557502609]

The Royal Navy repaired the "U-1407" and recommissioned her on 25 September 1945 as HMS|Meteorite. She served as the model for two further HTP boats, HMS|Explorer and HMS|Excalibur.

Notes

References

*cite book | last = Polmar | first = Norman | authorlink = | coauthors = Kenneth J. Moore | title = Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines | publisher = Brassey's | date = 2004 | location = | pages = pp. 35-36 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1574885944