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Submarine Pictorial

Photography by Action Asia Photo
© 2002-2012 Action Asia Photo- All Rights Reserved

Nicknamed "dugout canoes" by their crews, the German Type II (of which there were four sub-types) were small coastal U-boats having terrible surface stability and such a short range that they were ineffective for their intended roles. The first new U-Boats built in Germany after the Treaty of Versailles, the type descended from the World War I UBII class which was modified to the Finnish-built coastal Vesikko (Mink) type.

Fifty boats of all four sub-types were commissioned from mid-1935 to early 1941 with the later Type Bs, Cs and Ds being slightly lengthened to improve stability. Saddle tanks were also added to increase both stability and operational radius so that the Type IId had triple the range of the IIa.

However, the boats - which were very maneuverable and had a fast diving speed - were just to small to carry sufficient torpedoes; and all remaining boats were withdrawn from the Atlantic and transferred to the Baltic in June 1941 where they were used for training and occasional operations against Russian shipping.

Called "Einbäume" by their crews, the most successful use of the type was six boats (U-9, U-18, U-19, U-20, U-23 and U-24) that were transported to Constantia, Rumania by rail for use against Russian naval re-supply of Sevastopol. The six boats operated in the Black Sea until late 1944 with considerable success (only one lost to enemy action).

Type II U-boats commissioned

Type IIa (  6 boats) U-1 to U-6
Type IIb (20 boats) U-7 to U-24, U-120, and U-121
Type IIc (  8 boats) U-56 to U-63
Type IId (16 boats) U-137 to U-152