Type IX-AThe Type IX German U-boat was the main sea-going submarine of the fleet and they were designed along the lines of U-81 of World War I with some of the better attributes of the Type I already built. They were larger, faster and could carry more torpedo reloads than U-81 or the Type I and in the early stages of World War II, were also used for mine laying missions. The Type IX was the long range combat submarine of the Kriegsmarine.
Displacement................ 1,032 tons surface; 1,153 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 251' x 21'3" x 15' 6"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 4,400 hp
(electric)....... 1,000 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 18.25 knots
(electric)...... 7.25 knots
Bunkers........................ 154 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 8,100 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 65 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... four 21 inch
(aft)............ Two 21 inch
(carried twenty two torpedoes or forty two mines)
Guns.......................... Single 4.1 inch deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Single 20mm
Crew........................ 48 men
As the war progressed, snorkels were added to some boats and the AA armament was increased by having twin mount 20mm rather than the single mount.
The Type IX-A U-Boats built were U-37 thru U-44; all built by AG Weser in Bremen.
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Type
IX-BBasic changes from the "A" variant to the "B" were in enlarging the bunkers to increase the radius of action.
Displacement................ 1,051 tons surface; 1,178 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 251' x 21'3" x 15' 6"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 4,400 hp
(electric)....... 1,000 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 18.25 knots
(electric)...... 7.25 knots
Bunkers........................ 166 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 8,700 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 64 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... four 21 inch
(aft)............ Two 21 inch
(carried twenty two torpedoes or forty two mines)
Guns.......................... Single 4.1 inch deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Single 20mm
Crew........................ 48 men
As the war progressed, the deck gun was removed and the AA armament was increased in various ways. Most boats replaced the single 20mm mount with four single mount or two twin 20mm mounts and in some cases, with the quad 20mm mounts. As in almost all boats - as the war progressed, the size of the crew increased.
Type IX-B U-Boats built were U-64 and U-65, U-103 thru U-111, U-122 thru U-124. All of the Type IX-B German U-Boats were built by AG Weser in Bremen.
Interesting historical note - Many successful and well-known Skippers drove Type IX-B boats including:
U-64, Wilhelm Schulz
U-103, Victor Schütze and Werner Winter - this was one of the Paukenschlag boats
U-105, Kplt. Shewe
U-106, Jürgen Oesten, Kplt Rasch - another Paukenschlag boat
U-107, Günther Hessler, Kplt Gelhaus
U-108, Klaus Scholtz
U-109, "Ajax" Bleichrodt
U-110, Fritz-Julius Lemp - the capture of this boat gave the British an Enigma machine & much of the codes.
U-123, Kplt Moehl, Reinhard Hardegen, Horst von Schroeter - first Paukenschlag boat in American waters.
U-124, Wilhelm Schulz, Jochen Mohr - this was the famed Edelweißboot
All these Skippers were highly decorated men - all with the Knights Cross and some with the Oak Leaf.
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Type
IX-C
Once again the Type IX was improved by enlarging the fuel bunkers to increase the radius of action.
Displacement................ 1,120 tons surface; 1,232 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 252' x 22'3" x 15' 6"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 5,000 hp
(electric)....... 1,000 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 18.25 knots
(electric)...... 7.25 knots
Bunkers........................ 208 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 11,000 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 63 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... four 21 inch
(aft)............ Two 21 inch
(carried twenty two torpedoes)
Guns.......................... Single 4.1 inch deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Single 20mm
Crew........................ 48 men
As the war progressed, the deck gun was removed and the AA armament was increased in various ways. Most boats replaced the single 20mm mount with four single mount or two twin 20mm mounts and in some cases, with the quad 20mm mounts. Snorkels were added. As in almost all boats - as the war progressed, the size of the crew increased.
Type IX-C U-Boats built were U-66 thru U-68, U-131, U-153 thru U-166, U-171 thru U-176, U-501 thru U-524, U-841 thru U-846, U-853 thru U-858, U-865 thru U-870, U-877 thru U-882, U-889 thru U-894, U-1221 thru U-1270 and U-1501 thru U-1530.
HOWEVER - U-890, U-891 and U-892 were bombed while building and construction was abandoned; the contracts for U-893 and U-894 were cancelled; the contracts were cancelled for U-1239 thru U-1262; boats U-1263 thru U-1270 were projected but no contract was given for their construction; the contracts for U-1501 thru U-1530 were also cancelled.
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Type IX-C40
This variant was like the "C" variant but with different equipment supplied. Specifications were:
Displacement................ 1,144 tons surface; 1,247 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 252' x 22'9" x 15' 6"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 4,4000 hp
(electric)....... 1,000 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 18.25 knots
(electric)...... 7.25 knots
Bunkers........................ 214 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 11,400 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 63 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... four 21 inch
(aft)............ Two 21 inch
(carried twenty two torpedoes or forty two mines)
Guns.......................... Single 4.1 inch deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Single 20mm
Crew........................ 49 men
As the war progressed, the deck gun was removed and the AA armament was increased in various ways. Most boats replaced the single 20mm mount with four single mount or two twin 20mm mounts and in some cases, with the quad 20mm mounts. Snorkels were added. As in almost all boats - as the war progressed, the size of the crew increased.
Type IX-C40 U-Boats built were: U-167 thru U-170, U-183 thru U-194, U-525 thru U-550 and U-801 thru U-820.
HOWEVER - the contracts for U-807 thru U-816 were cancelled and U-817 thru U-820 were only projected and no construction contracts were issued.
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Type
IX-D1The Type IX-D1 was an interesting variant of the Type IX-C U-Boat in that this was a lengthened form of the standard "C" variant. They were intended to be long-range tankers and resupply submarines for the U-Boats in far flung combat areas. Some of the battery capacity was sacrificed in order to allow additional stowage. They were initially intended to have no torpedo tubes either for additional cargo stowage, but tubes were indeed put into the Type IX-D1 U-Boats, as they each had some successes. Another major change was in the diesel engines. Rather than the usual two slow-running M.A.N. diesels, the Type IX-D1 boats initially used six fast-running Mercedes diesels of the type used in the Schnellboots - with terrible results. While fast-running diesel engines would work on S-Boats and PT-Boats that required short bursts of speed and they did push these large submarines to speeds in excess of 20 knots, they did not do well on submarines that needed to run for weeks and months at a time, and they broke down repeatedly. These six fast-running Mercedes diesels were soon replaced with the standard slow running M.A.N. diesels for reliability.
For your files, the title M.A.N. stood for "Machinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg" or in other words, Machine Works of Augsburg and Nürnberg. Specifications were:
Displacement................ 1,610 tons surface; 1,799 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 287' 6" x 24'6" x 17' 9"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 9,000 hp (Mercedes)
2,800 hp (M.A.N.)
(electric)....... 1,100 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 20.75 knots (Mercedes)
15.75 knots (M.A.N.)
(electric)...... 7 knots
Bunkers........................ 208 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 9,900 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 115 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... 21 inch
(aft)............ 21 inch
Guns.......................... No deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Two twin 20mm
Crew........................ 57 men
Only two Type IX-D1 U-Boats were built at AG Weser in Bremen; U-180 and U-195.
Interesting historical note - The I.W.O. (First Watchkeeping Officer) on U-180 was Harald Lange who went on to command U-505 on her final patrol when she was captured by the U.S. Navy. U-195 was taken over by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1945 when Germany surrendered and was re-named I.506. She was then taken as a war prize by the U.S. Navy in August 1945 at Surabaya and in 1947, she was broken up for scrap.
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Type
IX-D2The "D2" variant of the Type IX U-Boat was the best of the compromises - it had a lot of cargo space, higher surface speed and a tremendous radius of action, due to the additional diesel engines and larger bunkers. Two M.A.N. diesels were coupled per shaft. The famed 'Monsun' (Monsoon) U-Boats were largely the Type IX-D2. Eight vertical mine shafts containing four mines each, could be fitted in the additional section if desired.
Displacement................ 1,616 tons surface; 1,804 tons submerged
Dimensions..................... 287' 6" x 24'6" x 17' 9"
Engines............................ twin shaft diesel and electric
Power (diesel)........... 4,400 hp
(electric)....... 1,100 hp
Speed (diesel).......... 19.25 knots
(electric)...... 7 knots
Bunkers........................ 442 tons of fuel oil
Radius (diesel)..... 23,700 miles @ 12 knots
(electric).. 57 miles @ 4 knots
Tubes (fwd)........... Four 21 inch
(aft)............ Two 21 inch
(carried twenty four torpedoes and thirty two mines)
Guns.......................... Single 4.1 inch deck gun
AA Guns.................. Single 37mm and
Single 20mm
Crew........................ 57 men
As the war progressed, snorkels were added, the 4.1 inch deck gun was removed and the AA armament was improved with the addition of two twin mount 20mmAA guns.
The Type IX-D2 U-Boats built by AG Weser in Bremen were U-177 thru U-179, U-181 and U-182, U-196 thru U-200, U-847 thru U-852, U-859 thru U-864, U-871 thru U-876, U-883 thru U-888, U-895 thru U-900, U-1531 thru U-1600.
However - U-884 and U-886, were bombed while building and construction was abandoned. The contracts for U-885, U-887, U-888, U-895 thru U-900 and U-1531 thru U-1542 were cancelled and construction stopped. U-1543 thru U-1600 were projected but no contracts were let and no construction was begun.
Interesting historical note - U-181 and U-862 were transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1945 and renumbered I.501 and I.502 respectively. U-861, U-874, U-875 and U-883 were converted to cargo boats in 1945 with their superstructures cut away and the forward torpedo tubes removed for additional stowage space.
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