Osprey New Vanguard 51 : Kriegsmarine U-boats (1) 1939-1945

In this book on Germany's Second World War U-boats, Gordon Williamson studies the principal U-boat that saw service, the Type VII. This study traces its development from the early U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy on later designs, the prohibition on Germany having U-boats following the Armistice in 1918 and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles, the secret development of U-boats using a 'cover-firm' in Holland, and culminating in the formation of the 1st U-boat Flotilla in 1935 with the modern Type II. The operational history section includes examples from the Classes Type VIIA, Type VIIB, VIID, VIIE and VIIF before concentrating on the mainstay of the U-boat arm, the Type VIIC looking at its combat service and successes using actual specific U-boats as examples, both in the Battle of the Atlantic and elsewhere. Comparisons are also made with the standard allied submarines, their strength and weaknesses and U-boat tactics. Also covered is the organisational structure of the U-boat Arm. Including its individual flotillas, training flotillas and main operational bases in Germany and occupied Europe. This book studies the design and operational use of the Type XIV U-boat tanker, an essential player in keeping operational U-boats re-supplied, especially in operations off the US Coast. Every single boat of this type was lost during the war, principally due to losses because of allied intercepts of German rendezvous signals after the cracking of the 'Enigma' codes. Text by Gordon Williamson with illustrations by Ian Palmer.

Contents

• Design and Development
• The Type II
• The Type VII
• The Type XIV
• Operational History
• Colour Plate Commentary