Type VII U-Boat

The Type VII U-Boat was a class of submarines in service with the German Kriegsmarine from 1936 to 1945. They were low-cost, conventional, compact and simple to build boats. However, it was very reliable and easy to handle at all times. It was produced in large numbers, with a total of 721 seagoing underwater boats in four basic versions. It became the backbone of the German submarine force during the Battle of the Atlantic, sinking a huge number of Allied merchant vessels and warships.

Being commissioned in 1936, the Type VIIA proved to be very successful as it was first operated in anger during the Spanish Civil War. Therefore, it was adopted as the standard mass-produced type. By mid 1937, however, production of this German submarine had switched to the Type VIIB U-Boat, which was larger than its predecessor and saddle tanks had been added and upgraded with more powerful diesel engines. It was thought it would the last one of the class. Nevertheless, in 1940, it would be superseded by the Type VIIC, which was massively produced, with 616 submarines. The VIID would be the last development, with 32 units made.

From May 1943, all Type VII submarines began to urgently being refitted, with the most valuable changes being the fitting of a snort air pipe for charging the batteries while submerged. It also underwent an extension of the conning tower. Also a pair of 20mm AA guns were fitted to the submarine. By this time, the situation became a desperate battle against British destroyers that were equipped with more advanced sonars and radars.

Combat History

Exploits of the vast fleet of Type VII submarines were heroic and legendary. On September 17, 1939, the U-29 sank the British carrier Courageous. On October 14, Gunther Prien took U-47 into the impenetrable Scapa Flow, a sea strait in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sinking the battleship Royal Oak and two other vessels. However, U-99 would be sunk by HMS Walker in March 1941. Prien and Schepke kept sinking merchant ships until they were discovered and sunk by Allied warships. From then on, German submarines would operate in packs, and, by 1943, they had lost the efficiency and surprise advantage they had enjoyed, because of the Allied advance in radar technology.

Specifications (Type VIIC)

Length: 67.10 m (220 ft, 2 in)

Beam: 6.20 m (20 ft, 4 in)

Draft: 4.74 m (15 ft, 7 in)

Displacement: 861 tons (submerged)

Power Plant: two 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines

Speed: 17.7 knots on surface, and 7.6 knots submerged

Range: 8,500 nautical miles (15,500 km)

Crew: 52 officers and sailors

Armament: five 533-mm torpedo tubes, with four in bow and one in stern section. It had a fourteen G7a compressed air-driven torpedoes. One 8.8 cm naval gun.

Below, two photos of the Type VIIB version; side view and tower.