U-Boat Type IX

The U-boat Type IX was a class of German submarines used by the Kriegsmarine during World War II. They were designed for deep ocean warfare as they had a long range capacity. They were made in four sub-type variants; Type IXA, IXB, IXC, and IXD. They featured a 105-mm gun on deck and six torpedo tubes. 195 U-boats were built between 1938 and 1945, with Type IXC being the most massively produced with 40 submersible vessels.

Although Type IX submarines were an evolution of the much smaller Type II, they differed fundamentally in that they had a double hull structure. This feature allowed them to submerge to a maximum of 250 m deep in water. It also increased useful internal volume by enabling fuel and ballast tanks to be installed externally. It also increased survivability by cushioning the inner hull from depth charge explosion shocks.

As soon as World War II broke out in 1939, the U-boat Type IX worked the Western and Southern Atlantic. When the United States entered the war in December 1941, they were supplemented with the Type VIIC boats, sinking and destroying shipping along the USA's eastern seaboard before a proper escorted convoy system was organized. The Type IXD boats were operational submarines with the phenomenal range of 58,400 km (36,290 miles), being able to sail across the Indian Ocean and reach Japan.

Specifications (Type IXB)

Type: anti-shipping, ocean-going submarine

Length: 76.50 m (251 feet)

Beam: 6.76 m (22 feet, 2 inches)

Draft: 4.70 m (15 feet, 5 inches)

Displacement: 1,178 tons (submerged), 1,051 tons (surfaced)

Propulsion: two 4,300-SHP, MAN M-9-V 40/46, 9-cylinder diesel engines. Two SSW 1 GU 345/34 electric motors, generating 1,000 SHP. Two shafts and two propellers.

Maximum Speed: 18.2 knots (surfaced); 7.5 knots (submerged)

Range: 22,000 km (13,670 miles)

German U-534 Type IXC approaching the German submarine base in Saint-Nazaire, on the French western sea coast. Notice the 10.5-cm gun in front of the tower.

Below U-37 U-boat Type IX off the coast of France

U-67 in the North Atlantic

Below, the U-501 Type IXC sailing in rough seas in 1943.