The first modern submarine was the German U-boat Type XXI, which was developed between 1943 and 1944. It featured new radical innovations, making it also the first attack submarine. First, it could maneuver and assail enemy ships out of the blue from an entirely submerged position thanks to its high-sustained underwater speed; until then older submarines had to emerge to the surface to be able to launch their torpedoes. Being a fast boat also allowed it to outrun Allied surface warships, due to new turbo-supercharged diesel engines. At the same time, its modern snorkel enabled this Kriegsmarine's submarine to operate entirely submerged.
Second, the first modern submarine (Type XXI) was fitted with six bow torpedo tubes and an electric torpedo reloading system. This feature gave it a much higher rate of fire and the capacity to attack three or more surface ships at the same time. Third, it could also dive much deeper than its predecessors, maneuvering faster as it did so. Thus, it was capable of defeating the Allied surface warships tactics, which had been very successful against the Type VII and Type VIIC boat. It was also equipped with a highly-sensitive passive sonar, which was very advanced for the time.
Right after the World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union began to design and develop fast attack submarines based on the German Type XXI boat, which had a streamlined hull shape. Ironically, the Germans were able to build this U-boat because Helmuth Walter had already worked on a revolutionary fast attack submarine in the 1930s. The commander of the newly-created Kriegsmarine, Karl Doenitz, supported his project before the war broke out. Walter would also design a futuristic closed-cycle submarine, in which hydrogen peroxide would be used to obtain oxygen for the crew to breathe from carbon monoxide emanating from fuel-burning engines during prolonged, high underwater speeds.
Below, a German Type XXI submarine, the first modern attack submarine.
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