How fast can a German U boat go?

The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft). The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).

How deep could a German U-boat go?

All modern German submarines are tested for a depth of 197 feet, but for short periods they can go deeper. Cases are known of boats having dived to 250 to 300 feet without injury.

How long would a German U-boat stay at sea?

The Germans' most formidable naval weapon was the U-boat, a submarine far more sophisticated than those built by other nations at the time. The typical U-boat was 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes, and could travel underwater for two hours at a time.

How fast did ww2 submarines go?

Model of the USS Balao (SS-285) Fleet Submarine

On the surface, powered by four diesel engines, the Balao had a top speed just over 20 knots (37 km/hr); cruising at 10 knots (18 km/hr) her range was 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km).

How far could a German U-boat travel without refueling?

The German U-461, a milk cow. It was sunk July 30, 1943, with another milk cow and an attack submarine. The German standard in World War II was the Type VII C, which had “saddle tanks” that could hold enough fuel for a patrol of 6,500 miles, which might sound like a lot — but is actually fairly limited.

What Life on a U-Boat Was Like

How many ships did German U-boats sink off the Florida coast?

Over the first seven months of 1942, the Germans sank nearly 400 vessels, including more than thirty-five ships off Florida. The most dramatic sinking in Florida waters took place the night of April 10, 1942, when U-123 torpedoed the tanker Gulfamerica off Jacksonville Beach.

How many German U-boats were sunk off the US coast?

This left merchant and naval shipping along the East Coast exposed to German U-boats. From April 1917 until November 1918, four German U-boats visited the East Coast of the United States and sank 10 vessels off North Carolina's coast and 200 U.S. vessels in total.

What is the fastest sub in ww2?

The I-201 class were of advanced design, and had been built for high underwater speed. They were the fastest operational submarines built during World War II, surpassing even the German Type XXI submarines.

How deep could a ww2 U-boat dive?

World War II German U-boats generally had collapse depths in the range of 200 to 280 metres (660 to 920 feet).

What did Germans eat on U-boats?

Meat, vegetables (mainly potatoes), bread and fruits were the basic ingredients in the submariners' menu on German U-Boats during World War 2. While long-distance German U-Boats were excellent killing machines, habitability ranked very low on their designers' priority list.

Did U-boats have to surface to fire?

And it must have done so on the surface of the water, where it was able to travel at a faster speed than the ships it pursued. By approaching from astern, where the lookouts rarely checked, the U-boat would be able to slip inside the convoy undetected, fire at close range, then submerge in order to get away.

What was it like inside a German U-boat?

U-boat submariners had a 75% casualty rate, the highest of all German forces during the war. The U-505 had two bathrooms, one of which was used to store food for the first part of the voyage. For the entire two months at sea, the crew never bathed and instead cleaned themselves by swabbing with alcohol.

How many U-boats are still missing?

A U-boat of this type, listed for decades as being sunk off Gibraltar, was found on the sea bottom about 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey in 1991. According to the definitive website Uboat.org, a total of 50 German U-boats remained unaccounted for after the end of World War II.

How many American ships were sunk by German U-boats in ww2?

During the first three months of 1942, German U-boats sank more than 100 ships off the east coast of North America, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea. Some of those ship losses were within site of land.

How deep can US subs go?

It's generally accepted that the maximum depth (depth of implosion or collapse) is about 1.5 or 2 times deeper. The latest open literature says that a US Los Angeles-class test depth is 450m (1,500 ft), suggesting a maximum depth of 675–900m (2,250–3,000 ft).

Do any German U-boats still exist?

The German Unterseeboot, or U-boat, was a submarine that appeared seemingly out of nowhere to destroy both military and commercial ships. Despite their prevalence during WWI and WWII, only four U-boats exist today.

How fast did ww2 torpedoes travel?

"The torpedoes used in World War II were usually 20 to 24 ft (6.1–7.3 m) long, carrying up to 600 lb (272 kg) of explosives at a speed of 50 knots for more than 10,000 yd (9,144 m)." Torpedoes.

Did any U-boats survived the war?

Two U-boats that survived Operation Deadlight are today museum ships. U-505 was earmarked for scuttling, but American Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery argued successfully that she did not fall under Operation Deadlight.

Can destroyers destroy submarines?

U.S. Navy destroyers will now be better equipped to hunt and destroy enemy submarines due to a series of hardware and software upgrades to its Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyers.

Can a destroyer sink a submarine?

For almost 73 years, the USS England has set a record for most subs sunk by a single ship. That record remains unbroken. Destroyer escorts were the econo-warships of the U.S. Navy in World War II.

How fast is the fastest US submarine?

How Fast Can a Submarine Go? This is classified as well. However, U.S. nuclear-powered submarines can go faster than 23 miles per hour, which is 37 kilometers per hour or 20 knots (nautical miles per hour) underwater.

What was the closest a German U-boat got to America?

On April 14, 1942, the first German U-boat fought by the American navy in U.S. waters was sunk sixteen miles southeast of Nags Head.

Did U-boats have to surface for air?

The main propulsion of the U-boat is the diesel engine – of which there are two, one on each side (port and starboard). These engines consume outside air and were operable only on the surface.

How close did German subs get to USA?

So the two Bremen submarines are united 3,000 miles away at one of the United States' great forts of WWII. Their story is told to thousands of visitors to the Fort Miles museum as part of the German attack on the American homeland in World War II.