Best Submarine of WWII ?

Not much to contribute to the topic myself, I´m afraid. But maybe I´ll learn something as we go along.

Who wants to start the whole thing off ?

 

Gato, but I'd have to specify from 1944 on. Air and surface radar, good range, and the USN had finally, after two years, worked out the torpedo problems.

 

Any specifics on the Gato?

I like the U-47 series. But for no apparent reason, since I know virtually nothing about navies of WW2.

 

Type VIIC U-boat
568 boats commissioned

Technical Inforamtion
Displacement: (tons) 753 (sf) 857 (sm) 1040 (total)
Length: (m) 66,50 oa 48,80 ph
Beam: (m) 6,20 oa 4,70 ph
Draught: (draft) 4,74 m
Height: 9,50 m
Power: (hp) 3200 (sf) 750 (sm)
Speed: (knots) 17,9 (sf) 8,0 (sm)
Range: (miles / knots) 8700/10 (sf) 90/4 (sm)
Torpedoes: 14 4/1 (bow / stern tubes)
Mines: 26 TMA
Deck gun: 88/45 220 rounds
Crew: 44-48 men
Max depth: ca. 220 m (722 feet)

sm = submerged, sf = surfaced, ph = pressure hull,
oa = overall, hp = horsepower.


Gato class fleet Submarine
77 boats/101 Balao class/11 Tench class

Technical information
Displacementtons) 1826 (sf) 2410 (sm)
Length: (m) 95,98 oa
Beam: (m) 8,31 oa
Draught: (draft) 4,57m
Height: 5,87m
Power: (hp) 5400 (sf) 2740 (sm) (2 shaft Diesel-Electric)
Speedknots) 20,75 (sf) 8,75 (sm)
Range: (miles / knots) 11,800/10 (sf) 95/5 (sm)
Torpedoes: 24 (533mm) 6/4 (bow / stern tubes)
Mk 14 Steam (9,000 yards @ 46kts; 507lbs warhead)
Mk 18 Electric (4,000 yards @ 40kts; 500 lbs warhead)
Deck guns: 1 x 3”/50 or 1 x 5"/51 or 1-2 5"/25
2 x .50AAMG
2 x .30AAMG
Crew: 60-80 men
Test depth: 91.44m (300ft)
Max depth: ca. 230 m (750 feet)

sm = submerged, sf = surfaced, ph = pressure hull,
oa = overall, hp = horsepower.

 

There's little dispute over the claim that the Type XXI sub was the best design, by far. However, since none of the Type XXI's ever had a chance to do anything in combat, the point is moot.

 

For the boats that actually saw combat, I'd go with the GATO/BALAO class boats. If I had to go to war in a pig boat, I'd choose one of these.

 

Imperial Japanese Navy Type B Class (b1/b2/b3) Submarines
(20 b1; 6 b2; and 3 b3)

Type b1 Specs:
Displacement 2,584 tons / 3,654 tons
Dimensions 356.5 ft x 30.5 ft x 16.8 ft
Machinery 2 diesels: 12,400 hp
electric motors: 2,000 hp

Speed 23.5 knots / 8 knots
Range 14,000 nm @ 16 knots
Armament 6x533mm TT fwd + 1x14cm/50 cal. (17 Torpedoes) + one seaplane.
Max. Depth 100 m (330 feet)
Crew 94 officers and men

The IJN b class boats were the most numerous and came closest to being successful of Japanese submarines. I-19 fired a six torpedo spread against USS Wasp in September 15, 1942. Two hit the carrier, one in it's aviation gas storage area, starting huge fires that led to the loss of the ship. The other four torpedos continued on, sinking the destroyer O'Brien and damaging battleship USS North Carolina. I-26 damaged the carrier USS Saratoga (31 August 1942) and sank the damaged CLAA USS Juneau (14 November 1942).

 

In the Mediterranean, my sub of choice would be the British "T" or "U" classes.

 

Handy, little boats like the "U's" were a good choice for Med waters.

 

Weren't the Japanese building some giant subs which could house an aircraft inside. And when the sub surfaces, the plane can then be launched to bomb the U.S.? Did they ever completed one?

 

The Japanese had several aircraft-carrying submarines, and one of them actually did bomb the continental US. However, you're probably thinking of the gigantic I-400 class which was built around the concept of launching planes to attack the Panama Canal.

 

Must have been it, thanks for the info Tiornu.

 

Indeed they were. Unless I'm badly mistaken, most of the damage inflicted on Axis shipping in the Med was at the hands of the "T" and "U" class boats.

 

Just off the top of my head, I'd guess the "S" classes did more in the Med than the "T" classes. Not sure, though.

 

Definitely something to look up!

 

There's a handy little book you can probably track down with little trouble. It's called Allied Submarine Attacks of World War Two by Jurgen Rohwer. I just took a glance, and it seemed to me that there were more "S" entries than "T" entries for the Med. But don't trust me--I'm prejudiced by my previous prediction!

 

"Weren't the Japanese building some giant subs...."
Ah, I just remembered that there is a book due out next year written by Henry Sakaida called I-400: Japan's Secret Panama Canal Strike Submarine, or something like that. I've heard good things in advance of publication, so I'll probably pick up a copy when it's released.

 

I still think that the concept of the I-400 class was idiotic. They couldn't have carried enough planes to carry enough bombs to make the trip worth the risk to the subs and their crews, had the project come off as planned.

 

It does seem like a prodigal effort for what amounted to a nuisance raid.
Another option was to use the sub-borne aircraft to deliver biological agents to populated areas in the West Coast.

 

Which, had it worked, would simply have gotten us *really* mad at Japan! Talk about what havoc would have been wreaked upon Nippon then! :roll: