Total Undersea War: The Evolutionary Role of the Snorkel in Donitz's U-boat Fleet, 1944-1945

by Aaron S Hamilton USAR

Overview

During the last year of World War II the once surface-bound diesel-electric U-boat ushered in the age of ‘total undersea war’ with the introduction of an air mast, or 'snorkel' as it became known among the men who served in Dönitz's submarine fleet. U-boats no longer needed to surface to charge batteries or refresh air; they rarely communicated with their command, operating silently and alone among the shallow coastal waters of the United Kingdom and across to North America.

This exhaustive study, the first of its kind, draws upon wartime documents from archives around the world to re-evaluate the last year of the U-boat's deployment, all its key technological innovations, the evolving operations and tactics, and Allied countermeasures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526778802
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	07/15/2020
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Aaron S. Hamilton is an academically trained historian. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in history, as well as the Field Historian designator awarded by the U.S. Army's Combat Studies Institute. He is an amateur maritime archeologist with a focus on submarine history. For more than twenty-five years he has researched and published ground-breaking studies about the final year of World War II in Europe.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Preface 9

Introduction 11

Chapter 1 The U-boat War in 1939-1944 18

Part I Technical Innovations 29

Chapter 2 The Snorkel 30

Part A Technical Characteristics of the Snorkel 41

Part B Inception to Implementation March 1943-June 1944 88

Chapter 3 Snorkel Protective Coating 96

Chapter 4 Acoustic Camouflage 104

Chapter 5 Electro/Hydrogen Peroxide-Powered U-boats (Type XXI, Type XXIII, Type XXVIW) 119

Part II Evolution of Operations and Tactics 133

Chapter 6 Operations, Experience Reports and Evolving Tactical Procedures, June 1944-April 1945 134

Chapter 7 Crew Health 194

Chapter 8 Allied Countermeasures 204

Chapter 9 The American Coast, May 1944-May 1945 225

Part III A Case Study in U-Boat History and Maritime Archaeology 305

Chapter 10 U-869: Catastrophic Snorkel Failure 306

Conclusion 330

Appendix A 346

Appendix B 366

Appendix C 368

Appendix D 372

Appendix E 374

Bibliography 376

Notes 383

Index 405

Editorial Reviews

"Offering both detailed description of the trials, successes and engineering amendments, in text and illustrations, this is an important and well-referenced book on Germany's late war efforts to regain an advantage.--The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

"Sit back and read a copy of this book because you are going to really learn everything you need to. This is an unprecedented study of the last year of the Battle of the Atlantic describing the innovation of the snorkel, its supporting technologies like anti-radar coating and acoustic camouflage, as well as the Allied countermeasures deployed in an attempt to defeat those highly significant wartime developments. This book takes you into fascinating detail and precision with regards to the technology of the U-Boat." --UKHistorianBenDavidson.co.uk

"The snorkel's powerful influence during the Battle of the Atlantic is reflected in this riveting book that is filled with action photographs, schematics, and page-turning accounts of the great advantage given to the German navy by this revolutionary piece of equipment." --Maritime Engineering Journal

From the Publisher