Submarine cruiser (U-Kreuzer)

Submarine (also submarine cruiser or submarine cruiser ) in were the First and Second World War, large submarine with a displacement of over 2000 tons on surface location, a severe for this type of vessel artillery wore and which trade war should be conducted overseas.

History

These large submarines were built in addition to torpedo a gun armament to carry. Another reason was the potential due to its size larger payload and range. Some of these boats even allowed the carrying of several - while driving in a watertight hangar stored disassembled - seaplanes .

The advantage of the gun armament against the new torpedo was next to reach the target accuracy against ship targets at high speed. The handling of the gun was known in principle from the surface units and practiced. The cheaper grenades required significantly less space than the more complex and fehleranfälligeren torpedoes.

The complex design of a gun turret , in particular the opening of the pressure hull for Barbette , had a detrimental effect on the structural stability of these boats. Furthermore, the velocity were worse under water and the diving speed of the submarines, because the shapes of the Gun mountings not the hydrodynamic requirements met. The controls of the guns were partially exposed to the sea. Towers were present, the shooting took place for the protection of the boat mostly in semi-submerged.
Enumerate include:

• The French Surcouf with two 203-mm guns in the turret and torpedoes aboard aircraft
• The British Fleet submarines
• The boats of the C-Class with three guns to 102 mm and 76 mm in bridge construction
• The British X1 -boat with four 13-inch guns in two turrets
• The British M1 with a 305-mm gun, derived from the C-Class (see also monitor submarines ). M2 and M3 were sister ships and were converted to the mother ship for seaplanes and the minelayer. The single gun could be fired remotely from periscope depth, the regular firing and reloading had to be turned up.

• The Japanese I-400 aircraft carrier with up to three bombers, started in 45 minutes.
• From the trade-submarine Germany and rebuilt by the Imperial Navy acquired SM U 155 .
• The a priori as Submarine designed and built boats of the series SM U 139 - U 141 SM (Project 46) and the even larger boats SM U 142 - U 144 SM (Project 46) of the Imperial Navy .
• Driven by steam turbines SM UD 1 (Project 50) of the Imperial Navy , which was, however, no longer placed on the stack.
• Various American boats between the wars, with regular design and heavy armament pipe on open decks, by definition

Japan built Submarine in the 2nd World War II because of the greater range and larger payload. These boats should include the connection with the German Reich maintained.

The British fleet submarines originated in the wrong goal that submarines had to compete with the surface units in the above-water speed. The partially equipped with a steam turbine drive boats proved to be error prone and cumbersome, the immersion process was slow and dangerous. Of the 18 built boats of the K-class six fell by accident.

The American and German offshore boats of World War II were indeed larger than regular coastal boats, but armed regularly. The German " milch cows "were used to supply the offshore boats. The boats are not in spite of their higher displacement counted among the submarine cruisers. With the submarine class XI was in World War II on the German side made ​​an attempt to build several Submarine, however, none of the boats completed.

As submarine cruisers of the nuclear age, the beginning of the 1980 year in service Soviet Typhoon boats apply. These were classified as submarine cruisers with strategic task and are armed with nuclear missiles and torpedoes. The huge boats have two pressure hulls and two nuclear reactors.
Judging by size and displacement, which can be large, armed with guided missiles, submarines, according to the sunken K-141 Kursk , considered a new submarine cruiser.

Famous Submarine

German Empire

• SM U 139 Lieutenant-law
• SM U 155

France

• Surcouf

Great Britain

• M-Klasse (Monitor Unterseeboot)

Japan

• I-400