best subs in wwl

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L-V Jr.
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best subs in wwl

#1

Post by L-V Jr. » 09 Sep 2002, 09:32

which country had the best submarine force in terms of quality of the subs and the crew plus which country used the best tactic?

Gwynn Compton
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#2

Post by Gwynn Compton » 09 Sep 2002, 10:32

The German U-Boats are probably the best known, and rightfully so. Unfortunately I'm not aware of how the other submarine forces operated, this could partially be because their achievements were dwarfed by the Germans, or merely because there was far more Allied shipping to be sunk than there was German shipping.

Gwynn


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Rich Yankowski
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#3

Post by Rich Yankowski » 01 Aug 2003, 00:48

In WW1,what nations even had submarines?Germany,Austria,Italy,France,United States,and Australia are the few I can find.Holland and Canada built some submarines,but I don't know if they used them themselves.I think that the German,British,and U.S. subs were about equal in quality.Personally,you wouldn't get me in any of them!As to crew quality,again I's say they were about equal.Submariners seem to be highly motivated and dedicated individuals,no matter which country they came from!For example take the C.S.S. Hunley(not WW1 but American Civil War),even though it sank several times before actually being used in battle,they had no problem getting more volunteers to man it!As to best tactics,the Germans get my vote.Sinking merchant ships caused quite a few problems for England.In both Wars!

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Aufklarung
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#4

Post by Aufklarung » 01 Aug 2003, 03:52

WRT the best submarine force in WW 1, I would say the Germans.
Overall the German sailors were better educated and superior in such technology as Chemistry, Metallurgy, and Engineering. Although at the time they were the last major power to adopt the submarine as a weapon, the Germans watched and built submarines for other nations. They saw the British gas engined submarines as hazardous and their use of diesel power plants made subs a practical proposition. The German tactics of a 'decks awash' attack made them nearly impossible to detect at night.
Granted that stiff British tactics and Admirals made it easier for the U boats to do their job.

regards
A :)

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Balrog
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#5

Post by Balrog » 01 Aug 2003, 04:59

did the czarist russian navy even have submarines? when did the russian(or soviet) navy first get a submarine?

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Aufklarung
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#6

Post by Aufklarung » 01 Aug 2003, 05:20

I know that before WW1 the first submarines built in Germany were for other countrys. Forel was built and tested at Kiel and transported overland by rail to Vladivostock. I'm not sure if it was Russias first or not but I do not think so.

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A :)

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Tim Smith
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#7

Post by Tim Smith » 03 Aug 2003, 12:46

The most successful (if not the best performing) submarine of WW1 was the German 'Thirties' class U-boats (U31-41), a pre-war design launched in 1915 .

Displacement: 680/870 tons (surface and submerged).
Armament: 4 torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 stern), 6 torpedoes and a 105mm deck gun.
Max Speeds: 16.5 knots surface, 9.5 knots submerged.
Endurance: 4440 miles at 8 knots surfaced, 80 miles at 5 knots submerged.
Max Depth: 50 metres official, but could go to 100 metres and survive.

The most succesful U-boat commander of WW1 was Korvettenkapitan von Arnauld de la Periere, the highest scoring submarine ace in all history. In one 24-day cruise in the Mediterranean in 1916, commanding U35, he sank 54 ships totalling 90,150 tons - an all-time record, never approached in either war. His final career total at the end of the war was over 400,000 tons.

Docent P
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#8

Post by Docent P » 04 Aug 2003, 08:50

>Germany,Austria,Italy,France,United States,and Australia are the few I can find.

Then also Russia, Japan, Turkey (gifted by Germany) and Spain.

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>did the czarist russian navy even have submarines? when did the russian(or soviet) navy first get a submarine?

The first Russian combat submarine - Delfin - was constructed by Bubnov in 1903. Together with a few other subs she took active part in the Russo-Japanesse War 1904-1905 - she made a couple of contacts with the enemy ships.

During the WW1 the Russian Navy had perfect own submarines. The most famous one - Krab - the first minelayer sub in the world. Her mines inflicted damages to the German cruiser Breslau. Other Black Sea Fleet submarines were successfully fighting on the Bolgaria-Turkey communications, having destroyed about a hundred of Turkish steamships and sailing ships. Another good project was Bars - they were working off the Swedish coast. The most famous one was Pantera - serving on the Red side she sank the British destroyer Vittoria in 1919.
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>WRT the best submarine force in WW 1, I would say the Germans.

I agree. The Germans had really perfect submarines - especially their last cruiser submarines like U139. They were able to work in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions without bases in Norway (unlike during the WW2)! Which wasn't an easy task even for a WW2 sub.

>The most succesful U-boat commander of WW1 was Korvettenkapitan von Arnauld de la Periere,

I'd rather call Otto Vedingen, the commander of U9. His record is three British armoured cruisers in 10 minutes(!) with only four torpedoes aboard!!! And a month later he sank his forth armoured cruiser - HMS Hawk - at the same position.

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