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"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message ...
"Eunometic" wrote in message om... The German Type XXI u-boat had the an array sonar that was unusually accurate and capable of ranging (and thereby plotting and evading attacking ships) german hydrophones were based on passive arrays electronicaly processed and distributed around the hull and were far more accurate and sensitive than allied ones. Sonar ranging both active and passive allowed the Type XXI to attack without use of periscope. In theory, in practise the vast majority of type XXI boats built were of such poor quality that they were unfit for service and only one ever went on patrol. This of course delayed entry into service untill the defectice building was remediated. However they formed the backbone of not only the post war German navy but were extensively used by others. Some XXI's were for example a long time in use by: France: U 2518 ("Roland Morillot", decomm. 1967) Great Britain: U 2502, 2506, 2511, 3017, 3514 USSR: U 2529, 3035, 3041, 3515 USA: U 2513, 3008 The list of ships sunk by this type follows Start of List End of List Not for lack of capabillity: U 2511 (Korvettenkapitaen Adalbert SCHNEE) left Bergen at the end of April '45. On the next day she met a British Sub Hunter Group -- and was detected and attacked. But her sonar enabled her to plot the British movements and she escaped. On May 4th she met a British group, the cruiser HMS Norfolk with her escort. They had been on the usual U-Boat alert, but didn't find U 2511. Incidently U 2511 was in a good position. Assuming, that Adalbert Schnee didn't get his oakleafs for nothing, he couldn't have missed a cruiser at 700m distance, but the BDU had already ordered to cease fire. Back in Bergen, the Norfolk's officers didn't believe, they had been targeted, until, they read the log book of U 2511. Apart from their superb sonar, great speed, range and diving depth these u-boats had secondary creeper drive opperated via 12 v belts that made them essentialy undetectable at speeds of up to 6 knots. Keith |
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