Emblems of the German torpedo boat fleets. Weapons of World War II: torpedo boats. Military German torpedo boats

20.10.2019

Small warships and boats were one of the most numerous and diverse components of the military fleets of the countries participating in the war. It included vessels, both for strictly designated purposes, and multifunctional, both small in size and reaching 100 m in length. Some ships and boats operated in coastal waters or rivers, others in seas with a cruising range of more than 1,000 miles. Some boats were delivered to the scene of action by road and rail, and others on the decks of large ships. A number of ships were built according to special military projects, while civilian design developments were adapted to others. The prevailing number of ships and boats had wooden hulls, but many were equipped with steel and even duralumin. Reservation of the deck, sides, deckhouse and towers was also used. were varied and power plants ships - from automobile to aircraft engines, which also provided different speeds - from 7-10 to 45-50 knots per hour. The armament of ships and boats entirely depended on their functional purpose.

The main types of ships in this category include: torpedo and patrol boats, boat minesweepers, armored boats, anti-submarine and artillery boats. Their totality was determined by the concept of the "mosquito fleet", which emerged from the First World War and was intended for combat operations simultaneously in large groups. Operations with the participation of the "mosquito fleet", in particular, landing, were used by Great Britain, Germany, Italy and the USSR. A brief description of the types of small warships and boats is as follows.

The most numerous ships among small warships were torpedo boats - high-speed small-sized warships, the main weapon of which is a torpedo. By the beginning of the war, the idea of large artillery ships as the basis of the fleet still dominated. Torpedo boats were poorly represented in the main fleets of the maritime powers. Despite the very high speed (about 50 knots) and the relative cheapness of manufacture, the redan boats that prevailed in the pre-war period had very low seaworthiness and could not operate in waves of more than 3-4 points. The placement of torpedoes in the stern gutters did not provide sufficient accuracy in their guidance. In fact, the boat could hit a fairly large surface ship with a torpedo from a distance of no more than half a mile. Therefore, torpedo boats were considered weapons of weak states, intended only to protect coastal waters and closed water areas. For example, by the beginning of the war, the British fleet had 54 torpedo boats, the German fleet had 20 ships. With the outbreak of war, the construction of boats increased dramatically.

Estimated number of main types of own-built torpedo boats used in the war by countries (without captured and transferred / received)

Country	Total	Losses	Country	Total	Losses
Bulgaria	7	1	USA	782	69
Great Britain	315	49	Turkey	8	—
Germany	249	112	Thailand	12	—
Greece	2	2	Finland	37	11
Italy	136	100	Sweden	19	2
Netherlands	46	23	Yugoslavia	8	2
USSR	447	117	Japan	394	52

Some countries that do not have shipbuilding capacities or technologies ordered boats for their fleets at large shipyards in Great Britain (British Power Boats, Vosper, Thornycroft), Germany (F.Lurssen), Italy (SVAN), USA ( Elco, Higgins). So the UK sold 2 boats to Greece, Ireland - 6, Poland - 1, Romania - 3, Thailand - 17, "Philippines - 5, Finland and Sweden - 4 each, Yugoslavia - 2. Germany sold 6 boats to Spain, China - 1, Yugoslavia - 8. Italy sold Turkey - 3 boats, Sweden - 4, Finland - 11. USA - sold 13 boats to the Netherlands.

In addition, Great Britain and the United States transferred ships to their allies under Lend-Lease agreements. Similar ship transfers were made by Italy and Germany. So the UK transferred 4 boats to Canada, 11 to the Netherlands, 28 to Norway, 7 to Poland, 8 to France. The USA transferred 104 boats to the UK, 198 to the USSR, 8 to Yugoslavia. 6. Italy handed over to Germany - 7 boats, Spain - 3, Finland - 4.

The belligerents successfully used captured ships: surrendered; captured, both in full working order and subsequently restored; unfinished; raised after flooding by crews. So Great Britain used 2 boats, Germany - 47, Italy - 6, USSR - 16, Finland - 4, Japan - 39.

Features in the structure and equipment of torpedo boats of the leading builders can be characterized in this way.

In Germany, the main attention was paid to the seaworthiness, range and effectiveness of the weapons of torpedo boats. They were built relatively large sizes and high range, with the possibility of long-range night raids and torpedo attacks from a long distance. The boats received the designation "Schnellboote" ( S— type) and were produced in 10 series, including the prototype and experimental samples. The first boat of the new type "S-1" was built in 1930, and mass production began in 1940 and continued until the end of the war (the last boat was "S-709"). Each subsequent series, as a rule, was more perfect than the previous one. A large radius of action with good seaworthiness made it possible to use boats practically as destroyers. Their function was to attack big ships, infiltrating harbors and bases and attacking forces located there, conducting attacks on merchant ships, following sea routes and raids on objects located along the coast. Along with these tasks, torpedo boats could be used for defensive operations - attacking submarines and escorting coastal convoys, conducting reconnaissance and clearing enemy minefields. During the war, they sank 109 enemy transports with a total capacity of 233,000 brt, as well as 11 destroyers, a Norwegian destroyer, a submarine, 5 minesweepers, 22 armed trawlers, 12 landing ships, 12 auxiliary ships and 35 various boats. The strength of these boats, providing high seaworthiness, turned out to be one of the reasons for their death. The keel shape of the hull and significant draft did not allow minefields to pass, which did not pose a danger to small or red boats.

Britain's wartime torpedo boats had increased tonnage and strong hull plating, but due to the lack of the necessary engines, their speed remained low. In addition, the boats had unreliable steering devices and propellers with too thin blades. The effectiveness of torpedo attacks was 24%. At the same time, for the entire time of the war, each boat, on average, took part in 2 combat operations.

Italy tried to build its boats on the models of the German "Schnellboote" of the first series. However, the boats turned out to be slow and poorly armed. The rearmament of them with depth charges turned them into hunters who only looked like German ones. In addition to full-fledged torpedo boats, in Italy, the Baglietto company built about 200 auxiliary, small-sized boats that did not show tangible results from their use.

In the United States, by the beginning of the war, torpedo boat building was at the level of experimental development. On the basis of the 70-foot boat of the British company "British Power Boats", the company "ELCO", carrying out their constant refinement, produced ships in three series in a total of 385 units. Later, Higgins Industries and Huckins joined in their release. The boats were distinguished by maneuverability, autonomy and withstood a 6-point storm. At the same time, the yoke design of the torpedo tubes was unsuitable for use in the Arctic, and the propellers wore out quickly. For Great Britain and the USSR, 72-foot boats were built in the USA according to the project of the English company Vosper, but in terms of their characteristics they were significantly inferior to the prototype.

The basis of the torpedo boats of the USSR were two types of pre-war development: "G-5" - for coastal action and "D-3" - for medium distances. The G-5 planing boat, built, as a rule, with a duralumin hull, had high speed and maneuverability. However, poor seaworthiness and survivability, a short radius of action leveled it best qualities So, the boat could produce a torpedo salvo with waves up to 2 balls, and stay at sea up to 3 balls. At speeds above 30 knots, machine gun fire was useless, and torpedoes were launched at speeds of at least 17 knots. Corrosion "devoured" duralumin literally before our eyes, so the boats had to be immediately raised to the wall upon returning from the task. Despite this, the boats were built until the middle of 1944. Unlike the G-5, the D-3 cutter had a solid wooden hull structure. It was armed with side-drop torpedo tubes, which made it possible to launch a torpedo salvo even if the boat lost speed. On the deck it was possible to mark a platoon of paratroopers. The boats had sufficient survivability, maneuverability and withstood a storm of up to 6 balls. At the end of the war, in the development of the boat "G-5", the construction of boats of the "Komsomolets" type with improved seaworthiness began. He withstood a storm of 4 balls, had a semblance of a keel, an armored wheelhouse and tubular torpedo tubes. However, the survivability of the boat left much to be desired.

Type B torpedo boats were the backbone of Japan's mosquito fleet. They had low speed and weak weapons. In terms of technical characteristics, American boats were more than twice as superior. As a result, the effectiveness of their actions in the war was extremely low. For example, in the battles for the Philippines, Japanese boats managed to sink a single small transport ship.

The fighting of the "mosquito fleet" showed the high efficiency of universal, multipurpose boats. However, their special construction was carried out only by Great Britain and Germany. The rest of the countries, constantly modernizing and re-equipping existing ships (minesweepers, torpedo and patrol boats), brought them closer to universality. Multi-purpose boats had a wooden hull and were used, depending on the task and the situation, as artillery, torpedo, rescue ships, minelayers, hunters or minesweepers.

Great Britain built 587 boats on special projects, of which 79 were lost. Another 170 boats were built under licenses by other countries. Germany produced 610 boats based on the technical documentation of the fishing seiner, of which 199 died. The boat received the designation "KFK" (Kriegsfischkutter - "military fishing boat") and compares favorably with other vessels in terms of "cost / efficiency". It was built both by various enterprises in Germany and in other countries, incl. in neutral Sweden.

Artillery boats were intended to fight enemy boats and support the landing. Varieties of artillery boats were armored boats and boats armed with rocket launchers (mortar).

The appearance of special artillery boats in the UK was associated with the need to deal with the German "mosquito" fleet. In total, 289 ships were built during the war years. Other countries used patrol boats or patrol ships for these purposes.

armored boats in the war used by Hungary, the USSR and Romania. By the beginning of the war, Hungary had 11 river armored boats, 10 of which were built during the First World War. The USSR used 279 river armored boats, which were based on project 1124 and 1125 boats. They were armed with turrets from the T-34 tank with standard 76-mm guns. The USSR also built naval armored boats with powerful artillery weapons and medium range. Despite the low speed, insufficient elevation angle of the tank guns, and the absence of fire control devices, they had increased survivability and provided reliable protection for the crew.

Romania was armed with 5 river armored boats, two of which during the First World War were used as minesweepers, two were rebuilt from Czechoslovak minelayers, one was a captured Soviet project 1124.

In the second half of the war in Germany, Great Britain, the USSR and the USA, rocket launchers were installed on boats as additional weapons. In addition, 43 special mortar boats were built in the USSR. These boats were most used in the war with Japan during the landing.

Patrol boats occupy a prominent place among small warships. They were small-sized warships, as a rule, with artillery weapons and were designed to carry out patrol (patrol) service in the coastal zone, to fight enemy boats. Patrol boats were built by many countries with access to the seas or large rivers. At the same time, some countries (Germany, Italy, USA) used other types of vessels for these purposes.

Approximate number of the main types of own-built patrol boats used in the war by countries (excluding captured and transferred / received)

Country	Total	Losses	Country	Total	Losses
Bulgaria	4	—	USA	30	—
Great Britain	494	56	Romania	4	1
Iran	3	—	Turkey	13	2
Spain	19	—	Finland	20	5
Lithuania	4	1	Estonia	10	—
USSR	238	38	Japan	165	15

Leading countries in the field of shipbuilding actively sold patrol boats to customers. So, during the war, Great Britain delivered 42 boats to France, Greece - 23, Turkey - 16, Colombia - 4. Italy sold 4 boats to Albania, and Canada - 3 to Cuba. The United States transferred 3 boats to Venezuela under lend-lease agreements, Dominican Republic- 10, Colombia - 2, Cuba - 7, Paraguay - 6. In the USSR, 15 captured patrol boats were used, in Finland - 1.

Characterizing the structural features of the most massive production of boats in the context of manufacturing countries, the following should be noted. The British boat of the HDML type was built at many shipyards and, depending on the intended place of service, received the appropriate equipment. It had reliable engines, good seaworthiness and maneuverability. The mass construction of Soviet boats was based on the adaptation of the development of crew and service boats. They were equipped with low-power, mainly automobile engines and, accordingly, had a low speed and, unlike the British boats, did not have artillery weapons. Japanese boats were built on the basis of torpedo boats, they had powerful engines, at least small-caliber guns, bombers. By the end of the war, many were equipped with torpedo tubes and were often reclassified as torpedo boats.

Anti-submarine boats built by Britain and Italy. Great Britain built 40 boats, of which 17 died, Italy - 138, 94 died. Both countries built boats in torpedo boat hulls, with powerful engines and a sufficient supply of depth charges. In addition, Italian boats were additionally equipped with torpedo tubes. In the USSR, anti-submarine boats were classified as small hunters, in the USA, France and Japan - as hunters.

Minesweeper boats(boat minesweepers) were massively used in all large fleets and were intended to search for and destroy mines and escort ships through mine-hazardous areas in harbors, raids, rivers and lakes. The minesweepers were equipped with various types of trawls (contact, acoustic, electromagnetic, etc.), had a shallow draft and a wooden hull for low magnetic resistance, and were equipped with defense weapons. The displacement of the boat, as a rule, did not exceed 150 tons, and the length - 50 m.

Approximate number of main types of boat minesweepers of own construction used in the war by countries (without captured and transferred / received)

Most countries did not build boat minesweepers, but if necessary, they equipped existing auxiliary vessels or combat boats with minesweepers, and also bought minesweeper boats.

Let's make a small digression from our aviation reviews and move on to the water. I decided to start like this, not from above, where all sorts of battleships, destroyers and aircraft carriers are important to blow bubbles, but from below. Where passions boiled no less comical, albeit in shallow water.

Speaking of torpedo boats, it is worth noting that before the start of the war, the participating countries, including even the "Mistress of the Seas" Britain, did not burden themselves with the presence of torpedo boats. Yes, there were small ships, but rather for training purposes.

For example, the Royal Navy had only 18 TCs in 1939, the Germans owned 17 boats, but Soviet Union 269 boats were available. Shallow seas affected, in the waters of which it was necessary to solve problems.

Therefore, let's start, perhaps, with a participant under the flag of the Soviet Navy.

1. Torpedo boat G-5. USSR, 1933

Perhaps experts will say that it would be worth putting the D-3 or Komsomolets boats here, but it’s just that the G-5 was produced more than the D-3 and Komsomolets combined. Accordingly, these boats unequivocally took on such a part of the war that is hardly comparable to the rest.

The G-5 was a coastal boat, in contrast to the D-3, which could well work at a distance from the coast. It was a small boat, which, nevertheless, throughout the Great Patriotic War worked on enemy communications.

During the war, it underwent several modifications, the GAM-34 engines (yes, the Mikulinsky AM-34s became planing) were replaced by the imported Isotta-Fraschini, and then by the GAM-34F with a power of 1000 hp, which accelerated the boat to crazy 55 nodes with a combat load. Empty boat could accelerate to 65 knots.

The armament also changed. Frankly weak DA machine guns were first replaced by ShKAS ( interesting solution, to be honest), and then two DShK.

By the way, the huge speed and non-magnetic wooden-duralumin hull allowed the boats to sweep acoustic and magnetic mines.

Advantages: speed, good weapons, cheap design.

Disadvantages: very low seaworthiness.

2. Torpedo boat "Vosper". UK, 1938

The history of the boat is remarkable in that the British Admiralty did not order it, and the Vosper company developed the boat on its own initiative in 1936. However, the sailors liked the boat so much that it was put into service and went into series.

The torpedo boat had a very decent seaworthiness (at that time British ships were the standard) and a cruising range. He also went down in history by the fact that it was for the first time in the fleet that the Oerlikon automatic guns were installed on Vospers, which greatly increased firepower boat.

Since the British TKA were weak rivals to the German Schnellbots, which will be discussed below, the gun came in handy.

Initially, the same engines were installed on the boats as on the Soviet G-5, that is, the Italian Isotta-Fraschini. The outbreak of the war left both the UK and the USSR without these engines, so we have another example of import substitution. In the USSR, the Mikulin aircraft engine was very quickly adapted, and the British transferred the technology to the Americans, and they began to build boats with their own engines from Packard.

The Americans further strengthened the armament of the boat, expectedly replacing the Vickers with 12.7-mm Brownings.

Where did the "Vospers" fight? Yes, everywhere. They participated in the evacuation of the Dunker disgrace, caught German "schnellboats" in the north of Britain, attacked Italian ships in the Mediterranean. We also noted. 81 American-built boats were handed over to our fleet as part of the . 58 boats took part in the battles, two were lost.

Advantages: seaworthiness, armament, cruising range.

Disadvantages: speed, large crew for a small ship.

3. Torpedo boat MAS type 526. Italy, 1939

The Italians also knew how to build ships. Beautiful and fast. This is not to be taken away. The standard for an Italian ship is a narrower hull than that of contemporaries, therefore a little more speed.

Why did I choose the 526th series in our review? Probably because they even showed up with us, and fought in our waters, although not where most people thought.

Italians are smart. To two conventional Isotta-Fraschini engines (yes, all the same!) Of 1000 horses each, they added a pair of Alfa Romeo engines of 70 hp. for economical travel. And under such engines, boats could sneak at a speed of 6 knots (11 km / h) for absolutely fantastic distances of 1,100 miles. Or 2000 km.

But if someone had to catch up, or quickly escape from someone, this was also in order.

Plus, the boat turned out to be not only good in terms of seaworthiness, it turned out to be very versatile. And besides the usual torpedo attacks, he could completely walk through the submarine with depth charges. But this is more psychological, since, of course, they did not put hydroacoustic equipment on a torpedo boat.

Torpedo boats of this type participated primarily in the Mediterranean Sea. However, four boats in June 1942 (MAS No. 526-529), together with the Italian crews, were transferred to Lake Ladoga, where they participated in the attack on Sukho Island in order to cut the Road of Life. In 1943, the Finns took them to themselves, after which the boats served as part of the Finnish naval forces.

Italians on Lake Ladoga.

Advantages: seaworthiness, speed.

Disadvantages: versatility in Italian design. The boat was armed, but there were problems with its use. One machine gun, albeit a large-caliber one, is clearly not enough.

4. Patrol torpedo boat RT-103. USA, 1942

Of course, in the USA they couldn't do something small and fidgety. Even taking into account the technology received from the British, they came out with a rather massive torpedo boat, which was generally explained by the number of weapons that the Americans were able to place on it.

The idea itself was not to create a purely torpedo boat, but a patrol boat. This can be seen even from the name, because RT stands for Patrol Torpedo boat. That is, a patrol boat with torpedoes.

Torpedoes, of course, were. Two twin large-caliber Brownings are a useful thing in all respects, but we are generally silent about the 20-mm automatic gun from the Oerlikon.

Why does the US Navy need so many boats? Everything is simple. The interests of protecting the Pacific bases required precisely such ships, capable of primarily carrying out patrol service and, in which case, quickly escape if enemy ships were suddenly discovered.

The most significant contribution of the RT series boats was the fight against the Tokyo Night Express, that is, the supply system of the Japanese garrisons on the islands.

The boats turned out to be especially useful in the shallow waters of the archipelagos and atolls, where destroyers were wary of entering. And torpedo boats intercepted self-propelled barges and small coasters carrying military contingents, weapons and equipment.

Advantages: powerful weapons, good speed

Cons: Probably not.

5. Torpedo boat T-14. Japan, 1944

In general, the Japanese somehow didn’t bother with torpedo boats, not considering them weapons worthy of a samurai. However, over time, the opinion changed, since the successful tactics of using patrol boats by the Americans greatly worried the Japanese naval command.

But the trouble lay elsewhere: there were no free engines. It is a fact, but indeed, the Japanese fleet did not receive a decent torpedo boat precisely because there was no engine for it.

The only acceptable option in the second half of the war was the Mitsubishi project, which was called the T-14.

It was the smallest torpedo boat, even the coastal Soviet G-5 was larger. However, thanks to their space savings, the Japanese managed to squeeze in so many weapons (torpedoes, depth charges and automatic cannon) that the boat turned out to be quite toothy.

Alas, the frank lack of power of the 920-horsepower engine, with all its advantages, did not make the T-14 any competitor for the American RT-103.

Advantages: small size, weapons

Disadvantages: speed, range.

6. Torpedo boat D-3. USSR, 1943

It makes sense to add this particular boat, since the G-5 was a coastal zone boat, and the D-3 just had more decent seaworthiness and could operate at a distance from the coastline.

The first D-3 series was built with GAM-34VS engines, the second went with American Lend-Lease Packards.

The sailors believed that the D-3 with the Packards was much better than the American Higgins boats that came to us under Lend-Lease.

The Higgins was a good boat, but low speed(up to 36 knots) and drag torpedo tubes, which froze completely in the conditions of the Arctic, somehow did not come to court. D-3 with the same engines was faster, and since it also turned out to be smaller in terms of displacement, it was also more maneuverable.

The low silhouette, shallow draft and reliable silencer system made our D-3s indispensable for operations off the coast of the enemy.

So the D-3 not only went on torpedo attacks on convoys, it was used with pleasure for landing troops, transporting ammunition to bridgeheads, laying minefields, hunting for enemy submarines, guarding ships and convoys, sweeping fairways (bombing German bottom non-contact mines).

Plus, it was the most seaworthy of the Soviet boats, withstanding waves up to 6 points.

Advantages: a set of weapons, speed, seaworthiness

Cons: I don't think there are any.

7. Torpedo boat S-Boat. Germany, 1941

At the end we have Schnellbots. They really were very "schnell", that is, fast. In general, the concept of the German fleet provided for a huge number of ships carrying torpedoes. And the same "schnellboats" were built more than 20 different modifications.

These were ships of a slightly higher class than all those listed before. But what if the German shipbuilders tried to stand out in every possible way? And their battleships were not quite battleships, and a destroyer could puzzle another cruiser, the same thing happened with boats.

These were versatile ships, capable of doing everything, almost like our D-3s, but they had very impressive armament and seaworthiness. Especially the weapons.

Actually, like the Soviet boats, the Germans took on their TKA all the same tasks of protecting small convoys and individual ships (especially those coming from Sweden with ore), which, by the way, they succeeded.

Ore carriers from Sweden calmly came to the ports, because the large ships of the Baltic Fleet stood in Leningrad throughout the war, without interfering with the enemy. And for torpedo boats and armored boats, especially submarines, the Schnellbot, stuffed with automatic weapons, was too tough.

So I consider the control over the delivery of ore from Sweden to be the main combat mission that the Schnellbots performed. Although the 12 destroyers that were sunk by boats during the war are not a few.

Advantages: seaworthiness and armament

Disadvantages: dimensions, respectively, not perfect maneuverability.

These ships and their crews had a difficult life. Not battleships after all ... Not battleships at all.

The night of May 24, 1940 had just begun when two powerful explosions tore apart the side of the French Jaguar leader, which was covering the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. The ship, enveloped in flames, threw itself onto the Malo-les-Bains beach, where it was abandoned by the crew, and at sunrise it was finished off by Luftwaffe bombers. The death of the Jaguar informed the allies that in the waters of the English Channel they had a new dangerous enemy - German torpedo boats. The defeat of France allowed this weapon of the German fleet to “come out of the shadows” and brilliantly justify its concept, which after nine months of the “strange war” had already begun to be questioned.

The birth of the Schnellbot

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies reliably mothballed the Germans' backlog in destroyer forces, allowing them to have in the fleet only 12 destroyers with a displacement of 800 tons and 12 destroyers of 200 tons each. This meant that the German fleet was obliged to remain with hopelessly outdated ships like those with which it entered the First world war- similar ships of other fleets were at least twice as large.

German torpedo boats at the Friedrich Lürssen shipyard, Bremen, 1937

Like the rest of the German military, the sailors did not accept this state of affairs and, as soon as the country recovered from the post-war political crisis, they began to explore ways to increase the combat capabilities of the fleet. There was a loophole: the winners did not strictly regulate the availability and development of small combat weapons, which were first widely used during the war - torpedo and patrol boats, as well as motor minesweepers.

In 1924, in Travemünde, under the leadership of Captain zur see Walter Lohmann and Lieutenant Friedrich Ruge, under the guise of a yacht club, the TRAYAG test center (Travemünder Yachthaven A.G.), as well as several other sports and shipping societies, were created . These events were financed from the secret funds of the fleet.

The fleet already had useful experience in using small LM-type torpedo boats in the last war, so the main characteristics of a promising boat, taking into account combat experience were identified fairly quickly. It required a speed of at least 40 knots and a cruising range of at least 300 miles at full speed. The main armament was to be two tube torpedo tubes, protected from sea water, with four torpedoes (two in tubes, two in reserve). The engines were assumed to be diesel, since gasoline in the last war caused the death of several boats.

It remains to decide on the type of case. In most countries, since the war, the development of glider boats with ledges-redans in the underwater part of the hull has continued. The use of a redan caused the bow of the boat to rise above the water, which reduced water resistance and sharply increased speed characteristics. However, when the sea was rough, such hulls experienced serious shock loads and were often destroyed.

The command of the German fleet categorically did not want "weapons for calm water", which could only protect the German Bay. By that time, the confrontation with Great Britain was forgotten, and the German doctrine was built on the struggle against the Franco-Polish alliance. Boats were needed that could reach Danzig from the German Baltic ports, and from the West Frisian Islands to the French coast.

The extravagant and impetuous Oheka II is the progenitor of the Kriegsmarine Schnellbots. Her strange name is just a combination of the initial letters of the first names and the last name of the owner, millionaire Otto-Hermann Kahn

The task turned out to be difficult. The wooden hull did not have the necessary margin of safety and did not allow to place powerful promising engines and weapons, the steel hull did not give the required speed, the redan was also undesirable. In addition, the sailors wanted to get the boat's silhouette as low as possible, providing better stealth. The solution came from the private shipbuilding firm Friedrich Lürssen, which late XIX specialized in small racing boats for centuries and was already building boats for the Kaiser fleet.

The attention of the officers of the Reichsmarine was attracted by the yacht “Oheka II” (Oheka II), built by Lurssen for the American millionaire of German origin Otto Hermann Kahn, capable of crossing the North Sea at a speed of 34 knots. This was achieved by using a displacement hull, a classic three-shaft propulsion system and a mixed hull set, the power set of which was made of light alloy, and the skin was wooden.

Impressive seaworthiness, a mixed design that reduces the weight of the vessel, a good reserve for speed - all these advantages of the Oheka II were obvious, and the sailors decided: Lurssen received an order for the first combat boat. It received the name UZ (S) -16 (U-Boot Zerstörer - "anti-submarine, high-speed"), then W-1 (Wachtboot - "patrol boat") and the final S-1 (Schnellboot - "fast boat"). The letter designation "S" and the name "schnellboat" after that were finally assigned to German torpedo boats. In 1930, the first four production boats were ordered, which formed the 1st Schnellboat Semi-Flotilla.

Serial first-born of Lurssen at the shipyard: the long-suffering UZ(S)-16, aka W-1, aka S-1

The leapfrog with names was caused by the desire of the new commander-in-chief, Erich Raeder, to hide from the Allied Commission the appearance of torpedo boats in the Reichsmarine. On February 10, 1932, he issued a special order, which explicitly stated that any mention of shnellboats as carriers of torpedoes should be avoided, which could be regarded by the Allies as an attempt to circumvent the restrictions on destroyers. The Lurssen shipyard was ordered to hand over boats without torpedo tubes, the cutouts for which were covered with easily removable shields. The devices were to be stored in the arsenal of the fleet and installed only for the duration of the exercises. The final assembly was supposed to be carried out "as soon as it allows political situation» . In 1946, at the Nuremberg Tribunal, prosecutors would recall this order to Raeder as a violation of the Versailles Treaty.

After the first series of boats with gasoline engines, the Germans began to build small series with high-speed diesel engines from MAN and Daimler-Benz. Lurssen also consistently worked on the hull contours to improve speed and seaworthiness. Many failures awaited the Germans along this path, but thanks to the patience and foresight of the fleet command, the development of shnellboats proceeded in accordance with the doctrine of the fleet and the concept of their use. Export contracts with Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and China made it possible to test all technological solutions, and comparative tests revealed the reliability advantages of Daimler-Benz V-shaped products over lighter, but capricious MAN in-line products.

"Lurssen effect": layout of the "schnellboat", view from the stern. Three propellers are clearly visible, the main and two additional rudders, distributing water flows from the extreme propellers

Gradually, the classic appearance of the shnellboat was formed - a durable seaworthy ship with a characteristic low silhouette (hull height of only 3 m), 34 meters long, about 5 meters wide, with a rather small draft (1.6 meters). The cruising range was 700 miles at 35 knots. Max Speed 40 knots was achieved with great difficulty only due to the so-called Lurssen effect - additional rudders regulated the flow of water from the left and right propellers. The Schnellbot was armed with two 533 mm tube torpedo tubes with ammunition from four G7A combined-cycle torpedoes (two in the tubes, two spare). Artillery armament consisted of a 20-mm machine gun in the stern (with the outbreak of war, a second 20-mm machine gun began to be placed in the bow) and two removable MG 34 machine guns on pivot mounts. In addition, the boat could take six sea mines or the same number of depth charges, for which two bomb releasers were installed.

The boat was equipped with a fire extinguishing system and smoke exhaust equipment. The crew consisted of an average of 20 people, who had at their disposal a separate commander's cabin, a radio room, a galley, a latrine, crew quarters, and berths for one watch. Scrupulous in matters combat support and basing, the Germans were the first in the world to create for their torpedo boats the Tsingtau special-purpose floating base, which could fully meet the needs of the Schnellboat flotilla, including headquarters and maintenance personnel.

"A mother hen with chickens" - a mother ship of torpedo boats "Tsingtao" and her wards from the 1st flotilla of shnellboats

Regarding the required number of boats, opinions in the leadership of the fleet were divided, and a compromise option was adopted: by 1947, 64 boats were to enter service, and 8 more to be in reserve. However, Hitler had his own plans, and he did not intend to wait for the Kriegsmarine to gain the desired power.

"Did not live up to expectations in every way"

By the beginning of the war, the torpedo boats of the Reich found themselves in the position of real stepchildren of both the fleet and the industry of the Reich. The coming to power of the Nazis and the consent of Great Britain to strengthen the German navy gave a powerful impetus to the construction of all previously prohibited classes of ships from submarines to battleships. Schnellboats, designed to level the weakness of the "Versailles" destroyer forces, were on the sidelines of the rearmament program of the fleet.

When England and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, the German fleet had only 18 boats. Four of them were considered training, and only six were equipped with reliable Daimler-Benz diesels. This company, which carried out huge orders for the Luftwaffe, could not enter the mass production of boat diesels, so commissioning new units and replacing engines on boats that were in service was a serious problem.

533-mm torpedo leaves the torpedo tube of the Schnellboat

All boats at the beginning of the war were brought together in two flotillas - the 1st and 2nd, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Kurt Sturm (Kurt Sturm) and Lieutenant Commander Rudolf Petersen (Rudolf Petersen). Schnellboats were organizationally subordinate to the Fuhrer of the destroyers (Führer der Torpedoboote) Rear Admiral Günther Lütjens, and the operational management of the fleets in the theater of operations was carried out by the commands of the naval groups "West" (North Sea) and "Ost" (Baltic). Under the leadership of Lutyens, the 1st flotilla took part in the campaign against Poland, blocking the Danzig Bay for three days, and on September 3 opened a combat score - the S-23 boat of Oberleutnant Christiansen (Georg Christiansen) sank a Polish pilot boat with a 20-mm machine gun .

After the defeat of Poland, a paradoxical situation developed - the command of the fleet did not see adequate use of the torpedo boats at its disposal. On the Western Front, the Wehrmacht had no coastal flank, and the enemy did not attempt to penetrate the German Bay. In order to operate on their own off the coast of France and England, the schnellboats did not reach operational and technical readiness, and not all autumn storms were up to them.

As a result, the shnellboats were assigned tasks that were unusual for them - anti-submarine search and patrolling, escort of warships and transport ships, a messenger service, and even "high-speed delivery" of depth bombs to destroyers who had used up ammunition in the hunt for Allied submarines. But as a submarine hunter, the shnellboat was frankly bad: its viewing height was lower than that of the submarine itself, there were no possibilities for a low-noise “creeping” move and no hydroacoustic equipment. In the case of performing escort functions, the boats had to adapt to the speed of the wards and go on one central engine, which led to heavy loads and the rapid development of its resource.

Torpedo boat S-14 in light pre-war paint, 1937

The fact that the original concept of the boats was forgotten, and they began to be perceived as some kind of multi-purpose ships, is well characterized by the report of the operational department of the West group dated November 3, 1939, in which the technical characteristics and combat qualities of torpedo boats were subjected to derogatory criticism - it was noted that they "Did not live up to expectations in every way.". The supreme operational body of the Kriegsmarine SKL (Stabes der Seekriegsleitung - Naval Warfare Headquarters) agreed and made an entry in its log that “these conclusions are very unfortunate and most disappointing in the light of the hopes that have been obtained in the course of recent calculations ...” At the same time, the command itself confused the lower headquarters, indicating in the instructions that "anti-submarine activity is secondary to torpedo boats" and declared there that "torpedo boats cannot carry out anti-submarine escort of fleet formations".

Early Kriegsmarine Schnellboats

All this had a negative impact on the reputation of the Schnellbots, but the crews believed in their ships, improved them on their own and accumulated combat experience in each routine task. The new "fuhrer of the destroyers", Captain Hans Bütow, who was appointed to this post on November 30, 1939, also believed in them. An experienced destroyer, he categorically insisted on curtailing the participation of shnellboats in escort missions that destroyed the motor resources of boats, and tried in every possible way to push through their participation in the "siege of Britain" - this is how pathetically the Kriegsmarine called the strategic plan of military operations against the British, which implies attacks and mine laying aimed at disruption of trade.

The first two planned landfalls in Britain fell through due to weather (storms North Sea already damaged several boats), and the command did not allow combat-ready units to stay at the bases. Operation "Weserübung" (Weserübung) against Norway and Denmark was the next stage in the development of German boats and led them to their first long-awaited success.

The day that changed everything

Almost all combat-ready ships of the German fleet were involved in the landing in Norway, and in this regard, the good cruising range of the shnellboats turned out to be in demand. Both flotillas were supposed to land at two important points - Kristiansand and Bergen. The Schnellboats did a brilliant job, slipping through at speed under enemy fire, which delayed the heavier ships, and made a quick landing of advanced landing groups.

After the occupation of the main part of Norway, the command left both fleets to defend the captured coast and the already familiar escort of convoys and warships. Byutov warned that if such use of shnellboats continued, then by mid-July 1940, the engines of the boats would have exhausted their resources.

The commander of the West group, Admiral Alfred Saalwechter, in his office

Everything changed in just one day. On 24 April 1940, SKL dispatched the 2nd Flotilla for minefield and escort operations in the North Sea, as Allied light forces suddenly began to raid the Skagerrak area. On May 9, the Dornier Do 18 flying boat discovered an English detachment from the light cruiser Birmingham (HMS Birmingham) of seven destroyers, which was going to the area of German minefields. The scout noticed only one detachment (a total of 13 British destroyers and a cruiser took part in the operation), however, the commander of the West group, Admiral Alfred Saalwächter, did not hesitate to order four serviceable schnellboats of the 2nd flotilla (S-30 , S-31, S-33 and S-34) to intercept and attack the enemy.

The English detachment of the destroyers HMS Kelly, Kandahar (HMS Kandahar) and Bulldog (HMS Bulldog) went to join the Birmingham at a speed of 28 knots of the slowest Bulldog. At 20:52 GMT, the British fired on a Do 18 hovering above them, but it had already brought the Schnellbots into an ideal ambush position. At 10:44 p.m., the signalmen of the flagship Kelly noticed some shadows about 600 meters ahead on the port side, but it was too late. The volley of S-31 Oberleutnant Hermann Opdenhoff (Hermann Opdenhoff) was accurate: the torpedo hit the "Kelly" in the boiler room. The explosion tore out 15 square meters of plating, and the position of the ship immediately became critical.

The semi-submerged destroyer Kelly hobbles towards the base. The ship will be destined to die in a year - on May 23, during the evacuation of Crete, it will be sunk by Luftwaffe bombers

The Germans disappeared into the night, and the English commander, Lord Mountbatten (Louis Mountbatten), did not even immediately understand what it was, and ordered the Bulldog to counterattack with depth charges. The operation failed. The "Bulldog" took the flagship, barely holding on to the surface, in tow, after which the detachment headed for their native waters. By nightfall, fog had settled over the sea, but the noise of the diesel engines told the British that the enemy was still circling nearby. After midnight, a boat unexpectedly jumping out of the darkness rammed the Bulldog with a glancing blow, after which it itself fell under the ramming of the half-flooded Kelly.

It was an S-33 whose engines had stalled, the starboard side and forecastle were destroyed over nine meters, and the commander Oberleutnant Schulze-Jena (Hans Shultze-Jena) was wounded. It seemed that the fate of the boat was decided, and they were preparing to flood it, but the visibility was such that the British lost the enemy already 60 meters away and fired at random. Both Kelly and S-33 were able to safely reach their bases - the strength of the ships and the training of their crews affected. But the victory was for the Germans - four boats thwarted a major enemy operation. The Germans considered the Kelly sunk, and SKL noted with satisfaction in his war diary "The first glorious success of our Schnellbots". On May 11, Opdenhoff received the Iron Cross 1st Class, and on May 16 he became the tenth in the Kriegsmarine and the first holder of the Knight's Cross among boatmen.

Destroyer "Kelly" under repair in the dock - damage to the hull is impressive

When the victors celebrated their success in Wilhelmshaven, they did not yet know that at the same time on the Western Front, German units were moving to their original attack positions. Operation "Gelb" (Gelb) began, which would open the way for German torpedo boats to their true purpose - to torment the coastal communications of the enemy.

"Brilliant proof of ability and skill"

The Kriegsmarine command did not carry out any large-scale preparatory measures on the eve of the attack on France and took the most minimal part in its planning. The fleet was licking its wounds after a heavy battle for Norway, moreover, fighting was still ongoing in the Narvik area. Entirely absorbed in the tasks of continuously supplying new communications and strengthening the captured bases, the command of the fleet allocated only a few small submarines and seaplanes of the 9th Air Division for operations off the coast of Belgium and Holland, which at night laid mines in coastal fairways.

Heavier shnellboats with troops on board go to Norwegian Kristiansand

However, the fate of Holland was already decided within two days of the offensive, and the command of the West group immediately saw an excellent opportunity for operations by small attack ships to support the coastal flank of the army from Dutch bases. SKL was in a quandary: the rapidly expanding theater of operations required the involvement of more and more forces, which were not there. The commander admiral in Norway urged that one flotilla of shnellboats be left, "indispensable in matters of protection of communications, delivery of supplies and pilotage of ships", in its permanent operational subordination.

But common sense eventually prevailed: on May 13, an entry appeared in the SKL combat log in which the “green light” was given offensive use torpedo boats in the southern part of the North Sea:

« Now that the Dutch coast is in our hands, the command believes that a favorable operational situation has developed for the operations of torpedo boats off the Belgian, French coasts and in the English Channel, in addition, there is a good experience of similar operations in the last war, and the area of \u200b\u200boperations is very convenient for such operations.

The day before, the 1st flotilla was released from escort functions, and on May 14 the 2nd flotilla was also withdrawn from the command of the admiral in Norway - this was the end of the participation of the schnellbots in the Weserübung operation, along with their role as guards.

Schnellboats of the 2nd flotilla, moored in the captured Norwegian Stavanger

On May 19, nine boats of both flotillas, together with the mother ship "Karl Peters" (Carl Peters) made the transition to the island of Borkum, from which, already at night on May 20, they went on the first reconnaissance searches for Ostend, Newport and Dunkirk. Initially, the Schnellbots were planned to be used to cover the troops landing on the islands at the mouth of the Scheldt, but the Wehrmacht did it on its own. Therefore, while the Dutch bases and fairways were hastily cleared of mines, the boatmen decided to “probe” a new combat area.

The very first exit brought victory, but somewhat unusual. The Anson flight from the 48th squadron of the Royal Air Force at dusk noticed the boats in the IJmuiden area and dropped bombs, the nearest of which exploded 20 meters from the S-30. The lead aircraft was set on fire by return fire, and all four pilots, led by Flight Lieutenant Stephen Dodds, were killed.

On the night of May 21, boats carried out several attacks on transports and warships in the Newport and Dunkirk area. Despite the colorful reports of victories, these successes were not confirmed, but the crews of the shnellboats quickly regained their qualifications as torpedo hunters. The first exits showed that the enemy did not expect in his inland waters attacks of surface ships - with the noise of the engines, the beams of the searchlights rested on the sky to highlight the attacking Luftwaffe aircraft. SKL was pleased to say: "The fact that the boats managed to attack the enemy destroyers near his bases justifies the expectations of successful continuous operations from the Dutch bases".

A bright flash against the night sky - the explosion of the French leader "Jaguar"

The next exit brought the already mentioned first victory to the Schnellboats in the waters of the English Channel. A pair of boats of the 1st Flotilla - S-21 Oberleutnant von Mirbach (Götz Freiherr von Mirbach) and S-23 Oberleutnant Christiansen - ambushed the French leader "Jaguar" (Jaguar) near Dunkirk. The full moon and the light from the burning tanker did not favor the attack, but at the same time illuminated the "Frenchman". Two torpedoes hit the target and left the ship no chance. Von Mirbach subsequently recalled in a newspaper interview:

“Through my binoculars, I saw the destroyer capsize, and in the next few moments only a small strip of the side was visible above the surface, hidden by smoke and steam from exploding boilers. Our thoughts at that moment were about the brave sailors who fell at our hands - but such is war..

On May 23, all combat-ready boats were transferred to the well-equipped Dutch base Den Helder. Hans Byutov also moved his headquarters there, and now not nominally, but completely led the activities of the boats and their provision in the Western theater under the auspices of the West group. Based at Den Helder, the boats shortened their path to the canal by 90 miles - this made it possible to more efficiently use ever shorter spring nights and save engine life.

On May 27, 1940, Operation Dynamo began - the evacuation of allied forces from Dunkirk. The Wehrmacht High Command asked the Kriegsmarine what they could do against the evacuation. The command of the fleet stated with regret that practically nothing, except for the actions of torpedo boats. Only four boats could operate against the entire huge armada of the allies in the English Channel - S-21, S-32, S-33 and S-34. The rest of the shnellbots stood up for repairs. However, the successful attacks that followed finally assured the fleet command that the torpedo boats were ready to play their special role in the "siege of Britain".

On the night of May 28, S-34 Oberleutnant Albrecht Obermaier (Albrecht Obermaier) discovered the transport Abukir (Abukir, 694 brt) near North Foreland, which had already repelled several Luftwaffe raids with the help of a single Lewis, and attacked it with a two-torpedo salvo. On board the Aboukir were about 200 British Army personnel, including a military mission to liaise with the Belgian Army High Command, 15 German prisoners of war, six Belgian priests and about 50 female nuns and British schoolgirls.

The ship's captain, Rowland Morris-Woolfenden, who had repulsed several air attacks, noticed a trail of torpedoes and moved to zigzag, believing that he was attacked by a submarine. Obermayer reloaded the devices and again struck, from which the slow steamer at a speed of 8 knots could no longer evade. Morris-Wulfenden noticed the boat, and even tried to ram it, mistook it for the cabin of an attacking submarine! A hit under the midship frame led to the death of "Abukir" within just a minute. The ship's bridge was lined with concrete slabs from Luftwaffe attacks, but the enemy came from where they were not expected.

Schnellboats at sea

The British destroyers that came to the rescue rescued only five crew members and 25 passengers. Survivor Morris-Wulfenden claimed that a German boat illuminated the crash site with a searchlight and fired machine guns at the survivors, which was widely reported in the British press, describing the "atrocities of the Huns." This completely contradicts the log entries of the S-34, which retreated at full speed and was even bombarded with the wreckage of the exploding ship. "Abukir" became the first merchant ship sunk by snellboats.

The next night, the Schnellbots struck again, finally dispelling doubts about their effectiveness. The destroyer HMS Wakeful, under the command of Commander Ralph L. Fisher, with 640 soldiers on board, was warned of the danger of surface ship attacks and carried a double watch, but this did not save him. Fisher, whose ship was leading the destroyer column, was zigzagging. Seeing the light of the lightship Quint, he ordered to increase speed to 20 knots, but at that moment he noticed traces of two torpedoes just 150 meters from the destroyer.

"Smash me with thunder, is it really going to happen" was the only thing Fisher managed to whisper before the torpedo tore the Wakeful in half. The commander escaped, but half of his crew and all the evacuees died. Lieutenant Wilhelm Zimmermann, the commander of the S-30, who ambushed and achieved a hit, not only successfully left the scene of the massacre - his attack attracted the attention of the submarine U 62, which sank the destroyer HMS Grafton, which hurried to the aid of a colleague .

The French leader "Sirocco" is one of the victims of schnellbots during the Dunkirk epic

The next day, May 30, 1940, SKL handed over all operationally suitable boats to the commander of the West group, Admiral Saalwechter. This was a long-awaited recognition of usefulness, but only after the night of May 31, when the French leaders Sirocco and Cyclone were torpedoed by S-23, S-24 and S-26 boats, did SKL triumphantly rehabilitate the Schnellboats for impartial reviews of the beginning of the war: “In Hufden (as the Germans called the southernmost region of the North Sea - ed.) Five enemy destroyers were sunk without loss to torpedo boats, which means a brilliant proof of the capabilities of torpedo boats and the training of their commanders ... " The successes of the boatmen forced both their own command and the Royal Navy to take them seriously.

The British quickly recognized new threat and threw the 206th and 220th Hudson Squadrons of the RAF Coastal Command to “clean up” their waters from the Schnellboats, and even attracted the naval 826th Squadron on the Albacores. It was then, apparently, that the designation E-boats (Enemy boats - enemy boats) arose, which first served to facilitate radio exchange, and then became commonly used in relation to the schnellboats for the British Navy and Air Force.

After the capture of the northern coast of France, an unprecedented prospect opened up before the German fleet - the flank of the enemy's most important coastal communications became completely open not only for full-scale mining and Luftwaffe attacks, but also for attacks by Schnellbots. New boats were already coming into operation - large, well-armed, seaworthy - which were hastily reduced to new flotillas. The experience of the attacks was summarized and analyzed, and this meant that hard times were coming for the command of the British forces in the English Channel.

After only a year, in the spring of 1941, the experienced crews of the shnellboats will prove that they can defeat not only single ships and ships, but also entire convoys. The English Channel ceased to be the “home waters” of the British fleet, which now had to defend itself against a new enemy, creating not only a fundamentally new security and escort system, but also new ships capable of withstanding the deadly creation of the Lyurssen company.

Literature:

Lawrence Patterson. Snellboote. A complete operational history – Seafort Publishing, 2015
Hans Frank. German S-boat in action in the Second world war– Seafort Publishing, 2007
Geirr H. Haar. The Cathering storm. The naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940 - Seafort Publishing, 2013
M. Morozov, S. Patyanin, M. Barabanov. Schnellbots attack. German torpedo boats of the Second World War - M .: "Yauza-Eksmo", 2007
https://archive.org
http://www.s-boot.net
freedoms battle. Vol.1. The War at Sea 1939–1945. An Anthology of Personal Experience. Edited by Jonh Winton – Vintage books, London, 2007

After the next regional ship modeling competition in the F-2A class, it was decided, together with the students, to build a German torpedo boat. On one of the sites on the network, drawings were found on which the model is being built.
So the drawings on which the model is built

Model characteristics:
Length: 85 cm;
Two SPEED 320 type engines with self-made water cooling;
Speed controller Veloci RS-M ESC 170A
Hitec 2.4GHz Optic 6 hardware.

It was decided to make the body of the model from fiberglass. To begin with, a blank was made from which the matrix was removed.

Material for blanks: Keel rail pine 2 cm thick. Frames - plywood. The spaces between the frames are made of foam (we call it "termite"). Then the blank was pasted over with fiberglass and putty:

After puttying and leveling all the jambs, the blockhead was painted.

The next step was the manufacture of the crust, for this it was necessary to smear the blockhead with a separator and paste over several layers of fiberglass. The separator used paraffin-based Kalosh gasoline + paraffin. Fiberglass the first layer is 0.25 mm, the second layer of fiberglass I don’t know exactly the thickness.

I left the hairiness so that when the resin dries, another layer of fiberglass can be applied.

Unfortunately, I did not find a photo of the finished peel for gluing the case, but I think I will take a picture in the near future and post what happened. In the meantime, here's the just glued body of the model

a little fine-tuning on the markings of the side:
The weight turned out to be about 180 grams. I think a little for such a large body.

The next step was gluing a small number of frames for the rigidity of the hull and in order to make it easier to fix the deck.:

Guides were marked along the frame, which gave complex contours to the deck (the deck has its own curvature) and for cruelty there were glued rails (into the groove).

The deck was made by "sandwich" fiberglass-cardboard-fiberglass. So far I can’t say for sure how it will show itself in the future, but I think it’s worth experimenting. trying on the deck and trimming in the places necessary for this:

The next step was gluing the deck and puttying both the hull and the deck:

Part of the deck at the stern had to be left unsecured for the time being, as there would be little room for access to the installation of motors, rudders, water cooling.

Water-cooled improvisation (a copper tube from a refrigerator wound first on a pipe of the required diameter and then mounted on a motor):

After the body has been sanded, it should be covered with primer (an automotive two-component primer was used) will allow you to fill in small scratches from the skin and reveal "defects" - unevenness of the body, which, if possible, can be eliminated:

So let's start marking the places for the stern tubes, the places where the rudders exit and the water intake for water cooling:

Perhaps in the future I will get rid of the bulging air intake tube. If you have any advice, then write in the comments, I will be glad to criticize :)

In the meantime, we proceed to the manufacture of torpedo tubes and superstructures:

The setting is made of tinned sheet metal. To convey "Impressions" I try to repeat the elements that the scale of the model allows me, and the materials and tools that I have (do not judge strictly)

There are a lot of photos on the process of manufacturing the add-on, so I’ll post a few with a few comments:

The place where part of the torpedo apparatus enters the superstructure.:

After soldering, I wash the seams with soap and water (because I use soldering acid)

I cut the windows on the superstructure using a drill with a diamond disc, it is very convenient much easier than cutting it out with a small chisel, as I did once in the good old days =)

Mast making:

Giving realistic elements to the superstructure:

At this point, that's all for now, now the superstructure is primed to avoid metal corrosion.
Wait for continuation...
Write comments..
Strictly do not judge :)

P.S. And this is my ship modeling laboratory:

MBOU DOD "Center for Children's Technical Creativity", Kansk

The idea to use a torpedo boat in combat first appeared in the First World War with the British command, but the British failed to achieve the desired effect. Further, the Soviet Union spoke on the use of small mobile ships in military attacks.

History reference

A torpedo boat is a small warship designed to destroy warships and transport ships with projectiles. During the Second World War, it was repeatedly used in hostilities with the enemy.

By that time naval troops major Western powers had no a large number of such boats, but their construction increased rapidly by the time hostilities began. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, there were almost 270 boats equipped with torpedoes. During the war, more than 30 models of torpedo boats were created and more than 150 were received from the allies.

The history of the creation of a torpedo ship

Back in 1927, the TsAGI team carried out the development of the project of the first Soviet torpedo ship, headed by A.N. Tupolev. The ship was given the name "Pervenets" (or "ANT-3"). It had the following parameters (unit of measurement - meter): length 17.33; width 3.33 and draft 0.9. The strength of the vessel was 1200 hp. s., tonnage - 8.91 tons, speed - as much as 54 knots.

The armament that was on board consisted of a 450 mm torpedo, two machine guns and two mines. Pilot production boat in mid-July 1927 became part of the Black Sea naval forces. They continued to work at the institute, improving the units, and in the first month of the autumn of 1928, the ANT-4 serial boat was ready. Until the end of 1931, dozens of ships were launched into the water, which they called "Sh-4". Soon, the first formations of torpedo boats arose in the Black Sea, Far Eastern and Baltic military districts. The Sh-4 ship was not ideal, and the fleet management ordered a new boat from TsAGI in 1928, which was later called the G-5. It was a completely new ship.

Torpedo ship model "G-5"

The G-5 planing vessel was tested in December 1933. The ship had a metal hull and was considered the best in the world both in terms of technical characteristics and armament. serial production"G-5" refers to 1935. By the beginning of World War II, it was the basic type of boats in the USSR. The speed of the torpedo boat was 50 knots, the power was 1700 hp. with., and were armed with two machine guns, two 533 mm torpedoes and four mines. Over the course of ten years, more than 200 units of various modifications were produced.

During the Great Patriotic War, the G-5 boats hunted enemy ships, guarded ships, carried out torpedo attacks, landed troops, and escorted trains. The disadvantage of torpedo boats was the dependence of their work on weather conditions. They could not be at sea when its excitement reached more than three points. There were also inconveniences with the placement of paratroopers, as well as with the transportation of goods associated with the lack of a flat deck. In this regard, before the war itself, new models of long-range boats "D-3" with a wooden hull and "SM-3" with a steel hull were created.

Torpedo leader

Nekrasov, who was the head of the experimental design team for the development of gliders, and Tupolev in 1933 developed the design of the G-6 ship. He was the leader among the available boats. According to the documentation, the vessel had the following parameters:

displacement 70 tons;
six 533 mm torpedoes;
eight motors of 830 hp With.;
speed 42 knots.

Three torpedoes were fired from torpedo tubes located at the stern and shaped like a chute, and the next three from a three-tube torpedo tube that could turn and was located on the deck of the ship. In addition, the boat had two cannons and several machine guns.

Gliding torpedo ship "D-3"

USSR torpedo boats of the D-3 brand were produced at the Leningrad plant and Sosnovsky, which was located in the Kirov region. There were only two boats of this type in the Northern Fleet when the Great Patriotic War began. In 1941, another 5 ships were produced at the Leningrad plant. Only starting from 1943, domestic and allied models began to enter service.

The D-3 ships, unlike the previous G-5s, could operate at a farther (up to 550 miles) distance from the base. Torpedo boat speed new brand ranged from 32 to 48 knots, depending on engine power. Another feature of the "D-3" was that they can make a volley while stationary, and from the "G-5" units - only at a speed of at least 18 knots, otherwise the fired missile could hit the ship. On board were:

two torpedoes 533 mm sample of the thirty-ninth year:
two DShK machine guns;
gun "Oerlikon";
coaxial machine gun "Colt Browning".

The hull of the ship "D-3" was divided by four partitions into five waterproof compartments. Unlike boats of the G-5 type, the D-3 was equipped with better navigation equipment, and a group of paratroopers could move freely on the deck. The boat could take on board up to 10 people who were accommodated in heated compartments.

Torpedo ship "Komsomolets"

On the eve of World War II, torpedo boats in the USSR were further developed. Designers continued to design new and improved models. So a new boat called "Komsomolets" appeared. Its tonnage was the same as that of the G-5, and the tube torpedo tubes were more advanced, and it could carry more powerful anti-aircraft anti-submarine weapons. For the construction of ships, voluntary donations from Soviet citizens were attracted, hence their names appeared, for example, "Leningrad Worker", and other similar names.

The hull of the ships, released in 1944, was made of duralumin. Inner part The boat included five compartments. On the sides on the underwater part, keels were installed to reduce pitching, the trough torpedo tubes were replaced with tube tubes. Seaworthiness increased to four points. Armament included:

torpedoes in the amount of two pieces;
four machine guns;
depth bombs (six pieces);
smoke equipment.

The cabin, which housed seven crew members, was made of an armored seven-millimeter sheet. World War II torpedo boats, especially Komsomolets, distinguished themselves in the spring battles of 1945, when Soviet troops approached Berlin.

The path of the USSR to create gliders

The Soviet Union was the only major maritime country that built ships of this type. Other powers switched to the creation of keel boats. During the calm, the speed of the red-lined vessels was significantly higher than that of the keel ones, with a wave of 3-4 points - on the contrary. In addition, keeled boats could carry more powerful weapons.

Mistakes made by engineer Tupolev

The float of a seaplane was taken as a basis in torpedo boats (Tupolev's project). Its top, which affected the strength of the device, was used by the designer on the boat. The upper deck of the vessel was replaced by a convex and steeply curved surface. It was impossible for a person to stay on deck even when the boat was at rest. When the ship was moving, it was completely impossible for the crew to leave the cockpit, everything that was on it was thrown off the surface. In wartime, when it was necessary to transport troops on the G-5, servicemen were put into the gutters that torpedo tubes have. Despite the good buoyancy of the vessel, it is impossible to transport any cargo on it, since there is no place to place it. The design of the torpedo tube, which was borrowed from the British, was unsuccessful. The lowest ship speed at which torpedoes were fired is 17 knots. At rest and at a lower speed, a salvo of a torpedo was impossible, since it would hit the boat.

Military German torpedo boats

During the First World War, in order to fight the British monitors in Flanders, the German fleet had to think about creating new means of fighting the enemy. They found a way out, and in 1917, in the month of April, the first small one with torpedo armament was built. The length of the wooden hull was a little over 11 m. The ship was propelled by two carburetor engines, which overheated already at a speed of 17 knots. When it was increased to 24 knots, strong splashes appeared. One 350 mm torpedo tube was installed in the bow, shots could be fired at a speed of no more than 24 knots, otherwise the boat hit the torpedo. Despite the shortcomings, the German torpedo ships entered mass production.

All ships had a wooden hull, the speed reached 30 knots in a wave of three points. The crew consisted of seven people, on board there was one 450 mm torpedo tube and a machine gun with a rifle caliber. By the time the armistice was signed, there were 21 boats in the Kaiser fleet.

Worldwide, after the end of the First World War, there was a decline in the production of torpedo ships. Only in 1929, in November, the German company "Fr. Lyursen" accepted the order for the construction combat boat. Released vessels were improved several times. The German command was not satisfied with the use of gasoline engines on ships. While the designers were working to replace them with hydrodynamics, other designs were being finalized all the time.

German torpedo boats of World War II

Even before the outbreak of World War II, the naval leadership of Germany set a course for the production of combat boats with torpedoes. Requirements were developed for their shape, equipment and maneuverability. By 1945, it was decided to build 75 ships.

Germany was the third largest exporter of torpedo boats in the world. Before the start of the war, German shipbuilding was working on the implementation of Plan Z. Accordingly, the German fleet had to be solidly re-equipped and have a large number of ships with carriers torpedo weapons. With the outbreak of hostilities in the fall of 1939, the planned plan was not fulfilled, and then the production of boats increased sharply, and by May 1945, almost 250 units of Schnellbotov-5 alone were put into operation.

Boats with a hundred-ton carrying capacity and improved seaworthiness were built in 1940. Warships were designated starting with "S38". It was the main weapon of the German fleet in the war. The armament of the boats was as follows:

two torpedo tubes with two to four missiles;
two thirty-millimeter anti-aircraft weapons.

The maximum speed of the vessel is 42 knots. 220 ships were involved in the battles of World War II. German boats on the battlefield behaved bravely, but not recklessly. In the last few weeks of the war, the ships were involved in the evacuation of refugees to their homeland.

Germans with a keel

In 1920, despite the economic crisis, a check was made in Germany on the work of keel and row ships. As a result of this work, the only conclusion was made - to build exclusively keel boats. At the meeting of Soviet and German boats, the latter won. During the fighting in the Black Sea in 1942-1944, not a single German boat with a keel was drowned.

Interesting and little-known historical facts

Not everyone knows that the Soviet torpedo boats that were used during the Second World War were huge floats from seaplanes.

In June 1929, the aircraft designer A. Tupolev began the construction of a planing vessel of the ANT-5 brand, equipped with two torpedoes. The ongoing tests showed that the ships have such a speed that the ships of other countries could not develop. The military authorities were pleased with this fact.

In 1915, the British designed a small boat with great speed. Sometimes it was called a "floating torpedo tube".

Soviet military leaders could not afford to use Western experience in designing ships with torpedo launchers, believing that our boats were better.

The ships built by Tupolev had an aviation origin. This is reminiscent of the special configuration of the hull and the ship's plating, made of duralumin material.

Conclusion

Torpedo boats (photo below) had many advantages over other types of warships:

small size;
high speed;
great maneuverability;
a small number of people;
minimum supply requirement.

The ships could go out, attack with torpedoes and quickly hide in sea waters. Thanks to all these advantages, they were a formidable weapon for the enemy.