064B - Ship Shape

SUBMARINES

SPECIFICATIONS

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LENGTH: 311 Feet 10 Inches

BEAM: 27 Feet 3 Inches

CREW: 6 Officers, 54 Enlisted Men

MAXIMUM SPEED

21 Knots surfaced

9 Knots at Depth

ARMAMENT:

24 Torpedoes

10 Torpedo Tubes (6 fore / 4 aft)

Usually a Single Cannon on Fore Deck.

Although Submarines are mostly known for their torpedo attacks and underwater stealth, these ships carried out a great variety of duties during the Second World War.

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Often, Submarines were employed to scout and remove sea mines from shipping lanes. They also provided important daytime reconnaissance when surface ships were kept at bay. Although the interior of a Submarine was considered cramped and small, these ships often ferried pilots from Aircraft Carriers to Island ports, transported Commanding Officers, including General Douglas MacArthur, away from the battlefront in times of emergency, and performed other rescue operations.

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However, the most notable and notorious of the U-Boats tasks was its ability to penetrate enemy defense lines and attack Capital Ships. This feat in itself was what kept Submarine Commanders and Destroyer Captains at odds with each other, playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse that sometimes lasted for several hours as the two ships tried to exploit each other’s weaknesses. Submarine divisions were often called “Wolf Packs” because, all too often, the Submarines would emerge victorious in these head-to-head battles.

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