Submarine killers. Aviation in the fight against submarines Kriegsmarine part 3
Military equipment

Submarine killers. Aviation in the fight against submarines Kriegsmarine part 3

28.07.2022 /

Escort aircraft carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60). There are 12 Avengers and nine Wildcats on board.

The fate of the U-Bootwaffe in 1944–1945 reflects the gradual but inevitable decline of the Third Reich's armed forces. The overwhelming advantage of the Allies in the air, at sea and in cryptography finally tipped the scales in their favor. Despite isolated successes and the introduction of innovative technological solutions, the Kriegsmarine submarine fleet ceased to have any real impact on the further course of the war and could, at best, “fly with honor” to the bottom.

The specter of an Allied landing in Norway or France meant that much of the Kriegsmarine's submarine force was halted for defensive action. In the Atlantic, submarines, organized in scattered groups, were to continue to operate against convoys, but on a smaller scale and only in its eastern part, in order to attack the invasion fleet as soon as possible in the event of an amphibious landing. possible.

As of January 1, 1944, there were 160 submarines in service: 122 types VIIB / C / D, 31 types IXB / C (not counting two type VIIF torpedo bombers and six small type II units in the Black Sea), five "underwater cruisers" type IXD2, one mine layer type XB and one supply ship type XIV (the so-called "dairy cow"). Another 181 were under construction and 87 at the crew training stage, but the new ships were barely enough to cover the current losses. In January, 20 submarines were commissioned, but 14 were lost; in February, 19 ships entered service, while 23 were decommissioned from the state; in March there were 19 and 24, respectively. Of the 160 linear submarines with which the Germans entered the fifth year of the war, 128 were in the Atlantic, 19 in Norway and 13 in the Mediterranean. In the following months, on the orders of Hitler, the forces of the last two groups increased - at the expense of the Atlantic fleet, whose numbers were gradually reduced.

At the same time, the Germans were working on upgrading the equipment of the submarines to improve their chances in confronting aircraft. The so-called snorkels (snorkels) made it possible to suck air into a diesel engine and emit exhaust gases when the ship was moving at periscope depth. This technologically primitive device, although it allowed long voyages with shallow draft, had serious drawbacks. Internal combustion engines, due to the high level of noise, made it easy to detect the ship by noise indicators, as well as visually, thanks to the exhaust gases floating above the water. At that time, the ship was "deaf" (could not use hydrophones) and "blind" (strong vibration made it impossible to use the periscope). In addition, the protruding "notches" left a small but noticeable mark on the water surface, and in favorable weather conditions (smooth sea), DIA radars could be detected. Even worse, in the event of flooding of the “snores” by sea waves, the device automatically closed the air intake, which the engines began to take from inside the ship, which threatened to suffocate the crew. U-2 became the first ship equipped with nostrils to go on a military campaign (January 539, from Lorient).

In the last years of the war, the standard set of anti-aircraft guns for submarines consisted of two twin 20 mm guns and one 37 mm gun. The Germans did not have enough strategic raw materials, so the new 37 mm guns had parts made of materials that were susceptible to corrosion, which led to jamming of the gun. Radar detectors were constantly improved, which, when surfacing, notified the ship that it was being tracked by the onboard radar of an aircraft or a flying boat. The FuMB-10 Borkum set, which replaced the FuMB-9 Wanze (out of production at the end of 1943), searched over a wider range, but still within the meter wavelengths emitted by older ASV Mk II radars. FuMB-7 Naxos proved to be much more effective, operating in the 8 to 12 cm wavelength range - detecting newer, 10 cm ASV Mk III and VI radars (using S-band).

Another device to combat the Allied Air Force was the FuMT-2 Thetis simulator. Commissioned in January 1944, it was supposed to imitate a submarine with radar echoes and thereby provoke attacks on this imaginary target. It consisted of a mast several meters high, to which dipole antennas were attached, mounted on a float that held the apparatus on the surface of the water. The Germans hoped that these "baits", deployed in large numbers in the Bay of Biscay, would frustrate enemy aircraft.

On the European side of the Atlantic, anti-submarine warfare continued to be the responsibility of the British Coastal Command, which, as of 1 January 1944, had the following squadrons at its disposal for this purpose:

    • 15. Group: Nos. 59 and 86 Squadrons RAF (Liberatory Mk V/IIIA) at Ballykelly, Northern Ireland; No. 201 Squadron RAF and Nos. 422 and 423 Squadrons RCAF (Sunderland Mk III flying boats) at Archdale Castle, Northern Ireland;
    • 16. Group: 415 Squadron RCAF (Wellington Mk XIII) at Bircham Newton, East Anglia; 547. Sqn RAF (Liberatory Mk V) on Thorney Island, southern England;
    • 18. Group: No. 210 Squadron RAF (Flying Boats Catalina Mk IB/IV) and Norwegian No. 330 Squadron RAF (Sunderland Mk II/III) at Sullom Vow, Shetland Islands;
    • 19. Group: No. 10 Squadron RAAF (Sunderland Mk II/III) at Mount Batten, South West England; No. 228 Squadron RAF and No. 461 Squadron RAAF (Sunderland Mk III) at Pembroke Dock, Wales; Nos. 172 and 612 Squadron RAF and 407 Squadron RCAF (Wellington Mk XII/XIV) at Chivenor, South West England; 224. Squadron RAF (Liberatory Mk V) in St. Petersburg. Eval, Cornwall; VB-103, -105 and -110 (US Navy Liberator Squadrons, 7th Naval Airlift Wing, operational under Coast Command) at Dunkswell, South West England; Nos. 58 and 502 Squadrons RAF (Halifaxy Mk II) in St. Petersburg. Davids, Wales; No. 53 and Czech No. 311 Squadron RAF (Liberatory Mk V) at Beaulieu, southern England; Polish No. 304 Squadron RAF (Wellington Mk XIV) at Predannak, Cornwall.

No. 120 Squadron RAF (Liberatory Mk I/III/V) stationed at Reykjavik, Iceland; in Gibraltar 202 Squadron RAF (Cataliny Mk IB/IV) and 48 and 233 Squadron RAF (Hudsony Mk III/IIIA/VI); at Langens, Azores, Nos. 206 and 220 Squadron RAF (Flying Fortresses Mk II/IIA), No. 233 Squadron RAF (Hudson Mk III/IIIA) and a unit of No. 172 Squadron RAF (Wellington Mk XIV), and in Algeria 500. Sqn RAF (Hudson Mk III/V and Ventury Mk V).

In addition, units equipped with Beaufighter and Mosquito fighters, as well as a number of squadrons of the British Commonwealth operating outside of Coastal Command, in the eastern Mediterranean and off the coast of Africa, participated in actions against submarines. The coast of America was guarded by numerous squadrons of the US Navy, Canadian and Brazilian aviation, but in 1944-1945 they had practically no one to fight with. The US Navy's 15th Airlift Wing (FAW-15) was stationed in Morocco with three Liberator squadrons (VB-111, -112 and -114; last from March): two Venturs (VB-127 and -132) and one Catalin (VP- 63).

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