Torpedo boats of World War II

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

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.

Historical background

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, the naval forces of the major Western powers had a small number of such boats, but their construction increased rapidly by the time hostilities began. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, 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.

History of the creation of a torpedo ship

Back in 1927, the TsAGI team developed the project of the first Soviettorpedo 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 0.9 draft. 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. The 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 fall 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 B altic 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 brand new boat.

G-5 torpedo ship

The planing vessel "G-5" 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 of "G-5" refers to 1935. By the beginning of World War II, it was the basic type of boats of the USSR Navy. 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, G-5 boats hunted enemy submarines, 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 with 830 hp each. p.;
• 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"

The 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 19415 more ships were produced at the Leningrad plant. Only starting from 1943, domestic and allied models began to enter service.

Ships "D-3", unlike the previous "G-5" could operate at a farther (up to 550 miles) distance from the base. The speed of the torpedo boat of the new brand ranged from 32 to 48 knots, depending on the 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;
• Oerlikon cannon;
• colt-browning coaxial machine gun.

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. Volunteers were involved in the construction of shipsdonations from Soviet citizens, hence their names, for example, "Leningrad Worker", and other similar names.

The hull of the ships, released in 1944, was made of duralumin. The interior of 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;
• deep bombs (six pieces);
• smoke equipment.

The cabin, which housed seven crew members, was made from 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 the redan type. Other powers switched to the creation of keel boats. During the calm, the speed of the red-lined ships was significantly higher than 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 torpedo boats (Tupolev's project) were based on a seaplane float. 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. man, evenwhen the boat was at rest, it was impossible to stay on deck. 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 torpedo salvo was impossible, as 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 April 1917, the first small speedboat 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, 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.

After the end of the First World War, there was a decline in the production of torpedo ships all over the world. Only in 1929, in November, the German company Fr. Lyursen accepted an order for the construction of a 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 on replacing them with hydrodynamics, other designs were being finalized all the time.

German torpedo boats of World War II

The naval leadership of Germany, even before the outbreak of World War II, headed 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 carrying 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 Schnellbots-5 alone were put into operation.

The 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 30mm anti-aircraft weapons.

The highest 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, Germany carried out a test of the operation of keel and redan 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 sunk.

Interesting and little-known historical facts

Not everyone knows that the Soviet torpedo boats used during World War II were huge seaplane floats.

In June 1929, 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. Militarythe bosses were pleased with this fact.

In 1915, the British designed a small boat with great speed. It was sometimes referred to as a "floating torpedo tube".

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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.