E Boats ;S Boats Info Wanted

[Franz repper]

E Boats ;S Boats Info Wanted the same boat Diffrent names E Boat used by Aillied and S boat by Germans other than that I dont know more

[Tychsen]

Franz , what is the nature of the info you are looking for ?
Will pop up some stuff later this pm.

[Franz repper]

Photos of types and any thing Just finnised reading about a E boat commander .I think this arm of the KM is some what over shadowed by the U boat arm

[Tychsen]

Will scan some stuff up later this pm and attached on this post.

Franz - this is from "Schnellboot -in action" by Squadron Signal - an illustration of the various types of boat which saw service.



S-1 to S-7 were developed through to 1934.
S-14 ( four boats) built between 1936 -1938.
Armament was still small compared to the "end product - 2 x 20mm guns and 2 x 53.3 cm "eels".

S-18 - This class built in 1938-39 . New features included 3 advanced D. Benz diesels which pushed her along at 39.5 knots , a "wedge" added to the lower stern deflected the water flow slightly downwards and counteracted any tendency for the craft to settle by the stern as speed was incrreased.

S-26 The torpedo tubes started at this point to be part of the hull structure and the armouyred bridge work can be seen developing .
Three boats of this class were built S-26, 27 and 28.
They saw service in the Baltic and Black Sea.
Armed with a 2cm Rheinmetall C/30 cannon mounted on the afterdeck and 2 x torpedos.

S-30 Developed by Lurssen - and built for the Chinese Navy the Kgm. took these over when war broke out.
The engines were less powerful giving only 36 knots , the torpedo tubes were built into the forecastle .
These boats were deployed to the Med. in support of the Afrika Korps from Oct 41 on wards further modifications included a tracked 20mm gun to the bows and a tripple 20mm to the afterdeck.
Two boats of this kind forced the surrender of Venice in Sept 43 under the command of Oblt. zur See Klaus-Degenhard Schmidt.

S-38 -S-100 classes - developed on the basis of experience in the Channel.

Details for the S-38 class
length 114ft.
beam 16ft 9 ins.
draught 5 ft
displacement 92.5 tons - 118 when fully loaded.
Engines 3 x 2200 Hp DB diesels giving 39.5 knots or 45 MPH.
Range 700 sea miles.

Standard armament 2 x 53.3 torpedos in upper tubes , the capacity existed to carry out two reloads.
A 2cm was mounted in the bows and weither a 2cm or 4 cm to be mounted on the afterdeck.
An armoured bridge was developed - this reduced speed by 3knots.
Crew 21-30

S-100 slightly differnet - a more powerful engine gave a speed of 42 knots , 3.7 cm was mounted aft, increased fule capacity increased range to 750 sea miles.

S-151 and S-700 developed from captured Ducth boats. Saw service in the Med.

Leichte- Schnellboote LS-1 - LS12.
Developed as high speed mine layers - some of these boats were shipped to serve on the Merchant raiders Komet, Thor and Michel , remaining boats saw service in the Aegean.

[Tychsen]

The signal book is not a bad buy - very much a photographic history it has a number of excellent photos .

Also see Jean-Philipp Dallies-Labourdette's "S-Boote- German E-Boats in Action 1939-45 (Histoire & Collections - ISBN 2-913903-49-5.).
Large format it charts boat dvelopment - deployment to various fronts and has some coverage of leading personalities within the S-Boot arm.

Michael J.Whitley's "German Coastal Forces of WW2" ( Arms and Armour Press 1992) , is IMO a better and more informative read.
There are a few period publications - when next I have £150 quid to spare I might buy one !

Photos below are taken from the Signal book - the quality of paper makes reproduction easier and its size is more scanner friendly.


Below S-11 at speed - the lines of the ship are very pleasing to the eye.





Above- S-16.

Below some boats moored aft of their depot ship ,two Reichskriegflagge and Gosch ( centre) being flown.



Below. S-25 nd 26 - the move towards the tubes being part of the structure of the ship is underway.



Below An S-30 of the Afrika S-booteflotille one of those built for export to China - the penguin was one of a number of "God's little creatures" used to identify individual boats within the unit.



When you look at this photo the size of the boat becomes apparrent - these were not small motorboats , they were strong sturdy caft - nothing lightweight about them.

The torpedo mastersight for surface firing.
A wonderfully , beautiful piece of Zeiss engineering - she can almost sing !
the computer for obtaining a firing solution is connected to the torpedos in the tubes ( in common to that in U-Boots).
The stand is marked with the standard Kgm acceptane stamp and the illumination system is fully installed and fixed to the binocular which has by means of the bar a three coloured internal filter system , anti-spray tubes are fitted to the set.
If you might pardon my language - this is f**king lovely.
Want to buy the binocular alone think in terms of between £1500-2000 plus.




Below a 4cm Bofers flak 28 as mounted on S-91. another boat follows in her wake.



One of the last survivors - in service with the Danish navy in the 1960's decvomissioned in 1965.
Post war these boats were used on covert operatiuons in the Baltic - in terms of speed they had few equals.



Formerly S-117.

My late father spent time in Coastal Forces engaged in actions against German coastal traffic and "E" boats.
In the few comments he made he told me that actions against the E-Boat were often fought at night and at close range , the "MTB's" drifting off the approaches to bases , enigines just ticking over , the crew listening for the sound of the diesels - what ensued was often a brief fire heavy fight in the dark or in low light conditions which developed in a confused running battle. Getting in first and getting in hard was what counted , not a place for the faint hearted.
The more heavily armed "E" boat , armoured with diesel fuel on board almost always had the edge against "MTB's" which lacked armour , were outgunned and had petrol engines- a floating firecracker.

Apart from the boats themselves the Organisation Todt poured millions of tones of cement to build bomb proof bunkers for these boats - smaller is size for obvious reasons but equally strong and impressive "S" Boot pens appeared in the major ports along the Channel coast.



A boat heading into a E Boat bunker / pen.

From Jak Showell's Guide to the Kriegsmarine a view of two bots at reset in reinforced bunker.
Once again the failure of British intelligence to direct bombing at theiur construction stage would prove to be a costly error.
Like the U-Boat pens these could be pumped dry to provide "dry docks".




Above S-62.

Below S-111 - disabled by MTB's on 15/3/42 in the North Sea - boarded and captured an attempt was made to tow her back to England ( by MTB 88 - she foundered en route ).



Which commander were you reading about ?

Sources for above info.
"Schnellboot in Action" Don Greer ( Squadron/Signal Publications 2003).
"German Coastl Forces in World War Two" M.J. Whitley. ( Arms and Armour Press 1992).
"S-Boote - German E-Boats in Action 1939-1945" Jean-Philippe Dallies-Labourdette. (Histoire & Collections .
"The German Navy in World War Two - A Reference guide to the Kriegsmarine 1935-45" Jak P. Showell. ( Arms and Armour Press 1990).

[West-Front]

Photos of types and any thing.

http://www.prinzeugen.com/SBOATIND.htm

The Kriegsmarine's Schnellboot is considered by many authorities to be the best overall torpedo boat of WW2. It was carefully designed to operate and survive in a harsh North Sea combat environment. The foresight and engineering skill in that design is apparent throughout the details described in this online reference.

http://www.prinzeugen.com/S97.htm

S-97, an armored bridge boat formerly commanded by Obersteuermaat Wilhelm Waldhausen, has recently been found abandoned on a riverbed in the UK. The years were not kind to this illustrious veteran of numerous battles in the English channel but she will soon be in the good hands of the British Military Powerboat Trust, experts at boat restoration.

http://www.prinzeugen.com/USNSchnell.htm

In February, 1945, an unidentified scuttled Schnellboot was found and raised in the harbor at LeHavre, France. Eventually, the boat was made somewhat seaworthy and taken to the New York Navy Yard before the end of the war in Europe. At least five S-boats were taken to the United States for study. Four operational S-boats (S-116, S-218, S-228 and S-704) were taken to the United States after the hostilities ended and the needs of our less fortunate allies determined. The US Navy service careers of the first three boats are fairly well documented, but S-704 has surfaced only in pictures and one short memo. By 1948, all the S-boats in the United States had been broken up or sold off.

http://www.prinzeugen.com/S57.htm

S-57, (Hull No. 12850) was an S-30 class Schnellboot built at the Luerssen boatyard in Bremen-Vegesack, and commissioned on October 1st 1940. She was assigned to the 3rd S-Boot Flotilla.

[Tychsen]

http://www.prinzeugen.com/S97.htm
Certainly one of the best kgm orientated websites.( In respect of the Heavy cruiser and the S Boot).

S-97 - I may be wrong but I think this craft has since been broken up , a question of funding and resources.

Some interesting footage here of a sunken S Boat.
http://www.shipwreckfilms.co.uk/page20.html