The German Type VII U-boat needs no introduction. The one warship that
could win or lose the war for Germany, 709 were poured out, and plans were
put in place to build twice that number. It has since come to represent
the stereotypical image of the World War II-era submarine, appearing in
Das Boot and That Other U-boat Movie.
Type VII U-boats is a compact hardcover book, divided into five
chapters, a glossary, and three appendices. Though primarily a technical
history of the type, it also describes in some detail a number of the
procedural and "domestic" issues of everyday U-boat operations. Stern
argues that the VII was an early example of an integrated "weapon
systems," 40 years before the term came into widespread use. Special
attention is given to the new weapons, sensors, and experimental defenses
developed by the Germans after "Black May."
The illustrations consist of about 160 black and white photographs, many
I’d never seen before, and a number of original plans that have been
re-annotated into English. Robert Stern’s research for this work was quite
extensive, and the BdU Kriegstagebuch and U-boat war diaries are
quoted throughout.
The first chapter, Design Genesis, provides a brief introduction to
the WWI U-boats that were direct antecedents of the VII, and the secret
outsourcing of submarine design to Turkey and Greece. The next section
explains the major differences between the nine VII subtypes, including
the unbuilt C/42 and C/43 models, and Donitz’s reasoning for producing so
many VIIs.
Chapter two, Physical Characteristics of the System, begins with a
description of the building process, and a guided tour through the
pressure hull. This tour takes us to the boat’s exterior, followed by a
general overview of the propulsion systems that includes an interesting
treatise on the Schnorchel. The chapter also includes information
on the crew and their positions onboard, provisioning at sea, and the
limited sanitation facilities.
Chapter three, the book’s meatiest, covers the Weapons and Targeting
Systems. First up are plain-language descriptions of the G7a steam and
G7e electric torpedoes that were the U-boat’s main weapon, and the
torturous failures of the Pi 1 magnetic detonator. Advanced weapons like
the FaT and LuT anti-convoy and T5 acoustic torpedoes, torpedo loading and
storage, and the boat’s fire control systems are also discussed. The next
section is on mines, including an look at the nearly forgotten MTA mobile
mine.
The next section covers the boat’s guns - namely the 8.8 cm deck gun and
the various AA guns and tower configurations. The last section describes a
number of experimental weapons, such as anti-aircraft rockets and Biber
submersibles carried on deck.
Chapter four describes Sensor Systems, ranging from radio
equipment, radar detectors, and hydrophones. The final chapter looks at
Countermeasures, including anti-radar and anti-sonar coatings (a
precursor to the anechoic tiles used on today’s subs) , the "Aphrodite"
radar decoy depicted in Iron Coffins, and the 'Bold' active sonar
decoy.
The first of three appendices is a photo-heavy examination of the boat’s
general appearance, focusing on the subjects of camouflage and personal
insignia. Appendix B provides a brief profile of Admiral Donitz, while
Appendix C lists which shipyards produced which boats. As with many books
of this type, there are many typos and annoying editing errors, along with
jarring changes in typeset. I’ve come to expect this from smaller
independant publishers, but it’s still pretty annoying.
Type VII U-boats provides a fairly comprehensive, but not
exhausting, look at a single weapons system and how it worked. Despite
being a technical history, it doesn’t read like a technical memorandum,
and "greener" naval enthusiasts shouldn’t have a hard time reading it. It
also provides some tantalizing glances into experimental German devices,
including a hand-held infrared detector, active sonars, and the U-Flak
boats.
Robert C. Stern is an on-again, off-again writer of books on military
history since at least 1979. His other books include U.S. Subs in
Action, Battle Beneath the Waves, and SS Armor.