Which Type sunk more tonnage?
 

So I've been doing some reading during the lulls in my current patrol and it's led me to a curious question I've yet to find an answer to.

We all know the IXs typically sunk more ships per U-boat than VIIs, but there were vastly more VIIs than there were IXs.

So my question is, which Type do you think sunk more tonnage?

T

Given the proportion of VIIs built was far, far superior to IXs built I bet on the VIIs, if we are speaken about total absolute tonnage.

I'll place my money on the Type IX's considering that everyone of the IXB's sunk over 100,000 tons alone.

Here's a good spot to start looking....

http://www.uboat.net/ops/top_patrols.htm

The most successful patrols overall list is dominated by Type IXs. Most successful by tons per day, by the Type VIIs.

Or look at this site - same souce, same data base, but sortet in order of the most succesfull U-Boats.

KLICK HERE


Greetings
rowi58

Well, if anyone cares, I've done a bit more digging to satisfy my own curiosity.

Based off some uboat.net information and a couple of documentaries the rough figures are:

685 Type VIIs were built and 187 Type IXs were built. The IXs sunk about 37% of the total tonnage sunk by U-Boats.

I can't say that the other 63% can be claimed entirely by the VIIs, but considering the low numbers of IIs, XXIIIs, Xs, & etc., the VIIs can probably be said to have sunk the most tonnage.

T

:sign_yeah:Exactly! Except in Operation Drumbeat where the IX's, not favored by Donitz initially,(2 $$$!) actually sank slightly more tonnage than the VII's as per Black May. This was due possibly to their having fewer eels to start (14 vs 22) and time-on-station hampered by trips to the milchcows.