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It amazes me though I mean, these subs were "Rated" for 250 ft and the German subs were rated for around 200m
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The hull ratings were done differently. The US was much more conservative, using a factor of 1.5 X test depth. Germans used a factor of 2 if i remember correctly. Also the steel of all boats preceeding the Balao was made of a softer mild steel, not hard tensil steel. This mild steel flexed more is my understanding.
The balao (and later Tench) boats were made of hard tensil steel. They were nicknamed "thick skin" boats as a result. (preceeding classes were called "thin skinned").
The deepest known dive, was by the USS chopper (balao class) sometime after the war, with the bow being down over 1000 feet. Its worth noting that these boats were in service well into the cold war. The last US fleet boat was decomissioned in 1973 or 74 if i remember right.