The idea of the rocket U-boat was conceived as early
as 1941, at Germany’s top secret rocket research
center, Peenemunde. This led to some trials in the
summer of 1942 whereby rocket launchers were
mounted on the deck U-511, a Type IXC.
The Schweres Wurfgerat 41 rocket launcher carried
six 30cm Wurfkorper Spreng 42 rockets mounted on
the upper deck. The tests were successful, enabling
the U-boat to launch rockets both on the surface
and when submerged up to a depth of 12 meters
(40feet). Donitz expressed interest in the idea as an
anti-escort weapon, but further development was
hampered by the lack of a suitable guidance system
capable of targeting surface ships.
