Soviets subs of WWII - Page 2

Jimbuna · 01-11-13, 05:23 PM

IMHO US and British subs were far superior to those used by Russia.

The Russian navy was low down on the list of priorities in Stalins Russia...the greatest emphasis was put on defearing the Germans and reclaiming the land they had overrun.

CCIP · 01-11-13, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

The Russian navy was low down on the list of priorities in Stalins Russia...the greatest emphasis was put on defearing the Germans and reclaiming the land they had overrun.

Well, that's not entirely true - as I noted above, the USSR actually had the largest submarine fleet of anyone at the start of the war (250+ subs, vs. Germany's 70 or the US' 110 or so), and most of the subs were relatively new (most of the fleet was built in the mid- and late 30s). The Soviets were well aware of the potential of submarines, and in fact it was long before the Cold War that they set about building the biggest and most diverse fleet of them in the world - they bet on subs as their most major naval weapon very early on. Arguably the Soviet navy of the 1930s was the first navy to treat the submarine as its primary weapon. Stalin himself actually interfered with this to some extent (for example with his ambitious and completely silly project for Soviet battleships), but not enough to throw off the focus on submarine construction, which the Soviets always had.

The real problem was what happened to their priorities once the war started, because all new production of subs stopped, and especially unlike the US subs which were substantially upgraded and given big advantages (like radar, especially) throughout the war, Soviet subs really didn't see much improvement until the war ended. WWII was a 'break' of sorts. Had the Soviets been fighting someone like Britain or Japan though, things may have been different. Indeed as the Cold War showed, they could throw some impressive effort into submarine technology when needed. It just wasn't in WWII.

Jimbuna · 01-12-13, 12:07 PM

My apologies, I should have added or included 'during the actual conflict years'

01-11-13, 05:23 PM	#16
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,539 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	IMHO US and British subs were far superior to those used by Russia. The Russian navy was low down on the list of priorities in Stalins Russia...the greatest emphasis was put on defearing the Germans and reclaiming the land they had overrun. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

01-12-13, 12:07 PM	#18
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,539 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	My apologies, I should have added or included 'during the actual conflict years' __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!