Type XXI evolution pondering

[Rockin Robbins]

How long did it take for the US fleet boat to become a great submarine? They had the luxury of developing in peacetime and still had lots of fatal errors to overcome. During the war they continually whittled down the conning towers as they realized it was more important not to be seen than it was to see better. Those subs were not designed on a piece of paper but by fatal mistake after fatal mistake changing the original design.

Why would the Type XXI be any different? If it had been fully operational in early 1944 it still would have not been productive by the end of the war. What you don't know WILL hurt you. Somehow we've deified the thing and it was just a collection of future scrap metal like every other machine.

There was a Type XXI which became operational in the West German navy and I'd be interested in the history of that boat to see what they did to make it work. I'll bet it was a lot!