Was the XXI pointless???

[CCIP]

Originally Posted by Penelope_Grey

they may have been crap in terms of reliability and use

Aren't virtually all new designs? :p

There are only a few fortunate cases of new technology being used most efficiently and not having a huge amount of teething troubles (just think of the US sub fleet in WWII, the pre-war doctrine and its results at the start of the war, and the torpedoes and other stuff - oooh boy! - but in the end those boats were a grand success). The XXI certainly didn't have the time for proper troubleshooting, but I'm sure if it did it would be quite a potent boat. Probably not the almighty uber-boat that some invision, but way ahead of anything of its time.