[pornocrat]

Надёжность немецких торпед

14 September 1939:
U-39 (Type IX) sights British carrier HMS Ark Royal. Approaches undetected to 800 meters, and fires 2 torpedoes. Both explode 80 metres short of Ark Royal's hull - giving away U-39's position. The escorting destroyers pounce on U-39 so fast that she doesn't have time to dive deep. U-39 is blown out of the water and sunk - the first U-boat to be sunk in WWII.

20 September 1939:
U-27 (Type VIIA) sights 2 British destroyers. Approaches undetected to firing position and fires 3 torpedoes. All three explode before reaching their targets. U-27 is depth-charged and sunk.

27 October 1939:
U-46 (Type VIIB) attacks a British convoy, escorted by a cruiser. Attacks twice and fires 8 torpedoes against a wall of overlapping merchant ships. Only one hits. Reloaded. Cruiser stopped on surface rescuing survivors. U-46 fires 2 torpedoes at close range. Both explode before reaching the target.

30 October 1939:
U-56 (Type II) encounters the flagship of the British Home Fleet - battleship HMS Nelson, in company with Rodney, Hood and 12 destroyers. Approaches undetected. Fires three torpedoes. Two are heard (two metallic clangs) to strike the hull of HMS Nelson - but both fail to explode. Third torpedo runs too deep, passes underneath the battleship without exploding, and finally explodes at the end of its run.

Sep 1939 - June 1940 - Many other failures against merchant shipping.


April - June 1940 - Norwegian Campaign - an utter failure of the U-boat Service.

10 April 1940, 2210 hours:
U-48 (Type VIIB) encounters Cumberland class cruiser and fires 3 torpedoes. Two explode prematurely before reaching the target, last one misses and explodes at end of its run.

10 April 1940, 2115 hours:
U-48 (Type VIIB) encounters York class cruiser and fires 3 torpedoes. All three explode prematurely before reaching the target.

10 April 1940, 2210 hours:
U-51 (Type VIIB) encounters 2 destroyers and fires 2 torpedoes. One torpedo explodes prematurely after reaching arming distance, the other explodes 300 feet from destroyer's hull.

14 April 1940:
U-48 (Type VIIB) encounters battleship HMS Warspite and 2 destroyers. Fires 4 torpedoes with contact detonators at battleship - 2 impact Warspite's hull, but fail to explode.

15 April 1940:
U-65 (Type II) fires 2 torpedoes at a troop transport. No success.

16 April 1940
U-47 (Type VIIB) attacks 4 troop transports at anchor in Bygdenfjord. Range 750-1500 yds. Ships in a solid wall ahead of U-boat. Fired 4 torpedoes from periscope depth at 22:42 hours. Result nil - all torpedoes failed to explode. Enemy not alerted. Reloaded. All torpedoes thorughly checked. Surfaced after midnight and attacked again. Precise fire control data - torpedo running depth set at 12-15 feet. 4 more torpedoes fired. Result nil. 1 torpedo off course, exploded against the cliff. Enemy alerted - U-47 withdraws. Runs aground, refloated. Pursued with depth charges - engines damaged. Escaped. Summary: 8 torpedoes fired at stationary targets at close range, and no hits.

19 April 1940
U-47 (Type VIIB) encounters battleship HMS Warspite and 2 destroyers. Attacked battleship at 900 yards, firing 2 torpedoes. No success. One torpedo fails to explode, the other runs under the target and explodes at the end of its run.

Акустики слышали удары двух торпед об корпус Нельсона, а третья прошла под ним и взорвалась за ним.