The German submarine development gap

Which submarine development did Germany miss before the Second World War?

Germany missed the opportunity to make larger, longer-ranged boats its standard. A Type IX baseline and a larger ocean-going type could have strengthened the campaign, although they would not have won the war.

Germany's missed opportunity was to make larger submarines the basis of its long-distance commerce campaign. The Type VII retained a close design relationship to late First World War boats, leaving it with limited range and torpedo capacity for the Atlantic. Its size was only a modest step above Britain's small U-class, which concentrated on coastal and Mediterranean work. Even the Type IX was smaller than American fleet submarines and some British boats, while Britain's comparable T-class was intended chiefly for ambushes off enemy coasts. In the proposed alternative, the Type IX would replace the Type VII as the baseline, with a larger ocean-going design above it. The long interruption in German construction and the failure to make the early-1930s increase in size seen elsewhere underpin that criticism. Larger boats would have improved Germany's position without winning the war.