Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:53:17-1:55:21

What the Royal Navy learned from Type XXI and Type XXIII boats

British evaluators studied the late German designs but often valued their design papers more than the poorly built surviving boats.

KriegsmarineNaval TechnologyRoyal NavySnorkelsSubmarinesType XXI U-BoatType XXIII U-BoatU Class SubmarinesV Class Submarines
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Question

Did the Royal Navy want to test the later Type XXI and Type XXIII U-boats?

Short answer

Yes, but Britain also had its own submarine research, and poor German build quality limited how persuasive the captured boats were as complete designs.

Notes

The Royal Navy examined German technology while continuing work derived from its U- and V-class boats and its own streamlining trials. British submarine development already had a substantial domestic program for both boat design and anti-submarine work. Some evaluators considered Dutch snorkel work more refined than the German version. German papers and theoretical studies could therefore be more useful than individual captured hulls whose construction quality disappointed inspectors. In this assessment, British and American operating experience influenced British development more heavily than the captured boats.