The U class combined strong underwater performance with a compact hull. Its small size and quietness made it especially valuable as an anti-submarine training target. One interpretation of its design is that the Royal Navy set itself the problem of building a boat its own hunters would struggle to find. Extensive investment in ASW doctrine and technology supplied the knowledge needed to reduce the signatures those hunters sought.
Notable Point · 7:00:25-7:04:17
Using anti-submarine expertise to design a harder target
One explanation links the U class's small, quiet design with the Royal Navy's experience of hunting submarines.