World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

This article refers to the entire Type XXVII; it is not about an individual vessel.

ww2dbaseAfter the British were able to damage German battleship Tirpitz by employing midget submarines in 1943, the German Navy embarked on an effort to create a similar weapon. Captured British midget submarines were studied for strengths and weaknesses.

ww2dbaseThe first variant was the Type XXVIIA Hecht, which carried explosive charges to be laid beneath enemy ships. These two-man ships were very small and were powered via a 12-brake-horsepower torpedo motor. These boats had no hydroplanes nor fins so they could pass through anti-submarine nets, relying purely on adjustable weights within the pressure hulls for navigation, which was proven to be difficult. The order to build 53 Hecht submarines (1 prototype, 52 production) was issued to Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany in Mar 1944. None of them would see front line service; instead, they were used to train sailors for Type XXVIIB boats.

ww2dbaseThe Type XXVIIB variant boats featured a greater range due to the inclusion of both a 60-brake-horsepower diesel engine as well as a 25-brake-horsepower electric motor. Each boat carried two G7e torpedoes. The design was completed in late Jun 1944. Order for producing 1,000 units was placed in Jul 1944, and ultimately 285 Type XXVIIB5 submarines, also known as Seehund or Type 127, were built by Germaniawerft. 138 of them would be assigned to front line units. Seehund submarines saw their first operation on 31 Dec 1944, when 18 of them set sail from IJmuiden, Netherlands; bad weather caused the loss of 16 of them. A Seehund submarine scored the first sinking for its class in Feb 1945 when they destroyed a freighter off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. These submarines continued to patrol the North Sea and the English Channel. Through the end of the war, they sank 9 merchant vessels and damaged an additional 3 ships. The Allies had trouble detecting these submarines due to their small size and quiet motors. 35 boats were lost to various reasons.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, France received 4 Seehund midget submarines as reparations. They were commissioned into active service as S 621, S 622, S 623 and S624. They remained in service until Aug 1953.

Type XXVII-class Midget Submarine Interactive Map

Photographs

Type XXVII-class Midget Submarine Operational Timeline