The German Type IXB submarine was a sub-class of the German Type IX submarine

German Type IX submarine

The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for...

 built by the German Navy (Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

) between 1938 and 1940. The U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s themselves were designed to be fairly large ocean-going submarines. The inspiration for the Type IXB submarine came from the earlier original Type IX submarine, the Type IXA submarine

German Type I submarine

The Type I U-boat was the first post-World War I attempt by the German Kriegsmarine to produce an ocean going submarine. Only two Type IAs were built, but the decision to halt production on further boats is believed to be because of political decisions and not because of major faults in the Type I...

. The design of the IXA was developed to give an increased range, a change which resulted in a slightly heavier overall tonnage. This design was improved even further in the later Type IXC submarines.

The class comprised 14 submarines, U-64

German submarine U-64 (1939)

German submarine U-64 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-64 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 16 July 1937 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and as part of the German naval rearmament program Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 15...

, U-65

German submarine U-65 (1940)

German submarine U-65 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Over the course of six war patrols from 15 February 1940 through 28 April 1941, she sank twelve ships and damaged three others for a total loss of 88,664 GRT....

, U-103, U-104

German submarine U-104 (1940)

German submarine U-104 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-104 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 24 May 1938 as part of the German naval rearmament program Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 10 November 1939...

, U-105

German submarine U-105 (1940)

German submarine U-105 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine. U-105 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 24 May 1938 as part of Nazi Germany's naval rearmament program. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 16 November 1938...

, U-106, U-107, U-108, U-109

German submarine U-109 (1940)

The German submarine U-109 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She conducted nine war-patrols, sinking 12 ships and damaging one...

, U-110, U-111

German submarine U-111 (1940)

German submarine U-111 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-111 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 8 August 1939 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and as part of the German naval rearmament program known as Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in...

, U-122, U-123, and U-124. The Type IXB submarines were the most successful class of submarine in the war in terms of the total amount to tonnage sunk, with each U-boat sinking an average of over 100,000 tons during its career.

Construction

All Type IXB submarines were ordered by the German Kriegsmarine between 16 July 1937 and 8 August 1939 as part of Plan Z

Plan Z

Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939...

 and the overall German plan of re-armament in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

. The design of the IXB submarines came from the initial Type IX submarines, the Type IXA. All contracts for the construction of the submarines were awarded to AG Weser

AG Weser

Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...

, Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

. The first U-boat to be laid down in the Bremen ship yards was U-65, whose keel was laid down on 6 December 1938. The last U-boat to be laid down was U-111, whose construction began on 20 February 1940. By the end of 1940, all Type IXB submarines had been fully constructed and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine.

Design

All Type IXB submarines had 1000 hp while submerged and 4400 hp when surfaced. As a result they could travel at 18.3 knots (35.9 km/h) while surfaced and 7.3 knots (14.3 km/h) submerged. The Type IXB submarines had a range of 22200 nmi (41,114.4 km) at 10 knots (19.6 km/h) while on the surface and 118 nmi (218.5 km) at 4 kn (7.8 km/h) while submerged. They had 6 torpedo tubes (4 in the bow, 2 in the stern) and carried a total of 22 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes. Unlike the earlier Type IXAs, the Type IXB submarines were equipped with 44 TMA mines as well. The Type IXB submarines were equipped with a Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun

Deck gun

A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...

 with a magazine of 110 rounds. The last piece of armament that the Type IXB submarines were equipped with were the standard 2 cm FlaK 30

2 cm FlaK 30

The Flak 30 and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout the Second World War. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun, but by far the most numerously produced German artillery piece throughout the war...

 anti-aircraft guns. All Type IXB submarines could hold up to 56 crew members at any given time though that number was usually around 45–48 crew members. After being commissioned and deployed, all of the Type IXB submarines built prior to the fall of France were stationed in the German port city of Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

 while those who were commissioned following the capture of numerous French ports during the Battle of France were stationed in Lorient

Lorient

Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

.

List of Type IXB U-boats

The Type IXB class had 14 U-boats, all of which were built by AG Weser of Bremen:

Name	(a) Hull builder	Ordered	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
U-64 German submarine U-64 (1939) German submarine U-64 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-64 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 16 July 1937 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and as part of the German naval rearmament program Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 15...	AG Weser, Bremen	16 July 1937	15 December 1938	20 September 1939	16 December 1939	Sunk on 13 April, 1940 in the Herjangsfjord Herjangsfjord Herjangsfjord, or Herjangen, is a fjord branch of the Ofotfjord in the municipality of Narvik in Nordland county, Norway. The fjord has a length of about 10 kilometres. Among the villages along the fjord are Bjerkvik and Herjangen....  near Narvik Narvik is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle... , Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... . 8 dead and 38 survivors.
U-65 German submarine U-65 (1940) German submarine U-65 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Over the course of six war patrols from 15 February 1940 through 28 April 1941, she sank twelve ships and damaged three others for a total loss of 88,664 GRT....	AG Weser, Bremen	16 July 1937	6 December 1938	6 November 1939	15 February 1940	Sunk on 28 April, 1941 in the North Atlantic south-east of Iceland. All hands lost.
U-103	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	6 September 1939	12 April 1940	5 July 1940	Sunk on 15 April, 1945 at Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...  in an Allied bombing raid.
U-104 German submarine U-104 (1940) German submarine U-104 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-104 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 24 May 1938 as part of the German naval rearmament program Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 10 November 1939...	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	10 November 1939	25 May 1940	19 August 1940	Missing since 28 November, 1940 north-west of Ireland. All hands presumed lost.
U-105 German submarine U-105 (1940) German submarine U-105 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine. U-105 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 24 May 1938 as part of Nazi Germany's naval rearmament program. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in Bremen on 16 November 1938...	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	16 November 1939	15 June 1940	10 September 1940	Sunk 2 June, 1943 near Dakar. All hands lost.
U-106	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	26 November 1939	17 June 1940	24 September 1940	Sunk on 2 August, 1943 north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... . 22 dead and 36 survivors.
U-107	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	6 December 1939	2 July 1940	8 October 1940	Sunk on 18 August 1944 by depth charges from British aircraft.
U-108	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	27 December 1939	15 July 1940	22 October 1940	Sunk on 11 April 1944 at Stettin during a bombing raid. Later raised and scuttled there on 24 April 1945.
U-109 German submarine U-109 (1940) The German submarine U-109 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She conducted nine war-patrols, sinking 12 ships and damaging one...	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	9 March 1940	14 September 1940	5 December 1940	Sunk on 4 May 1943 south of Ireland by depth charges from British aircraft. All hands lost.
U-110	AG Weser, Bremen	24 May 1938	1 February 1940	25 August 1940	21 November 1940	Captured on 9 May, 1941 in the North Atlantic south of Iceland by the destroyers HMS Bulldog, HMS Broadway and the British corvette HMS Aubretia. The Royal Navy allowed the U-boat to sink the next day in order to keep the documents captured from her a secret.
U-111 German submarine U-111 (1940) German submarine U-111 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-111 was ordered by the Kriegsmarine on 8 August 1939 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles and as part of the German naval rearmament program known as Plan Z. Her keel was laid down by AG Weser in...	AG Weser, Bremen	8 August 1939	20 February 1940	15 September 1940	19 December 1940	Sunk on 4 October 1941 south-west of Tenerife Tenerife Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...  by depth charges from a British warship. 8 dead and 44 survivors.
U-122	AG Weser, Bremen	15 December 1937	5 March 1939	20 December 1939	30 March 1940	Went missing on 22 June 1940. All hands presumed lost.
U-123	AG Weser, Bremen	15 December 1937	15 April 1939	2 March 1940	30 May 1940	Scuttled at Lorient on 19 August 1944. Raised and later became the French submarine Blaison.
U-124	AG Weser, Bremen	15 December 1937	11 August 1939	9 March 1940	11 June 1940	Sunk 2 April 1943 west of Oporto by depth charges from the British warships HMS Stonecrop HMS Black Swan HMS Black Swan (L57) HMS Black Swan , named after the Black Swan, was the name ship of the Black Swan-class of sloops of the British Royal Navy. This class was admired for its sea-going qualities... . All hands lost.