History 28/02/20 “monkfish” what happened to the underwater tank Hitler
In the last years of the Second world war, which sloped to the decline of the Third Reich suffered more and more defeats by the allies at sea. Realizing that Germany can’t compete with the UK and USA in large battles, the German strategists decided to move to the tactics of “small naval war”. So was born the project Seeteufel – miniature submarine with tracks, a bizarre hybrid of a tank and submarine, designed to sabotage the war.
Italian “ancestor”
the Idea of creating such a machine was first implemented in 1918 in Italy. However, the basis was taken the boat, to which they gave the caterpillars. It was assumed that the hybrid will be able to successfully work both at sea and on land.
Some success really was. At the final stage of the First world war “Grillo,” as he called his invention of the Italians, nearly sank a major Austro-Hungarian battleship “of Viribus Unitis”. “Boat-tank” was able to go through some roadblocks on the main base of the Imperial Navy to launch a couple of torpedoes, got right on target. But the giant ship survived.
Despite the fact that the main goal was not achieved, the concept of hybrid cars was generally found to be successful. After a couple of decades the achievements of the Italian engineers came in handy already to the Third Reich.
the Strategists of the German Navy – the Kriegsmarine – believed that equipped with a hybrid commando units can do a lot of damage to the British and American fleets in their Parking lot.
“monkfish”
Instead of boats as the basis for Seeteufel, which translates from German as “sea devil”, was taken by a mini-submarine with a diesel-electric engine. In the Kriegsmarine had hoped that the “underwater tank” will be able to perform as an attacking function, releasing torpedoes at the enemy fleet and transport, delivering group swimmers-saboteurs to the place of concentration of enemy ships.
From Seeteufel like a huge 14-meter-long cigar on the short tracks. Initially, the hybrid was equipped with 80-horsepower engine, mushroom screw operated by an electric motor. Adopt “monkfish” had two torpedoes, which could be replaced by mines, and a flamethrower or a machine gun.
the Car was equally well operate under the water and on land, and plunging ashore anywhere. Thus, Seeteufel could attack sea and ground targets. One of the options was as follows: the machine is successfully disguised as a tanker at the pier in the daytime and after dark, takes on Board spies who secretly bring it to the enemy ships and destroy them.
In this high-speed “underwater tank” was not 25 miles per hour on land and 10 nautical miles in the water. The maximum range of the swimming sea devil – a thousand miles, and air crew of two people, enough for a maximum of 100 hours, a little more than four days.
the Inglorious end
the Germans were in a hurry to test Seeteufel and start mass start “underwater tanks” in the first half of 1944. Primarily intended to strengthen their North-Western coast of France, where the German command was expecting the imminent landing of the allies. But the Nazis had hesitated, and by the time when the Anglo-British troops embarked on the beaches of Normandy, testing not even started.
they Started only in July 1944. During the tests it turned out that a diesel engine, 80 horsepower was too weak, and the tracks were too narrow, causing Seeteufel stuck in the sand. The decision was made to put on the car the engine 250 horsepower and to carry out other “mistakes”.
because Of this they have lost precious time. The Germans hoped to run hybrid in serial production in 1945, but by then Germany was not to “the sea devil”. Total defeat on all FRonto did the situation for the Third Reich hopeless. Saving Seeteufel of the Anglo-Americans, Germans transported the prototype in lübeck in the port of which he was soon flooded before approaching allied forces.
Ivan Proshkin
Source:
© Russian Seven
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