HMSMeteorite
 TheU-1406,a vessel of the same class as HMSMeteorite / U-1407
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-1407 |
| Ordered | 4 January 1943 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss,Hamburg |
| Yard number | 257 |
| Laid down | 13 November 1943 |
| Launched | February 1945 |
| Commissioned | 13 March 1945 |
| Fate |
|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSMeteorite |
| Acquired | 1945 |
| Commissioned | 25 September 1945 |
| Decommissioned | September 1949 |
| Fate | Broken up |
| General characteristics[1][2] | |
| Class and type | Type XVIIBsubmarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
|
| Draught | 4.3 m (14 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Complement | 19 |
| Armament |
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| Service record (Kriegsmarine) | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 47 655 |
| Commanders: | |
| Operations: | None |
| Victories: | None |
HMSMeteoritewas an experimentalU-boatdeveloped in Germany, scuttled at the end ofWorld War II,subsequently raised andcommissionedinto theRoyal Navy.The submarine was originally commissioned into theKriegsmarineon 13 March 1945 asU-1407.She was built around aWalterengine fueled byhigh-test peroxide(HTP).
History[edit]
The three completedGerman Type XVIIB submarineswere scuttled by their crews at the end of theSecond World War,U-1405atFlensburgandU-1406andU-1407atCuxhaven,all in theBritish Zone of Occupation.[4]U-1406andU-1407were scuttled on 7 May 1945 byOberleutnant zur SeeGerhard Grumpelt even though a superior officer,Kapitän zur SeeKurt Thoma,had prohibited such actions. Grumpelt was subsequently sentenced to seven years' imprisonment by a British military court.[5][6]
At thePotsdam Conferencein July 1945U-1406was allocated to theUnited StatesandU-1407to theUnited Kingdom,and both were soon salvaged.[4]
[edit]
U-1407was salvaged in June 1945, and transported toBarrow-in-Furness,where she was refitted byVickerswith a new and complete set of machinery also captured in Germany, under the supervision ofProfessor Hellmuth Walter.Because she was intended to be used solely for trials and possibly as a high-speed anti-submarine target, her torpedo tubes were removed.[4]She wascommissionedinto the Royal Navy on 25 September 1945 and renamed HMSMeteorite.
During 1946Meteoritecarried out a series of trials under the guidance of Walter and his original team fromGermaniawerft,Kiel.The trials raised considerable interest in the possibility of HTP as an alternative to nuclear power asair-independent propulsionand theAdmiraltyplaced an order for two larger experimental Walter boats based on the German Type XXVI,HMSExplorerandHMSExcalibur,to be followed by an operational class of 12 boats.
Meteoritewas not popular with her crews, who regarded the boat as a dangerous and volatile piece of machinery. She was officially described as "75% safe".[7] She was difficult to control due to aircraft-type controls and a lack of forwardhydroplanes.
Fate[edit]
Meteorite'sRoyal Navy service came to an end in September 1949, and she wasbroken upbyThos. W. WardofBarrow-in-Furness.
References[edit]
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Type XVIIB Walter boats".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved21 December2009.
- ^"This page contains details on the German U-Boat Type III, Type IV, Type V, Type VI, Type VIII, Type XI, Type XII, Type XIII, XV, XVI, VB60, V80, U-179, XVII".www.sharkhunters.com. Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2010.Retrieved21 December2009.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Horst Heitz".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved14 April2016.
- ^abcPolmar, Norman; Kenneth J. Moore (2004).Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines.Brassey's. pp. 35–36.ISBN1-57488-594-4.
- ^Madsen, Chris (1998).The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942-1947.Routledge. p. 180.ISBN0-7146-4823-X.
- ^"UK v Grumpelt - Military Court"(PDF).World Court. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2 March 2014.Retrieved2 March2014.
- ^Paterson, Lawrence (2008).Dönitz's last gamble: the inshore U-boat campaign, 1944-45.Barnsley, UK:Pen & Sword.ISBN9781844157143.
Bibliography[edit]
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999).German U-boat Commanders of World War II: A Biographical Dictionary.Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999).Der U-Boot-Krieg[The U-boat War, Vol. 4: German U-boat Losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler.ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991).German Warships 1815–1945.Vol. 2: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Further reading[edit]
- Thomas, Steve (November 2022). "Fire and Water: Britain's Fast Submarine Program".Marine News Supplement: Warships.76(11): S599–S613.ISSN0966-6958.
External links[edit]
- Helgason, Guðmundur."The Type XVII boat U-1407".German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net.Retrieved6 December2014.
