German submarine V-80

Prototype German V-80 midget submarine at sea
History
Nazi Germany
NameV-80
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number597
Launched14 April 1940
CommissionedNever commissioned
FateScuttled on 29 March 1945
General characteristics
TypeType V midget submarine
Displacement76 t (75 long tons)
Length22.05 m (72 ft 4 in)
PropulsionWalter turbine
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi)
Complement4 men
ArmamentNone

The V-80 (German: Versuchs-U-Boot V 80) was a 76-ton experimental submarine and the only representative of the German Type V design produced for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine.

The prototype was completed in 1940 in Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel. The four-man vessel was designed to test the Walter hydrogen peroxide-based turbine propulsion system. Its range was 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).

The only earlier attempt to use a chemical reaction based air-independent propulsion system was in the Spanish submarine the Ictineo II.

This midget submarine led to the design of the German Type XVII submarine.

See also

Further reading

  • Rössler, Eberhard (2001) [1981]. The U-boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-36120-8.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "V-80". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Walter U-boats". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 30 April 2015.