Schwertwal
German small submarine designed during the 1940s decade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Schwertwal (German for Orca, lit. "Sword Whale") was a German miniature submarine design that reached the trial stage in late April 1945. It had a crew of two and was designed to have a high subsurface speed of around 20 knots. The high speed was archived by the use of a Walther turbine. The submarine carried an armament of two torpedoes. The submarine lacked a periscope and the pilot viewed the outside world through an acrylic glass dome.[1]
The prototype was scuttled at the end of World War II but was raised by the British Navy and examined before being scrapped.[1]
Further developments
Design work for an even faster version began but the plans never left the drawing board.[1]