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Schnellboot (S-Boot) / (E-Boat)

1932 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History

The history of the German Navy "S-Boot" begins with the First World War "Treaty of Versailles" drawn up in June 1919 to prevent the German nation from undertaking further military heavy-lifts necessary for war with members of the French Allies all. United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia and Romania.

Despite being an official ally of France and Britain during the war, the United States chose not to sign the treaty.

Despite the treaty, German engineers developed various types of weapons using new technologies, while always trying to circumvent the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles (the Germans were allowed to have a small standing army, armored vehicles, some small arms, but no tanks, battleship, aircraft or submarine). This workaround was used by all branches of the German army - pilots trained in gliders and capital ships (like the KMS Bismarck) were built heavier than the treaty allowed because the German government provided the world with incorrect dimensions.

As the S-Boots of the invading fleet approached, it became clear to the commander of the German 9th Fleet that the attack on this steel wall was a suicide squad, as the S-Boots were not designed to withstand and engage with destroyers and cruisers fight. The order was to fire all torpedoes at maximum range at oncoming ships and return home.

During this engagement, several landing craft were sunk and two S-130 crew members were killed, but due to the range of torpedo launches, individual S-Boats could not claim credit for sinking the warship. The 9th Fleet sank some landing craft, but records do not indicate whether any S-130s were to blame. Over the next 11 months, the S-130s and 9th Fleet retreated to the English Channel and North Sea coasts, cutting Allied lines of communication and attacking shipping wherever possible, as the Allies advanced toward the Rhine and the German mainland.

By the spring of 1945, the Allied offensive had completely prevented German naval operations in the southern North Sea.

The S-130 and S-208 had been transferred to Rotterdam in May 1945 and eventually taken over as British trophies after the German surrender. Given that German troops surrendered on May 4, 1945, across northwestern Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, it's odd why the crew didn't destroy their ships.

The British brought several German ships, including the S-130, back to the UK In late May 1945, German delivery men, under the supervision of British seamen, brought their ships to Gosport, England. As they were intended to be used unarmed, the torpedo tubes were deactivated and closed, and the guns were replaced to save weight.

Two additional fuel tanks were installed to increase range, and radar and radio directional equipment were installed for her new covert mission role.

The S-130 has had its 3 x Maybach 501 V-20 series diesel engines replaced with three state-of-the-art Napier-Deltic diesel engines, 3,140 hp each. This new life brings the S-130 to a speed of 45 knots, about 5 knots better than the original German engine. She is attached to the British Baltic Fisheries Conservation Service, a cover for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6), which uses the now-modified S-130 to transport spies and agents to Eastern Europe.

In May 1949, modified S-130s and S-208s were used to deploy agents against the Soviet Empire in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

With West Germany as a new ally, the older German S-Boat S-130 was handed over to the newly formed Federal Navy. From 1945 to 1956, the German Demining Authority consisted of former members of the navy, which was a transitional stage to the new German naval service. The German Navy of the future would utilize experienced personnel prior to its formation in 1956.

Originally it was used for coastal surveys (from Rotterdam), but the British Admiralty desperately needed information on the activities of the Soviet Baltic Fleet there. The ships were then transferred to Kiel and used to monitor the Soviet fleet and exercises at their respective bases.

The ships photographed Soviet forces, gathered a wealth of useful information, and when modified S-130s etc. were spotted, they managed to escape at high speed despite Soviet attempts to intercept them.

Various flags and emblems were used to confuse the Soviets. The S-130 and S-208 were restored to their original condition and handed over to the Underwater Warfare School in March 1957 as high-speed training ships, designated UW-10 and UW-11, respectively.

Later ships formed the first squadron of fast torpedo boats. In March 1957, the S-130, numbered UW-10 ("UW" = "Underwater Weapons School"), trained sailors in the use of underwater mines and torpedoes.

The aging S-208 was eventually phased out, but the S-130 continued to serve as a testbed for various roles under the flag "EF-3". She retired for the last time in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in 1991, after 48 years of continuous service under multiple flags. There, she was used as a houseboat until January 2003 when she was bought by the current owners for restoration.

She now lives in England and is the last remaining boat in her class.

In August 1945, a few weeks after the Japanese surrender, the future U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited Germany with U.S. Navy Secretary James Forrest. A former PT boat commander, Kennedy was interested in the well-known German counterpart to the equally famous American PT boat, so he went out of his way to inspect a full S-boat in Bremen, Germany.

Interestingly, Kennedy's diary indicates that the Schnellboot was a far superior machine than the famous line of PT boats used by the US Navy during the war.