This is the Haynes U-boat Owner’s Workshop Manual, it’s a 160 page book dedicated to the World War II-era German Type VIIC U-boat that became one of the most feared vessels in the Atlantic during the conflict.
This book contains a wealth of history, drawings, technical illustrations, historic images, and more about the Type VIIC U-boat, as well as information on its development and use during the war.
Above Video: This free 20 minute documentary offers an excellent look back at the history of the formerly-dominant U-boats of WWII.
History Speedrun: The German Type VIIC U-Boat
The German Type VIIC was the backbone of the Kriegsmarine’s U-boat arm during the Second World War, representing by far the most numerous and versatile class of submarines fielded by Germany during the conflict.
The Type VIIC was developed in the late 1930s as an evolution of the earlier Type VIIA and VIIB U-boats, the VIIC embodied lessons learned from those boats while keeping their compact dimensions and their excellent ocean-going characteristics. Design work focused on reliability, production efficiency, and combat effectiveness – resulting in a submarine that offered a balance of endurance with no small amount of offensive capability.
Construction of the first Type VIICs began in 1940, with the design becoming the standard German U-boat for most of the war. In total, more than 560 examples were built, serving in every major theater of U-boat operations – from the North Atlantic convoy battles to operations in the Arctic and the Mediterranean – some even made it as far as Argentina, but that’s a story for another day.
The VIIC gained a reputation early in the conflict when wolfpack tactics inflicted severe Allied shipping losses, mostly in the North Atlantic. However, from 1943 onward, advances in Allied anti-submarine warfare, including radar, long-range patrol aircraft, and improved sonar, steadily eroded their effectiveness – putting the German U-boats on the back foot for the first time.
The VIIC had a pressure hull built from welded steel sections, giving the boats a test depth of 220 meters and a crush depth somewhat deeper than that, though actual survivability varied with battle damage and construction quality of course.
This book is the U-Boat Owner’s Workshop Manual by Haynes, it’s a 160 page tome dedicated to the most famous U-boat of WWII, written by celebrated writer Alan Gallop.
Propulsion was provided by twin supercharged MAN or Germaniawerft diesel engines for surface running, coupled with Siemens-Schuckert electric motors for submerged operations. This arrangement produced surface speeds up to 17 knots and submerged speeds of 7.6 knots, with an operational range of 8,500 nautical miles at 10 knots on the surface, depending on engine and sub-variant.
Armament was considerable for the boat’s size – the VIIC carried five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes, four in the bow and one in the stern, with a total load of 14 torpedoes or a mixed torpedo and mine loadout. Early boats were equipped with an 88 mm deck gun, though this was gradually removed as air power made surface engagements too dangerous.
Crew complement averaged 44 to 52 men, who lived and fought in extremely cramped and harsh conditions – among the most difficult endured by any seamen during the conflict.
Famous commanders like Günther Prien and Otto Kretschmer achieved their wartime successes in these boats, but losses were also catastrophic – over 70% of Type VIICs commissioned were sunk before war’s end.
Despite this ignominious end, their ubiquity and early combat record made the VIIC the most iconic German U-boat of World War II – remembered both as both a symbol of the Battle of the Atlantic and as a technical benchmark in submarine development that is still studied today.
The U-Boat Owner’s Workshop Manual By Haynes
This book is the U-Boat Owner’s Workshop Manual by Haynes, it’s a 160 page tome dedicated to the most famous U-boat of WWII, written by celebrated writer Alan Gallop.
The book contains detailed technical drawings, WWII-era photographs, specifications, cutaway illustrations, and ample information about the wartime use of these U-boats.
The book contains detailed technical drawings, WWII-era photographs, specifications, cutaway illustrations, and ample information about the wartime use of these U-boats.
You can now buy a copy of the book from the official Haynes Amazon store here, and they make great coffee table books and conversation starters with other people who are fascinated by WWII and general maritime history.
Images courtesy of Haynes
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
