MINI U-BOAT SEETEUFEL

Seeteufel is a German prototype miniature submarine with the characteristics of an amphibious vehicle from the Second World War. The unit was launched in 1944, but never entered production. The total length of the ship was 14.2 meters and a width of approximately 2 meters. The maximum speed was up to 10 knots on the surface, and up to 8 knots under the water. The unit was armed with 2 torpedoes or 4 mines. Seeteufel was created based on the experience gained from the operation of other miniature submarines (OPs), but also the so-called live torpedoes, in which one of the main problems was launching the unit into the water and its recovery after the mission (in the case of miniature air defense systems). The use of caterpillars at the bottom of the fuselage and giving them amphibious features were supposed to improve the operational capabilities of the unit. Seeteufel had a crew of 2 and a diesel-electric drive. Interestingly, on land, the unit could use a machine gun and a flamethrower! Despite the fact that the Seeteufel passed the water tests quite successfully, it proved to be very unmaneuverable on land due to the fact that the engine was too weak. The unit never went into production.