SCHNELLBOOT S-1

Schnellboot S-100 is the collective name for a class of German torpedo boats from the Second World War. Units of this type were built in the years 1943-1944. Their length was approx. 34.9 m, with a standard displacement of approx. 93 tons. The maximum speed was 42-43 knots. The armament of units of this type varied widely, but most often consisted of 2 533 mm torpedo tubes with four torpedoes, 3 or 4 20 mm cannons, and a single 37 mm or 40 mm cannon. The German Navy was working intensively on the development of torpedo boats already during World War I, and this work - slowed down by the defeat in 1918 - was continued at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. Their fruit was the appearance in 1930 of the first modern, for that time, S-1 torpedo boat, and a year later (1931) the production of S-2 class units (5 units in total). Further, quite long, but intensive development of this type of units led to the creation of the S-100 class (German: Schnellboot S-100). Vessels of this class had a very high marching speed and the maximum, with their size - good seagoing performance, and most of all they were relatively heavily armed. It is worth adding that it was probably the most numerous class of German torpedo boats from 1939-1945. S-100 class torpedo boats operated in many areas: from the Mediterranean, through the Black Sea, to the Baltic and North Seas. It is estimated that in the period 1943-1945 they sank or seriously damaged about 40 enemy ships and about 100 merchant ships.