U-BOAT TYPE 'MOLCH' - WWII GERMAN MIDGET SUBMARINE

Molch is the name of a class of German miniature submarines of the Second World War. The first units of this type began entering service in 1944. The Molch-type vessel was 10 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and could be submerged up to 60 meters. It was armed with two torpedoes - very often the 533 mm G7e. Molch-class ships were built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in a modular manner, which accelerated and reduced production costs. Outwardly, a single ship of this type resembled an elongated and widened torpedo, to which a miniature kiosk at the stern was attached. The crew consisted of only one person. From the very beginning, the units were also designed to operate in coastal waters and to combat enemy landing ships. The rapid process of research and development and the hasty implementation into production had an impact on the quality of the new type of ships, which turned out to be very difficult to control and use in combat. In August 1944, they were used in southern France, and in December of the same year - off the coast of the Netherlands, but not very successful. instruction.pdf