The idea to use a torpedo boat in hostilities first appeared in World War I at the British command, but the British failed to achieve the desired effect. Further, the Soviet Union spoke on the use of small mobile vessels in military attacks.
History reference
A torpedo boat is a small combat vessel, which is intended for the destruction of military ships and transport ships with shells. In World War II, it was repeatedly used in hostilities with the enemy.
By that time, the naval forces of the main Western powers had a small number of such boats, but their construction rapidly increased by the time the hostilities began. On the eve of World War II in the Soviet Union, there were almost 270 boats equipped with torpedoes. During the war, more than 30 models of torpedo boats were created and more than 150 were received from the Allies.
The history of the creation of the torpedo ship
Back in 1927, the TsAGI team carried out the development of the project of the first Soviet torpedo vessel, the leader of which was A.N. Tupolev. The ship was given the name "Firstborn" (or "ANT-3"). It had the following parameters (unit - meter): length 17.33; width 3.33 and 0.9 sediment. The strength of the vessel was 1200 liters. s., tonnage - 8.91 tons, speed - as many as 54 knots.
The armament that was on board consisted of a 450 mm torpedo, two machine guns and two mines. The pilot production boat in the middle of July 1927 became part of the Black Sea naval forces. The institute continued to work, improving the units, and in the first month of the fall of 1928 the serial boat "ANT-4" was ready. Until the end of 1931, dozens of ships were launched, which were called "Sh-4." Soon in the Black Sea, Far Eastern and Baltic military districts, the first formations of torpedo boats arose. The ship "Sh-4" was not ideal, and the fleet management ordered TsAGI a new boat in 1928, which was subsequently called the "G-5". It was a completely new ship.
Torpedo ship model "G-5"
The gliding ship G-5 passed the test in December 1933. The ship had a hull made of metal and was considered the best in the world both in terms of technical characteristics and equipment. The serial production of "G-5" refers to 1935. By the beginning of World War II, it was the basic type of boats of the Navy of the USSR. The speed of the torpedo boat was 50 knots, the power - 1700 liters. with., and in service were two machine guns, two 533 mm torpedoes and four mines. Over the course of ten years, more than 200 units of various modifications have been produced.
During the Great Patriotic War, G-5 boats hunted enemy submarines, guarded ships, launched torpedo attacks, landed troops, and escorted trains. The disadvantage of torpedo boats was the dependence of their work on weather conditions. They could not be at sea when his excitement reached more than three points. There were inconveniences with the deployment of paratroopers, as well as with the transportation of goods associated with the lack of a flat deck. In this regard, before the war they created new models of long-range boats "D-3" with a wooden hull and "SM-3" with a steel hull.
Torpedo leader
Nekrasov, who was the head of the experimental design team for the development of planes, and Tupolev in 1933 developed the design of the ship "G-6". He was a leader among the available boats. According to the documentation, the vessel had the following parameters:
- displacement of 70 tons;
- six torpedoes 533 mm;
- eight engines of 830 liters. with.;
- speed of 42 knots.
Three torpedoes were fired from torpedo tubes located aft and shaped like gutters, and the next three from three-tube torpedo tubes, which could turn and were located on the deck of the ship. In addition, the boat had two guns and several machine guns.
Gliding torpedo ship "D-3"
USSR torpedo boats of the D-3 brand were produced at the Leningrad plant and Sosnovsky, which was located in the Kirov region. There were only two boats of this kind in the Northern Fleet when the Great Patriotic War began. In 1941, another 5 ships were produced at the Leningrad plant. Only since 1943, domestic and allied models began to enter service.
The D-3 vessels, unlike the previous G-5s, could operate at a farther (up to 550 miles) distance from the base. The speed of the new brand torpedo boat ranged from 32 to 48 knots depending on the engine power. Another feature of the “D-3” was that it was possible to launch a salvo from them while stationary, and from the G-5 units only at a speed of at least 18 knots, otherwise the fired missile could hit the ship. Onboard the ship were:
- two 533 mm torpedoes of the model of the thirty-ninth year:
- two DShK machine guns;
- gun "Oerlikon";
- coaxial machine gun "Colt Browning."
The hull of the vessel "D-3" was divided by four partitions into five waterproof compartments. Unlike boats of the G-5 type, the D-3s were equipped with better navigation equipment, and a group of paratroopers could freely move on deck. The boat could take on board up to 10 people who were accommodated in heated compartments.
Torpedo ship "Komsomolets"
On the eve of World War II, torpedo boats in the USSR were further developed. Designers continued to design new improved models. So there was a new boat called Komsomolets. Its tonnage was like that of the G-5, and the tube torpedo tubes were more advanced, and it could carry more powerful anti-aircraft anti-submarine weapons. For the construction of ships attracted voluntary donations of Soviet citizens, hence their names appeared, for example, "Leningrad Worker", and other similar names.
The hull of ships released in 1944 was made of duralumin. The interior of the boat included five compartments. On the sides on the underwater part, keels were installed to reduce pitching, and the gutter torpedo tubes were replaced by tube apparatuses. Seaworthiness increased to four points. Armament included:
- two torpedoes;
- four machine guns;
- deep bombs (six pieces);
- smoke equipment.
The cabin, which housed seven crew members, is made of an armored seven-millimeter sheet. Torpedo boats of the Second World War, especially the Komsomolets, distinguished themselves in the spring battles of 1945, when Soviet troops approached Berlin.
The USSR's way to create gliders
The Soviet Union was the only major maritime country that built ships of a rare type. Other powers proceeded to the creation of keel boats. During the calm, the speed of the redanned vessels was significantly higher than the keel, with a wave of 3-4 points - on the contrary. In addition, keel boats could take on board more powerful weapons.
Errors made by engineer Tupolev
The seaplane float was taken as a basis in torpedo boats (Tupolev project). Its top, which affected the strength of the device, was used by the designer on the boat. The upper deck of the ship was replaced by a convex and steeply curved surface. Man, even when the boat was at rest, it was impossible to stay on deck. When the ship moved, it was completely impossible for the crew to leave the cockpit; everything that was on it was thrown off the surface. In wartime, when it was necessary to transport troops on the G-5, servicemen were planted in the gutters that the torpedo tubes had. Despite the good buoyancy of the vessel, it is impossible to transport any cargo on it, since there is no place to place it. The design of the torpedo tube, which was borrowed from the British, was unsuccessful. The lowest vessel speed at which torpedoes were fired was 17 knots. At rest and at a lower speed, a salvo of a torpedo was impossible, since it would hit a boat.
German military torpedo boats
During the First World War, to combat the British monitors in Flanders, the German fleet had to think about creating new means of fighting the enemy. They found a way out, and in April 1917, the first small high-speed boat with torpedo armament was built. The length of the wooden hull was slightly more than 11 m. The vessel was set in motion by two carburetor engines, which were already overheating at a speed of 17 knots. When it increased to 24 knots, strong splashes appeared. One torpedo 350 mm device was installed in the bow, shots could be fired at a speed of no more than 24 knots, otherwise the boat would hit the dashboard. Despite the shortcomings, German torpedo ships entered mass production.
All ships had a wooden hull, speed reached 30 knots with a wave of three points. The crew consisted of seven people, on board there was one 450 mm torpedo gun and a machine gun with a rifle caliber. By the time the armistice was signed, 21 boats were in the Kaiser fleet.
After the end of the First World War, there was a decline in the production of torpedo vessels around the world. Only in 1929, in November, the German company “Fr. Lyursen "accepted the order for the construction of a combat boat. Released vessels improved several times. The German command did not satisfy the use of gasoline engines on ships. While the designers were working on replacing them with hydrodynamics, all the time there was a refinement of other designs.
German torpedo boats of World War II
The naval leadership of Germany even before the start of World War II headed for the production of combat boats with torpedoes. Requirements were developed for their form, equipment and maneuverability. By 1945, it was decided to build 75 ships.
Germany ranked third in the global export leadership of torpedo boats. Before the start of the war, German shipbuilding worked on the implementation of the “Z” plan. Accordingly, the German fleet had to re-arm solidly and have a large number of ships carrying torpedo weapons. With the outbreak of hostilities in the autumn of 1939, the planned plan was not fulfilled, and then the production of boats increased sharply, and by May 1945 only Schnellbotov-5 had been commissioned for nearly 250 units.
Boats with a hundred-ton payload and improved seaworthiness were built in 1940. Warships were designated starting with "S38". This was the main weapon of the German fleet in the war. The armament of the boats was as follows:
- two torpedo tubes having from two to four missiles;
- two thirty-millimeter anti-aircraft weapons.
The highest speed of the ship is 42 knots. In the battles of World War II, 220 ships were involved. German boats on the battlefield behaved bravely, but not recklessly. In the last few weeks of the war, ships were involved in the evacuation of refugees to their homeland.
Germans with keel
In 1920, despite the economic crisis, a check was carried out in Germany on the operation of keel and reded vessels. As a result of this work, they made the only conclusion - to build exclusively keel boats. At a meeting of Soviet and German boats, the latter won. During the battles in the Black Sea from 1942-1944, not a single German boat with a keel was sunk.
Interesting and little-known historical facts
Not everyone knows that Soviet boats with torpedoes, which were used during the Second World War, were huge floats from seaplanes.
In June 1929, aircraft designer A. Tupolev began construction of an ANT-5 planing vessel equipped with two torpedoes. Tests have shown that ships have such speed that ships of other countries could not develop. The military authorities were quite this fact.
In 1915, the British designed a small boat with great speed. Sometimes it was called a "floating torpedo tube".
Soviet military leaders could not afford to use Western experience in designing ships with torpedo carriers, believing that our boats are better.
The ships built by Tupolev were of aviation origin. This is reminded of the special configuration of the hull and the skin of the vessel, made of duralumin material.
