E-boat
An S-boat flying the white flag, after surrender at the coastal forces base HMS Beehive, Felixstowe, May 1945
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | S-Boot |
| Builders: | Lürssen, Schlichting-Werft |
| Operators: |
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| Succeeded by: | Jaguar-class |
| Preserved: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | S-100 Fast attack craft |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 32.76 m (107.5 ft) |
| Beam: | 5.06 m (16.6 ft) |
| Draught: | 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power: | 3,960 brake horsepower (2,950 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 3 × Daimler Benz MB 501 marine diesel engines |
| Speed: | 43.8 knots (81.1 km/h; 50.4 mph) |
| Range: | 800 nmi (1,500 km; 920 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Complement: | 24–30 |
| Armament: |
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E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: Schnellboot, or S-Boot, meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The most popular, the S-100 class, were very seaworthy, heavily armed, and fast – capable of sustaining 43.5 knots (80.6 km/h; 50.1 mph) and briefly accelerating to 48 knots (89 km/h; 55 mph).
These craft were 35 metres (114' 10") long and 5.1 metres (16' 9"') in beam. Their diesel engine propulsion had substantially longer range (approximately 700 nautical miles) than the gasoline-fueled American PT boat and the generally similar British Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB).
As a result, the Royal Navy later developed better matched versions of MTBs using the Fairmile 'D' hull design.
This design was chosen because the theatre of operations of such boats was expected to be the North Sea, English Channel and the Western Approaches. The requirement for good performance in rough seas dictated the use of a round-bottomed displacement hull rather than the flat-bottomed planing hull that was more usual for small, high-speed boats. The shipbuilding company Lürssen overcame many of the disadvantages of such a hull and, with the Oheka II, produced a craft that was fast, strong and seaworthy. This attracted the interest of the Reichsmarine, which in 1929 ordered a similar boat but fitted with two torpedo tubes. This became the S-1, and was the basis for all subsequent E-boats.
After experimenting with the S-1, the Germans made several improvements to the design. Small rudders added on either side of the main rudder could be angled outboard to 30 degrees, creating at high speed what is known as the Lürssen Effect. This drew in an "air pocket slightly behind the three propellers, increasing their efficiency, reducing the stern wave and keeping the boat at a nearly horizontal attitude". This was an important innovation as the horizontal attitude lifted the stern somewhat, allowing even greater speed, and the reduced stern wave made E-boats harder to see, especially at night.
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Wikipedia