List of submarines of the Second World War

This is a list of submarines of the Second World War. Germany used submarines to devastating effect in the Battle of the Atlantic, where it attempted to cut Britain's supply routes by sinking more merchant ships than Britain could replace. While U-boats destroyed a significant number of ships, the strategy ultimately failed. Although U-boats had been updated in the interwar years, the major innovation was improved communications and encryption; allowing for mass-attack naval tactics. By the end of the war, almost 3,000 Allied ships (175 warships, 2,825 merchantmen) had been sunk by U-boats.^[1] The Imperial Japanese Navy operated the most varied fleet of submarines of any navy, including Kaiten crewed torpedoes, midget submarines (Type A Ko-hyoteki and Kairyu classes), medium-range submarines, purpose-built supply submarines and long-range fleet submarines. They also had submarines with the highest submerged speeds (I-201-class submarines) and submarines that could carry multiple aircraft (I-400-class submarines). They were also equipped with one of the most advanced torpedoes of the conflict, the oxygen-propelled Type 95.

The submarine force was the most effective anti-ship weapon in the US Navy arsenal. While only about 2 percent of the U.S. naval force they destroyed over 30 percent of the Japanese Navy, and over 60 percent of the Japanese merchant fleet, The Royal Navy Submarine Service was used primarily to blockade trade and military supply routes to Africa and the Near and Far East, but also obtained the only submarine to submarine combat kill. This occurred when the crew of HMS Venturer engaged the U864 manually computed a successful firing solution against a three-dimensional moving target using techniques which became the basis of modern torpedo computer targeting systems.^[2][3][4][5]

Submarines show submerged displacement. Dates are year_month_day to allow ordering. Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.

Ship	Country	Class	Type	Displacement (tons)	First commissioned	Fate
Barb	United States	Gato-class submarine		2460	2 April 1942	sold to Italy as Enrico Tazzoli 1954, scrapped 1973
Fresia	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1945
Gato	United States	Gato class submarine		2,424	31 December 1941	Scrapped 25 July 1960
Graph	Kriegsmarine  Royal Navy	submarine		769	launched 15 April 1941	German U-boat, captured by the British, 27 August 1941. Ran aground September 1944
Guacolda	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1949
Guale	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1945
H28	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	29 June 1918	scrapped 18 August 1944
H31	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	21 February 1919	sunk 24 December 1941
H32	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	14 May 1919	scrapped 18 October 1944
H33	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	17 May 1919	scrapped 19 May 1944
H34	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	10 September 1919	scrapped July 1945
H43	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	25 November 1919	scrapped November 1944
H44	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	15 April 1920	scrapped February 1945
H49	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	25 October 1919	sunk 18 October 1940
H50	Royal Navy	H	submarine	518	3 February 1920	scrapped July 1945
Humaita	Brazil	Humaita class submarine		1,440	20 July 1929	Decommissioned 25 November 1950
L23	Royal Navy	L	submarine	1,106	31 October 1924	paid off May 1946
L26	Royal Navy	L	submarine	1,106	11 October 1926	sunk as target 1 November 1946
L27	Royal Navy	L	training submarine	1,106		scrapped 1944
Marsuinul	Romania	Marsuinul-class submarine		630	July 1943	captured by the Soviets in August 1944, scrapped after the war
Oberon	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	1,922	24 August 1927	paid off 5 July 1944
Odin	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	21 December 1929	Sunk 14 June 1940
Olympus	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	14 June 1930	sunk 8 May 1942
Orpheus	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	23 September 1930	Sunk 19 June 1940
Orzeł	Poland	Orzeł-class submarine		1,100	2 February 1939	sunk 11 June 1940
Osiris	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	25 January 1929	paid off 7 March 1945
Oswald	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	1 May 1929	Sunk 1 August 1940
Otus	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	2,038	5 July 1929	paid off March 1946
Otway	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	1,922	15 June 1927	paid off 1945
Oxley	Royal Navy	Odin	submarine	1,922	1 April 1927	sunk by friendly fire 10 September 1939
Pandora	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	30 June 1930	sunk 1 April 1942, scrapped 1955
Parthian	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	30 June 1930	sunk August 1943
Perseus	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	15 April 1930	sunk 6 December 1941.
Phoenix	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	3 February 1931	sunk 16 July 1940
Poseidon	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	5 May 1930	sunk in accidental collision with a merchant 9 June 1931
Proteus	Royal Navy	Parthian	submarine	2,070	5 May 1930	Scrapped in March 1946 at Troon.
Quidora	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1945
Rechinul	Romania	Rechinul-class submarine		680 submerged	9 May 1943	captured by the Soviets in August 1944, scrapped after the war
Rucumilla	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1945
Tegualda	Chilean Navy	H	submarine	441	1917	scrapped 1945
U-25	Kriegsmarine	Type IA submarine		982 submerged	6 April 1936	sunk 1 August 1940
U-37 - U-44	Kriegsmarine	Type IX u-boats
U-65, U-66, U-103 - U-111, U-122 - U-124	Kriegsmarine	Type IXB u-boats		1,051
U-66 - U-68, U-125 - U-131, U-153 - U-166, U-171 - U-176, U-501 - U-524	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC u-boats		1,051
U-190	Kriegsmarine  Royal Canadian Navy	Type IXC		1,257	24 September 1942	Surrendered to RCN 11 May 1945, commissioned 19 May, paid off 24 July 1947, scuttled October 21, 1947
U-167 - U-170, U-183 - U-194, U-525 - U-550, U-801 - U-806, U-841 - U-846, U-853 - U-858, U-865 - U-870, U-877 - U-881, U-889, U-1221 - U-1235	Kriegsmarine	Type IXC/40 u-boats		1,120		U-877 sunk by HMCS St. Thomas on 27 December 1944. All 56 members saved by crew of the St. Thomas.[6]
U-889	Kriegsmarine  Royal Canadian Navy	Type IXC/40		1,257	4 August 1944	Surrendered to RCN 10 May 1945, commissioned 14 May, paid off December 1945, scuttled 1947
U-177 - U-182, U-195 - U-200, U-847 - U-852, U-859 - U-864, U-871 - U-876	Kriegsmarine	Type IXD u-boats		1,616
U-459 - U-464, U-487 - U-490	Kriegsmarine	Type XIV u-boats ("milch-kuh")		1,668
U-459 - U-464, U-487 - U-490	Kriegsmarine	Type XXI u-boats ("Elektroboote")		1,668
U-D1	Kriegsmarine	H	training submarine	441	1915	scuttled by Netherlands, captured by Germany 1939, paid off 23 November 1943
Wahoo	United States	Gato-class submarine		1,525 surfaced	15 May 1942	Sunk 11 October 1943
X2	Royal Navy	Archimede class submarine		1,230 submerged	19 March 1934	captured by Royal Navy, as Galileo Galilei from the Italian Navy on 18 June 1940, paid off January 1946
X3	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
X4	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
X5	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	sunk 22 September 1943
X6	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	scuttled 22 September 1943
X7	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	scuttled 22 September 1943
X8	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	scuttled 17 September 1943
X9	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	foundered under tow 16 September 1943
X10	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	scuttled 3 October 1943
X20	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off
X21	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944
X22	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	sank in training February 7, 1944
X23	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
X24	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
X25	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE1	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE2	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE3	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE4	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE5	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE6	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE7	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1952
XE8	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1952
XE9	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1952
XE10	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XE11	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	6 March 1945
XE12	Royal Navy	XE-class submarine		33 submerged	1944	paid off 1952
XT1	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XT2	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XT3	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XT4	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XT5	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945
XT6	Royal Navy	X-class submarine		30 submerged	1944	paid off 1945

References

1. Crocker III, H. W. (2006). Don't Tread on Me. New York: Crown Forum. p. 310. ISBN 978-1-4000-5363-6.
2. Naval Vessel Register Index
3. "US Navy Inactive Classification Symbols". Naval Vessel Register. NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
4. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Index
5. Archives, The National. "Royal Navy operations in the Second World War - The National Archives". The National Archives. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
6. http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2565311

Bibliography

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• navy.mil: List of homeports and their ships
• NavSource Naval History