''Marder'' (Pine Marten) was a German
midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, from which they are launched an ...
developed from the ''
Neger''.
The craft was long and unlike the ''Neger'' included a flooding tank in the nose allowing it to dive.
Another improvement was the dome through which the pilot viewed the outside world that also served as the craft's entrance and exit was made openable from the inside.
Maximum diving depth was about .
The submarine's first operations took place on the night of 2 August 1944, when
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
s ''
Small Battle Units'' made their largest effort of the war. 58
human torpedo
Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use.
...
es
[Brown p. 116] of the ''Neger''-type and 22 ''Linse'' vessels were launched against
Allied shipping off
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
as part of a combined operation with ''Neger''s and explosive ''Linse'' boats.
One
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
, was sunk by a human torpedo along with one
minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
, , and one
landing craft
Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...
by the German motor boats; at a cost of 41 ''Neger'' and 22 ''Linsen'' craft.
References
Bibliography
* Brown, David. ''Warship Losses of World War Two.'' Arms and Armour, London, Great Britain, 1990. .
*
Midget submarines
World War II submarines of Germany
{{Germany-submarine-stub