A submarine snorkel is a device that lets a submarine's engine run while the vessel stays submerged, drawing air down from above the surface through a tube so a diesel engine can keep operating without the submarine having to surface. The concept originated with Dutch naval engineers: the Royal Netherlands Navy experimented with such a system as early as 1938 aboard the submarines O-19 and O-20, in a design credited to Jan Jacob Wichers. After Germany captured the Dutch submarines O-25 and O-26 in 1940, the German Kriegsmarine adopted and refined the technology, first retrofitting it to U-boats in 1943 and building it into newer submarine classes during the war's final years.
Facts
SignificanceGermany's capture of the Dutch submarines O-25 and O-26 in 1940 gave the German Kriegsmarine a working snorkel design, and as U-boat losses mounted the Kriegsmarine retrofitted the snorkel to its VIIC and IXC classes by 1943, letting submerged boats keep running their diesel engines and reduce their time exposed on the surface. 1 FAQs
What problems did a snorkel cause for the submarines that used it?
Speed was capped near six knots; listening gear stopped working; early valves could slam shut and hurt the crew's ears; and the exhaust could give the boat away.
A snorkel let a submarine run its diesel engines while submerged, but it came with real limits. U-boats with their snorkels raised were limited to about six knots to avoid damaging or breaking the tube, and the boat's hydrophone array was useless while the diesel engines ran submerged. Early snorkels also had automatic ballcock valves, fitted to keep seawater out of the engines, that could slam shut in rough weather. The engines then drew air from inside the boat, and the sudden pressure drop caused the crew extreme ear pain and occasionally ruptured eardrums. The diesel exhaust could also be seen on the surface from about 4.5 km away.
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1. Snorkel (submarine) - Wikipedia
History section, Dutch Navy development paragraph
The Royal Netherlands Navy had been experimenting as early as 1938 with a simple pipe system on the submarines O-19 and O-20
History section, German Kriegsmarine adoption paragraph
by 1943 more U-boats were being lost, so the snorkel was retrofitted to the VIIC and IXC classes
View the SourceSubmarine snorkel (Wikipedia)
In Field: Marine Engineering, CategoriesQuote, In Field: Marine Engineering, Categories
Submarine components
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