Type IX U-Boat

The Type IX U-boat was a class of large U-boats built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine from 1936 to 1945. Derived from the preceding Type I class, it was designed as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. It appeared in various sub-types: the first four subtypes IXA, IXB and IXC and IXC/40 differed only by an ever widened and lengthened outer hull to increase fuel storage and range. The Type IXD also had an enlarged outer hull, but also a lengthened pressure hull to allow for the installation of additional engines. The Type IXD came in three versions: the type IXD1 used its larger engine room to install more diesel power for higher top speed; the nearly identical types IXD2 and IXD/42 used the extra engine space to install economical cruising engines, extending their range to three times that of the original type IXA design.

A total of 194 Type IX U-boats were commissioned in the German Navy between 1938 and 1945. During World War II, they mounted patrols as individual operating long-range submarines to the West African coast, the East Coast of the United States, the South Atlantic Ocean, and as far as the Indian Ocean. They also took part in wolfpack attacks against North-Atlantic convoys. At the end of the war, most of the remaining boats were scuttled, either by their crews in Operation Regenbogen or later by the British in Operation Deadlight. A few survivors served in foreign navies. Two Type IX are preserved: U-505 was captured at sea and survives at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and U-534 was sunk on 5 May 1945, but raised and is on display at Woodside Ferry Terminal, Birkenhead.