E-boat
E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: Schnellboot, or S-Boot, meaning "fast boat"; plural Schnellboote) of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; E-boat could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a large Torpedoboot. The name of E-boats was a British designation using the letter E for Enemy.
An E-boat flying the white flag, after surrender at the coastal forces base HMS Beehive, Felixstowe, May 1945 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | E-boat (German: S-boot) |
| Builders |
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| Operators |
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| Succeeded by | Jaguar class (post-war) |
| Completed | S-1: 1 unit (Schnellboot 1930)
S-2: 4 units (Schnellboot 1931) S-7: 7 units (Schnellboot 1933) S-14: 4 units (Schnellboot 1934) S-18: 8 units (Schnellboot 1937) S-26: 4 units S-30: 16 units (Schnellboot 1939) S-38: 58 units (Schnellboot 1939/40) S-38b: S-100: 81 units S-151: 8 units |
| Cancelled | 259 |
| Preserved | 1 |
The main wartime production boats, from S26 onwards (but often designated the S100 class), were very seaworthy, heavily armed and capable of sustaining 43.5 knots (80.6 km/h; 50.1 mph), briefly accelerating to 48 knots (89 km/h; 55 mph). These were armed with torpedoes and Flak guns; commonly one 37 mm at the stern, one 20 mm at the bow with a twin mount amidships, plus machine guns. Armament varied and some S26 class boats substituted a 40mm Bofors or, less commonly, a 20mm flakvierling (quadruple mount) for the aft 37mm cannon.
The S26 class boats - which provided the bulk of the wartime deliveries - were 34.94 m (114 ft 8 in) long and 5.38 m (17 ft 8 in) in beam. Their diesel engines provided a range of 700 to 750 nmi (810–860 mi; 1,300–1,390 km), substantially greater than the gasoline-fueled American PT boats and British motor torpedo boats (MTBs).
As a result of early war experience of combat against the fast and powerful S-boats, the Royal Navy created its MGB force and later developed better-matched MTBs, using the Fairmile 'D' hull design.