Unfortunately the operations of the Molch U- Boat stayed unsuccessful, scoring some hits and sinking a few vessels, but compared to the men, material en cost to create mini submarines Flotilla’s they were too much effort. Another Flotilla was send to the Netherlands in 1944 to operate on the Dutch coast. Losing most of their submarines the operation was unsuccessful. The first Flotilla was stationed in Italy in the Mediterranean sea, it saw action during Operation Dragoon on the night of 24th – 25th September 1944. Lots of Molch submarines did not come back to port due to mechanical failure or were sunk by the Allied forces. Its slow speed an low depth made it a relative easy target. Buoyancy was hard to control, it had a large turning radius and had dive planes that interfered turning control. U- boat G7a Torpedo Kriegsmarine with excersize head The Molch in combatĮven while it was more advanced than it smaller predecessors it was hard to control the Molch in combat. Throughout the war these torpedo’s were improved in speed, distance and “ship detecting” with the acoustic torpedo. It had a length of just over 7 meters and a diameter of 53 centimeters. Its operational range varied between 3 to 7,5 kilometers and some types even longer.

It carried 280 kilograms of explosives and was powered by an electrical engine which gave it a speed ranging from 37 to 56 km/h depending of the type of G7e torpedo used. The G7e torpedo was the standard torpedo for the German Kriegsmarine during world war two. The recommended depth for the U Boat was 40 meters, with a maximum around 60 meters.Ĭonfiscated after the war these German Molch midget submarines on carts were gathered at the Frederikskazerne in The Hague, the Netherlands on May 1945 – collection NIMH G7e Torpedo In action it was used in K-verbande, these are small battle units of Molch mini submarines sometimes mixed with the Biber midget submarine. The first were delivered on the 12th of June 1944 and weighed 11000 kilograms. Heinrich Drager and was taken in production by AG Wesser in Bremen, they produced 393 of these midget submarines. Without it the operator would not last longer than an hour, or just a part of it. This is why the operator wore an oxygen mask and breathed from six oxygen tanks which the Molch carried on board. Even though the operational range of the mini submarine was limited it was designed to stay underwater for 24 hours, which endangered the operator with a strong build up of carbon dioxide in his cramped compartment. The U-boat had two speeds slow, somewhere between 5,5 and 7,5 km/h, and faster, between 9 and 13,5 km/h. The front of the Molch was filled with batteries, then came the pilot and behind him was the electrical engine. It carried two torpedo’s on its lower side of the G7e type which were fired by pedals inside the submarine. Molch U-Boat midget Submarine with a view on the torpdo racks Specifications On top of the Molch was a cupola with Plexiglas windows. It had a longer range than its predecessors and it had a periscope. It was a huge step forward in midget submarine design. With its operational distance of only 64 kilometers just above 9 km/h, the Molch was designed for coastal missions. Unlike a standard U-boot the Molch could not operate above water level, its engine was designed to function exclusively under water.

It was based on torpedo technology and powered only by electrical propulsion.

This submarine basically looked like a big torpedo. The Molch, or Salamander, was the first one man U-boat of the Kriegsmarine. In August 1944, they were used in southern France, and in December of the same year - off the coast of the Netherlands, but not very successful.Molch or Salamander a mini U-boat The Molch The rapid process of research and development and the hasty implementation into production had an impact on the quality of the new type of ships, which turned out to be very difficult to control and use in combat. From the very beginning, the units were also designed to operate in coastal waters and to combat enemy landing ships. Outwardly, a single ship of this type resembled an elongated and widened torpedo, to which a miniature kiosk at the stern was attached. Molch-class ships were built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in a modular manner, which accelerated and reduced production costs. It was armed with two torpedoes - very often the 533 mm G7e. The Molch-type vessel was 10 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and could be submerged up to 60 meters. The first units of this type began entering service in 1944. Molch is the name of a class of German miniature submarines of the Second World War.

German molch mini submarine