Marder on display at the Bundeswehr Military History Museum
Class overview
NameMarder
Operators Kriegsmarine
Activec. 500
General characteristics
TypeMidget submarine
Length8.3 m (27 ft 3 in) o/a
Beam0.533 m (21 in)
PropulsionAEG-AV 76 Eto, 12 metric horsepower (8.8 kW; 12 shp)
Speed3.2–4.2 kn (5.9–7.8 km/h; 3.7–4.8 mph)
Test depth40 m (130 ft)
Complement1
Armament1 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo

Marder (Pine Marten) was a German midget submarine developed from the Neger.[1] The craft was 8.3 metres (27 ft 3 in) long and unlike the Neger included a flooding tank in the nose allowing it to dive.[1] 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.[1] Maximum diving depth was about 25 metres (82 ft).[2]

The submarine's first operations took place on the night of 2 August 1944, when Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine's Small Battle Units made their largest effort of the war. 58 human torpedoes[3] of the Neger-type and 22 Linse vessels were launched against Allied shipping off Normandy as part of a combined operation with Negers and explosive Linse boats.[1] One Royal Navy destroyer escort, HMS Quorn was sunk by a human torpedo along with one minesweeper, HMS Gairsay, and one landing craft by the German motor boats; at a cost of 41 Neger and 22 Linsen craft.[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marder (Torpedo).
  1. 1 2 3 4 Paterson, Lawrence (2006). Weapons of Desperation German Frogmen and Midget Submarines of World war II. Chatham Publishing. pp. 49–51. ISBN 978-1-86176-279-5.
  2. ↑ Kemp, Paul (1996). Underwater Warriors. Arms & Armour Press. pp. 186–188. ISBN 1-85409-228-6.
  3. 1 2 Brown p. 116

Bibliography

  • Brown, David. Warship Losses of World War Two. Arms and Armour, London, Great Britain, 1990. ISBN 0-85368-802-8.
  • Prenatt, Jamie & Stille, Mark (2014). Axis Midget Submarines: 1939–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0122-7.


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