World War II Submarine Battle: USS Balao vs. Type IX U-Boat. Who wins?

Question

World War II Submarine Battle: USS Balao vs. Type IX U-Boat. Who wins?

Answer 1

The German submarine would probably win primarily because much more experienced crew and Captain. Though the German's did take extremely heavy losses the U.S. submarines did bery little in the Atlantic area; the main submarine force and combat from the Allied standpoint was in the Pacific; the Germans had little trade going on and very little surface fleet action by this time so you have to look at location. It is a very unlikely scenario for a few reasons-the active snar at the time was not reliable for "sub hunting" use and the U.S. have very few submarines in the Atlantic. The surface to surface combat would have been even despite the minimal size difference-the Germanhad a dual purpose deck gun in 45mm was a straight anti-tank/aircraft gun placed on subs as wel as the larger gun while the U.S. was a shorter barreled version-less velocity and range. Actually the German gun, whether copied or purchased from the Swedish design was considered the best multi-use weapon of it's class. Caliber means little with those degree of difference-the German 75mm tank and 88mm multi-use guns were both hugely superior to the 90mm U.S. weapon much less the 76mm because of barrel length and velocity. The 50cal was superior to the German 12.5mm but again it is minmial. German crews were typically much better trained on the surface guns and more experienced. If one was submerged and the other surfaced the winner would be the submerged one; probably be the German because the snorkel had been "backfitted" at that timeframe to most of the older subs.

Answer 2

A very good historical question which I will star because of it's value. The us sub carried 2 more torpedoes then its German counterpart. This is not really a number that gives it that much of an advantage in sub warfare at that time. Subs at that time didn't fight other subs underwater that often, though it did happen. On the surface the German subs had the advantage with a bigger deck gun. In an encounter between these two I would give the US sub the advantage for the following reason. US skippers were better trained and had far more leeway to engage the enemy. The German skippers were far more controlled as to what they could and couldn't do. This means the US skipper could do what he thought was required to sink the German sub. The German skipper would be more apt to run and hide from the US sub. This action would give the US sub the advantage in a sub to sub battle during that time frame.

Answer 3

Type Ix U-boat

Answer 4

The Germans if the US torpedoes actually hit the target they probably wouldn't detonate.



Who ever designed the US torpedoes in WWII should have been shot for treason.

Answer 5

U.S. Navy.

Answer 6

Just how would they fight each other submerged ?



How would they hear each other, without going to active sonar?



Which would tell everyone within 30 miles, just where they are.



How would they actually fight each other submerged, since they didn't have torpeados that could home in on underwater targets during WW ll ?



So they only way your battle could take place, would be for atleast one of the submarines to be on the surface.



And that pretty much means, which ever submarine, caught the other submarine on the surface, would win the battle.



And for a surface to surface battle,



The USS Balao had a 110mm/50 cal deck gun



The Type IX U-Boat had a 105mm/45 cal deck gun.



So the USS Balao would have a slightly longer range and do slightly more damage with each hit.

Answer 7

Niether. There are no winners when there is war.

Answer 8

The ships in question are only as good as the crews that manned them. German submariners had quite a bit more experience in the world of submarine warfare, dating back to the first World War. On average, the officers and crew of the Kriegsmarine were more experienced than the typical US Naval sailor. This was true until the losess suffered by Germany forced her to put inexperienced officers and crews out to sea, to replace their staggering casualties in the Atlantic.

The main weapon of any submarine is its torpedos. The American Balao had 24 while the IX only had 22. The Balao had 6 tubes forward and 4 aft, while the German sub only had 4 forward and 2 aft. Simply put, the American could put more fish in the water and run a greater chance of a hit than the German.

The American sub is faster, 20 knots surfaced, versus 18 knots for the German. Submerged it wins again with 8.75 knots versus 7.7. Speed was critical with any submarine as it allowed the subs to escape escort vehicles and catch up to merchant convoys.

A good majority of the survivability of subs was how deep it could go (to escape depth charges, sonar detection etc) and the German wins this one hands down: 750 feet versus 400 for the Balao.

The deck guns for both subs are similar, the American mounting a 4inch 102 mm versus the German 105. While both had variations on range and velocity, both performed their jobs as they were intended to, put holes in ships.

The American sub put out over 5,400 hp versus 4,400 for the German.



I would sadly have to put my money on the IX. She had superior torpedos, better depth rating and better engineering for her equipment. The American was able to go faster, but weighed near 400 tons more than the German. The German could withstand more days at sea without refueling and resupply but that would eventually hinder the German as the American could refit and rearm with more bases away from the homeland. (even though the Germans had subs called "milk cows" that would refit subs at sea)