S-Boote, 1939-1945

Just before the war which would once again tear Europe apart between 1939 and 1945, the German Navy developped a new weapon to be used with identical force on all battle fronts, up to and including the last combats just before the fall of the Reich. The Schnellbootwaffe was created in the early 1930's, concurrently with the regenerated Kriegsmarine. Young officers, many of whom had learned the trade in the old Imperial Navy, would be responsible for operational use of these revolutionary boats with nautical performances and characteristics that were exceptional for the times.

Working with the naval engineers of the Lürssen shipyards, a firm established in Bremen-Vegesack for over fifty years, they were able to design a combat tool that was never surpassed by their enemies. Following the first series of S-Boote launched at that time, came constantly improved vessels that won resounding victories for the Kriegsmarine at the beginning of the war.

For the British, who sometimes referred to them as «E-boats», they represented a real threat, not only to coastal commercial traffic, but also to the movements of Allied ships later on after D-Day. Admiral Rudolf Petersen's flotillas remained combative to the very end, even after the balance of power had tipped in favor of the Allies.

The major air raids carried out over S-Boote bases during and after 1944 by the Bomber Command and the US Air Force were unable to destroy the offensive potential of the gunboats and their crews. This is the story of these extraordinary men whose crusading spirit is reminiscent of that of the WWI airplane pilots.