Editing Type XIV submarine

{{short description|Class of resupply U-boats}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = File:U-boat Warfare 1939-1945 C3780.jpg
| Ship caption = ''U-459'' sinking after being attacked by [[Vickers Wellington]] aircraft.
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = 
| Builders = *[[Deutsche Werke]] (''U-459'' to ''U-464'', ''U-487'' to ''U-493'')
*[[Germaniawerft]] (''U-494'' to ''U-500'', ''U-2201-2204''){{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}
| Operators = {{navy|Nazi Germany|name=''Kriegsmarine''}}
| Class before = [[Type IX submarine]]
| Class after = [[Type VII submarine|Type VIIF]] (torpedo replenishment submarine)
| Subclasses = 
| Cost = 
| Built range = 1940–1943
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 1941–1944
| Total ships planned = 24
| Total ships completed = 10
| Total ships cancelled = 14
| Total ships lost = 10
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = Submarine tanker
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|1688|t|LT|lk=on|abbr=on}} surfaced
*{{convert|1932|t|LT|abbr=on}} submerged
| Ship length = *{{convert|67.10|m|ftin|lk=on|abbr=on}} [[o/a]]
*{{convert|48.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[pressure hull]]
| Ship beam = *{{convert|9.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a
*{{convert|4.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull
| Ship height = {{convert|11.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = {{convert|6.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship power = *{{convert|2800|–|3200|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} (diesels)
*{{convert|750|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} (electric)
| Ship propulsion = *2 shafts
*2 × [[diesel engine]]s
*2 × [[Motor-generator|electric motors]]
| Ship speed = *{{convert|14.4|-|14.9|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
*{{convert|6.2|kn}} submerged
| Ship range = *{{convert|12350|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}} surfaced
*{{convert|55|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
| Ship test depth = {{convert|240|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship complement = 6 officers and 47 enlisted
| Ship armament = *2 × [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{convert|3.7|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} SK C/30]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]s
*1 × [[2 cm FlaK 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} C/30]] AA gun
| Ship notes = 
| Ship capacity = *613 tonnes of fuel oil
*13 tonnes of lubricating oil
*4 × G7 torpedoes (in external below-deck canisters)
}}
|}

The '''Type XIV U-boat''' was designed to resupply other [[U-boat]]s,<ref name="Rössler151">Rössler (2001), p. 151.</ref> being the only [[submarine tender]]s built which were not surface ships. It was nicknamed in German the "''Milchkuh/Milchkühe (pl.)''" (English: milk cows).<ref name="Williamson51">Williamson (2005), p. 16.</ref>

==Design==
The Type XIV was based on the [[Type IX submarine|Type IXD]] long-range U-boat design, but with a shorter and deeper hull. The boats had a displacement of {{convert|1688|t|LT}} when at the surface and {{convert|1932|t|LT}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}} The U-boats had a total length of {{convert|67.10|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[pressure hull]] length of {{convert|48.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|9.35|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|11.70|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, and a [[draught (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|6.51|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The submarines were powered by two [[Germaniawerft]] [[supercharged]] four-stroke, six-cylinder [[diesel engine]]s producing a total of {{convert|2800|-|3200|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while surfaced, two [[Siemens-Schuckert]] 2 GU 345/38-8 [[Motor–generator|double-acting electric motors]] producing a total of {{convert|750|PS|kW shp|-1}} for use while submerged. They had two shafts and two [[propeller]]s. The boats were capable of operating at depths of up to {{convert|240|m}}.{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}

The submarines had a maximum surface speed of {{convert|14.4|-|14.9|kn}} and a maximum submerged speed of {{convert|6.2|kn}}.{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}} When submerged, the boats could operate for {{convert|120|nmi}} at {{convert|2|kn}}; when surfaced, they could travel {{convert|12350|nmi}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.

The boats were not fitted with [[torpedo tube]]s nor [[deck gun]]s. The only armament carried was for defense, consisting of two [[3.7 cm SK C/30|{{convert|3.7|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} SK C/30]] anti-aircraft guns with 2500 rounds as well as a [[2 cm FlaK 30|{{convert|2|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} C/30]] gun with 3,000 rounds.

The boats had a [[Ship's company|complement]] of fifty-three.{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}

==Operation==
Due to its large size, the Type XIV could resupply other [[submarine|boats]] with {{convert|613|t|LT|abbr=on}} of fuel, {{convert|13|t|LT|abbr=on}} of motor oil, four [[torpedo]]es,{{sfn|Neistlé|2014|p=168}} and fresh food that was preserved in refrigerator units. In addition, the boats were equipped with a small bakery in order to provide the luxury of fresh bread for crews being resupplied. The Type XIV also had a doctor and medical facility for injured sailors, and even had a two-man [[Military prison|brig]] to imprison sailors awaiting discipline back at home. Type IXC boats otherwise only carried 12 weeks of food supplies, and Type VIIC U-boat carried about 114 tons of diesel fuel.<ref name=Slaughter>{{citation | url = http://rmhh.co.uk/files/Slaughter%20of%20the%20Milk%20Cows.pdf | title = Slaughtered "Milk Cows" | last = Shortridge | first = Bud }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://uboat.net/men/foodstuffs.htm | title=Uboat.net - the Men - Foodstuffs }}</ref>

Cargo was transported by means of a {{convert|6|m|ft|adj=on}} inflatable boat and portable cranes. The flat main deck with cargo hatches and davits was designed in theory to facilitate the transfer of bulk supplies, however its low freeboard made this work extremely hazardous in typical North Atlantic swells that made the deck awash, so often supplies had to be hand-lifted through the smaller but drier conning tower hatches to avoid flooding the boat. Resupply and refueling operations often took hours, putting both the milk cow and the submarine it was servicing at risk.<ref name=Slaughter/>

If the Germans came under Allied attack during a resupply operation, the milk cow would dive first while the attack submarine might fight it out on the surface for a while, as the Type XIV's bulk and flat deck made it slower to maneuver and submerge, although it could dive deeper than Type VIICs or IX.<ref name=Slaughter/> The Type XIV had no [[torpedo tube]]s or [[deck gun]]s, only defensive armament of [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft guns]].{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}

The milk cows operated {{convert|300|–|400|mi|km}} off the North American mainland in the so-called [[mid-Atlantic gap]], far enough from Allied anti-submarine patrols and land-based aircraft while still close enough to provide logistical support to U-boats.<ref name=Slaughter/> In 1942, the milk cows enabled [[Type VII U-boat|Type VIIC]] boats to remain on station for a couple more weeks off of the American coast during the "[[Second Happy Time]]" raids of the [[Battle of the Atlantic]].<ref name=Slaughter/>

The milk cows were priority targets for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces, as sinking one milk cow would effectively curtail the patrols of a dozen attack U-boats and force them to return home for supplies.<ref name=Slaughter/> [[Ultra (cryptography)|Ultra]] intercepts provided information concerning sailing and routing of the milk cows. This intelligence, coupled with improved Allied radar, air coverage, and [[hunter-killer group]]s in the North Atlantic, eliminated most of the milk cows during 1943 including four lost in the month of July alone. By the end of the war all ten had been sunk. Milk cow duty was especially hazardous; 289 sailors were killed out of an estimated complement of 530–576 men.

== List of Type XIV submarines ==
Ten boats of this type were commissioned:{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}
* {{GS|U-459||2}}, commissioned on 15 November 1941, scuttled on 24 July 1943
* {{GS|U-460||2}}, commissioned on 24 December 1941, sunk on 4 October 1943
* {{GS|U-461||2}}, commissioned on 30 January 1942, sunk on 30 July 1943
* {{GS|U-462||2}}, commissioned on 5 March 1942, sunk on 30 July 1943
* {{GS|U-463||2}}, commissioned on 2 April 1942, sunk on 16 May 1943
* {{GS|U-464||2}}, commissioned on 30 April 1942, scuttled on 20 August 1942
* {{GS|U-487||2}}, commissioned on 21 December 1942, sunk on 13 July 1943
* {{GS|U-488||2}}, commissioned on 1 February 1943, sunk on 26 April 1944
* {{GS|U-489||2}}, commissioned on 8 March 1943, sunk on 4 August 1943
* {{GS|U-490||2}}, commissioned on 27 March 1943, sunk on 12 June 1944{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}

Fourteen planned Type XIVs were cancelled. Three of them (''U-491'', ''U-492'', ''U-493'') were about 75% complete when work was stopped in 1944. The other eleven boats had not been laid down when they were cancelled on 27 May 1944. On that same day [[Karl Dönitz]] stopped construction on the [[Type XX U-boat]]s, large transport boats that would not have been ready until mid-1945.{{sfn|Gröner|Jung|Maass|1991|p=79}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book
|last1=Gröner
|first1=Erich
|last2=Jung
|first2=Dieter
|last3=Maass
|first3=Martin
|translator-last1=Thomas
|translator-first1=Keith
|translator-last2=Magowan
|translator-first2=Rachel
|year=1991
|title=U-boats and mine warfare vessels
|volume=2
|series=German Warships 1815–1945
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=0-85177-593-4
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Neistlé
|first=Axel 
|year=2014
|title=German U-Boat Losses during World War II: Details of Destruction.
|edition=2
|location=Havertown
|publisher=Frontline Books
|publication-date=30 June 2014
}}
*{{cite book |last=Rössler |first=Eberhard |date=2001 |title=The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co |isbn=0-304-36120-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Williamson |first=Gordon |date=2005 |title=Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-boat in World War II |location=Oxford |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=1-84176-872-3}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/types/milkcows.htm
 |title= The Milkcows
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date= 20 April 2015
}}
* {{cite web
 |url=http://uboat.net/types/xiv.htm
 |title= Type XIV Milch Cows (supply boats)
 |last=Helgason
 |first=Guðmundur
 |website=German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net
 |access-date= 20 April 2015
}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Showell |first=Jak P. Mallmann |date=2006 |title=The U-boat Century: German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006 |location=London |publisher=Chatham Publishing |isbn=9781861762412}}

{{German Type XIV submarines}}
{{Uboat}}
{{WWII German ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:German Type 014 Submarine}}
[[Category:German Type XIV submarines| ]]
[[Category:Submarine classes]]
[[Category:World War II submarines of Germany|Type 014]]
[[Category:Auxiliary depot ship classes]]