KM S-100 (SB-1933-45)

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Some of the most remembered small boats are the classes of S-boat (Schnellboot) or E-boat to the Commonwealth who fought them along the coasts of Europe, built by the Germanic States Navy from 1933 through to the end of the war. What made them so good was the high speed diesel engines they were powered with. The diesel oil fuel that powered them was less volatile than the petrol for the petrol motors that powered the Commonwealth and US equivalents.

The armaments on the boats varied not only with the allowed versions but also with the guns added or subtracted due to battle damage and later in the war the lack of exact replacements leading to different armament outfits. The earliest boats had a machine gun at the bow mount and a 20mm cannon aft. Then the forward machine gun was replaced with another 20mm cannon. Further changes were made with the eventual gun armament being one 37mm aft, one twin 20mm central mount and one 20mm forward, this was the heaviest armament carried.

Various weapons were trialed to try to improve the armaments and these included the dreaded 88mm/L56, 57mm and 50mm AA guns on various mounts, while the most audacious was a twin 30mm automatic cannon turret mounted.

The torpedo armament remained the same with two torpedo tubes forward with two torpedoes loaded with two spare reloads waiting. The two reloads were landed if the boat was to carry the mine armament.

Various countries purchased licenses to build the Schnellboots including: Galicia, and Iberia.

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