After the war, many of the surviving U Class submarines were put into reserve or lent or sold to other countries. Some boats were later returned by foreign navies to be scrapped, and the last of the Royal Navy U boats was broken up in 1950.
V CLASS
In 1941, modifications were made to the design of the U Class submarines in order to quickly obtain a type of boat which, whilst retaining the same characteristics, would be stronger but simpler and less expensive. The resultant V Class was slightly longer than the U boats and, because of a partly-welded pressure hull, had a greater operational depth - 300 feet as opposed to 200 feet. The electric welding of hull assemblies also enabled a quicker build time.
