What are the total number of U-boats in World War 2?
About 1,168 of all types, not including midget submarines. The best count of U-Boats commissioned in WWII is 1168 with an additional 135 under construction when the war ended. The Type VII was the most common with more then 700 produced, followed by the Type IX totalling 167 and another 164 under construction, contracted for, or in the design improvement phase. The more modern Type XXI and XXIII boats that could have made the Battle of the Atlantic a real struggle for the Allies came too late to be effective. Like the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine was still researching advanced U-Boats right to the end. Many of their prototypes and research boats were taken by the Allies at the war’s end to advance their own submarine designs. A few of the U-Boats were very specialised, including supply boats, mine layers and Flak traps.
