Does Germany Still Operate U-Boats?

Or were they banned from wielding their most effective weapon?

(By Mike1979 Russia — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31029881)

For a period of time between 1914 and 1945, the German U-boat was one of the most dreaded and feared weapons in the world. Using adept training, morally questionable tactics, and a ruthless streak, the U-boat became the hated face of the German war effort for millions of people. Not only did Germany build an incredible number of advanced submarines, but it also used them in ways that most nations would not.

In both World War I and World War II, Germany infamously subscribed to a program of unrestricted submarine warfare. That meant that any ship was fair game for these deadly predators. The results were striking and saddening. U-boats sank everything from small fishermen to giant passenger ships like the Lusitania. U-boats accounted for over 5,000 sinkings in World War I alone. In World War II, U-boats were credited with nearly 3,000 kills. Together, they killed tens of thousands of people. This is due to the fact that Germany had so many of these boats ready to go.

In World War I, Germany built 334 U-boats. In World War II, Germany built an eye-watering 1,100 U-boats (of which 785 were ultimately destroyed.)

But what about today? After subjecting the world to not one but two reigns of submarine terror…