As designed these boats were sleek and carried low profiles. Their draughts were deliberately shallow so as to operate effectively along coastlines and, due to their intended mission scope, were only modestly-armed through a sole turreted 37mm C/30 series cannon facing aft and between two and six 20mm cannons. 7.92mm machine guns were also fitted for extremely close-in defense. For minelaying duties, the boats were outfitted with mine and depth charge dispensers and only the aforementioned class of R301-R312 boats carried torpedo launchers (2x).
The operating crew numbered as many as thirty-eight personnel while propulsion power was derived from 2 x MAN marine diesels outputting 1,836 horsepower each and driving 2 x shafts under stern. The boats could made headway at seventeen knots though the torpedo-equipped R301-R312 carried triple-screw propulsion for speeds reaching 24 knots. Some were outfitted with Voith-Schneider propeller units for increased maneuverability. Construction involved a metal understructure with wood framing with rounded bilges built-in.
Despite the original intent to feature these boats as minesweepers, the line was employed in all manner of roles for the German Navy as wartime needs required - these to include Search and Rescue (SAR), ship hunting, coastal patrolling and general convoy escort to name a few- as it stood, the boats rarely operated in their intended minesweeping roles, such was the nature of the war for the German Navy. They proved critical components in the German operation against Norway in 1940 and a total of 424 boats were ultimately completed, seeing service everywhere the Navy operated and well into the final weeks of the war in 1945.
Despite their numbers, many were lost for just 140 survived the conflict and the Allies managed to capture stocks of the type before the end. With the war over, the boats became spoils of war and were disbursed among some of the conquerors though about 24 were eventually reintroduced in the post-war West German Navy and operated until their usefulness had run out in the 1960s.
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