Superkraut:

You have mentioned the T schnorkel many times on this site. It seems to have been quite a breakthrough in terms of radar invisibility.

I must confess that I am not up on the specific details of the T schnorkel. Could you briefly describe it (shape, size), and why it was so much harder to see with 3cm radar than the previous designs?

I would guess that it was much smaller and rode lower to the water surface than previous designs. If so, how did it handle large ocean swells? How well would it function in the heavy seas of the North Atlantic (as opposed to trials in the calmer seas near the German coast). How well would a schnorkel function in heaving swells (5, 10, even 15 foot in height, not at all rare in the North Atlantic)? Would more of it be required to be exposed in heavier seas, possibly making its radar signature higher under operational conditions than trials might have indicated?

Would any evolutionary increases in Allied radar technology (perhaps 1cm radar, for example) made the T schnorkel vulnerable, or would it require revolutionary changes not feasible in that time period (digital processing, etc.) to allow radar to \'see\' the T schnorkel?

What I am driving at is that while the technology seemed promising given the state it reached at the end of the war, many prior technological advances that looked good on paper or even during operational trials (the T-5 acoustic torpedo, sub 37mm flak gun, magnetic exploders, etc.) flopped when tried in actual combat. I was wondering what info there is on how \'robust\' the T schnorkel would have been operationally, would it have lived up to the promise shown in trials and testing.

As always, your obviously expert knowledge of the technology of these systems will make for an informative reply.