The Seehund (German: "seal"), also known as Type XXVII, was a midget submarine manufactured by Nazi Germany during World War II. Designed in 1944 and operated by two-man crews, it was used by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) during the closing months of the war, sinking nine merchant vessels and damaging an additional three, while losing 35 boats, mostly attributed to bad weather. The French Navy used three captured boats after the war until 1953.