Scratch Build project SM U-23 Class World war one U-boote. Zero Bubble model design.

[Davidh]

Hi Scott,

Thank you and once again an unusual scale, 1/54.


Dave.

[HardRock]

Outstanding Dave. What scale is it?

[Davidh]

Hi Jorg,

Ive had to use a coping saw as I don’t have a bandsaw, so it took hours of work. I don’t mind. What has taken ipeven longer is all the checking. The keel will be added after the hull has been sheeted. After all the baulkheads have been cut I then laid down the keel. This is a 5mm by 5 mm strip of hardwood that will run the length of the boat. I will be cutting out the square profile in the bottom of the baulkheads for the backbone to slot into.



The stern section of the keel bends upward to give clearance for the twin screws and the rudder. I simply cut a series of notches into the keel to creat a curve and then glued it with some superglue.


The front of the bow curves up ward and is near vertical. I actually prefer this bow over the rounded bow of later U-Boats.

Here I have vertically placed the baulkheads in position and checking fit and alignment.i have used a hard flat piece of bench top to guarantee flatness.

David H

[JHapprich]

A lot of work! Did you use a bandsaw? How about the keel? Airbrush for Mike finally arrived!

[Davidh]

Hello all,

I have spent the last week or so plotting and designing the twenty different and subtly evolving templates that work their way from the stern to the bow. All the time being conscious of the need to make sure that the middle section will be big enough to accommodate a ZB-1/2 cylinder that I intend on putting in the middle. It will also need to be able to take the 12v SLA battery up front and of course the ballast tank in the middle. I have already started thinking about the Ballast tank. I have with all my ZB boats just used a PVC pipe pressure sealed as the tank but can't stop thinking how cool it would look if I could get a brass one made that kind of looked really turn of last century. Stylish...


Anyway, I have started cutting out the paper profiles and folding them over to check for symmetry and then plotting how the relate to the previous one and the next one to be made.
All the while making sure that the constant width of the main raised deck stayed just that for most of the length of the boat, also making sure that the two lower outer decks blended nicely into the front of the bow and the templates 18,19 and twenty rake upwards. Also checking with the profiles of the battery cross section that It will easily be accessible in the forward hull. This has taken me most of the Day. Once the twenty profiles have been cut and checked I have then transferred them to a thin 5 mm thick sheet of particle board and then started tracing out the profiles. Once this is done I can then start cutting them with a coping saw and then checking them against the paper profiles.



Most of these pieces simply needed some fine sanding around the edges to bring them back down to the pen outline.



I will have to spend a fair bit of time making sure that the frames line up as they should.


David H

[Davidh]

Thanks Jorg,

The Good Doctor seems to be beating me to it again. Andreas do you have any good U-23 Class pics available that you could share? Summer has been cancelled on the East coast of Australia for the past 3 weeks it been rain, rain and rain. Crazy considering exactly a year ago we were about to pack up our cars and evaluate because of a very big and scary fire to our north was approaching. Drought to rain, rain rain.

This has given me time to start working out the profiles for my next project the U-23 class U-boat. I have divided the drawings that I have into 20 sections that I will make into profiles that work their way from the stern to the bow. This requires a bit of compass work and educated guesses as I only have the one series of drawings to work off and not many clear photos showing details. Anybody?

I started drawing the profiles on paper, checking for symmetry by flipping them over and referring constantly to the previously plotted profiles. Some interesting curves on these boats. They are trickier then my Soviet Project boats.


I just wish that the original plans that I have had more profiles more evenly paced along the length of the hull. I've had to carefully plot the location of the Cylinder, ballast tank and the battery to make sure they will fit and access to each is easy.







David H

[JHapprich]

Looking forward to it, David!

[DrSchmidt]

Funny, I just get large plans of this class scanned and plan to moedel it in 3D....also the UC II class.

[Davidh]

Hello all,

I have for the last year been covering the development of the ZB cylinders. These development of these is almost at the end as production is already underway. As a result I have been thinking for a couple of months about the possibility of returning to hull development and producing a new kit. For years I have been developing mainly Soviet boats but I find that I am at a stage where I have all the Soviet boats that I want.

I have during that time though about producing a kit of AE2. This was the second submarine ordered by the RAN (Royal Australian Navy) in 1911 and delivered in 1914 after one of the longest early submarine voyages. This submarine was a British "E" class boat, hence 'AE2'. It has become a famous Boat in Australia because it broke through the Dardanelles on the same day as the start of the Gallipoli campaign and has become apart of the ANZAC legend becoming known as the 'Silent ANZAC.' However I decided to take a look at some other designs.

I have always liked the really early German U-boats from the pre-war period. However this liking goes up until the start of the war. After about 1915 they start getting bumps and lumps. I like the sleekness of the earlier ones.

So I have decided on the U-23 class. This class also shared similarities to the U-31 series of Boats. The U-23 class was the last class that were developed and laid down before the start of the war. They were also I believe the second class of Boats to have marine diesels rather than the Paraffin /Petrol engines of earlier boats.




U-26 was of the U-23 class.

I see that the Good Doctor Schmidt has beaten me to it with U-5 on the cards. His U-1 was a masterpiece. Also Das Werk, a company in Germany has released a kit of U-9. So suddenly at the moment it's raining Pre-WW1 German U-bootes! I have some good drawings of the U-23 class however would love to get hold of some dry dock photos but have found this rather challenging.

This boat will be a challenge for me as I just can't PVC pipe this one. It has a constantly changing beam and so will need to be quite wide. It will be designed to take on of my ZB cylinders and will have a maximum beam of well over 100 mm wide. It will be as long at the Project 667 kit that I have on offer (around 1220 mm). The master hull will be profiles / frames and stringers, most likely covered with Balsa and then Glassed over.



Side view showing the ZB -1/2 cylinder with the SLA Battery in front, between them will be the ballast tank. It will be a tight fit for the cylinder vertically, sideways plenty of space. I will probably shape the Ballast tank to conform snugly with the profile of the hull.



David H