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**Von Hilde** · 10-20-2012, 08:21 AM

Manfred, Where did you get the mini diamondplate for those two hatches? I have been making my own but its tedious, especially in that small scale. Also, is that red black and white striped thing under the towel a fishing rod? I have been using my old rods for numerous things on my boat models. Torpedo tubes, torpedos, periscope housings, gun barrels, just about anything thats tubular shaped. They are great because they are tapered and easy to work with. Some of the larger rods I have used the big end and sliced off rings, to use for hatch fairings, and longer pieces for the hatch tube itself.

**Von Hilde** · 10-20-2012, 08:47 AM

I dont think those are actually Kort nozles, but just prop guards and vortex interupters. Most likely discontued due to expense and complexity. The above the waterline guards, were quick and easy to install, used less material, and at a time when they were in a hurry to produce as many boats as they could ( from 1937-39) many short cuts were implimented. I would guess some of the IIA boats 1935 production had them since most were built in the shipyard drydocks. Many of the later IIAs and Bs were constructed outside on the ground or barges where they were built on their sides rather than upright in the sheds. Another move to increase production. I think the "Kort thruster" system was just an early R&D test to see if it gave them any more speed. to keep up with, the bigger boats at that time. I aparently worked to some extent, it gave them a couple knots. Soon as the war started, the budget, for the DKM mainly went to the capital ships. The Luftwaffe gobbled up the big chunks of the pie, then the Army and its many factions fought over the meat and potatoes, so the Navy was left with soup bone and stale bread. The end of the chow line was the U Bootwaffe. To refit all the operating boats, would be expensive, and time consuming, as well as they needed as many boats as they could, operational to the the packs to the convoies. By the time Donetz got the Fuherer's attention, and got some running room, the money went to the Wunderboots.

**MFR1964** · 10-20-2012, 09:20 AM

The diamond shaped plating is from Verlinden, you can get this in sheets, since mine is build in scale 1/35 i can use all the war stuff they have for static building.
The red/black rod is the backpart of a pencil, i've got collected a vast array of tubes in all kind of materials in all those years, even now i bumb into things i can use.

Manfred.

**greenman407** · 10-22-2012, 09:43 AM

**greenman407** · 10-23-2012, 10:00 AM

**greenman407** · 10-23-2012, 10:08 AM

The second and third pictures on todays postings seems pretty Dramatic. Looks like a Destroyer or a cargo ships prop sliced up the superstructure and Walloped the conning tower. Whats up with the Ninth picture down. Horizontal and vertical lines on the hull?

**greenman407** · 10-23-2012, 05:32 PM

Check out this video of a captured Uboat being put thru its paces by the British.

http://www.realmilitaryvideos.com/videos/captured-german-u-boat-being-tested-by-allied-personnel/

**greenman407** · 10-23-2012, 05:47 PM

This U boat is the captured U570. It was then named HMS Graph. It was used by the allies for evaluation and then sent out with a British crew on two war patrols. Here are a few pictures of the actual U570/Graph.

**reddevil** · 10-24-2012, 06:26 AM

The picture under that of U 35 seems to be of a sub whose deck received the visit of a propeller

**Von Hilde** · 10-24-2012, 07:04 AM

U 35 was a type VII A, known as the "Bad luck boat" before the war. In 1937 it was rammed by a frieghter, then in 1938 it was ran over by the battleship Graf Spee, which is the sevear damage in the pictures. In 1939 it was hit by an airplane. During the war the luck changed and the boat was fairly successfull. It had several kaptans, and it was Otto Kretchmer's first command. Eventually sunk later in the war by 3 destroyers, but the entire crew survived. I think those lines on U 45 were for degausing. The pictures of the "Canooes" being built on their sides are excelant. They are a great help building mine. They have eliminated alot of guesswork as to how the deck was supported.

**greenman407** · 10-24-2012, 09:33 AM

Thanks Guys for filing in the Gaps! This is all quite a History Lesson for me from people who know.

**Von Hilde** · 10-25-2012, 08:30 AM

Todays trivia, U 93s tower Under construction does not have the splash shield installed yet, and you can see the burn marks from the welding of the safety rail on the side of the tower, so the final paint hasent been applied at the time of the pic. About May/ June 1940. Picture to the left is the boat is after October 1940, when it went from a training boat to a front boat. Klaus Korth's Red Devil emblem, is with a net, catching a small frieghter, with Churchill on it. All the other red devil boats, the Running Devil held a torch. Note: Training boats had a yellow strip around the tower, when they were assigned to the training operation. Some people believed the stripes were white, only because the pictures were mostly B&W. Small discrepancy in the U9 pic. (type II with the Knights Cross) The caption states its U 92, Most likely should have been U9-2 denoting the second picture in the series of the boat surfacing