Our special exhibition on 175 year history of the German navies is entering its last week. You still have the possibility to see it until November the 5th.
We wouldn’t like to close it before having highlighted this outstanding model by our late friend Maurice Verhaaren. A big part of his work is permanently displayed in our submarine section on deck 5. Verhaaren worked closely with the Peter Tamm collection for over 30 years and his impressive body of work immortalises the dear memories we keep of him.
U-Boot Type XXIII, 1944
After the collapse of the U-boat warfare in mid-1943, the Kriegsmarine commissioned new boat types built in sections and based on the new Walther turbine propulsion system to become fast submarines instead of submersibles. However, the turbines were not ready for production. The boats were redesigned for diesel-electric propulsion with more powerful batteries.
Deutsche Weft, Hamburg, was given general contractor status for the new Type XXIII, with subcontractors in Germany delivering sections and shipyards in Toulon, Monfalcone, Genoa, and Nikolaev also contracted to build them - but in keeping with the course of the war, these were successively withdrawn from German control. Late delivery of drawings, lack of fittings and steel components due to transportation problems caused massive delays in the program. The shortage of labor at Deutsche Werft had to be compensated for by so-called "red slip"-actions in which qualified foreign workers were forcing my employed, as well as recruited German skilled workers and labor soldiers. After the Allied invasion in June 1944 serial construction of the small, 34 meters long coastal submarines was given top priority By May 1, 1945. 63 had been built. Six of them still saw action. The German Navy commissioned "Hai" (ex "U 2365") and "Hecht" (ex "U 2367") in 1957; "Hai" sank in 1966 due to an accident.
Model builder Maurice Verhaaren
Scale 1/35
Crew 14
We wouldn’t like to close it before having highlighted this outstanding model by our late friend Maurice Verhaaren. A big part of his work is permanently displayed in our submarine section on deck 5. Verhaaren worked closely with the Peter Tamm collection for over 30 years and his impressive body of work immortalises the dear memories we keep of him.
U-Boot Type XXIII, 1944
After the collapse of the U-boat warfare in mid-1943, the Kriegsmarine commissioned new boat types built in sections and based on the new Walther turbine propulsion system to become fast submarines instead of submersibles. However, the turbines were not ready for production. The boats were redesigned for diesel-electric propulsion with more powerful batteries.
Deutsche Weft, Hamburg, was given general contractor status for the new Type XXIII, with subcontractors in Germany delivering sections and shipyards in Toulon, Monfalcone, Genoa, and Nikolaev also contracted to build them - but in keeping with the course of the war, these were successively withdrawn from German control. Late delivery of drawings, lack of fittings and steel components due to transportation problems caused massive delays in the program. The shortage of labor at Deutsche Werft had to be compensated for by so-called "red slip"-actions in which qualified foreign workers were forcing my employed, as well as recruited German skilled workers and labor soldiers. After the Allied invasion in June 1944 serial construction of the small, 34 meters long coastal submarines was given top priority By May 1, 1945. 63 had been built. Six of them still saw action. The German Navy commissioned "Hai" (ex "U 2365") and "Hecht" (ex "U 2367") in 1957; "Hai" sank in 1966 due to an accident.
Model builder Maurice Verhaaren
Scale 1/35
Crew 14
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