This forum is for discussing technological & operational matters pertaining to U-boats. http://uboat.net/forums/list.php?20 Thu, 23 May 2013 16:06:34 +0000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88490,88490#msg-88490 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88490,88490#msg-88490
Thanks, Simon.]]> Simon Technology and Operations Fri, 17 May 2013 10:15:02 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88448,88448#msg-88448 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88448,88448#msg-88448 Robert Flanagan Technology and Operations Sat, 11 May 2013 03:24:54 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88445,88445#msg-88445 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88445,88445#msg-88445 laboe Technology and Operations Sun, 12 May 2013 12:55:30 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88434,88434#msg-88434 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88434,88434#msg-88434 Balcongerät and I noted that the Germans reduce this angle each time with a newer type of U-boat. They started with 75º with the Type VIIC and ended with 60º with the Type XXIII.

Did the Germans reduce this angle each time to reduce the noise interference by increasing the hydrodynamics shape of the Balcongerät or do you think there another reason for the reduce angles?

Type VIIC = 75º
Type IX = 70º
Type XXI = 65º
Type XXIII = 60º


Fig. 1. Starboard outline of the Type XXI Balcongerät showing the angle of the Balcongerät (65º).]]> Simon Technology and Operations Tue, 07 May 2013 22:07:58 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88413,88413#msg-88413 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88413,88413#msg-88413 I am new to this website and forum. I remember my fascination with U-boats as far back as the 6th grade in the early 70's. I have read some material throughout the years and tonight I discovered this wonderful website. Let me cut to the question that has always been on my mind... the sea strainer valve closed by two of Captain Gallery's boarding party (Zenon Lukosius and Wayne Pickels) on June 4 was in the control room, but I read there were more sea strainer valves... can anyone tell me where the others were located?

I do have a copy of Steel Boat Iron Hearts by Hans Goebeler at home, but I just haven't had the chance to read it.

Thanks in advance!]]> Miami-Lou Technology and Operations Sat, 04 May 2013 19:07:22 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88245,88245#msg-88245 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88245,88245#msg-88245
A question, could a type 1XD2 uboat reach Japan without refueling? Secondly did Uboats from 1942 only use the milk cow refueler to get the necessary provisions and fuel or were there still surface ships available?

Thanks]]> Gareth john Technology and Operations Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:51:46 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88212,88212#msg-88212 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88212,88212#msg-88212 Zeugner Technology and Operations Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:20:05 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88211,88211#msg-88211 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88211,88211#msg-88211
I am new to the forum and are interested in learning from fellow members. I have two questions to ask and hope to contribute as well. My uncle was a crew member of the U-606. His name was Heinrich Zeuger and he was in command of the engine room. He was lost at sea in 1943. Is there anyone with any photographs of the crew?

In addition, I have a Kriegsmarine compass made in Mai 1944. Does anyone know where I can get additional information on it through the forum. Thank you.

I do understand German and can write to anyone of our German friends]]> Zeugner Technology and Operations Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:18:17 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88198,88198#msg-88198 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88198,88198#msg-88198 The problem was that not only the need for water was greater than the IX due to more batteries being installed but the distillation plant was designed to be run on the surface; underwater the piping would be hard pressed to cope with the increased pressure and if snorkeling the effect of the sudden atmosphere pressure changes on boiling temperature could result in some saltwater contamination. Topping batteries with brackish water would be a bad idea for obvious reasons.This meant that freshwater could not have been replenished at sea, which would create endurance issues.
Does anybody know if something like the postwar distilling plants for snorkel boats (sealed units with reinforced piping etc.) was in the works to fix this issue?]]> Marcello Technology and Operations Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:53:45 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88195,88195#msg-88195 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88195,88195#msg-88195
I’m a writer and I’ve decided to try to write a book about the lives of the U-boat men living ashore in the Far East, and to contrast that with their experiences at sea. I’m really interested to meet anybody who lived in the Far East or fought there during that time. Does anyone know Germans, Indonesians or Japanese who lived in Jakarta or Surabaya during the war years? Does anyone know of Dutch, American, Australian or British who saw action in the Indian Ocean or around the Malacca Strait or Java Sea? How about Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Malays etc who lived in Penang or Singapore at the time?

Thanks for taking a little time to read this. This website and forum are incredible resources.

Yours,

-Dan P]]> DMP Technology and Operations Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:44:16 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88152,88152#msg-88152 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88152,88152#msg-88152
We are looking into the possibility that the type IX we are working on had its torpedo tubes welded shut and converted to carrying cargo. Could anyone answer some questions for me please?

1. Was it just IXD1s that had the tubes welded or was it some D2s as well?
2. Did they weld the external bow doors shut, or was it just the tube doors themselves?

Mike]]> wreckferret Technology and Operations Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:57:05 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88151,88151#msg-88151 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88151,88151#msg-88151
We have just recovered a sample of the pressure hull from a type IX. It seems uneven thickness and not the 18mm we were lead to expect. How does the steel vary along the length of the hull?

Also on testing the metal for toxins we found traces of Lead (which I'm assuming is from the batteries) and also lots of platinum. Any idea where the platinum would come from?

Mike]]> wreckferret Technology and Operations Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:55:42 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88125,88125#msg-88125 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88125,88125#msg-88125
Was wondering if anyone can tell me where the fuel storage was on a Type IXD. Was there fuel stored inside the pressure hull, and if so where?

Mike]]> wreckferret Technology and Operations Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:48:27 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88083,88083#msg-88083 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88083,88083#msg-88083
No author/s - but the contents are really fascinating, especially the sections on German search receivers and radar - anti-detection devices - but actually all sections have really added much to my limited knowledge of the U-Boat War.

Thoroughly recommended.]]> Malcolm Osborn Technology and Operations Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:53:12 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88057,88057#msg-88057 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88057,88057#msg-88057 Marcello Technology and Operations Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:27:29 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88017,88017#msg-88017 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88017,88017#msg-88017
Im a bit confused concerning two aspects concerning the type 1XD2 U-boat.

Please see the the blueprint I posted below via the photoshack website below. Firstly I noticed there are 12 torpedo containers on the upper deck structure, 6 port and 6 starboard, why is it mentioned that this type of u-boat only carried 10 and not 12 external torpedoes?
Secondly I circled another two 'containers' could some please identify these?

[img90.imageshack.us]

Thank you.

Kind Regards
Juliet]]> JULIETPARRISH Technology and Operations Sat, 23 Feb 2013 06:02:44 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88012,88012#msg-88012 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,88012,88012#msg-88012 A Wehrmacht Field Marshal Technology and Operations Sat, 02 Mar 2013 19:58:42 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87965,87965#msg-87965 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87965,87965#msg-87965
I have a question about the TMB mines and I was hoping these could be answered here. How were these mines launched? I believe that up to three mines could be placed in a torpedo tube. This leads me to wonder:
- could the mines be launched individually or did all three have to be launched at once?
- If the mines could be launched individually, how were they launched? What was the actual mechanism for ejecting a single mine from a torpedo tube and leaving the other mines behind in the tube?
- Wouldn't the submarine be moving forward when the mine was launched? Wasn't there a danger of the submarine colliding with the mine after it was launched if the mine was launched from a forward torpedo tube? I do understand that the mines had a timing mechanism and were not armed until the submarine had left the area.

Any and all information on these questions would be appreciated.]]> zakarpatska Technology and Operations Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:22:35 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87957,87957#msg-87957 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87957,87957#msg-87957 karinhart7 Technology and Operations Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:37:41 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87917,87917#msg-87917 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87917,87917#msg-87917
For several years now, I have been searching literature and the web to find out what type of teleprinters were used in U-Boats. In particluar the so-called Hellschreiber. You can find out all about this teleprinter system (invented by Dr Rudolf Hell in 1929), on my website www.hellschreiber.com

I know for sure that Hellschreibers were used in U-Boats, as the Kriegsmarine had a 1 megawatt transmitter - "Goliath" - for worldwide broadcasts to U-Boats (incl. submerged). It also transmitted in "Hell" mode. See my website under "Feld Hell" then "Radios used with Feld-Hell".

I still do not have any conclusive information about the Hell-printers used in the U-Boats. The 2.5 vs. 5 characters/sec model, printer-only vs teleprinter with keyboard, etc.

I'm looking forward to any material, clues, referenecs, etc!

Frank]]> Tallyho Technology and Operations Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:33:55 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87881,87881#msg-87881 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87881,87881#msg-87881 Jerry and Charla Mason Technology and Operations Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:24:51 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87849,87849#msg-87849 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87849,87849#msg-87849 Jim Technology and Operations Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:38:39 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87811,87811#msg-87811 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87811,87811#msg-87811 Don Thomas Technology and Operations Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:20:24 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87777,87777#msg-87777 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87777,87777#msg-87777
I was looking over the amazing photo's of U-778 on Innes McCarthy's FB page [www.facebook.com]

Maybe the photos's didn't show it but I wondering about the lack of any winter garden for AA gun placements. Was this a feature on some late war VIIC's? I thought by '44/'45 large wintergardens were standard? I'm sure someone will put me right.

KR

Mark]]> Mark McShane Technology and Operations Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:23:15 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87642,87642#msg-87642 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87642,87642#msg-87642
I purchased an item I believe to be from a U-Boat and am asking for any members to share information on it if possible. The item is a Wood Bellows type of foot pump. The pump appears to be about a foot and a half long with two pieces of solid wood. It is attached with a leather bellows type of apparatus between the wood.

On the top of the wood is a small stamped (burnt) submarine with the the letters KSL or KSI over the submarine with the year 1939 stamped above the submarine. On the foot action part of the wood is a 5 inch engraved SM on the pump. It appears as if there is a 2 inch metal intake with a screen on it and a small hole near the "toe" (where the wood from top and bottom meet) in which a hose may have been attached.

I am sorry for not attaching a picture but I just got it in the Luft Post and wanted to see if any of you know anything about it.

Thank You
David]]> dmpoint Technology and Operations Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:59:05 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87584,87584#msg-87584 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87584,87584#msg-87584 I have been thinking to write up a paper on this engineering marvel.
On a normal scope, there are two mirrors with prisms. All the light has to do is bounce off one and go straight down a tube.
The attack scope is different. The scope goes up and down but the eyepiece stays in the same place. I can't figure out how they made this work. If the eyepiece stays in the same place, how is the light refracted from the movable scope lens?! I hope this is coming through. The normal periscope is simple in principle as long as the eyepiece and lens are connected, but the eyepiece on the attack scope is stationary while the lens moves up and down.
OK. I need some drawings or diagrams or any technical information that you can think of, I would appriciate it very much.
Thanks
Dogfish40]]> Dogfish40 Technology and Operations Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:02:43 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87431,87431#msg-87431 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87431,87431#msg-87431 skipperbill Technology and Operations Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:13:27 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87390,87390#msg-87390 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87390,87390#msg-87390 IanBell Technology and Operations Sat, 15 Sep 2012 07:55:51 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87342,87342#msg-87342 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87342,87342#msg-87342
When U331 unloaded on the Barham the reports confirm that the sudden weight loss added to the buoyancy of the boat, causing the Uboat to surface right in the middle of the flotilla (a suicidal action?).

This sounds like negligence or/and incompetence on behalf of the submariners:-

What should have been the S.O.P.?
Was this a common occurrence?
Who do you think was to blame?

Discuss? :-)
Thanks,
Wayne]]> NEEBLAMMERS Technology and Operations Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:48:18 +0000 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87336,87336#msg-87336 http://uboat.net/forums/read.php?20,87336,87336#msg-87336 I'm struggling to find an explanation of the acronym 'T.I.C' as mentioned in the U331 interrogation report :-


(c) Attack by T.I.Cs. "U 331" proceeded direct to her area of operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. While between Sollum and Alexandria she was attacked by what prisoners described as T.I.Cs. Two of the men were wounded, one fatally. He was buried at sea four hours later.


Can you help?

cheers,
Wayne]]> NEEBLAMMERS Technology and Operations Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:00:58 +0000