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
I AM PRESUMING THAT AFTER THE U-19 CLASS WAS MODIFIED, THE GUNS AND MOUNTINGS WERE REUSED ON A FEW UBII CLASS BOATS- I FOUND A SOURCE NAMING UB-18 AS ONE OF THE BOATS TO HAVE A LARGER GUN FITTED! I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GUN IN ORDER TO IMPROVE OUR INFORMATION BOARD ON IT, BUT IT ISN'T PROVING AS EASY AS I HAD HOPED, AND IS CURRENTLY RELYING ON TOO MANY ASSUMPTIONS........
HOPING SOMEONE CAN HELP, MARTIN......