Hello Ken:

You wrote: "The man attaching the cable from the U-boat's winch is actually standing on the winch, which is turn is on a small stool on the deck." Sorry,but
I don't see how that winch can handle that 3,600# torpedo. I can see using the forward or after capstans for this job, like we did on fleet boats. I'm sure they attached a fair-lead pulley to a padeye on the bridge. It appears that the bridle used to lower or hoist the torpedoes was attached in special sockets on either side of the torpedo's afterbody, and then to the hoisting/lowering cable assembly. The kingpost setup consists of a stout vertically mounted kingpost, using sturdy pipe braces attached to the deck and kingpost, and a sturdy pipe boom, that could swing to port and starboard as needed. This setup provides just enough height for the torpedo to be loaded onto the loading cradle.

Loading torpedoes from the rubber boats is accomplished by using this arrangement. Some of the u-boats and the Italian Navy used a chain fall mounted atop the boom to hoist the torpedoes aboard. Other u-boats used 2 large sheaves
for hoisting or lowering the torpedoes.

Good photos appear in Waldemar Trojca's "UBOOTWAFFE" on pages 113, 408, 409, 416, 417 and 503.

Arranging torpedoes in the torpedo rooms utilized horizontally-mounted rails on the port and starboard sides of the room. A sturdy cross-beam, mounted on trolley wheels, travelled forward and aft. A chain fall was mounted on a trolley on the crossbeam and used for hoisting and lowering the torpedoes in place.

Regards,

ROBERT M.