Hi Scott,

That clarifies a lot for me. I was having a hard time envisioning how they maneuvered the torpedo down below during the loading process.

The use of those topside canisters probably looked like a good idea in peace time but they ultimately proved to be impractical during wartime.

U-126 suffered both problems. She was once caught on the surface and bombed by an aircraft while she had a torpedo already started in the torpedo loading hatch and was very lucky to be able to chase the aircraft away with her single 20mm AA gun. I am guessing the plane ran out of bombs & that's why it left but it could have been hit as well.

Another time during a depth charge attack one of the empty canisters was cracked & filled with water causing her to dive out of control. The Chief Engineer managed to get her back under control by using the last bit of compressed air the boat had at the very last minute. She was at about 800 feet at the time. She managed to get away from the escort on the surface but it was a while before she could dive again.

Regards,

Ken Dunn