Author Topic: German Torpedo Color?  (Read 110438 times)

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bgfreer

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #195 on: 24 Jan , 2016, 11:25 »
Thank you Natter!


As a chemist I was struggling to get past Br = Bromine.


The drawings are very very helpful.

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #196 on: 17 Mar , 2016, 08:09 »
I got hold of some photos of german midget submarines taken after the german surrender.
Here is a cut showing details of a torpedo mounted on a Molch. It's the first I'v seen showing clearly that torpedoes used by the vessels of the Kleinkampfverbände was painted (obviously, also in camouflage patterns):

Offline SG

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #197 on: 17 Mar , 2016, 13:46 »
Interesting subject Natter! I have that picture but i had never noticed the camo scheme: sharp eye, my congratulations!
Speaking of the K-Verband torpedoes camo patterns this is what i found out:
Molch: notice the 2-tone gray "hard edge" pattern on the molch and the 2-tone mottled camouflage (same grays) on the torpedo

Hai (experimental engine): curious camo. What looks like spayed lines of dark gray on both the torpedo and the main engine (rather than shadows projected from the above crane)
   
 
« Last Edit: 17 Mar , 2016, 18:21 by SG »

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #198 on: 17 Mar , 2016, 16:15 »
Hai (experimental engine): curious camo. What looks like spayed lines of dark gray on both the torpedo and the main engine (rather than shadows projected from the above crane)
Those are either shadows or strikes from fluids running down the hull.
The photo is a still from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFOW_7Bs9kI  (watch from 19:40)

Offline SG

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #199 on: 17 Mar , 2016, 18:18 »
Good spot Natter! Looking at the video some of those lines are revealed to be shadows indeed but some seem not to be shadows (maybe some sort of streaking as you say). Thanks for linking the marvellous documentary,  i had missed that
« Last Edit: 17 Mar , 2016, 18:24 by SG »

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #200 on: 11 Jun , 2016, 12:48 »
There were a discussion regarding the G7s(TXI) "Zaunkönig II" torpedoes a while back. All sources mentioning this torpedo says there were only 38 produced, and the only operational use known was the 5 torpedoes loaded on U-534 before it's last sortie.

I recently got hold of some interesting documents covering the status of german underwater ordnance-production. In these, the number of TXI torpedoes in stock by 1944-12-01 is listed as 82. One should assume they made even more during the remaining 6 months of the war...
« Last Edit: 11 Jun , 2016, 12:52 by Natter »

Offline NZSnowman

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #201 on: 11 Jun , 2016, 14:14 »
There were a discussion regarding the G7s(TXI) "Zaunkönig II" torpedoes a while back. All sources mentioning this torpedo says there were only 38 produced, and the only operational use known was the 5 torpedoes loaded on U-534 before it's last sortie.

I recently got hold of some interesting documents covering the status of german underwater ordnance-production. In these, the number of TXI torpedoes in stock by 1944-12-01 is listed as 82. One should assume they made even more during the remaining 6 months of the war...

Thanks for the information :) Let hope that a few more G7s(TXI) "Zaunkönig II" will show up one day.
« Last Edit: 11 Jun , 2016, 14:16 by NZSnowman »

Offline SG

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #202 on: 12 Jul , 2016, 15:41 »

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Offline NZSnowman

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #204 on: 04 Nov , 2016, 00:59 »
Natter, do you have any plans of the Torpedo loading frames? I would like to make a 3-D model of the frames.

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #205 on: 04 Nov , 2016, 01:10 »
Natter, do you have any plans of the Torpedo loading frames? I would like to make a 3-D model of the frames.
I'm not sure what you mean... If it's the rig for loading torpedoes on the submarine, then no, I'm sorry.

Offline NZSnowman

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #206 on: 04 Nov , 2016, 03:31 »
Yes I was talking about the the rig for loading torpedoes. I will see what I can do with the few war-time photos I had. Thanks, again.

Offline Islandern

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #207 on: 02 Dec , 2017, 09:11 »
I am building a G7e torpedo now. Is this thread has been up for some years and many links to pictures are broken and also files that has been shared (I guess with good info on colours on the different mods/models) do I wonder if someone could help me with the colours of a standard G7e/T2 or T3 torpedo. The colours I was thinking of was
  • War head: Light grey / Dark grey (Depending on T2 / T3
  • Igniter: Brass
  • Body: Silver
  • Aft part: Light grey
  • Propellers: Silver
If it can help, it is for a late war (1945) Seehund sub.

Thank you, and have a good weekend.

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #208 on: 02 Dec , 2017, 10:55 »
I am building a G7e torpedo now. Is this thread has been up for some years and many links to pictures are broken and also files that has been shared (I guess with good info on colours on the different mods/models) do I wonder if someone could help me with the colours of a standard G7e/T2 or T3 torpedo.
In principle, there's no visual difference between a TII and TII besides the text "TII" or "TIII" painted inside a ring on the forward part of the batterychamber (this was not always applied though). However, if the TIII were fitted with Fat or Lut mechanisms, there would be several issues to distinguish it from a TII.
  •    
  • War head: Light grey / Dark grey (Depending on T2 / T3 - It would seem that a darker grey is most accurate either way.   
  • Igniter: Brass - The pistol was made of brass initially, but they switched to steel during the war (painted grey). For a TIII the latter would be more correct
  • Body: Silver - Unpainted steel
  • Aft part: Light grey - Unpainted steel 
  • Propellers: Silver - Unpainted steel
The steel hull would have been covered in a protective grease giving it a brownish/golden tint.

If it can help, it is for a late war (1945) Seehund sub.
That's another story... It's clear that the Kleinkampfverbände painted their torpedoes in order to obtain proper camouflage, both for road-travel and in water - even with a camouflage pattern (as can be seen in certain photos).
I have no idea if this was governed by regulations, or left up to the kommands theirself to decide in terms of colours and pattern. My best guess would be shades of dark and lighter blue and/or grey for the hull and propellers.

Offline Natter

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Re: German Torpedo Color?
« Reply #209 on: 04 Feb , 2018, 13:58 »
Here is a cut showing details of a torpedo mounted on a Molch. It's the first I'v seen showing clearly that torpedoes used by the vessels of the Kleinkampfverbände was painted (obviously, also in camouflage patterns):
And here is one with even better examples - note also the nice netcutter on the head (source: IWM):