Author Topic: What are these?  (Read 1312 times)

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Offline bianco64squalo

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What are these?
« on: 17 Jul , 2017, 05:55 »
Hi everybody,
someone knows what are the strange holes on the deck of the U-Boats ?
Thanks in advance for replies....

Offline tore

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #1 on: 18 Jul , 2017, 02:32 »
You`ll find 3 of these slots in the old casingdecks. Two port and stb. as indicated by you and one stb fore off center. All belongs to the loadin unloading of the torpedoes in the pressure proof storage containers for the external storage of the torpedoes. The aft Storage container is placed midships and the fore slightly to the stb. as can be seen on my image below. As you probably know these containers were removed in the latter part of the war.
Tore

Offline bianco64squalo

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #2 on: 18 Jul , 2017, 07:20 »
Thanks Tore, altough I didn't understand the function of those slots, and in particular the strange shape of them....Were they only slots ? And below them there were some tools of the same shape of the slots ?

Offline tore

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #3 on: 18 Jul , 2017, 08:50 »
I don`t know the tool or rig for this job as we never used it. I doubt the tool was permanently fitted in the casing, more like the loading gear for the torpedo loading hatch. I assume they were rigged whenever they were used, pretty seldom I should imagine. I guess the the gear was stowed, dismantled in the casing. In the casing deck you`ll find 4 hatches just above the location for the aft and fore storagecontainers, may be they were stored in this area.
Tore

Offline Vesikko

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #4 on: 19 Jul , 2017, 03:22 »
Hey,
I took this picture from the book called Vesikko.
I hope this helps.

Offline SnakeDoc

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #5 on: 19 Jul , 2017, 04:51 »
Hi,

I will attach picture of type II uboat that should supplement Vesikko post.


http://dreadnoughtproject.org/plans/KM_Uboot_Type_II_1934/bergungsplan_100dpi.jpg


Generally, these openings are for emergency ventilation valves.
Curved cutting is for (retractable to vertical position) handle of valve, while the square cover nearby with crossed circle/square hides the screw connection for hose from rescue ship.
Two hoses (inake and exhaust) were connected by divers to the shallow sunken boat and the compartments could be ventilated.
These fittings were installed on early-war boats and on all boats undergoing training on Baltic. On front boats they were removed.


I would like to provide more info, hovewer my health does not allow for this.

More info you can find on interrogation reports available on uboatrchive.net.


http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570/U-570Plate18.htm


(a4), (b4) valves


--
Regards
Maciek
« Last Edit: 19 Jul , 2017, 05:00 by SnakeDoc »

Offline bianco64squalo

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #6 on: 19 Jul , 2017, 05:35 »
Thanks Tore, Vesikko and SnakeDoc,
your pretious allowed me to understand exactly what I wanted to know: THANKS !!!!!!
This is exactly the kind of help I expect from this fantastic forum.....

Offline tore

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Re: What are these?
« Reply #7 on: 19 Jul , 2017, 06:34 »
Filippo.
I missed totally. Maciek is correct and Vesikkos images explains everything. The strange slot are for the emergency air valves which were supposed to be opened from outside in the event of a sunken uboat. In the times before WW2 much effort was done to be able to save a sunken uboat. This system was used on the early VIICs. The idea was to have a diver connecting an airhose to an external coupling having a shutoff hull valve which could be opened and shut from outside by the diver. The connection was underneath the small hatch whith a wheel image and the shut off valve inside the pressurehull was operated by foldable handle, rod and lever which can be seen clearly on the Vesikko image. The strange curvy slot is a recess for the shut off valve handle which could be folded down away from the casing deck. The handle raised followed the curvy slot thus open and shutting the hullvalve from outside. The system was abandoned latter part of the war.
Tore