Rare photo of U 49's last moments

[dougie47]

Hi guys,

I thought I'd share a photo with you -



A year or two ago I was browsing through my grandfather's scrapbooks, which contain newspaper clippings from the 40s and 50s. Mostly aviation related but some naval stuff too. I came across the above photo and recognised instantly a VIIB. I'm certain it is U 49 on 15th April 1940 in Vaagsfjord in Norway. U 49 was depth charged to the surface by HMS Fearless and abandoned by her crew. One died, the others were rescued.

What interested me most was the round diesel exhaust outlet. I had been trying to work out for several years when U 47 had the exhaust outlet modified from round to oval. The photo shows U 49 with the round hole in April 1940. This leads me to think U 47 had it modified during a refit in late April and early May 1940. So, thanks to my grandad cutting out this newspaper clipping in 1940, I managed to resolve the question!

By the way, NWEF was the North Western Expedititionary Force.

Cheers,

Dougie

[Rokket]

Something about seeing a shot like that in a newspaper makes it more "real" than even photos in the yards. Weird. Maybe because so many people see the newspaper, but other than that, everyday people would never see a uboat.
Dood on your Grand Dad.

[dougie47]

Hi Wink,

Incidentally, my grandfather was a very decent modelmaker. Amongst other subjects he carved a 24th scale Sptifire Mk. V from wood. This was in the 1940s, way before plastic kits and decals were available. No PE or resin either! All he had to go on was a small 3-view plan of a Spitfire and possibly a few poor quality b&w photos. No plans. Despite this, his Spitfire looked better than the 24th scale Airfix kit I build as a kid.

Another point of interest is that the control surfaces on his wooden Spitfire all moved. If you insert a screwdriver onto the rudder pedals in the cockpit the rudder moves. Similarly, by moving the control stick the ailerons and elevators move. This was achieved via wires inside the wooden model.

I'd love to have seen what he could have done with modern U-boat kits, and resin and PE aftermarket stuff.

Cheers,

Dougie

[Rokket]

Wow, what a beautiful model, a real miniature. I'm sure he would have blown us all away with today's tools and choices, as you say. Lovely to hear.