Tores mailbox VIIC and VIIC/41 operation and technical details

[tore]

Christopher
I have been looking at a number of submarine paintings for sale at the net and am sorry to say the quality, apart from a few honourable exceptions, is astonishing low. Some of the artists have no idea about the details as well as how a submarine behaves in open waters.
Tore

[SnakeDoc]

Tore,
one odd question - what was avarage wattage of bulbs used to lighting compartments?


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Thanks, regards
Maciek

[TopherVIIC]

Tore,
one odd question - what was avarage wattage of bulbs used to lighting compartments?


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Thanks, regards
Maciek

To add to that question - were they a standard "light bulb size" or were they a particular german specific size. Would a light bulb from today fit in the sockets?
Were the colored bulbs colored by means of a gel or glass on the outside, or was the bulb itself colored?
Christopher

[tore]

Ligthbulbs.
I really have to think hard to see if I remember. Contrary to our british  submarines (U class) which had bayonet sockets, the VIICs had DIN standard sockets ( screw in) and compatable to our national standard thus on our VIICs we used ordinary common (DIN) bulbs which you could get anywere in the country. As to the wattage I guess we used what we felt appropriate, mostly 60 watt for ordinary interior lamps as far as I remember, there was no code for for the wattage. I believe the coloured ligths like navigation ligths, alarmligths and nigthligths were ordinary bulbs in coloured glass. As a curiosity I previously mentioned I let the 1.st electrician install heating ligthbulbs in the officers lockers ( to keep the humidity away) these bulbs were of carbonthread type.
Tore

[tore]

Ligthbulbs
I should probably mention with regards to the standard ligthbulbs bulbs being available in every place that as our standard voltage ashore is 220 V the shipvoltage is
110 V.
Tore

[SnakeDoc]

Tore, thank you for the reply.
To start off on a different tack - I have got a photos of handle, near the thin wall, between the officers and chief petty officers rooms, on port side. Do you remember what is it for? Can it be the handle for the schnorchel locking gear, which locks the mast in its lowered position?


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Thanks, regards
Maciek

[tore]

Maciek
This

Tore, thank you for the reply.
To start off on a different tack - I have got a photos of handle, near the thin wall, between the officers and chief petty officers rooms, on port side. Do you remember what is it for? Can it be the handle for the schnorchel locking gear, which locks the mast in its lowered position?

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Thanks, regards
Maciek

Maciek
I have tried to remember this item and even if it`s almost in the wardroom I can not say for 100% I remember. However I am almost sure, as you say, it is the lockinghandle for the schnorchel in lowered position.
Tore

[SnakeDoc]

Thank you for answer, Tore.


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Best regards
Maciek

[tore]

Thank you for answer, Tore.


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Best regards
Maciek

Maciek.
Just to confirm our assumption is correct I mail a  sketch showing the two lockingpins on the schnorchelmast. Although the drawing shows a wheel for the downrigth mast I  think a handleoperated pin is probably better in that awkward position. Moreover don`t forget the schnorchel was fitted in March/April 1945 and they migth have been short of wheels at the yard in northern Norway.
Tore

[SnakeDoc]

Just to confirm our assumption is correct I mail a  sketch showing the two lockingpins on the schnorchelmast. Although the drawing shows a wheel for the downrigth mast I  think a handleoperated pin is probably better in that awkward position. Moreover don`t forget the schnorchel was fitted in March/April 1945 and they migth have been short of wheels at the yard in northern Norway.

Thanks Tore, great picture, where does it come from?
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Regards
Maciek

[tore]

Maciek
I really don`t know. I had it for some time and I guess I found it on a dutch modelbuilders thread a few years back. But it still bugs me I don`t clearly remembered the handle from my time onboard.
Tore

[NZSnowman]

Hi Guys
 
I hope all you guys are having a great summer.
 
Starting to miss the U-boating already and it only the start of the winter here Been busy with the new job so far this winter, and it starting to look like it going to be a big winter for avalanches here, lots of snow and very cold
 
Happy U-boating, I can not wait to spring 

[tore]

Nice to hear from you Simon. So far we haven`t had much of a summer on this end, rain every day.
Tore

[SnakeDoc]

Hi Guys


Tore, when sailing KNM Kaura, were the torpedo shooting excercies conducted?
If so, were ex-german torpedoes used? Was the fire control system (TDC) modernized?
How about other electronic equipment - radio transmitters and receivers and sound devices
(active sonar and hydrophones)? Were installed modern (post-war) and then, during restoration
as a musem replaced with german?


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Thanks, regards
Maciek

[tore]

Maciek
Yes, we had intensive exercises. After work up we started with daily training of the crew by dummyattack e.g. using the fruitmachine and the other equipment like ordinary attack, but did`t actually launch a torpedo, just air. Then continued the exercises by firing dummy (not live) torpedoes at a real target ship, setting the depth at safe level so a hit- torpedo  passed well below the targetships keel. The dummytorpedo surfaced after a preset lengthrun and was catched by a special torpedofishingvessel.
I was not involved in the torpedopart so I don`t know to much on the subject, but we used ex german torpedoes, quite a stock was left behind by the germans. We mostly used the LUT torpedoes. I don`t think we modernized the firecontrol system nor the other electronic equipment. We didn`t even had a radar which worked. So in 1953-1956 we used mostly the original german equipment, but later I guess we did some  alterations. As to the U-995 at Laboe they did some strange exchange of equipment,removing the original schnorchel, the original periscope and kept a few items intalled in Norway after my time.
Tore