German Type VIIc (U 570)
The German type VII "U boat" was a single hull ocean-going boat of medium displacement, she was fitted with external ballast tanks and main negative tank inside the pressure hull. With its various variants (VIIa, b, c, c-41, c-42 d & f) they formed the backbone of the German submarine fleet for over 10 years.
The design of the ‘Type VII’ was developed from the UB III boats of WWI and the Finish ‘Vetehinen’ class built between 1926 and 1932. The design sought to build a boat of high strength, good sea-keeping, surface and underwater handling, good surface speed and large torpedo capacity. Construction had to be straightforward and maintenance had to be fairly simple, all this resulted in a boat 218ft long displacing just under 915 tons.
The resulting submarine was one that was easy to mass produce, stable, well armed and popular with its crews. The prototype ‘Type VII’ was built in 1935 at Deschimag AG Weser, Bremen, launched on 24/6/36 and numbered U27 (lost to Naval action in the North Sea in 1939). In the following 10 years 704 boats of this general design were built, thus making them the largest class of submarine ever built. Of the "Type VIIc" variant 661 boats were ordered (U69 on.).
Our model is off the ‘Type VIIc’, U-570 built by Krupp Germania, Kiel. Launched March 1941. Whilst on patrol off Iceland on the 25th. August 1941 she was attacked and disabled by aircraft of RAF Coastal command, the aircraft then watched her in succession until a Royal Navy ship arrived on the scene and took her over, this after her crew had unsuccessfully tried to scuttle her. Crucially her ‘enigma’ code making machine was captured, (the first of only a few) and this single act of possession of this machine probably saved millions of lives and shortened the duration of the war. After repairs she served in the Royal Navy under the name of HMS/M Graph. She was eventually lost on the 20/3/44 on the west coast of Islay.
The ‘Type VII’ was also the class to sustained the most losses of WWII, of the 704 boats built, 437 were lost to Allied action a further 165 were scuttled by their crews to either avoid capture or at the end of the war.
Our model can be completed as either the Royal Navies HMS/M Graph any one of the German boats.
Our set of white GRP mouldings consists of :
The Type VIIc "U-570" is one of the models we have bought in from John Darnell of ‘Darnell Models’ of Leavesdon.
This twin screw model was the original model in the Darnell range and was designed to submerge just using forward speed alone, however she can easily be made to submerge from stationary, using an air pump system.
When completed the mouldings make up into a handsome and attractive large model typical of the most active U Boat type of WWII.
