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U 47 Modifications & Colours

Part I – Chronological discussion of modifications and colours

In a discussion which deals with the colour of the paints used upon U 47, it is first necessary to explain the typical paint scheme applied to Kriegsmarine U-boats. All the U-boats of this era were painted in two greys. The “upper hull colour” was painted on the conning tower and the upper hull (above the waterline). The “lower hull colour” was a darker anti-fouling grey paint that was applied to the lower hull (below the waterline). This lower colour is covered in more detail in Part II. The horizontal division between the two greys took place just below the drainage holes on the hull. The wooden deck, which is covered in more detail in Part III, was treated with a black wood preservative rather than being painted.

Pre-war features

The following pre-war features were present upon U 47 before the commencement of hostilities:

- “47” painted in large white numerals approximately 1.5 metres tall on both sides of the conning tower.

- a small oval plate (on each side) inscribed with “U 47” just under the small drainage holes near to the bow.

- a bronze eagle plaque on the front face of the tower, just below the wind deflector.

- the red horseshoe-shaped lifebelts on each side of the conning tower had “U-Flottille Wegener” and “U 47” marked in white letters.

- two red and white emergency rescue buoys. One was located just forward of the 20mm gun mount and the other was on the forward deck, just aft of the capstan. These red and white buoys had three white strips which curved in a circular pattern around the outside. Black text appeared upon these strips; the topmost strip read “Unterseeboot” followed by “U 47.”

-a black patch of paint around and abaft the diesel exhaust outlet to camouflage the staining from the dirty exhaust gases.

The starboard side of the original tower of U 47 at the start of the U-boat’s career on the 17th December 1939, with pre-war features. The vertical board behind the rungs was in place only on this date, the day of the commissioning ceremony, so that the pristine paintwork would not be smudged by the tips of sailors’ dirty boots.

A number of pre-war features are evident in this photo of U 47 during her Indienststellung (commissioning ceremony) on the 17th December 1938. The paint is fresh since all U-boats received a fresh coat of paint for their commissioning ceremony. Note that there was no spray defector midway up the front of the conning tower at this time.

This drawing illustrates the differences between either side of the original tower of U 47. The numbers indicate the following differences – 1 ventilation holes, 2 navigation light colour, 3 aerial and foghorn holes, 4 clip, 5 tower railings, 6 extra wires, 7 rungs, 8 cartridge tray.

A comparison can be made between the tower railings and ventilation holes on either side of U 47’s tower in this photo, taken at Wilhelmshaven on the 17th October 1939.