My take on the XXIII UZO is that it was probably a simple support rod for the binocular that seated into a compass dial at the base with a pointer on the base of the rod that indicated the relative bearing to any object in sight ... which was reported to the quartermaster via the voice tube. It would be for navigation on the surface, taking bearings to known landmarks or plotting surface contacts. The binocular would enable the bridge to give both an accurate relative bearing and a rough angle on the bow for any vessel in sight. I would guess that the rod simply seated down into a hole in the middle of the compass dial, so it could be plucked out and carried down fast in a crash dive.

Those kids were trained to literally fly down that ladder through the conning tower to control and bounce off the bear trap to the side to clear the next guy coming down. Last guy down unlatched the hatch, pulled it shut, and dogged it.

When crash dive was ordered, the chief vented the three ballast cells and the planesman pulled full dive on the bowplanes ... the boat was going under, ready or not! That's what all those additional vent holes in the casing and sail are about: flood out the air fast!

The UZO, needless to say, would be built rugged to withstand abuse.

Yes, I could unravel this mystery! VOZM, page 52/last pic U-Hecht:
"Akkuluk für die Batteriemontage". That means "accumulator hatch for battery change". There's also a note on page 80/plan #7/upper right profile: "Luke" = "hatch"


Michael

THANK YOU for solving that one, Mike! Now I know what that thing's for ... not just a support platform for the brow.

My screw arrived damaged .. bent fluke. Short boss ... blunt hub.

And the vendor, of course, wants me to send the damaged one back FIRST ... before he'll send a replacement. He also didn't put my full address on the label, so I had to drive to the post office to get it.

I asked him to make me a replacement with long boss, thin tapered hub, 50mm, right hand, 3-bladed M-type ... and to put it in a proper box and get it mailed to me while I post the damaged one back; not after. If he doesn't, I'll tell him to keep my money and I'm through with him. I should be able to straighten the fluke and cut off that blunt hub and fashion a longer, pointed hub. The joint will look authentic, too.

The screw will need a long, tapered boss ... just like the original one had.

Really, a photo of the bent prop should be enough to convince him I'm not a crook!

The tower is joined to the hull and it's starting to really look like a submarine.











It needed a little tweaking, but the fit was surprisingly good. Does need a little bit of Mr.Surfacer here and there as well some paint touching up. Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, just hope it's not an oncoming train. Al

Hi Al,

Congrats on the progress, really enjoyed the build and it is looking good so far. Very tempted by this one and seeing a few RN chaps in charge will be good!

Cheers

Al

Looks good, Al!

You missing a cleat aft of the muffler housing, Al? Should be two back there: one on the housing and one behind it.

Thanks Alan, Haven't made up my mind about that RN 'prize' crew, it is tempting though. Al

Thanks William, As to that 2nd cleat, it seems some boats had only one, while some had both. Al

Hi Al,

There are some excellent German Crew around of course.

Alan

...some very small parts - Evergreen strip 0.25 x 0.75mm:



to create the rear part of the U-profile and glued between the anodes:



And a long strip as the front of the U-profile



Archer decals on a thin layer of Klear and sealed with Klear to fake up the screws



Hope you like it...


Michael

Hope you like it...
Michael[quoted]

Sure do, it looks great Michael. Al

Nice work; hadn't thought of decals to simulate the small bolts. How will you paint these to simulate zinc, Michael?

My dear friend ........ Beautiful exemplary!!! I get up and applaud!!

Congratulations.

Regards Daniel

Portside zinc-anodes/U-profile finshed with the styrene strips glued a little bit lower:


I think, it's better as on the starboard side.

Time for a gimmick and labour for a roustabout to install a new anode in the dockyard later. One anode removed and the U-profile adjusted with a 0.3mm drill:




Michael

Really nice detail, Michael.

I plan to take a burr and gnarl up some of the zincs ... get the corroded look (actually like swiss cheese in appearance) because what you've got is brand-new zincs and one totally missing. In reality, some are eaten away badly and some are in good shape ... and a couple of shiny new ones would be in there, too. Older zincs like like they have worm-holes and white powder all over them.

I don't think the zincs were mounted onto a tube; it looks like the centers are open to increase surface area. That's going to take a micro-drillbit to make the end marks. I'm also not sure what to do for bolt heads, although there are strips of bolt heads in transfer sheets that might work.

Nice photos, dude!

Guys, I have yet another idea about those zincs:

They may have been painted on the outsides ... with the inside of the tubes being left open and unpainted to corrode from the inside outward. Replacement zincs would have been left unpainted inside and out, I think. There are several photos of both ways, so I think the after sections coming from the assembly facility would have the entire hull sprayed over, but with the zincs left unpainted inside. This would cut drag with just the insides getting all pitted away.

Just my two cents worth here.

Really love the Detail you are adding to her.....Cheers mark

More insights on the photos we have of the real boats ... it just dawned on my that some of you may not know what those stiff coils of wire are laying atop the battery replacement hatch topside on boats returning to port on the surface.

Notice that that isn't rope ... it's too stiff to drape over the sides, and it forms full circular coils because it won't bend very tightly. It's also extremely light.

Those are floating wire antennas. Prior to submerging, IF the mission required submerged comms, the rudder would be put hard over and the coil released loop by loop inside the turn by someone on deck ... to keep it out of the screw. The end of the coil terminated somewhere higher up in the sail; I'm not sure yet where that is. Once fully deployed, the boat was dived and the rudder eased and the buoyant wire angled gently upward above the boat in what's called a "caternary loop" ... to just under the surface.

The result was an ability to copy radio submerged, primarily in the VLF, LF, and MF range. Not all missions required them to receive radio underwater, so that coil isn't always there on boats returning from sea.

The older floaters could not be used to transmit on. The US Navy's floating wire antennas were my specialty; all modern subs have them, but they also have sophisticated transfer mechanisms that feed the wire in and out of the sail or hull from inside the boat. Our venerable AN/BRA-24 is a floating wire antenna transfer assembly for the navy's various floaters.

The Germans hadn't quite developed it that far, so tossing it over the side before diving was how they did it. To surface, throw the rudder hard over again and keep it there, then surface, and finally pull it out of the water and coil it topside ... right there around that battery hatch. Just get it out of the water for now ... and then later the radioman can do it neater in port. Some boats may even have coiled them on a bracket outside the sail near the bridge.

Of course, a sloppy planesman who broaches the boat at PD ... or pulls too much down angle during depth changes ... will cut that baby and make everybody mad at him.

I'm thinking that once in port, it was coiled much smaller and stowed possibly in a locker in the sail. I need to research this a little farther for the XXIII.

For scale: painted monofilament fishing line will coil just right on your model.

Ref VOZM PP 43 ... and I have a few more shots of coiled antennas on other boats from other sources. Anyone else have some to post, perhaps?

http://www.uboat.net/articles/35.html

http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTBNotesCommunications.htm

Caused by the weather short time work, only some progress with the prop:

Brass (12mm diameter) shorted and grinded:

   

Together with the brass propeller:

   

Both screws in comparison - Bronco and brass:



Both variants with the hull parts:

   

I think the brass prop is the better one for my beast!


Michael

The brass prop is definitely much better looking Michael. Here on the other side of the pond, I've finished rigging the lifeline and the antenna cable. I used two different diameters of 'beading cord' (a craft item used for jewelry making) for the cables. For the insulators I ordered a pack (1 Dz.) of "Blocks, Rope Stropped, Single" from BlueJacket Shipcrafters. They're white metal and come in different sizes, I used 1/4" ones. A piece of cord was wrapped around the outside of a 'block' and secured on three sides with a drop of super-glue. then the cord was tied together with thread and trimmed leaving a tail about 3 inches long. I did this with five blocks, the sixth had a much longer tail, about 18 inches. The tail of one block was then fed through the sheaves (hole) of the next block, spaced, and tied off. I made two sets of three, with one set having the block with the long 'tail' to bridge the gap between the two sets of 'insulators'. I tied off one set of three to the bracket on the Tower. The other was tied off to the bracket near the bow. The long 'tail' was then threaded through its block and tied off. To complete the antenna I used a piece of wire to represent the lead that goes to an insulator on the front of the Tower. After tying all those knots I developed quite a healthy respect for fishermen who tie their own 'flies'. I'm quite happy with the result.







The torpedoes that come with the kit are nice little models by themselves. I particularly like that Bronco molded the three access plates that would have been on the seam line as separate pieces. I had used just the warhead from one to represent the torpedo in its tube and completed the second one to mount alongside the sub on its the base.





Now I'll have to start looking for some crewmen to man my boat. That's all for now. Al

Superb job you have done on her.....Cheers mark

Thanks Mark, it's been a fun build. Al

Already comment on it to you previously, but I repeat it. It is an excellent work, studied and with very much attaché "Scratch". Quite finished of the best way presenting a beautiful type the worthy XXIII of exhibition!!!!

Congrats my friend

Daniel .....And we wait for Michael

Hi Al,

Looking excellent, really enjoyed the build and almost got tempted to the dark side . One or two figures top side will finish it off nicely.

Great stuff.

Alan

Thanks Daniel, I take that as high praise indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this kit. Al