U-Boats....and weathering?

[Lucky13]

How do you best weather a u-boat?
The reason I'm asking, is that I saw one, which I thought had too much rust....is that even possible?

I quite like this one....

 

[parsifal]

maybe this might help....


Weathering Ship Models

 

[Wurger]

My uncle was a sailor and services on an U-boot at the end of the WW2. According to his memories many ships returning from long patrolling usually looked like scrap metal. These were rusted with bended parts of bulwarks. The plates of a ship skin were squeezed often at many areas with the paint peeling off .. So the one in the pic above looks not too bad though.

 

[Airframes]

If anything, the model above looks a little too clean and neat !

 

[pbehn]

The splash zone on an oil rig is one of the most corrosive known, I worked on special Monel coated pipes to cope with the environment which is the same as a surfaced submarine, I would say that after time at sea they were quite rusty.

 

[Airframes]

And bear in mind that surface coatings in the 1940s were nowhere near as advanced as they are today.
I remember as a child in the 1950s, looking at ships on the River Tyne, and seeing great rust streaks on their hulls, and below portholes etc. Some of these were relatively new vessels, that is, built post war, whilst others, presumably pre-war types, looked like floating rust buckets !
There were also three or four German U-boats in a breaker's yard, which were totally rust coloured, but of course, they'd been there quite a few years by then - this was probably around 1958 to 1960.

 

[Wurger]

Here is and example.. U-570 enters dock at Barrow-in-Furness, 1941.

 

[billrunnels]

Here is and example.. U-570 enters dock at Barrow-in-Furness, 1941.

View attachment 478268

I can't imagine being a crew member on such a small vessel operating under water.

 

[pbehn]

I can't imagine being a crew member on such a small vessel operating under water.

That was my father in laws "lot", it shortened his life considerably, breathing acid fumes for 3 years burned his lungs, he died in 1962 of emphysema.

 

[billrunnels]

That was my father in laws "lot", it shortened his life considerably, breathing acid fumes for 3 years burned his lungs, he died in 1962 of emphysema.

Sorry to hear that. It took a lot of courage to crawl into a WWII sub.

 

[Airframes]

I agree Bill. The work you did would have been terrifying enough for any young man, even if we do all think we're invincible when aged 19 or 22, but to be in a steel tube, closed up, under water, with no visual outlook or spacial orientation, battling nature, dirty air, battery fumes etc, and the effects of depth charge attack, must have taken one of two things - sheer guts, or total lunacy !

 

[pbehn]

I agree Bill. The work you did would have been terrifying enough for any young man, even if we do all think we're invincible when aged 19 or 22, but to be in a steel tube, closed up, under water, with no visual outlook or spacial orientation, battling nature, dirty air, battery fumes etc, and the effects of depth charge attack, must have taken one of two things - sheer guts, or total lunacy !

Lunacy according to my mother in law, as a steel worker he was in a reserved occupation and he wasn't particularly young at 28.

 

[Wurger]

Here another example.. U-boot type IX captured by the US Navy...

 

[billrunnels]

I agree Bill. The work you did would have been terrifying enough for any young man, even if we do all think we're invincible when aged 19 or 22, but to be in a steel tube, closed up, under water, with no visual outlook or spacial orientation, battling nature, dirty air, battery fumes etc, and the effects of depth charge attack, must have taken one of two things - sheer guts, or total lunacy !

Both air and sub received an extra $75 monthly hazardous duty pay. It was sheer guts for the sub crew member.

 

[fubar57]

This might be of assistance Jan, 55 pages of colour, markings etc.

http://amp.rokket.biz/docs/u-boat_colours_with_photos_5.pdf

 

[Wurger]

 

[Marcel]

Good question! I happen to be in the process of building a type XXI ( and have been for over a year already). I'm thinking of trying a little weathering.

 

[Airframes]

Bring it to England for a week Marcel - it'll soon get weathered !!

 

[Marcel]

Ah , nice opportunity in July you mean?

 

[Airframes]

Well I'm hoping it will be warm and sunny then !
OK, maybe that's a bit over optimistic - perhaps warmer rain then ?