Yankee Modelworks 1/350 Late War Type IXc U-Boat

The Type IX U-boat was developed in the years leading up to World War II when the German Navy recognized it would need submarines with sufficient range to operate far beyond the North Atlantic. The Type IXC boats, the first of which went into service in 1941, had a range of over 13,000 nautical miles, and could easily operate in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic without needing to refuel. A total of 283 Type IX boats were commissioned during the war, including 54 Type IXc and 87 boats of a refined version called the Type IXc/40.  

The type IXc was an improvement on the type IXb.  It had greater storage for additional 43 tons of fuel that gave it an increase in range to 13400 nautical miles at 10 knots.  This type also had the control room periscope removed leaving it with two periscopes like the Type VII boats.  Also as the war moved into a time that the greatest threat to the U-boats came from the air, the towers were modified with more flak guns and the deck guns were removed. It would be a mistake for an allied pilot to think it would be an easy kill to catch one of these boats on the surface. These heavy flak boats accounted for several allied aircraft lost.   

 Some 35 Type IXc boats were built to carry mines and could carry 44 TMA or 66 TMB mines. The balance of the 54 Type IXc boats were strictly commerce raiders. The most numerous type IXc was the type IXc/40.  The Schnorkel mast and large wintergardens characterized this boat.

The Type IXc U-boat U-507 was launched on July 15, 1941 at Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg. She was commissioned on October 8, 1941 under the command of Korvettenkapitan Harro Schacht and assigned to the 2^nd U-Flotilla.  As with most boats of this flotilla, she operated out of Loeient France and would patrol off of the U.S. in the Gulf of Mexico and later off South America.

The U-507 had no luck on her first combat patrol, but on April 4, 1942 U-507 sailed from Lorient for her second war patrol in the Gulf of Mexico and this patrol was very successful.  During the boats 62 days at sea she sank nine ships and damaged one.  Six were from the United States, two from Honduras and one from Norway.  The SS Gulfprince, a U.S. Ship, was the one damaged.  During this patrol PBYs from Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida tried twice to sink her.  Once on the 9^th of May 1943 and again on the 10^th.  The attack on the 10^th was only 56 miles south west of Pensacola Florida.  These boats operated so close to the U.S. mainland that there are many log entries stating that the U-boat crews could see city lights at night and even make out buildings.

This very successful patrol accounted for 48,462 tons of allied shipping sunk or damaged in the Gulf of Mexico. Upon his return to Lorient on June 6, 1944, Schacht was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class. The following January he was officially awarded the famed Knight's Cross, but never lived to wear it, as U-507 was sunk just four days later.

On her third patrol the U-507 was sent to operate off the cost of Brazil.  At this time Brazil had declared her self to be neutral but like so many other neutral countries they secretly engaged in commerce with the allies which needless to say made all Brazilian ships targets. 

The U-507 started her third patrol with a bang by sinking six Brazilian ships in four days between 16 to 19 August 1942 sinking 14,911 tons causing some 607 casualties.  The U-507 would claim two more ships, bringing her third patrol total to 23,285 tons sunk.  Because of the heavy losses suffered by Brazil, the Brazilian government declared war against Germany on 22 Aug 1942.

On her way back to Loeient she received a radio call for assistance from the U-156.  The U-156 had torpedoed and sank a large British Ocean liner named the HMS Laconia. Only after sinking it did the Captain of the U-156 realize that it was transporting troops and 1809 Italian POWs and was not an armed merchant cruiser as the Royal Navy had requisitioned her.  The U-156 immediately began rescue operations and called for help.  Two U-boats in the area, U-506 and U-507 came to assist along with the Italian submarine Cappellini.  What would happen later would come to be known as the infamous Laconia incident

The commander of U-156 also sent out in the clear an uncoded message that he was conducting rescue operations and would not attack any vessel so long as he was not attacked himself. The British intercepted the message and sent it the Americans to which the Americans sent a B-24 Liberator from Ascension Island.  Piloted by James D. Harden, the B-24 found the four subs U-156, U-506,U-507 and the Cappellini on the surface carrying out rescue operations of some two thousand survivors.  The subs were towing lifeboats and their decks were crowded with survivors along with displaying large Red Crosses in hopes that any would be attacker would not do so after viewing the scene.  Harden described the situation to base and was told "Sink sub" and then commenced an attack which damaged the U-156 and hit directly the lifeboats that the U-507 was towing. The U-boats were forced to cut their towlines and dive to escape the aircraft.

The German commander-in-chief of U-boats or (Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote), Vizeadmiral Karl Dönitz, subsequently issued what became known as the "Laconia Order," which forbade U-boat captains from attempting to rescue or provide any assistance to include food and water to survivors of ships they had torpedoed. Stating “if they would murder their own men to sink a U-boat what else can we do”.

After the war, one of the charges specifically mentioned at Dönitz’s trial for war crimes was “Laconia Order”.  Dönitz successfully defended himself on this charge when he pointed out that U.S. submarines operating in the Pacific followed exactly the same procedures.

This one patrol put the U-507 in a firestorm along with being involved in the infamous Laconia incident, her sinking of those Brazilian ships really had an enormous effect.  Not only did Brazil declare for the allies but Brazil sent the Brazilian Expeditionary force to fight the Germans in Europe and sent a squadron of ships to the Atlantic.  But more ominously it made Brazil open to the idea of having U.S. aircraft operate out of her territory.  This took away the advantage that the U-boats had in the South Atlantic.

On her fourth patrol she went right to work and sank three British ships off the North Brazilian coast.  On 9 January 1943 her Captain was notified that he had won the coveted Knight's Cross.  But their luck would not hold out for long.  On 13 January 1943 the U-507 was spotted by a PBY of VP-83 operating from one of the newly available Brazilian bases.  The PBY dropped depth charges and the U-507 went to the bottom with all hands.  Her position was noted as north-west of Navel Air Station Natal Brazil at 01.38S, 39.52W 

The U-507 accounted well for her self.  During four war patrols, 227 days at sea, she sank nineteen ships for 77,143 tons and damaged another one for an additional 6,561 tons

This is my second model from Yankee Modelworks and I have to say that it builds very much like the U-35 kit that I built last year. 

The kit comes in a very sturdy box that I’ve already started to use to store stuff in.  This kit like the other, is a one-piece hull with the conning tower as part of the hull.  I’m always very impressed by these kits.  Nice little joint lines and the deck has very deeply cut grooves that give it the appearance that there is a pressure hull just underneath.  Every time I look at the kit it I am more and more impressed.  The rest of the kit includes a nice fret of photo-etch of some twenty-eight parts including the water screws, deck and wintergarden rails.  Even a complement of Flak guns.  The other parts are the drive shaft supports and two diameters of brass wire to make the driveshafts and the periscopes. 

The instructions, yes I guess we’ll need them.  They come complete with history and clearly show the proper placing of the parts.  I’m sure that I will find a way to confuse thing but I think they will assist in reducing any self induced variable.  The only thing that in my mind was missing was decals and flags.  This really is no showstopper but would have been a nice touch.

My first step was to add two brass rods to the hull to mount it on a stand and to also act as handholds.  I find this quite handy since you don’t have too many things to hold as you build one of these boats.

I began to detail the boat with the photo-etch and used cyanoacrylite/super glue to attach the parts.  I have found when I am gluing these railings that it is good to go slow.  I like to glue about a ¼ inch on curves or about a full inch on the straight parts.  I must say that I sure like the way they look when done.  While I was letting the glue set, I went to the local craft store and got a wood stand for fifty cents.

I like to put all the detail parts on the model before I paint.  The only parts that I didn’t put on were the screws and the rigging.  After everything was done and the glue was dry the boat was ready to paint.  I looked very hard but to no avail.  I just couldn’t find any photos of the U-507 so I decided to paint it in a standard finish using photos of other boats operating in the Caribbean.

After everything was dry I added the screws and a flag from the excellent sheet by Tauro.  I like stuff like that since it seems to really bring things to life for me. 

I mounted the whole thing on the stand and rigged with 2lbs fishing line.  The hardest part here was the “Y” in the front guide wire.  After that, the rest was easy.

There you have it.  All you need is to add some imagination and CRACK!, flash of light, smoky smell and you’ll be done.

The paint scheme was an overall coat of Silver gray.  After it had dried I masked off the upper hull and painted all horizontal surfaces a gray that I mixed from the silver gray and anthracite gray.  My goal here was to fade the colors to simulate the type of fading that would be common in the Caribbean or at the equator.   After all was dry I painted the lower hull straight Anthracite gray.  I used the same technique to weather the kit as I do on most of my builds.  That is, I start out with a very diluted color like rust- so diluted that only one coat is almost undetectable, and I add coats to darken it as needed. 

Well that is about all there was to it.  All in all it was a very enjoyable build.  The kit is small, only about seven inches or 17cm but it is well cast and somewhat simple. 

I think it would be a good first all resin ship kit.  It is relatively inexpensive and simple.  

“U-boats in action” Squadron/Signal Warships #1

“U-boat War” Squadron/Signal Books

“The U-boat net”   www.uboat.net   lots of information here.

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

 Kyle Bodily

October 2010

 I would like to thank Earls Hobby Hangar for giving me this kit to review.  www.earlshobbyhangar.com  If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly , please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.