Type VIIC U-boat

The Type VIIC was the most common U-boat used by the Kriegsmarine and 568 boats were commissioned. The first vessels were built during 1940 and manufacture continued right up to 1944 with only a few modifications to individual vessels. The design was based on the Type VIIB U-boat which, though successful, did not have room for the newly developed active sonar equipment S-Gerät (Such Gerät = Special Apparatus). Consequently, an extra frame was added to the control room which, incidentally, allowed the conning tower to be enlarged and other improvements were made to the design. In the event, the S-Gerät was never developed so the Type VIICs sailed without it!

Probably the most well known Type VIIC boat was the U-96 in the movie 'Das Boot'.

Propulsion:
2 x 6-cylinder 4-stroke diesel engines totalling 3200 HP.
2 x electric motors developing 750 HP.
2 x 62 cell batteries with a total capacity of 1960 ampere hours.

Armament:
Torpedoes: 14 for 4 x 53.3 cm bow and 1 x 53.3cm stern tubes.
1 x 8.8cm cannon (220 rounds).
1 x 3.7cm AA cannon .
2 x 2cm AA cannon.