U-boat repairs or construction?

[Thin Man Designs]

At Brest, Lorient and St. Nazaire, were U-boats only repaired there? Did these bases have contruction capability? If not, what facilities were available there?

In a game under development, we need to know if U-boats can and should be built and placed there. Would this be too historically inaccurate, even in game terms?

[Xavier]

No,
No facilities to build complete boats there, altought there were big concrete bunkers that served as drydocks for the subs to make extensive repairs (do a google image search for Lorient + bunkers or submarine + bunkers + france and you wil find lots of photos, like this http://images.google.com.mx/images?q=lo ... +en+Google )

best regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtrüppfuhrer

[gabriel pagliarani]

No,
No facilities to build complete boats there, altought there were big concrete bunkers that served as drydocks for the subs to make extensive repairs (do a google image search for Lorient + bunkers or submarine + bunkers + france and you wil find lots of photos, like this http://images.google.com.mx/images?q=lo ... +en+Google )

best regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtrüppfuhrer

At Lorient there there was the full assembly capability: if a facility can build, forge and weld large parts of a vessel, the same facility can repair old and/or build (assembly) new vessels. The only difference is in the engine and gear: a new vessel must be build all around these new components. Much easier to build new vessels as close as possible to the producer of engine modules: logistics were the main reason of the difference, not capability. Sometimes restoring is harder than producing new vessels.

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something about.....................................

Base of St. Nazaire.

This base was home to two submarine flotillas, the 7th that moved from Kiel from January to June 1941 and the 6th that came from Danzig in February 1942. The base was in full use from October 1942 and reached its peak of activity in July, August and September 1943.

In the pictures below you can see the U 96 (Sägefisch) under Kplt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock being overhauled after returning from a successful patrol in 1941 .................

Sources: http://www.ebay.de/itm/original-Foto-U- ... 0005.m1851
http://www.ebay.de/itm/original-Foto-U- ... 0752.m1982

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something about.....................................

Base of St. Nazaire.

Sources: http://www.ebay.de/itm/original-Foto-U- ... 0005.m1851

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more: Engine replacement.
According to the source, it is U 593, now this submersible operated in the Mediterranean so here goes the queries:
The U 593 underwent an engine replacement ever? As far as I know, on her sixth patrol she returned to Pola on December 31, 1942 and remained in port until the beginning of February 1943, a general overhaul was carried out. Later, after returning from her ninth patrol to Salamis in early May 1943, the U boat went to Pola for repairs.
Sources: https://ar.pinterest.com/pin/619596861219932936/
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-593A/U-593INT.htm
Cheers. Raúl M .

[mark harrison]

Hi, They would have to take out the engines to overhaul them fully as the the crankshaft and it's bearings would be unreachable inside the boat.
regards MH
ps. I worked for a time at Mirlees diesel.

[tigre]

Hello to all ; thanks for the tip Mark...................It seems like an important job, cutting, changing the engine (remove and place) and then re-weld ... any idea of the time it took? Cheers. Raúl M .

[mark harrison]

Hi, The overhaul should consist of a full stripdown of the engine and an examination of any wear and tear occuring. Depending on how many work on it and how many moving parts it has it could take a few weeks if replacement parts are not available. I would say as of course there are two engines to be checked-at least 3 weeks. If spare engines or parts are present they could just replace them within a few days.
Normally the crankshaft and all it's connecting parts have to be stripped down and all points subject to wear have to be visually examined.
It would take time to replace both engines weld up the hull at test it for leaks. Before that happens the engine has to be tested ashore and ran for at least 24 hours. Hope this helps regards MH.

[tigre]

Sure it helps, thanks Mark . Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more....................................

U 753 - La Pallice.

During her 4th Patrol U 753 was repulsed by the armed merchant ship Domino (on June 2, 1942 off Nuevitas, Cuba) and later on her way back suffered a severe air attack......

Sources: https://ericwiberg.com/2014/04/u-753-un ... mas-patrol
http://www.ubootarchiv.de/ubootwiki/index.php/U_753
https://www.ebay.at/itm/100-Orig-2WK-Kr ... 52006b128e

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more....................................

Dry dock!

Source: https://www.ebay.at/itm/U-Boot-auf-Reed ... SwQmJcb80u

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more....................................

Dry dock!

Source: https://uboot-recherche.de/en/u-43

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.....................................

Works on a Type VII C.


Personnel carrying out repairs/maintenance in the bow section of U 591 (according to the source); apparently something related to the locks of the torpedo tubes, which were removed..................

Source: https://www.ebay.at/itm/Foto-U-Boot-591 ... SwGwlaKtvq

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; something more....................................

Ausräumen!

In the context of the U-Bootwaffe (U-Boat Branch), the order given as "Boot ausräumen" can be translated as "clear the boat", i.e. remove all mobile equipment after a patrol to facilitate work in the shipyard. Was there a normal procedure established (a list of items to be withdrawn)? The question arose when I saw the photo below..................

Source: https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=&rc ... DdBhzkjz2J
http://guerra-abierta.blogspot.com/2013/06/u-37-i.html

Cheers. Raúl M .