Type VIIC U-Boat

The Type VIIC U-boat was an upgraded variant of the German Type VII submarine. It was commissioned in the mid 1940 and it saw combat action in the waters of the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the North Sea, during WW2. This version included 570 submarines, which were in service between 1940 and 1945. Many of them were sunk by British destroyers during the Battle of the Atlantic from 1942 onward.

The Type VIIC U-boat was a very reliable and efficient submarine. However, its range was not as good as other German underwater vessels. Thus, it had to depend heavily on the German naval bases on the French and Spanish coasts for refitting, especially the one at Brest. Compared with other U-boats of its type, the VIIC had a more powerful sonar as well as mechanical improvement. This is the reason, it was longer and heavier than the previous ones.

Specifications

Type: attack submarine

Length: 67.1 m.

Beam: 6.2 m overall; 4.7 m pressure hull.

Displacement: 1,070 tons (submerged).

Draft: 4.74 m.

Power Plant: two 6-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engines, generating 3,200 HP.

Speed: 17.7 knots on surface; 7.6 knots (underwater).

Range: 8,500 miles.

Crew: 52 sailors and officers

Armament: five 533mm torpedo tubes, with fourteen torpedoes; one 88mm naval gun, with 220 rounds.

Below, a Type VIIC submarine, the U-203, arriving at Brest, France, in July 1942.

The conning tower of this U-boat.

Below, the Type VIIC at the shipyard, before being launched.

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K-3 Leninsky Komsomol

The K-3 Leninsky Komsomol, Project 627, was the first nuclear-powered submarine in service with Soviet Union Navy. It was launched on August 9, 1957 and it was commissioned the following year, on June 4, 1958. It was phased out in 1989. However, it was saved from being scrapped as it is a museum ship today. It was known as "Kit", which means 'whale'.

The K-3 Leninsky Komsomol was the first Soviet submarine to sail under the icecap of the North Pole, surfacing in July 1962. In 1967, there was a technical malfunctioning and fire broke out in the hydraulic compartment. They had a hard time to put out the fire. As a result, 39 sailors lost their lives. However, this Soviet submarine never had any problem with its nuclear reactors.

Specifications

Type: attack submarine

Length: 107.4 m

Beam: 7.9 m

Displacement: 4,750 tons (submerged)

Draft: 5.6 m

Power Plant: two water-cooled reactors, each with steam generators and steam turbines; two diesel AC generators.

Maximum Speed: 30 knots

Range: unlimited (stopped for supplies)

Armament: eight 533-mm bow torpedo tubes, with twenty torpedoes.

Below, the bow of the K-3 Leninsky Komsomol submarine, which has just been restored and is ready to be exhibited in the Russian naval museum

Historical pictures of the Project 627 taken around 1962.

 

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Trieste Heavy Cruiser

The Trieste heavy cruiser of the Italian Royal Navy belonged to the Trento class. She was armed with four 203-mm naval guns, which were set up in two fore turrets. She was laid down at Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard near the port of Trieste. She was launched on October 24, 1926. After two years of sea trials, she was finally commissioned on December 21, 1928.

The Trieste of the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) would be designated flagship of the First Naval Squadron, and, together with her sister-ship Trento, she cruised the Northern Mediterranean Sea for about two years. Later, at the shipyard of La Spezia, she would have her foremast rebuilt, from a tripod to a pentapod structure. In 1937, she joined Benito Mussolini's colonial trip to Libya. When WW2 broke out, she was at port, undergoing light armament modifications and replacement of the funnel cap.

When Italy entered the war in June 1940, Trieste and Trento were part of the Third Division, Second Squadron. Together with Bolzano, they were assigned to patrol the sea waters north of Sicily. During the Battle of Cape Teulada in November 1940, she enganged British warships and came out of it unscathed. The following year, in February 1941, she would participate in the hunt for the British Royal Navy's Force H. However, no contact was made as the British were able to elude the Italian fleet.

In late March 1941, Trieste joined the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto and engaged four British cruisers. Although she came under attack by Allied bombers, she was not hit. In August 1942, the Third Division of Trieste sailed from the port of Messina to engage the Royal Navy once again. During this naval battle, two Italian cruisers, Bolzano and Attendolo were torpedoed.

On April 10, 1943, while she was anchored in Sardinian harbor of La Maddalena, Trieste was attacked by B-24 bombers. As a result, she was hit and capsized to starboard. In 1946, she was stricken from the Italian naval register.

Specifications

Type: Heavy cruiser

Length: 197 m

Beam: 20.6 m

Draft: 6.8 m

Displacement: 13,300 tons (full-loaded)

Armor: 70-mm on belt, 100-mm on tower, and 50-mm on deck

Power Plant: four steam turbines fed by twelve Yarrow boilers

Maximum Speed: 32 knots

Range: 7,700 km

Crew: 780 sailors and officers

Armament: four 203-mm guns; eight 100-mm guns; four torpedo tubes.

Below, the Trieste moored in a Mediterranean harbor, in 1934.

Her four 203-mm guns.

Side views of the Trieste heavy cruiser in 1940.

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