ADVANCED BUILD
Joe Turner gets to grips with Border Model’s imposing, sectional 1/35 Type VIIC U-boat.
Germany’s U-boats – hunting in so-called ‘wolf packs’ – sank thousands of tons of allied shipping during the early part World War Two’s Battle of the Atlantic. The key weapon in the Kriegsmarine’s underwater arsenal was the Type VII U-boat, of which 703 were built, the main variant being the VIIC. The design was certainly advanced for the time, as it could dive to a maximum depth of approximately 230m and had a range (on the surface) of more than 8,500nm, and 80nm submerged; the boat was nearly undetectable during the war’s early stages.
The Type VIIC carried 14 torpedoes, but also toted a deck-mounted 88mm gun and anti-aircraft cannon. However, Allied anti-submarine technology became more sophisticated as the war progressed, so the U-boats became less successful. Although remaining in service until the war’s end, the Type VII was replaced by more advanced U-boats… but these came too late for the Kriegsmarine to make a difference.
Border Model’s announcement of a 1/35 U-boat surprised many modellers, as maritime kits in this scale are usually limited to smaller craft such as torpedo boats. The model itself depicts the conning …