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The type XXI was the most influential submarine design of World War II. When it went into service it was the most advanced submarine in the world. Essential to the success of the craft was its design for dived operation. Compared with previous submarines it incorporated three times the battery capacity for submerged travel. It reached the sensational dived speed of 17 knots. In addition to the diesel engines and electric motors it had what was called electric "creeping" motors. This gave an almost silent submerged movement. Most of the defense artillery was eliminated in order to provide space for extensive detection equipment and equipment for deceiving the enemy, maximum battery capacity and an ingenious snorkel system. By way of offensive weapons it had 6 bow torpedo tubes. Although 118 of the type XXI submarine were built, not many of them were used and several were sunk by Allied aircraft in their home waters.
Type XXIs had much better facilities than previous classes, with a freezer for foodstuffs and minor conveniences for the crew such as a shower and wash basin. They enjoyed a hydraulic torpedo reload system that allowed all six torpedo tubes to be reloaded faster than a Type VIIC could reload a single tube. Improvements in battery design yielded a storage capacity roughly three times that of a Type VIIC, giving these boats enormous underwater range. They could travel submerged at about five knots (9 km/h) for two or three days before recharging the batteries, which took less than five hours on the snorkel.
After the war the U 2540, which had been scuttled on 4th May 1945, was raised and modernised. It was the prototype of all modern post-war submarines and was made using a revolutionary sectional building system for the first time. The superior technology of these submarines was adopted by the Americans, British, French and Soviets and incorporated in their own submarines.
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Specs:
- 1 No. Hull
- 1 No. Casing
- 1 No. Conning tower
- 1 No. Set rudders/vanes
- 1 No. Aft stability fin
- 1 Revell XXI Complete Model for comparison and detailing
- Scale = 1 to 48
- Model Length = 64"
- Hull Beam = 5 5/8"
- Height = 11"
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