Deutsches U-Boot Type IX C (U505) PLATINUM EDITION

Plastic model kit for building a German Type IX C (U505) submarine
   PLATINUM EDITION  

• Scale 1:72
• Dimensions LxWxH (built): 1,063 x 95 x 225 mm
• 800 parts
• Photo-etched parts and metal tubes included
• Self-adhesive wooden deck
• Late version with turret III (large winter garden)
• Highly detailed hull representation with riveting and welded seam structure
• Imitation of the flood slots and flood valves
• Prototypical reproduction of the deck details
• Front and rear torpedo flaps optionally open or closed
• Movable rudder system at the stern
• Detailed ship's propellers
• Movable depth rudders
• Extendable periscopes and antennas
• Detailed turret platforms
• Detailed upper turret side walls with antennas, compass and turret hatch
• Separate splash guard on the upper edge of the turret
• Net deflector antennas and insulators
• Thread for the Antenna replica
• Detailed twin 2 cm AA guns & 3.7 cm AA
• Display stand
• Authentic representation of the following versions:
  • Submarine Type IX C, U 505, 2th U-Flottilla, Atlantic Ocean, March, 16th - June, 4th, 1944
  • Submarine Type IX C, U 505, captured by the US Navy, Atlantic Ocean, June 4th - June, 20th, 1944
• not built, not painted
• Paint and glue not included

The total of 194 Type IX boats commissioned by the German Navy were designed for oceanic use. Type IX C submarines could operate at depths of up to 250 meters and were designed for a range of 13,450 nautical miles. The crew consisted of four officers and 44 crew members. U 505 was laid down at the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg on June 12, 1940 and commissioned by Lieutenant Commander Loewe on August 26, 1941. As the front boat of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla in Lorient, it was successful in sinking eight ships off West Africa and in the Caribbean until the end of 1942. In the spring of 1943, U 505 was given Turret III with a "large winter garden" as part of reconstruction work. The upper platform was equipped with two 2 cm twin anti-aircraft guns. The 3.7 cm anti-aircraft gun from the aft deck was installed on the lower platform. The 10.5 cm anti-ship gun was removed. However, increasing Allied air surveillance and the use of anti-submarine units with escort carriers led to the capture of U 505 by the US Navy off the West African coast on June 4, 1944. As the only Type IX C submarine, it has been on display in restored condition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago since 2005.