Military Model Scene

Title:  The Type XXI U-Boat

Author: Dmitry Mironov and Danial Pastwa

Publisher:  Kagero

ISBN:  978-83-65437-90-7

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More for Naval fans again with Kagero's excellent series of computer generated Super Drawings in 3D.  This one covers an ever popular subject, a German U-Boat.  In this case it is the late war design for the Type XXI.  The opening 6 pages of this 54 page softcover book provide the background and development story of the Type XXI.  As the war progressed the older Type VII and IX boats were suffering heavy losses to allied anti-submarine operations.  The new boat included a variety of new developments which would have offered significant advances, and features which would influence many post war designs.  They carried more torpedoes, could dive much deeper and travel faster underwater than any others.  They could also be built in sections and then 'assembled'.  Those new features led to plenty of faults found which had to be rectified.  Of 131 boats launched, only two of them made combat patrols, just 3 between the 2 boats.

The first half of the book has 3D views of the external features of the Type XXI while the second half has lots of cutaway drawings showing the interior arrangement, and all in colour.  It is so different to the earlier U-Boat designs, with no deck gun and AA armament fitted in turrets faired into both ends of the conning tower.  Then, tucked within the pages is a separate fold-out sheet with drawings on both side.  On one side, scale plans in both 1/150 and 1/350 scales.  On the other side, line drawings showing the cutaways of different elements of the boat, though not to any particular scale in this case.

 

Yet another fine addition to this series from Kagero

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Distributed by Casemate Books, who kindly provided my review copy.

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Robin