B.)
E x p e r i e n
c e s : |
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a.)
Personnel: |
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With sustained submerged cruise for more than 50 consecutive days,
technical personnel, especially diesel and E-motor operators, suffered
greatly due to very high temperatures. Temperatures in the
diesel engine room and E-motor rooms were almost unbearable when
crash diving. Here the temperatures sometimes rose well above
50°C. To keep the temperatures
during submerged cruise within tolerable limits, each time shifted
to E-motor drive 1/2 hour before normal diving, so that the diesels
cooled down somewhat. The boat was then ventilated with all
available means. |
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The following ventilation mode turned out to be very appropriate:
the exhaust fans sucked incoming air ducts and grills from rooms
creating a corresponding vacuum. Then fresh air flowed through
the conning tower hatch into the boat, so that thereby a small draft
always prevailed. |
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Also, it should be emphasized that even more room fans must be placed
at disposal of the boat for repeated tropical journeys, because,
these brought substantial relief. |
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Very many of only the technical personnel suffered from boils and
other strange skin diseases. Most of the technical personnel
had four to five severe and many small boils, so that constantly
1-2 men fell out of service and some others were only up to 50%
capability. |
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Otherwise the technical personnel, in spite of the highest demands,
has well proven itself in the tropical areas, also on this
war patrol. |
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The ration of salt water soap for the boats which remain long in
tropical areas must be raised at all costs a minimum of 25%. |
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b)
Propulsion installation: |
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The exhaust gas temperatures of the diesel engines are little bit
higher than earlier and the exhaust not quite free of spark any
more. Also engines have a slight tendency to smoke. At high
driving speeds brownish smoke remains, particularly with the starboard
engine. |
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The inner exhaust gas valves were sometimes so difficult to operate
that often they could only be closed with the help of a tackle.
The operating lever of the port exhaust gas valve handle has already
broken off. |
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(One supposes that
the lubrication of the bearing within the exhaust gas space is insufficient) |
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Similarly the external exhaust gas valves that failed some weeks
after putting to sea were prone to leak heavily, but were repaired
almost completely when the exhaust gas valves were ground in several
days in a row in the flooded condition. |
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c)
Diving installation: |
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On 18 February the outer tube door of torpedo tube 2 would no longer
close. The reason lay in the fact that the operating linkage of
the outer door had broken off in the area of the main ballast tank
8. |
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In view of the fact that during the first war patrol there were
unpleasant experiences with leaking outer tube door of tube 3 and,
also the boat in start |
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