S 62 Tarnung

[Arjan]

I couldn't resist buying the latest Italeri S38/S26 Schnellboot kit. From posts in the Schnellboote thread of this forum I learned that it's not possible to build a correct S26 type boat straight from the box but only an early S38 type boat :

https://forum-marinearchiv.de/smf/index.php?topic=18105.1905

So I have decided to build an early S38 type boat with the Back Flak, mine rails and preferably sporting an attractive camo pattern. Several Schnellboot publications contain this, or a very similar, illustration of an S38 boat with this attractive camo scheme :



According to Jean-Philippe Dalles-Labourdette's Schnellboot book S-62 would have sported this scheme but I get the impression this is not correct. Not only because there are so many other mistakes in this book but it's a scheme typical for the Baltic Sea and a quick look at S-62's Lebenslauf shows this vessel was never deployed there. I only know this pic of S-62 posted by Ola which clearly doesn't show any evidence of an elaborate camo pattern :



I wonder is the camo scheme of the illustration a mere product of fantasy or was it actually based on a real period photo,  perhaps one of S-44 (Opdenhoff's previous boat). After all, S-44 was indeed deployed in the Baltic Sea.

Gruss,

Arjan

[Urs Heßling]

hi, Arjan,

Several Schnellboot publications contain this, or a very similar, illustration of an S38 boat with this attractive camo scheme :

That illustration contains the grave fault that no boat with Barbarossa camo ever had a bow gun or a mast.

The camouflage pattern shown is rather similar to that of 2nd S-flotilla, but still different als the original camouflage contained short stripes of different colours in different line positions (see pic of 2nd S-flotilla boats in Pensar bay and of S 42 attached) while the illustration camouflage contains only long stripes in rather straight lines

greetings Urs

[Arjan]

Thanks a lot for your response Urs. The new dodger parts of this Italeri kit look nice although they are a bit too thick. I hope the mines have the correct scale size and are not simply copies of the AFV Club ones which were far too small. The dodgers and mines are on the same sprue and it would be nice if these parts were sold separately to retrofit older S-Boot models. No doubt Italeri will revamp their old S-100 model at some point in the future with the inclusion of these new parts.

Gruss,

Arjan

[Urs Heßling]

Hi, Arjan,
I think it is difficult to find a genuine camouflage for a boat with bow gun. If You want to use something attractive in colours, you may consider a boat of the 1st flotilla in the Black Sea with diagonal red and white stripes on the bow (pictures exist),
greetings, Urs

[Arjan]

I think that a Black Sea boat would indeed be a good idea. One thing I don't know is when exactly they started painting red and white recognition stripes onto the foredeck. The early S-Boote in the Black Sea with the rectangular sliding Brunnen covers still seem to lack the recognition stripes.

Later pics of boats with the stripes no longer seem to have the sliding Brunnen covers but they still show the early 2cm C/30 guns. In itself this wouldn't be a problem because the new Italeri kit still provides all the parts of the later C/38 bow gun including the round Brunnen cover. Stripes and yellow Andreas cross on the round cover in the first scan from Schnellboot in Action :




Gruss,


Arjan

[alo41]

Hi Arjan,

The Black sea boats did not have the strips when they first got to there. I think the stripes were painted on at the same time as the italian MAS boats got to the Black sea (the strips is an italian air recognition marking).
The photos shows S 102 with stripes. The front gun on the first Schlichting boats (S 102) never had the Lurssen sliding doors. The kit will fit fine with any of the other Black sea Lurssen boats in 1942/43. There is a good photo of S 52 in Die Geschichte 1. Schnellbootsflotille.

I would recomend to build S 42 (Barbarossa) without the gun or S 69 (Norway) with the gun if you want to have a camouflage. There are good side photos of both boats. I can give more details later.

/Alo

[Arjan]

Many thanks Ola, this is extremely useful info. I would appreciate a scan of S 52 if that is possible. I would also appreciate pics of S 42 and S 69. For modellers like me who prefer to build historically accurate models having pics of both sides of a boat is very useful. I wonder why the Italeri researchers don't contact Urs and you before they release a new Schnellboot kit  .

edit: Apparently the Italian MAS boats had arrived at the Black Sea by the end of May 1942. This means they were already there before the German Schnellboote arrived :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarta_Flottiglia_MAS

Regards,

Arjan

[Urs Heßling]

Hi,
if You consider building S 69, there's an alternative, building 69 with CERBERUS recognition colours (forecastle and stern painted yellow). Background to that is that S 69 shot down one Swordfish of Esmonde's FAA Sq. 825.
greetings, Urs

[OWZ]

Hallo,
hat jemand eine Idee, wie der auf dem letzten Photo angedeutete Spruch (?): "Nicht u... Ran u..." wohl vollständig gelautet hat?
Grüße OWZ

[alo41]

Hi OWZ, There are other photos showens something like: "Nicht weich werden, besser, ran und runter "  /Alo

[OWZ]

 Danke 
 OWZ

[alo41]

Hi Arjan,

Here is S 52 with red stripes and a 4 cm Bofors gun. I have not found anything about the Bofors gun in HMA or Sevastopol in summer 1943.

/AloSie dürfen diesen Dateianhang nicht ansehen.

[alo41]

Hi,

S 42 in Barbarossa camouflage without front gun. Note that the Eagel Wappen was not painted on the boat in the begining.

/Alo

[alo41]

Hi,

More S 42 photos before Barbarossa. The boat is white without camouflage and front gun. Spring 1941.

/Alo

[Urs Heßling]

moin,

ja, mit Kommandant Wilhelm Meentzen

Gruß, Urs