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U-47 submarine, type VIIB
German
submarine U-47 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's
navy during World War II. She was laid down on 25
February 1937 and went into service on 17 December 1938.
The
submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots and
a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots. When submerged,
the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles at 4 knots;
when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles at
10 knots.
During
U-47's career, she sank a total of 31 enemy vessels and
damaged eight more. U-47 ranks as one of the most
successful German U-boats of World War II.
Günther Prien was one of the ten
outstanding U-boat aces of the first part of the
Second World War. He was part of an
elite group that wreaked havoc in the cold depths of
the North Atlantic.
His most
famous exploit was the sinking of the British
battleship HMS Royal Oak in the heavily defended
British North Fleet main harbor at Scapa Flow. On 14 October 1939 Prien risked shallow water,
unknown shoals, tricky currents and detection to
penetrate the Royal Navy's primary base and sank the
battleship Royal Oak and
returned home to instant fame. He was awarded
the
Knight's Cross of the
Iron Cross, the first member of the
Kriegsmarine to receive this award, and
was given the nickname Der Stier von Scapa Flow
("The Bull of Scapa Flow") This emblem was painted
on the conning tower of U-47
and soon became the emblem of the
entire 7th U-boat
Flotilla.
Although being at sea for less
than two years, Prien's record stands high among the
U-boat aces during the WW2. In
238 days at sea, he sank a
total tonnage of 193,808 GRT! He was killed in March
1941 when U-47 was sunk, not long after being promoted
to the rank of lieutenant commander.
This primarily wood model is
scratch-built is 43.5" L x 11 T x 4 W.
Clearance sale $2,500
Shipping and insurance in the US included.
Other countries, $300 flat rate.
Learn
more about the U-47 here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-47_(1938)
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