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Originally Posted by B.N.R.T.
5. I am currently keeping a log book, in a real hard cover notebook, in semi-authentic KTB format. It's quite dry (place, weather, events) but would people be interested in me typing it out and posting it somewhere online? Personally I find it really interesting to read the real KTBs and accounts of people over here.
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Yes. I did a couple which are at my Funkraum linked from my sig.
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8. And finally a historical question. What maintenance was needed on a U-boat? Other than repairing malfunctions etc., what general maintenance was performed? In KTB's there are daily mentions of dive tests, which I plan to include in my own patrols, and torpedo maintenance. I guess this was done submerged in heavy weather, as the torpedoes would have to be loaded out/in the tubes. Am I right in thinking this? Also, what was needed to make a torpedo firing ready? In the game you can immediatly fire a torpedo, but I think I read something about warming them up first. How long did this take?
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There is always something to clean, check, test, strip down and put back together on any boat. Depending on the situation u-boats were much the same.
My understanding of heating up torpedos referred to the G7e class of electric propulsion torpedoes which needed to be heated to 30 °C before firing to achieve maximum speed and range. Apparently the electric motors and the lead acid batteries in these torps also required constant maintenence to maintain their reliability.
http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTBNotesArmament.htm
http://www.uboataces.com/weapon-torpedo.shtml
I'm unable to find anything that references the time take to pre-heat a torp, but I assume it would vary depending on the ambient temp, whether the battery was still warm from a previous pre-heat etc.