On the equipment screen if you click the question mark in the bottom right-hand corner it will bring up a list of all available equipment and when it is available.
The only advantage I see of the VIIC over VIIB is it dives 2 seconds faster. I believe the VIIC also has slightly lower top speeds when submerged and on the surface.
The biggest advantage to the type IX is the large torpedo loadout and the big deck gun. The deck gun is useful until 1941 when merchants start carrying guns of their own. After that, it is hardly worth engaging targets with the deck gun as one single hit from the enemy will take your hull integrity down to the point that you can no longer dive to your maximum, and this will be deadly if you encounter escorts. It's not worth blowing an entire mission over a single kill.
Myself, I go for the Type IX as soon as I can get it and enjoy using that deck gun for all of 1940 to rack up the kills.
Steve
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