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Originally Posted by Subwolf
What do you think is the minimum number of crew in a VII? With 52 men there is a lot of work putting them to sleep all the time, I wish they could do this without my help
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In the early war years the typical Type VII carried a crew of 44. Four officers (captain, first watch officer, second watch officer & Engineer), ten NCOs (of which one was the navigator and one was the third watch officer) and thirty seamen (ratings or Lords as they were called). Some times a boat carried a Captain in Training to observe and at other times war correspondents were on board to photograph and to write propaganda stories for the home front.
As armament increased in the later years, crew were added to man the extra AA guns; also needed for replacement of those wounded or killed by aircraft while manning the AA flak guns.