If you read the Das Boot novel, which I highly recommend (it's so much better than than the brilliant mini series) - it says somewhere that the boat is a type VII C.
The thing about net cutters is that I have seen them on virtually every WWII photo of type VII and above - regardless of the period of the war. I've got a type IX C at the moment and I would really like a net cutter mod for it. They look mean and cool which is maybe why the comanders retained them!
