Molch [pic heavy]

WetOne · 03-01-11, 01:09 PM

So here in Johannesburg, we have South Africa's Military History Museum with a wealth of very interesting exhibits. Of particular interest is their Molch Mini U boat. Now how exactly it came to be in South Africa I have no idea, but I thought I would share some pics for those who are interested.

In this first pic you can see the size of it. I believe it would carry just one man, it looks like it would accomodate one person very easily, however when you actually look in you see that it had better be a very small person.

One of the things that surprised me was the fact that the periscope stuck out far more than i would have thought.

So i guess the number M391 refered to it being the 391st out of a total of 393 built in total. The torpedos you can see are G7e's

Here you can see the rudder and tail assembly quite nicely.

In this pic you can see the torpedo again as well as the battery. Also if you look above it, you will see a mine with a cross section (I had imagined the mines to be bigger)

Ya, I dunno what that funny litle thing is in front either, I imagine it is for attaching a rope to.

This pic shows the battery. Well, one of them, apparently the reason the Molch was so big was because most of the forward part contained the batteries.

So there it is, my own "U boat up the road"

I think the only U boat I am likely to come across in my part of the world.

03-01-11, 01:09 PM	#1
WetOne Watch Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 17 Downloads: 145 Uploads: 0	Molch [pic heavy] So here in Johannesburg, we have South Africa's Military History Museum with a wealth of very interesting exhibits. Of particular interest is their Molch Mini U boat. Now how exactly it came to be in South Africa I have no idea, but I thought I would share some pics for those who are interested. In this first pic you can see the size of it. I believe it would carry just one man, it looks like it would accomodate one person very easily, however when you actually look in you see that it had better be a very small person. One of the things that surprised me was the fact that the periscope stuck out far more than i would have thought. So i guess the number M391 refered to it being the 391st out of a total of 393 built in total. The torpedos you can see are G7e's Here you can see the rudder and tail assembly quite nicely. In this pic you can see the torpedo again as well as the battery. Also if you look above it, you will see a mine with a cross section (I had imagined the mines to be bigger) Ya, I dunno what that funny litle thing is in front either, I imagine it is for attaching a rope to. This pic shows the battery. Well, one of them, apparently the reason the Molch was so big was because most of the forward part contained the batteries. So there it is, my own "U boat up the road" I think the only U boat I am likely to come across in my part of the world.