[REL] Schleichfahrt rudder.

[Ktl_KUrtz]

Originally Posted by derstosstrupp

Just to be clear, U-boats weren’t steered hydraulically until the XXI.

The way steering worked, both for the rudder as well as the hydroplanes:

When the helmsmen, or planesmen pushed their buttons on the BBC steering box, that closed the circuit to a magnetic starter box in one of the torpedo rooms (aft for rudder and aft planes, forward for forward planes). These boxes can still be seen on 995 and 505. A relay was triggered that started the electric motor for the control surface in question in one direction or the other. When the helmsman released his button, another relay in that magnetic starter box was triggered, which engaged a dynamic braking circuit to stop the control surface quickly. All done electrically. US fleet boats used a hydraulic system, but the Germans did not implement this until much later, with the XXI.

Excellent to hear!
Many thanks for the heads up.
I have greatly improved this mod, I

When wanting to steer by hand, in the case of the hydroplanes, a pneumatically controlled piston was able to be triggered at each hydroplane station in control room, which would remotely disengage the hydroplane control shaft from the electric motor. The air only pushed it one way, and so, to reengage, someone needed to walk to the torpedo rooms to do it.

To manually switch to hand steering, for the rudder, that was done immediately on the rudder motor itself, above the aft torpedo tube or tubes.

One of the main reasons for the switch to manual steering at silent running had to do with the clacking of the relays in the magnetic starter boxes. The electric motors themselves aren’t very loud.

Manual control of the hydroplanes was by the large wheels around the BBC boxes of the planesman stations. Hand steering of the rudder, however, was back by the aft torpedo tube(s), using a large wheel that was normally pushed to the side.

Excellent to hear!
Thanks for the "heads-up"!
See above:
I have improved this mod to make the manual operation of the rudder in "silent running" more audible!

KUrtz

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Ktl_KUrtz

Excellent to hear!
Thanks for the "heads-up"!
See above:
I have improved this mod to make the manual operation of the rudder in "silent running" more audible!

KUrtz

Great work!