Atlas Editions 1:350 German Kriegsmarine Type IA U-Boat - U-26, #ATL7169115

Description

"Our losses have reached an intolerable level. The enemy air force played a decisive role in inflicting these high losses."
- Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, May 24th, 1943
The Type I U-boat was the first post-World War I attempt by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine to produce an oceangoing submarine. Only two Type IAs were built, but the decision to halt production on further boats is believed to be because of political decisions and not because of major faults in the Type I design. Although the boats did not have any major design faults, they were known to be difficult to handle due to their poor stability and slow dive rate. The type was based on the design of the Finnish Vetehinen class and the Spanish Type E-1, designed by Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (the company also designed the Soviet S class submarine). The design later served as a basis for the development of other types of boats, primarily the VII and IX classes.
Constructed by Deschimag in Bremen, the first Type IA was launched on February 14th, 1936. The two boats produced, U-25 and U-26, were primarily used as training vessels and for propaganda purposes to fly the Nazi flag. In 1940, the boats were called into combat duty due to the shortage of available submarines. Both boats experienced short, but successful combat careers. U-25 participated in five war cruises, sinking eight enemy ships. On August 3rd, 1940, while on a mine laying mission near Norway, U-25 struck a mine and sank with all hands on board.
U-26 carried out eight war cruises, sinking three merchant ships and damaging one British warship on its first mission laying mines. On its second war cruise it became the first U-boat during World War II to enter the Mediterranean Sea. U-26 participated in three other successful war patrols, sinking four additional merchant ships. On its eighth war cruise the boat sunk three merchant ships and damaged another ship the next day. The attack on this ship led to severe depth-charging by two British warships, including HMS Gladiolus. Unable to dive, U-26 was forced to surface where she was bombed by a Sunderland flying boat. The crew scuttled the submarine and were rescued by Allied warships.
Pictured here is a 1:350 scale replica of a German Kriegsmarine Type IA U-Boat - U-26. #ATL7169115
Dimensions:
Length: 10-1/4-inches
Features:
- Fully assembled
- Fully painted
- Ready to display
- Features a cutaway bow section that reveals interior details!
Historical Account:
"Wolf Pack" - Under Kapitanleutnant Wolfgang Lth's command U-181 sailed on two long combat patrols in late 1942 and 1943, haunting the waters off South Africa and Mozambique and sinking 22 ships for a total of 103,712 tons, making Lth the second most successful U-boat commander of the war (after Otto Kretschmer) and earning him promotion to Korvettenkapitan and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. He went on to command the 22nd U-boat Flotilla. On November 1st, 1943. under the command of Fregattenkapitan Kurt Freiwald and part of the 12th U-boat Flotilla, U-181 sailed from her base in Bordeaux, France to Penang, Malaya (now Malaysia) in mid1944, sinking four ships totaling 24,869 tons. On October 1st, 1944, the U-boat was transferred to the 33rd U-boat Flotilla. She carried out only one patrol in the Indian Ocean, in 1944-1945, sinking a single ship of 10,198 tons.
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